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Time for some links, including something from Patrick Peterson making it into the Hall of Fame.
Special Peterson Earns NFC Honor
Rookie punt returner wins award for second time after record-tying TD
Deciding When To Play
Acho's case crystallizes Cards' philosophy in integrating rookies
Word From the Birds Blog - For Peterson, shoes are Hall-worthy
First, Patrick Peterson achieves NFL history. Then his shoes are immortalized.
Word From the Birds Blog - Peterson, Beanie nominated — and a playoff scenario
Big games in wins mean possible awards. So when Beanie Wells and Patrick Peterson do what they did, they earn their way into the weekly voting. Beanie, after rushing for a team-record 228 yards against the Rams, is up for the FedEx ground player of the week, vs. the Bengals’ Cedric Benson (106 yards rushing and one TD) and the Titans’ Chris Johnson (190 yards). You can vote for Beanie right here. Peterson, meanwhile, is up for the Pepsi rookie of the week award after his fourth punt return for a touchdown this season. He’s up against Texans DE J.J. Watt, Panthers QB Cam Newton, Bengals QB Andy Dalton and Redskins RB Roy Helu. You can vote for Peterson right here.
Word From the Birds Blog - Cards cut FB Maui’a, promote WR Johnson
With fullback Anthony Sherman back to health, the Cardinals released fullback Reagan Maui’a today. That was expected once Sherman had recovered from his ankle injury. To fill Maui’a's spot on the roster, the Cardinals have promoted wide receiver Jaymar Johnson from the practice squad — interesting in the fact the Cardinals already had six receivers on the active roster and one — Stephen Williams — is a healthy scratch every week. Johnson has speed and has spent time with the Vikings. We’ll see if he gets a chance to play on Sundays.
Darnell Dockett empathizes with Ndamukong Suh - ArizonaSports.com
Darnell Dockett is a defensive lineman in his eighth NFL season, and to say the Pro Bowler knows a thing or two about what goes on in the trenches would be an understatement. So it should come as no surprise that the vocal captain had a thought on what transpired in Detroit on Thanksgiving, when Detroit's Ndamukong Suh was thrown out of a game for stomping on Green Bay's Evan Dietrich-Smith. Dockett tweeted multiple times to Suh Tuesday.
Daryn Colledge proves his worth against Rams - ArizonaSports.com
Sure, Beanie Wells deserves credit for setting a franchise record with 228 yards rushing Sunday in St. Louis, but according to ProFootballFocus.com, he had some help along the way. Specifically from left guard Daryn Colledge.
Patrick Peterson: Great returner, struggling corner - ArizonaSports.com
Patrick Peterson has made a name for himself as a punt returner, as he's taken four kicks back for touchdowns in just 11 games as a pro. However, he was drafted fifth overall because of his cover skills, and the fact that he has yet to really show them can be a little concerning. According to ProFootballFocus.com, Peterson had a rough day in Sunday's win against the Rams, allowing six receptions for 74 yards. Apparently he never came close to breaking up a pass, and has been picked on all season.
Arizona Cardinals young players making necessary strides
It's one thing to be old and good. That's considered "vintage." It's another to be old and bad. The Cardinals have one of the older rosters in the NFL based on average age, a fact that wouldn't be so troublesome if the team had a history of success and was making a last, valiant quest for a Super Bowl title. But the Cardinals are coming off a 5-11 record in 2010, now are 4-7 and destined to finish out of the playoffs for a second consecutive season. There is more hope for the future, however, than the average age of the roster (27.4 years) suggests.
Peterson wins special teams award--again - ArizonaSports.com
For the second time this season, Arizona Cardinals' rookie Patrick Peterson has won the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week Award.
azcentral.com blogs - Kent Somers - Shuffling off to Canton
Bill Parcells used to caution others not to put rookies in Canton. He never said anything about their shoes.
azcentral.com blogs - Kent Somers - Beat the Rams, get nominated for awards
Cornerback/punt returner Patrick Peterson and running back Beanie Wells are nominated for weekly NFL awards for their performances in last Sunday's victory over the Rams.
Beanie Wells thinks Tressel would be great for ASU - ArizonaSports.com
Many names have already been thrown out as potential head coach candidates for the ASU job, but Cardinals running back Beanie Wells believes his former coach Jim Tressel would be a good fit in Tempe. "If I was ASU, I would jump on him immediately. He's a good football coach and would work wonders for the program," said Wells on the Arizona Sports 620's Doug and Wolf show Tuesday.
Catching up with Beanie Wells | ProFootballTalk
Beanie Wells has played through injuries this year to have his best season as a pro by far. After his monster performance against the Rams, Wells is up to 849 rushing yards with eight touchdowns. Only seven running backs have more rushing yards this year. Wells talks about his success, Patrick Peterson, and his thoughts about Urban Meyer at Ohio State.
Patrick Peterson's shoes fit in Canton - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Arizona Cardinals rookie Patrick Peterson's size 12 shoes are headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame to commemorate his record-setting season as a punt returner. The Hall will display the shoes Peterson wore while returning a punt 99 yards for a touchdown to beat the St. Louis Rams in overtime earlier this month. Peterson returned another punt 80 yards for a score when the teams played Sunday -- his fourth punt return for a touchdown in 11 games. The Cardinals made the shoe-related announcement Tuesday. Peterson is also the NFC's special-teams player of the week for the second time.
Where NFC West teams rank: Week 12 - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Arizona Cardinals (won at Rams): on offense, rose nine spots to 19th in rushing yards per game; on defense, rose four spots to 20th in rushing yards allowed per game, rose four spots to No. 19 in Total QBR against
NFC West Stock Watch - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Beanie Wells, Arizona Cardinals running back. Wells had rushed for 198 yards over his previous four games before gashing the Rams for a franchise-record 228 yards Sunday. The total was the second-highest in the NFL this season, trailing only the 253 yards Dallas' DeMarco Murray racked up against ... yes, the Rams. Wells' 8.44-yard average per carry was the most since 1960 for a Cardinals player with at least 25 attempts in a game. Wayne Morris set the previous record (6.56) against Minnesota in 1977.
(All of the people on the rising list were Cardinals)
Outside the huddle: Arizona Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington
Each week, The Republic spotlights a Cardinals player for a series of on-the-spot, off-beat questions.
What's up with . . . Frank Sanders
Then: NFL receiver. Was a second-round draft pick of the Cardinals in 1995. Played eight seasons in Arizona and one with the Ravens. Caught 507 passes for 6,749 yards and 24 touchdowns. Also ran for four scores.
Cards Daily - P-Twice, So Nice
Patrick Peterson and Ken Whisenhunt talk about Peterson's 80 yard punt return TD in St. Louis and how kicking away from the explosive returner is not as easy as it seems.
Arizona Sports News:
Mike Smith, Ray Whitney lead Phoenix Coyotes past Chicago Blackhawks
Mike Smith made 24 saves, Ray Whitney had a goal and two assists, and the Coyotes beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Tuesday night. Daymond Langkow, Shane Doan and Radim Vrbata also scored as the Coyotes improved to 7-3-1 on the road. When Whitney scored the Coyotes' second goal in the final period, Chicago coach Joel Quenneville pulled goalie Corey Crawford, who gave up four scores on 21 shots. Smith missed his second consecutive shutout when Patrick Sharp scored with 42.9 seconds left in the game. Smith blanked Dallas 3-0 on Saturday night.
UA basketball holds off New Mexico State
Nick Johnson scored 19 points and Jesse Perry had 15 points and 12 rebounds to lead Arizona past New Mexico State 83-76 Tuesday night. The Wildcats (5-2) withstood an 8-0 Aggies run to open the second half, and built a 10-point lead with a 14-2 run midway through the half.
ASU football target Kevin Sumlin, Houston plan to talk
Arizona State coaching target Kevin Sumlin has had discussions to extend his contract at Houston, but that might not mean much. The Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday that Sumlin and Athletic Director Mack Rhoades have been proactive in discussing the coach's future at the Conference USA school, but both have agreed to wait until after the season. Sumlin is considered one of the hotter coaches on the market and will be at the top of several coaching lists. Under Sumlin, Houston is 12-0 and positioned for a BCS bowl game. The Cougars are sixth in the BCS standings.
NFL News:
Curtis Painter Benched; Dan Orlovsky To Start For Colts - SBNation.com
The Colts have decided to bench the struggling Curtis Painter in favor Dan Orlovsky in Week 13.
Dan Orlovsky And An Excuse To Relive One Of The Classics - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
Dan Orlovsky just sounds like a worst-case-scenario NFL backup, doesn't he? Granted, he's an NFL quarterback so by definition his life is probably a hundred times cooler than any of ours ever will be. But still. Even his name kinda screams mediocrity. The only way it could sound more mediocre is if he was "Donnie Orlovsky" instead of Dan. Anyway, as he gets ready to return to a starting role this weekend in Indianapolis, we wish him the best of luck. Because the better he plays, the more often we'll see this replay, and even a few years later, it's one of the funniest-looking sequences in NFL history.
NFC West drops: Seahawks slipping - NFC West Blog - ESPN
The chart below lists NFC West players with at least two drops this season.
Josh Freeman Hurt His Thumb At Shooting Range Last Month - SBNation.com
The Bucs reveal that quarterback Josh Freeman hurt his thumb last month while at the shooting range.
Bringing pressure? Some QBs simply shrug - NFC West Blog - ESPN
The best NFL quarterbacks are good against standard and added pressure alike. Aaron Rodgers comes to mind. The Green Bay Packers' quarterback leads the NFL in Total QBR when opponents send four or fewer pass-rushers, and also when they send five or more, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Tampa TV station apologizes for nudity in Bucs’ locker room | ProFootballTalk
While Tampa TV station WTVT interviewed Buccaneers offensive lineman Donald Penn in the locker room on Sunday, the cameraman and the producer failed to notice what they were capturing in the background: Another Bucs player undressing. The player was shown only from the waist down, so we couldn’t see his face, but we could see everything below the belt. Now WTVT is apologizing for giving the home viewers a glimpse of full-frontal Buccaneer.