Arizona Cardinals Destroy Miami Dolphins 31-10
by cgolden on Sep 15, 2008 8:02 AM MDT
in General Arizona Cardinals News
Email
PrintWow, any questions or concerns that the Arizona Cardinals had heading into Sunday's game with the Dolphins were answered by the end of the first quarter. They came out of the gates firing on all cylinders and by the time the final seconds ticked off the clock, the game wasn't even as close as the final 31-10 score. It's tough to imagine that the Arizona Cardinals are 2-0 (first time in 17 years) and not
only do they lead the NFC West, they've also scored the most and allowed the fewest amount of points in the division. You can talk about the quality of their opponents through two weeks but at this point, all they can do is play the teams that are on the schedule. The next two weeks should be much more difficult but for now all we can do is bask in the glory of two consecutive wins to open the season.
The Good:
Passing Game - I wish there was a way to break this down and just talk about one guy but the fact is that the entire passing game was nothing short of amazing yesterday. Kurt Warner was unstoppable, completing 79% of his passes for 361 yards and posted a perfect QB rating. Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald were open all game long and ended up with almost 300 combined yards receiving (293). Yards after catch was their specialty and both had receptions of 75 yards or more. Ben Patrick, Leonard Pope and Tim Hightower all had impressive receptions and the offensive line did thier part allowing just two sacks and one of those led to first down after Warner was brought down by his facemask.
Defensive Dominance - Allowing just ten points is impressive enough but when you consider that the Phins only touchdown didn't come until there was just over two minutes left in the game, it's down right amazing. The Dolphins couldn't get anything going on the ground and it didn't help that they were down two touchdowns by the middle of the first quarter. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams combined for just 53 yards (2.4 ypc) and Pennington completed only 50% of his passes (career 65.3%). The Dolphins converted just 25% of their third downs and averaged just 4.1 yards per play. 
The Bad:
Penalties - It's tough to find something not to like in a 21 point win but the Cardinals did have eight penalties for 45 yards. Most of the penalties were minor infractions but they still need to play smarter football if they want to be successful against better teams. The penalties included a delay of game, illegal formation, illegal block above the waist, defensive off sides (twice), ineligible down field and defensive holding (twice).
The Ugly:
Neil Rackers - Rackers continues to test the patience of fans and the coaching staff. he started the game by booting the opening kickoff out of bounds and later in the game missed a 47 yard field goal (wide left). He was saved on the field goal by a Miami penalty but his inconsistencies keep surfacing. It's too early to start surfing the free agent wire for kickers but I'll feel awful nervous if Rackers has to line up for a meaningful kick with the game on the line.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
We'll dive much deeper into this impressive win today and tommorrow but for now doesn't it fill nice to be atop the division, looking down at the mess that is the rest of the NFC East. Thoughts for the game?
13 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Way to go Kurt!
Man that was impressive stuff from Kurt – his timing with his receivers was excellent.
It sure does help though when you have Q and Fitz catching everything in their vicinity.
The good for me – Passing game, Rush Defence, Pass Defence, Defensive game plan and Dirk.
The average – running game, special teams.
The Bad – Penalties – especially early in the game as momentum could be lost against a better team.
The Ugly – Rackers, I don’t know what his deal is at the moment but consistency aint it!
definitely agree on all the 'good'
I don’t know impressed me more, Kurt’s perfect game or the defense’s masterful performance. Who wouldn’t thought they could keep Brown and Ricky under 30 yards and hold Pennington to 50%?
Kurt definately gets the game ball...
Calm, cool, and in control the entire game. “He is what we though he is…HE IS WHAT WE THOUGHT HE IS!”
A proven veteran and former Superbowl MVP.
Where we should be, nothing else
2-0 for the first time since Tom Tupa was tossing passes AND kicking punts. That’s nice, but that’s where we expect the team to be after two weeks. Our expectations were met, nothing else. Blow out a 1-15 team from last year? Damn straight. Beat a Niners team we should be beating? Done.
Where I’ll allow a little excitement to creep in is when I look at the rest of our pathetic division: two game leads on all of them (thank you SF for helping out by beating Seattle in Seattle, but we’re still gonna stomp on you November 10th). The Cardinals are going to need that two game head start as the schedule only gets tougher. Those Buffalo and Carolina games look a lot tougher all of a sudden. The Redskins showed some life yesterday which makes next week seem tougher than it was a week ago.
Kurt certainly deserves some major kudos for posting the perfect QB rating. The O-line deserves credit for keeping the Dolphins away from him (mostly). The WRs proved why they should make every opposing secondary soil themselves…repeatedly. Dirk Johnson has nailed his punts two weeks in a row…it must be snowing in Hell.
On the flip side the Cardinals still showed they love to hear referees call penalties over the PA system. Before Anquan’s first TD, how many of you were cursing the Cards’ stupidity? Dumb penalties can be overcome with perfectly executed plays and/or when playing inferior teams. The Cards were fortunate to have both yesterday. Rackers opening kick off…WTF? Geeked up and kicking too fast? Didn’t have the ball teed up correctly? Explosive flatulence as he kicked? Do we bring in an Australian Rules football player to do dropkick FGs for anything beyond 35 yards? Is this the last year on his contract? Please?
We are where we thought we’d be. But we’re not off the hook yet. 2-2 September is still a very real possibility.
We all leave footprints in the sands of time, just watch out for the discarded fish hooks!
nice perspective
We are right were we should be and we’ll have a much better idea of how good or mediocre this team is after the next two weeks.
As for the schedule, some teams have gone both ways. Carolina and Buffalo look like tougher games but some other teams have fallen off a bit, like Seattle and New England. Either way we’re right where we should be, now they just have to continue improving as the season progresses and continue playing quality football.
Not all that different
Seattle has a way to always play the Cards tough. The Cards have had some lucky breaks at home against them and have been skunked in Seattle every year since Thomas Jones rushed for a 100 yards for the Cards. So this year luck won’t be needed to win at home and the Cards have a chance to squeak out of Seattle with a rare victory.
As for the New England game, Cassel will be very comfortable in the offense by December (if he isn’t hurt by then) and 20 degree temperatures will play havoc on the hands…and let’s not even think about the last snow game the Cards won. So rather than losing 34-17, the Cards could keep it close, 20-17 in the loss? Then again, the Cards could be 12-2 by then and this would be moot. ::sip:: Damn good Kool-aid. Red is a flavour! ;)
We all leave footprints in the sands of time, just watch out for the discarded fish hooks!
Dirk Johnson has nailed his punts two weeks in a row…it must be snowing in Hell.
I said give it 2 weeks and I would be a believer. I’m a believer now. Every negative thing I said about Dirk, I take back and give to Neil Crappers.
And stains EVERYTHING when spilt
We all leave footprints in the sands of time, just watch out for the discarded fish hooks!
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Shutdown Corner - NFL - Yahoo! Sports
- Jim Irsay says he would welcome Peyton Manning back … at the right price
- Roddy White isn’t thrilled with Roger Goodell’s $20 million salary
- Could concussions actually kill football?
- J.T. Thomas arrested for possessing some marijuana
- Bucs hire Butch Davis as ‘special assistant,’ have no issue with his double-dipping
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
