Cardinals Season Recap

As the Eagles get set to take the field on Sunday for the right to go to the Super Bowl, lets take a look at the team that hopes to get in their way, the Arizona Cardinals.       

Look at Season: 

The Cardinals had the luxury of playing in the NFC West, where no other team finished the season with a winning record. Of their 9 wins, they got 6 versus teams in their own division. That means that against teams outside of their division, they went 3-7. If you look even closer, you see that they were horrible against real competition this season. When they played a team that made the playoffs this season, they went 1-4. Overall, versus teams with a winning record, they went 2-7. Going into the playoffs, they lost 4 of their last 6. Another interesting thing I noticed was, if the San Francisco 49ers had won that game they lost versus the Cardinals late in the season, both teams would have finished 8-8. So to say they ran away with this awful division isn't even true. 

Improving Defense: 

All of the talk has been focused on the Cardinals running game, but their defense is the one that has really stepped up this post season. In the regular season, they were dreadful. They gave up almost 27 points, good for 28th in the league. They got absolutely shredded through the air, giving up the most passing touchdowns in the league, and almost 8 yards a pass. They were slightly better against the run, giving up 110 yards per game. 

This post season, they have improved in every category. They are giving up only 18.5 points, and have forced a total of 9 turnovers. They have done much better against the rush, almost cutting there average in half, giving up 68 yards on the ground per game. This is an impressive number, because in the playoffs, they have faced DeAngelo Williams and Michael Turner, who were two of the best running backs in the league this season. 

In the post season against the pass, they have only really improved slightly. They have given up 3 touchdown passes, and are still giving up over 200 yards passing a game. However, they have been able to cut down their per-pass average down by almost 3 yards, from almost 8 yards to right around 5 yards.

One Dimensional Offense:

We all know how I feel about the Cardinals running game, as I wrote about earlier in the week (see below). So while some people think they can run the ball, everybody really knows that the offense begins and ends in the hands of Kurt Warner. Kurt Warner is a Super Bowl MVP, and when left alone, he can kill you. 

And in this offense, he has the weapons to do it. The Cardinals tout 3 receivers who gained over 1,000 yards this season, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston. Boldin has been hurt this post season, and won't be at 100 percent this weekend. When he is, he is a huge, strong reciever who is hard to bring down in the open field. Larry Fitzgerald has used this post season as a coming out party, and is going to be hard for the Eagles to stop. He has 3 inches on the Eagles cornerbacks, and has a great vertical leap.

Warner had a good season, but if you look back at the numbers, you will see he didn't fare well against good teams. When Warner took the field vs a winning team, he threw 12 TD's and 9 INT. To put that in perspective, for the season he threw 30 TD's and 14 INT's. Warner is immobile, and when he is pressured, he will make bad throws or put it on the ground. If you can get him behind early, and make him have to bring the team back, he can't do it. When he is winning, his QB rating is 102.5. When behind? 88.4, almost 20 points less. 

One thing the Eagles have to be careful of is Tim Hightower and JJ Arrington catching it out of the backfield. The Eagles are going to bring alot of pressure, and if they get caught over pursuing, and one of these running backs gets the ball in the open field, it could spell trouble for the birds. These running backs are fast, and on that turf, they could take one to the house. 

The Cardinals Nest

The Cardinals were a much better team at home this year then they were on the road. At home, they went 6-2, and they got their only win vs a playoff team, when they beat Miami in week 2.  At home, Kurt Warner had a rating of 106. On the road, Warners rating dipped down to 88. The stadium has a retractable roof, and it will be closed, making it lound in their. I don't think this will get to the Eagles, who have to many veterans on their side to let the atmosphere get to them. I actually think the Eagles will benefit from playing on the turf, as I expect them to take advantage of the speed of DeSean Jackson. Also, I think the surface will be easier on the knee of Brian Westbrook, who would have a much harder time contributing in a cold, outside stadium (as evident by last week vs the Giants.)