I'm a little late today after just getting in from Las Vegas, and I've had a chance to check out some of the damage from today's game. What is there to say after the Cardinals fell in front of their home crowd in the last regular season game? The Cardinals treated the game as if it were the preseason and it showed on the field. We won't dive into much of the game because of that reason, but that doesn't mean there weren't any headlines. Three Cardinals' starters were injured in the game.
- The biggest injury was Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who was carted off of the field inside the first two minutes of the game. The initial reaction was that DRC tore a ligament in his knee and that the Pro Bowl cornerback was done for the season. Rodgers-Cromartie admittedly said he thought something was torn as well, which is why he requested to not be touched at the immediate time of injury. The good news is that the injury was ruled a bruised knee and that he'd be fine to go Sunday. Orginally DRC landed akwardly on the cleat of Packers tight end, Jermichael Finley.
- The other two injuries in the game were to Anquan Boldin and Calais Campbell. Campbell injured his thumb and will be awaiting an MRI to determine if it is broken. He did state that he was "tough" and I'll assume we'll seem him suit up this Sunday. Boldin injured his ankle and left the game. We've touched up on the effectiveness of a healthy Boldin, hereand here. Losing him for Sunday's game or having Q at less then 100% would be a huge loss. He did say he should be good to go, but will he be at full health?
- Ken Whisenhunt had two game plans heading into the game, the one that was used didn't put the Cardinals in position to win. The Cardinals starting offense played until the 2nd quarter while the starting defense only saw one series. The Cardinals showed virtually nothing, thus leaving the Packers with nothing to take from the game other then a meaningless win. As you can see from above, resting the starters did not mean the Cardinals wouldn't suffer any injuries.
- Matt Leinart was downright awful, throwing two interceptions, and throwing a would-be 3rd interception had it not been called back from a safety in the end zone. I think I can go out on a limb and say that Leinart was not comfortable being forced into the game, and he still hasn't shown much of a cause for concern regarding his future with the Cardinals. Give him a full off season and every practice rep with the starting offense and we'd see a different quarterback.
Other then the injuries, what else was the biggest news of the game? The fact that Matt Leinart didn't show any promise, or that the Cardinals showed no lack of urgency? In all truthfulness, I didn't expect much out of this game, especially with the Vikings beating pulverising the Giants in an earlier match up. I liked that Ralph Brown did get an 80-yard interception return, and that Brian St. Pierre threw both the first touchdown and interception of his career. Larry Fitzgeraldcaught his season-best 13th touchdown, and Anquan Boldin jumped over 1,000 yards for the 5th time in his career. We'll obviously have more to talk about with the Cardinals meeting the Packers in the first round of the playoffs next week. What are your thoughts on the game and how seriously did you really take it?