It was as though even the stadium couldn’t shake off the
horrendous loss experienced the week before. With the surging Bears coming
into town for the showdown, Arizona needed to shift the focus of their attention
from last week’s disappointment to the task at hand. They failed to do that,
miserably.
The first sign that Arizona wasn’t mentally prepared for
this week’s game was the opening kickoff fumble by Rookie KR Michael Spurlock,
inserted into the role for the first week, that was recovered by the Bears on
the Cardinals 7 yard line. RB Cedric Benson made quick work of the assignment as
he easily scampered into the end zone without so much as an Arizona shoulder-pad
making contact with him. Even with a suspect offensive line, the Bears made it
seem very easy to slice through the defensive front as both the front four and
the linebacker corps looked confused and over-matched. They were wearing the
deer-in-the-headlights look even as they were taking the field following the
fumble.
As bad as the defensive unit was on their 1-play series,
the offensive group was even worse. Not only were they unable to move the ball
forward because of poor play execution, but they made it easier for Chicago by
shooting themselves in the foot. First, a false start penalty on OT Leonard Davis on second and long, followed by an intentional grounding penalty on QB
Kurt Warner at his own 14 on the same down. For the offense, it was just another
day at the office as their futility has become the norm so far this season. Not
since Week One’s rout of San Francisco has the Cardinals offense looked anything
other than anemic.
Fortunately for Arizona, the defensive unit finally snapped
out of their lull and began to take out some frustration on the Bears offense.
After a booming 55-yard Scott Player punt that put the Bears back to their 26,
Chicago decided to go to the air. QB Rex Grossman took the snap and hadn’t quite
completed his drop-back before LB Karlos Dansby leveled him from the blindside.
In yet another cruel twist of fate, Grossman again experienced the painful bite
of the injury bug, breaking his right collarbone on the play. It turns out that
General Manager Jerry Angelo was this game’s MVP, as it was his foresight in the
off-season to bring in Grossman’s backup, QB Brian Griese. Initially though,
Griese did not look comfortable in the pocket, unable to settle in and keep his
feet still. By halftime, though he had caught his rhythm and looked as good as
he ever has in the pros (completing 17-28 passes for 291 yards, 1TD), despite
some very nice second half defensive play from both the secondary and the
linebacker group.
The Cardinals were not able to put together a significant
drive until they received a punt with 3:15 left in the half. RB Edgerrin James
went off-tackle behind OT Oliver Ross, broke several tackles and ended up with a
42-yard gain to the Bears 38. From there, Warner took over, throwing an 11-yard
pass to WR Larry Fitzgerald, then following that with a 25-yard pass to WR
Anquan Bolden down to the 2. After the 2-minute warning, RB Marcell Shipp capped
the drive off to end the Cardinals scoring woes with the short TD scamper, which
made the score 10-7, Bears at the half.
It was the third quarter when Griese truly shined where he
was 10-11 passing in the frame for 186 yards. His lone TD pass came on the
half’s opening drive on a 3rd and short at the Cardinals 48. He
employed a quick drop and a pump fake to draw CB Antrel Rolle out of position
and then threw over FS Robert Griffith to connect with WR Mushin Muhammed for
the long passing TD. The Cardinals had to feel fortunate however that as well as
Brian Griese played – considering the circumstances – there was not the type of
scoring they had faced previously. Chicago would only score once more, on a FG,
and marched inside the 20 one other time, but FB Obafemi Ayanbadejo spoiled that
drive by blocking another Robbie Gould field goal attempt.
The offense put together a respectable second half that was
given life early in the 4th as KR Bryant Johnson, re-inserted after
the Spurlock fumble, returned a kickoff for a TD, making the score 17-14. Late
in the last stanza, with the score now 20-14 Bears, it appeared that Arizona
would mount a drive to take the lead. On a controversial play, SS Mike Brown had
other plans as he merely had to stand still and catch the pass intended for WR
Larry Fitzgerald, who had been pulled down by LB Brian Urlacher as he crossed
the field.
Cardinals lose 20-14.
On tap:
The Cardinals head to the road where they’ll travel to
Oakland to face the 2-3 Raiders, who are fresh off of a nationally televised
35-10 beating at the hands of the Denver Broncos. This team appears to be
rebuilding somewhat, but is a young and hungry group. QB Aaron Brooks is
attempting to revive his career, with mixed results so far, but this appears to
be a much easier task than the Arizona group has been charged with over the past
few weeks. It’s a short week with a travel day, so the difficulty level is
raised there, plus the pressure is still on and the Cardinals can ill-afford to
lose their third straight if they hope to be in the playoff mix.