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Arizona Cardinal Of The Week: Wild Card Edition

We took a brief layoff from COTW after the Cardinals lost to the Packers in the final week of the season because frankly, I don't think there should be a COTW after a loss. This week was different as the Cardinals took part in one of the most exciting playoff games in NFL history. We all thought it was going to be a shootout, but in no way did anyone think it'd turn into the highest scoring game in NFL playoff history as well. There were plenty of players that contributed in the win, but none as much as these four:

Kurt Warner: 29/33, 379 Yards, 5 TDs, 154.1 rating

Kurt Warner - a 38-year old quarterback - entered the twelfth postseason game of his career, and likely played the best one he's every been a part of. Warner only missed four passes, completing 87.8% of his passes which ranked 3rd best all time in a playoff game. He also threw for 379 yards and oh yeah - tossed five touchdowns to three different receivers against the 2nd ranked defense in the NFL. While I could easily hand the COTW award to Warner right now without the poll, there were three other contributors that helped the Cardinals win the game.

Star-divide

Early Doucet: 6 catches, 77 yards, 2 TDs

Well, all the talk and concern about Boldin's status leading up to the game now sounds frivolous. Doucet filled in for the Pro Bowl receiver and there wasn't a drop off in production at all. Early caught six catches on the day, and two came in the first half of the game. The most notable catch came within the final minute of regulation, in which Early charged through the heart of the Packers defense to get within field goal range. We would be talking about that effort much more had Rackers actually made the field goal.

Larry Fitzgerald: 6 catches, 82 yards, 2 TDs

Larry Fitzgerald's successful run of playoff games continued on Sunday. Fitz caught 6 catches for 82 yards but made his money on a highlight-reel catch in the third quarter. As Kurt Warner was knocked to the ground, he heaved a pass in the air that only Fitzgerald could corral. Instead of making it easy, Larry snatched the ball from the air and continued to hold on with one hand till he fell to the ground.

Karlos Dansby: 4 tackles, 1 PD, 1 TFL, 1 FF, 1 TD

When you look over Karlos Dansby's stat line, not much stands out to the naked eye, but it was the things that aren't recorded on a stat sheet that Dansby did on Sunday. The interception by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, was made possible by Dansby, who tipped the pass that landed in DRC's hands. He also forced a Donald Driver fumble on the Packers very next drive that was recovered by Alan Branch. The last, and biggest play, was in OT. Dansby's presense in the pocket forced Rodgers to hesitate just enough to absorb the hit by Michael Adams, and force the ball into Dansby's hands. All three plays resulted in touchdowns, meaning Dansby was responsible for 20 of the Cardinals 51 points. Don't tell me defense didn't do anything in the game.

It may be alarming that only four Cardinals were nominated for COTW, but realistically no other player would stand a chance to these four. I thought about nominating Michael Adams but that one play alone won't win over my vote. But if you're brave enough feel free to nominate any player you feel is deserving and they'll be added to the poll. Who did you vote for COTW and why?

Poll
Who is the Arizona Cardinal of the week?
Kurt Warner
590 votes
Early Doucet
58 votes
Larry Fitzgerald
10 votes
Karlos Dansby
91 votes
Steve Breaston - added
21 votes
Michael Adams - added
9 votes

779 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs  |  Comment 43 comments |

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It's a tie!

Warner and Dansby are both Cardinals of the Week. Dansby made awesome plays and Warner is, well, Warner.

-- Red headed Cardinals Fan
(Sort of like being the red-headed step child...everyone jokes about beating us a lot.)

by cdredhead on Jan 11, 2010 3:24 PM MST reply actions  

Good point. A tie is possible but....

What? I didn't break it, I was just testing its durability, and then I placed it in the woods becuase it's made out of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Jan 11, 2010 3:26 PM MST up reply actions  

write in vote for Neil Rackers

Without Rackers this game just goes down as a shootout between two good offenses. With Rackers miss and the way the game ended, it’ll go down in Cardinals and Packers lore.

Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

by Bezekira on Jan 11, 2010 3:30 PM MST reply actions  

+1

Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.

I can't stand band-wagoner fans, stick with your team, throughout the good and the bad.

by JoeCB1991 on Jan 11, 2010 3:51 PM MST up reply actions  

ummm, no

come on, if I could unrecommend this I would. Not being ready to do your job, YOUR 1 JOB, is not worth it.

by KDean75 on Jan 11, 2010 6:11 PM MST up reply actions  

no sarcasm exemption?

Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

by Bezekira on Jan 12, 2010 6:20 AM MST up reply actions  

+1

http://undrafteds.com/

by Undrafteds on Jan 12, 2010 6:48 AM MST up reply actions  

Not using this for an excuse for Rackers...

…but this article describes what transpired prior to the failed FG attempt.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/sports/football/12kicker.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Seems Fitz called the TO prematurely, and it threw everyones timing off. Just an FYI…

by Roy Green was here on Jan 12, 2010 9:36 AM MST up reply actions  

No Breaston?

Seven for a buck-twenty-five and a touch, hard to overlook that. I love Fitz, but I would have voted for Breaston instead of Warner if he was on the list instead of Fitz. #15 made a bunch of clutch catches to prolong drives, he really hauled them in when it counted.

Bring back the Baltimore Chop!

by dima1109 on Jan 11, 2010 3:39 PM MST reply actions  

Breaston continues to prove we don't need Boldin

Plus Doucet seems to be stepping up. Boldin is too injury prone and lacks the ‘linebacker’ mentality he used to have. Lets get rid of him while we can still get a 2nd or 3rd round pick this offseason.

by cardsfanforlife24 on Jan 12, 2010 10:10 AM MST up reply actions  

Warner

Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.

I can't stand band-wagoner fans, stick with your team, throughout the good and the bad.

by JoeCB1991 on Jan 11, 2010 3:51 PM MST reply actions  

+1

Yep, without those three turnovers, the Cardinals lose that game. The one turnover that really stands out for me is when he ripped the ball out of the hands of the Packer-player’s hand after that screen pass — he simply just wanted that ball more than the reciever did [much like Fitzgerald seems to want to push further down the field after his catches — to the point where you can tell he just wants it more than the defense wants to stop him].

Warner, on the other hand, had one hell of a game and he really does deserve to be the COTW as the poll seems to indicate. However, expectations play a role here and I seem to expect games like this from Warner. I do not expect a defensive player to be such a game-changer like Dansby was on Sunday. My nod to Dansby for these reasons.

by LowcountryJoe on Jan 11, 2010 5:42 PM MST up reply actions  

kurt warner is amazing

--Gerald Wallace is the best player the Bobcats will have..... EVER
--Someone should slap Larry Brown and bring him back to reality..

by raysfan81 on Jan 11, 2010 4:16 PM MST reply actions  

that is all i can say

--Gerald Wallace is the best player the Bobcats will have..... EVER
--Someone should slap Larry Brown and bring him back to reality..

by raysfan81 on Jan 11, 2010 4:16 PM MST up reply actions  

Doucet and Breaston

Talk about stepping up. If they didn’t produce this offense wouldn’t have done much. Kurt Warner is amazing but somebody has to make the catches as well.

by edbro on Jan 11, 2010 4:28 PM MST reply actions  

ahh, but does Kurt Warner make them look good? Can he make any receiver look good as long as Fitz is on the team drawing extra attention?

by KDean75 on Jan 11, 2010 6:12 PM MST up reply actions  

We saw Breaston do this before...

…Doucet was the surprise. A good surprise, but a surprise nonetheless.

by Roy Green was here on Jan 12, 2010 9:28 AM MST up reply actions  

I, for one, was not surprised at all. Validation of my faith in Doucet was sweet.

by hadrarius on Jan 12, 2010 11:22 AM MST up reply actions  

Great receiver play all around and Beanie was solid.

But Kurt put up one of the greatest playoff performances of all time! Can’t bypass that.

by Birdman from Mesa on Jan 11, 2010 4:42 PM MST reply actions  

Good point about Wells

He should probably be one of the choices offered in this poll. He wouldn’t be the winner but he deserves the mention, IMO.

by LowcountryJoe on Jan 11, 2010 5:44 PM MST up reply actions  

agreed...

almost 100 yards against the #1 run defense isn’t too shabby…

that being said, warner deserves it for sure… but the OL played pretty well also…

by chibucks on Jan 12, 2010 1:29 PM MST up reply actions  

Truly amazing

A playoff QB if there ever was one.

by WeiWuWei on Jan 11, 2010 5:18 PM MST reply actions  

How bout giving the oline some love

They definately gave Warner time to do what he did against a supposedly dominate defense.

by Dem_Cardz on Jan 11, 2010 5:32 PM MST reply actions  

+!

Not only Warner, but 156 yards rushing against the no.1 run defense.

A man from Dallas who bleeds red, not silver and blue.

by Sir Whirly on Jan 11, 2010 6:32 PM MST up reply actions  

+1

Matthews was a non factor minus two plays. Good point.

by Roy Green was here on Jan 12, 2010 9:29 AM MST up reply actions  

considering adams??

Maybe if this was the Green Bay web site. He’s been burned more then a box of strike anywhere matches the last 2 games. It was lucky he didnt get called for ANOTHER penatly on that last play. I think they would be better off playing with 10 men.

by HaroldR on Jan 11, 2010 6:11 PM MST reply actions  

+1

I can finally instantly associate #80 with Doucet now rather than Bryant Johnson. Only took two years.

Don't waste time or Time will waste you.

by Hawkwind on Jan 12, 2010 5:18 AM MST up reply actions  

+1

I have ‘81’ passwords and jerseys, but the last couple of weeks I have been planning for the future and taking a good hard look at ‘80’ wondering if it will be as special. I can’t remember much about BJ after the Packers game.

http://undrafteds.com/

by Undrafteds on Jan 12, 2010 6:52 AM MST up reply actions  

+1

John Lott. You make all this possible. Our players are the best conditioned athletes on the field during any game. But the o-line deserves some praise as well. Russ Grimm for HC anyone. Tampa has got to fire Raheem Morris. Position coach to HC in one day. Have we not learned anything from Jim Zorn?

Life's too short. Be a fan. Orlando Magic, Arizona Cardinals,Tampa Bay Rays and of course "the U"! What a winning combo.

by hevchv on Jan 13, 2010 10:41 AM MST up reply actions  

Tough to vote for just one...

…but I voted for Warner. A game for the ages.

Comments on the others:
1. Wells ran like a beast. We need that on Saturday or Sharper will be roaming free protecting the middle of the field.
2. Doucet had the game that we all thought he was capable of when drafted. If he keeps it up, Boldin’s eventual migration out of AZ is mitigated.
3. Fitz single handedly ruined Woodson’s DPOY chances if I was a voter. Woodson bounced off of Fitz like my 9 year old bounces off of me.
4. McFadden worries the crap out of me…still.
5. Wilson was unnervingly quiet – we need him to step up. I think we saw what the limits of our D with a no-show performance by 24. I love Dansby, but 24 sets the tone.

Looking forward to Saturday (and quieting all the Saints fans with misplaced bravado)…

by Roy Green was here on Jan 12, 2010 9:27 AM MST reply actions  

Wells is ready.

He is gonna tear up the Aints like he tore up the FudgePackers.

A man from Dallas who bleeds red, not silver and blue.

by Sir Whirly on Jan 12, 2010 3:25 PM MST up reply actions  

Many heroes but Kurt was tops in my opinion

He’s always open. He catches a lot of balls. He’s un-guardable, no matter how old he is

by WarWolf on Jan 12, 2010 4:06 PM MST reply actions  

Berry had 2 sacks as well – Cards D had 5 altogether – kept good pressure on Rodgers

He’s always open. He catches a lot of balls. He’s un-guardable, no matter how old he is

by WarWolf on Jan 12, 2010 4:07 PM MST reply actions  

With all due respect to everyone else

this is a slam dunk for Warner, ridiculous stat-line for any game, much less a playoff game. This may start some debate, but along with Joe Montana he may be the best playoff QB I’ve ever seen.

by Long Beach on Jan 12, 2010 4:53 PM MST reply actions  

Everyone thought McFly...

was a bargain at his price because he was injured last season and didn’t get to show he warranted a bigger contract. I was one of them. His two year contract was to show what he could do and to audition for a bigger payday. He was regarded as a very physical corner and good tackler who would be the perfect compliment to DRC. He has only seemed to show that his tackling is suspect at best and that his lapses in coverage are eerily familiar to that of Hood and Green. Not that I want either back. Green was a head case (for good reason) and Hood was great in coverage, but always let his man still catch the ball. Who is available, either FA or draft, that would be a legitimate upgrade over what we have?

Life's too short. Be a fan. Orlando Magic, Arizona Cardinals,Tampa Bay Rays and of course "the U"! What a winning combo.

by hevchv on Jan 13, 2010 10:50 AM MST reply actions  

Again?

Our secondary played horribly against the Packers, even they don’t dispute that. However, I believe there was an article on this site about how much we needed to upgrade our running backs when Wells and Hightower had a rough stretch, about how Warner and the other starters should have been benched, our OL isn’t good enough, etc., etc., etc. Yet here we are, one of four teams left in the NFC after all the so-called experts claimed we wouldn’t even make it back to the playoffs due to the Super Bowl “curse.”

If McFadden isn’t the answer as a starting CB, and I believe that he and the rest of the secondary will bounce back with a very strong showing against the Saints, we still have Greg Toler in the mix who I’m sure will make tremendous progress after having a year at this level under belt. Don’t panic, this team has proven that they’re pretty good as they are.

by Long Beach on Jan 13, 2010 4:13 PM MST up reply actions  

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