The Arizona Cardinals enter Monday night's game with the 49ers with two major goals staring them in the face, beat a divisional opponent and win the NFC West. With a win the Cardinals secure their second consecutive NFC West title, and obviously a second straight trip to the post season, but first they're have to repay an opening week loss to the Bay Area boys.
- Did Bryant McKinnie's 'tell' lead to the Vikings blowout loss? - Interesting conspiracy theory regarding the Cardinals defense being able to determine a run or pass play depending on McKinnie's stance.
- Shutdown Corner defensive player of the week: Tamba Hali - Not one but two Cardinals' defenders were in the running for defensive player of the week (Bertrand Berry and Karlos Dansby).
- Playoff matchup could favor Cardinals - An Arizona vs. Minnesota matchup in the playoffs seems probable and the Cardinals hold that advantage.
- Mike Sando's MVP Watch - With his latest stellar performance, Warner joined Johnny Unitas as the only players in NFL history to post four consecutive games with a passer rating of 120 or higher, but does that make him a MVP candidate?
- Cards' little guys making big impact - The Cardinals have seven players under 6 feet, and Stephens-Howling (5-7) and Adams (5-8) are the shortest. But they played large over the past two weeks. At Tennessee two weeks ago, Stephens-Howling, a running back, returned a kickoff for a touchdown and downed three punts inside the 5. Adams, a cornerback, played in passing situations last week against the Vikings and often was matched up against Percy Harvin, a favorite to win offensive rookie of the year honors.
- Hard-hitting Cardinals shedding finesse label - The Arizona Cardinals are pummeling that "finesse team" label into submission. Sure, Kurt Warner throws some pretty passes and he has some marvelous receivers to catch them. But the Cardinals' tough side was on national display Sunday night in a dominating 30-17 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
- Warner delivers outside the numbers - Warner is amazing outside of the numbers.
- A healthy Boldin produces - Since then, Boldin has played at a Pro Bowl level, averaging 7 catches and 84 yards a game. He's scored three touchdowns. In his previous seven games, Boldin averaged five catches for 58 yards and score one touchdown. "He's certainly played well since then," Whisenhunt said. "The one thing you always worry about is having to fight those things (injuries) all year."
- NFL assistants eye possible lockout - Assistant coaches throughout the league, including with the Cardinals, have their eyes on 2011. If a new collective-bargaining agreement with the players isn't reached by March of that year, the owners are expected to lock out the players. That could mean pay cuts or job losses for team employees, including assistant coaches.