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Coming off the bye week, it appears fans of the Arizona Cardinals have forgotten the team exists. Where is the passion? Where is the excitement?
What if I told you in June that rookie left guard Jonathan Cooper would break his leg and miss his entire rookie season and that the team would trade Levi Brown in early October? What if I added that the team's leading rusher would be sixth-round pick Andre Ellington and that Carson Palmer would throw the second-most interceptions in the NFL through Week 9?
How many games would you have guessed the Cardinals would win halfway through the 2013 season if I told you all that would happen by early November?
Most of you would put that number lower than the current four wins. Hell, even I would put it lower than four wins.
But here the 4-4 Cardinals sit -- snugly in third place in the NFC West.
The defense, led by defensive end Calais Campbell, cornerback Patrick Peterson and rookie defensive back Tyrann Mathieu, is playing its ass off every week and no one seems to care that the Houston Texans are playing at University of Phoenix Stadium on Sunday.
Sure, the game is a sellout. Sure, it's the 80th straight sellout since UOPS opened in August 2006. But how many Texans fans will be at the stadium on Sunday because you sold your tickets on eBay, Craigslist or Ticket Exchange?
Did they show up to buy the tickets wearing Texans gear? Did you even care that you sold your $100 seats to an Andre Johnson fan instead of a Larry Fitzgerald fan?
The Cardinals have a very winnable half-season of games left before the playoffs start in early January. Some have predicted they can realistically go 6-2 over the final half, putting them at 10-6 and likely into the playoffs.
That remains to be seen, but with the offense improving the more rookie running back Andre Ellington touches the ball, fans should be excited to get the second half of 2013 started. Instead, we hear silence.
What are you going to do about that, Cardinals fans?