With the division-leading Seattle club sitting pretty with a 9-2 record, only
the winner of this contest would have even a prayer of catching them for the
divisional crown. Of course, both of these teams were in much better position to
earn a wildcard berth, but with the NFC East having 3 teams with 8-3 records,
second-place in the West has become golden. Fortunately, the Redbirds took the
first game, making this much more of a must-win situation for the Rams. Again,
the Cardinals would be without the services of RB Edgerrin James who, despite
showing excellent progress by returning to portions of practice on Wednesday and
Thursday, could not prove to head coach Dennis Green that he was 100 percent.
Green has said repeatedly that he will not rush James back to the playing field
and his resolve has certainly been strengthened by the solid performance of RB
Marcel Shipp over the last two weeks.
The playoff-like atmosphere that was felt at the beginning of this game can
either be extremely intimidating or exhilarating to the visiting team.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals and their fans, it proved to be the former for
the Redbirds, at least initially. After the two squads exchanged 3-and-outs, the
Cardinals took over at their own 27 yard line and quickly wilted. QB Kurt Warner
stepped back to throw, but a missed block by Shipp allowed LB Will Witherspoon
to slip by on the blitz and end the quarterback's brief homecoming. Warner
sustained another concussion, this one severe, and would end up staying
overnight at a St. Louis hospital for observation. His status for next week's
game is unclear and he is listed as day-to-day.
As Green had hinted during the last two weeks, QB Matt Leinart made his first
NFL appearance in a role that wasn't mop-up duty. Although he did not overly
impress anyone with his play, he did well enough, not forcing any passes or
making bad decisions. He was sacked four times during the course of the contest,
but committed no turnovers.
Neither offense put on a dazzling display, mainly due to well-executed
defensive plans by both teams, but the Rams were able to put one decent drive
together midway through the second quarter. It started at their own 39 with QB
Marc Bulger throwing a laser between the double-team of CB David Macklin and FS
Robert Griffith to connect with WR Torry Holt, who picked up another 22 yards
after the catch to set the Rams up at the Arizona 28. RB Steven Jackson then
took consecutive handoffs, which brought the offensive unit down the 17.
Anticipating a passing play for the endzone, Arizona sent SS Adrian Wilson in on
a blitz that knocked both the quarterback and the drive of its feet. Although
the St. Louis squad was able to pick up the resulting fumble, they were unable
to move the ball further and had to settle for a 41-yard FG by K Jeff Wilkins to
take a 3-0 lead to the locker rooms at halftime.
As it would turn out, the only TD scored in this contest happened 14 seconds
into the third quarter. Rookie KR Marques Hagans received the ball nearly 5
yards deep in the endzone then proceeded to ignore a signal from his teammate to
kneel the ball, taking it to the right side where he found no free defenders
waiting for him. In fact, no Cardinals tackler even came within 3 yards of
Hagans until K Neil Rackers forced him inside at the Cardinals 45, but wasn't
able to make contact, as CB Travis Fisher was there to throw a devastating
crack-back block on the kicker. From there, Hagans sauntered in the endzone as
the crowd went into a frenzy.
Leinart and the rest of the Cardinals offense did not perform horribly in the
second half, but were only able to put together two respectable drives. Both of
which resulted in FGs after the stalling inside the Rams' 20. WR Larry Fitzgerald had a fine second half, catching 6 passes for 86 yards, after coming
back from the ankle injury that prevented him from playing in last week's
affair. Matt Leinart would finish the defensive-dominated contest with 18-35
passing for 196 yards. Marcel Shipp had his worst outing of the year, even when
compared to games in which he saw limited action, only picking up 22 yards on 14
carries.
Cardinals lose 10-6.
On Tap:
The Cardinals don't have time to dwell on this loss, as they have to prepare
for the division-leading Seahawks. With this loss, they are on the outside
looking in with regards to the playoff picture and this week's game would be
important even if they weren't playing Seattle. QB Matt Hasselbeck has thrown
176 passes without an interception and RB Shaun Alexander has punished the
league with over 1400 yards already this season. It looks like the only thing
that Arizona can depend on being in their favor come Sunday will be home field.
The Cardinals will likely have Edgerrin back, but unless Warner (or Leinart) is
able to get this passing attack back on track, it could be a long game for
Redbird fans.