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Championship!!!!
REGULAR SEASON GAME #10
ARIZONA CARDINALS (4-5) at CAROLINA PANTHERS (2-7)
Sunday, November 21, 2004
11:00 AM (MST) – Bank of America Stadium
THIS WEEK’S GAME
The Cardinals opened the second half of their 2004 schedule with a 17-14 come-from-behind home win over the New York Giants. Earlier in the day, St. Louis defeated Seattle moving both teams to 5-4 and putting Arizona one game out of first place in the NFC West. The win over the Giants was Arizona’s third straight home victory, marking the first time the team accomplished that since November- December of 1999. A win this week would give Arizona a three-game win streak for the first time since Sept.-Oct. of 2002. The defending NFC champion Panthers increased to 2-7 with a 10- point win at San Francisco (37-27). Carolina trailed 17-0 but came back thanks to a 34-point second half rally. The Panthers other 2004 win came in week 2 at Kansas City, 28-17.
THE SERIES
The Cardinals and Panthers have faced each other only four times since 1995 with the series split even at 2-2. The last time these two teams faced off was last season when the Panthers took a 20-17 victory from Sun Devil Stadium on December 14. The Cardinals took wins from the Panthers in 2002 and 2001. The last game between the clubs in Carolina was on 10/6/02 when the Cardinals posted a 16-13 victory. Prior to their win at Miami earlier this month, that was Arizona’s most recent road win and the Cards went 17 road games in between. The next time these two teams will face each other will be 2007 when the Cards host the Panthers.
Date Site Result
Dec. 14, 2003 @ Arizona L, 20-17
Oct. 6, 2002 @ Carolina W, 16-13
Dec. 30, 2001 @ Carolina W, 30-7
Nov. 19, 1995 @ Carolina L, 27-7
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TELEVISION
Network: FOX
Play-by-Play: Thom Brennaman
Color Analyst: J.C. Pearson
CARDINALS RADIO NETWORK
Flagship: 1060 KDUS (AM)
KSLX 100.7 (FM)
Play-by-Play: Dave Pasch
Color Analyst: John Mistler
Sideline: Mike Jurecki
CARDINALS SPANISH RADIO
Flagship: KMIA (710 AM)
Play-by-Play: Gabriel Trujillo
Color Analyst: Luis Zendejas
Halftime/Analyst: Felipe Coral
Last Meeting
Panthers 20, CARDINALS 17
December 14, 2003 – Sun Devil Stadium – (23,217)
The Cardinals won the battle but lost the war in their sixth consecutive loss. Carolina’s John Kasay booted a 49-yard field goal with four seconds remaining to give the Panthers a 20-17 victory and the NFC Southern Division title in their first Arizona appearance. The Cards enjoyed advantages in most statistical categories – first downs (23-17), plays (69-51), offensive possessions (11-9), total yards (317-298), rushing yards (170-67), and time of possession (37:54-22:06) – and broke even in giveaway-takeaway ratio (one interception one fumble apiece). Arizona quarterback Josh McCown, in his first NFL start, ran for the Cardinals first touchdown, a 16-yard first-quarter scamper that tied the contest at 7-7 and offset his earlier interception that Carolina strong safety Mike Minter returned 35 yards for the Panthers’ opening six points. Arizona took a 14-7 halftime lead on running back Emmitt Smith’s four-yard second-quarter touchdown, his first home score as a Cardinal. Carolina answered with the first 10 second-half points (21-yard Kasay field goal, 31-yard DeShaun Foster touchdown reception). The Cards then drove within field-goal range twice. Neil Rackers missed the first attempt (35 yards) but made the second (44 yards) with 1:09 to play to knot the contest at 17- 17. Panther quarterback Jake Delhomme completed six of eight passes for all 49 yards on Carolina’s game-winning march, including a key clock-stopping seven-yard toss to wide receiver Steve Smith with eight seconds and no timeouts remaining that barely pulled Carolina within field-goal range. McCown completed 14 of 25 passes for 172 yards. He also ran seven times for 47 yards. Marcel Shipp (23-89) and Smith (9-23) combined for 112 yards rushing. Anquan Boldin’s seven receptions raised his total to 86 to inch to within four catches of equaling the NFL single-season rookie record.
#1 ALL-TIME… AND COUNTING
With his performance in the season’s first nine games, Emmitt Smith has proven that reports of his demise have been greatly exaggerated. The 15-year veteran has started every contest, is averaging 3.7 yards per carry, and has scored a rushing touchdown in seven of nine games. He has topped 100 rushing yards twice (both wins). When he went over 100 rushing yards vs. Seattle, it was his 78th career 100-yard game and gave him sole possession of the NFL lead in that category (Walter Payton, 77). With 67 rushing yards in the last home game against the Giants, Smith became the first person to NFL history to surpass the 18,000 career rushing yards milestone. Through nine games in 2004, Smith leads the Cardinals in rushing with 632 yards (5th in the NFC) on 170 carries and eight touchdowns. Smith’s two rushing touchdowns against the Giants marked his first multiple touchdown game with the Cardinals and his 36th career multiple touchdown game. With eight rushing touchdowns so far in ’04 he has quadrupled his ‘02 total (2). Projecting his eight game statistics over the entire season, Emmitt is on pace to finish with 1,123 yards and over 12 touchdowns. If he does, he would top 1,000 rushing yards for an NFL record 12th season. His best game came vs. New Orleans (10/3) when he rushed 21 times for 127 yards and a 29-yard TD that put the Cards up 27- 10 with five minutes to play in the fourth. On that same TD drive he also had an 18-yard reception and a key first down that moved the ball to the New Orleans 36. The 29-yard TD run was his longest run as a Cardinal. Smith also pulled off a career first when he completed his first career passing attempt for a 21-yard TD to fullback Obafemi Ayanbadejo. The 127-yard rushing game vs. the Saints was his first 100-yard game as a Cardinal and his first since Thanksgiving of 2002 (11/28/02 Dallas vs. Washington when he was 23-144). The last player to top 100 rushing yards after his 35th birthday was Marcus Allen for Kansas City at Oakland on 12/3/95 (21-124). Emmitt topped 100 rushing yards for the second time in ‘04 with a 26-106-1 TD performance vs. Seattle on 10/24. He added another 30 yards on four catches. The TD was his fifth of the year and a pivotal play in the game. With the Cardinals clinging to a 1-point lead with two minutes to play, he raced 23 yards on a 3rd-n-nine play, putting the Arizona up by 8. In week one at St. Louis, the future Hall of Famer opened the 15th season of his NFL career/second with the Cardinals rushing 16 times for 87 yards (5.4 average) against the Rams with an 11- yard TD run in the third quarter. In week 2 vs. NE, he ran for just 31 yards on 13 carries but scored again on 1-yard TD jaunt marking the first time since ecember of 2001 that he had rushing TDs on consecutive weeks.
CARDS-PANTHERS CONNECTIONS
Carolina running backs coach Jim Skipper coached the same position for the Cardinals during the 1996 season. During that season, fullback Larry Centers led all NFL running backs with 99 receptions for 766 yards to earn Pro Bowl honors.
Carolina wide receiver Ricky Proehl was a third round choice (58th overall) by the Cardinals in 1990. In five seasons with the team, he played in all 80 games with 65 starts collecting 287 receptions for 3,840 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Carolina linebacker/long snapper Jason Kyle is a native of Tempe, AZ where he attended McClintock High School. Kyle played his college ball at Arizona State where he was a three-year letterman and a two-year starter for the Sun Devils. He finished his ASU career with 204 tackles, 12 stops for loss, 4 sacks, and 2 interceptions. Carolina quarterback Rodney Peete attended Sahuaro High School in Tucson, AZ for three years where he was named Arizona High School Athlete of the Year as a junior. Arizona offensive coordinator Alex Wood was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Wake Forest from 1993-94. Cardinals quarterbacks coach Mike Kruczek coached Carolina tight end Michael Gaines at Central Florida when Kruczek was the head coach for Central Florida. Cardinals offensive tackle Anthony Clement and Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme both hail from Breaux Bridge, NC and played college together at Southwestern Louisiana from 1994-1996. Cardinals defensive tackle Russell Davis is a native of Fayetteville, NC where he attended E.E. Smith High School. Davis played his college ball at North Carolina where he started 22 games in his career with 10.5 sacks, 24 tackles for loss and 49 hurries. While at North Carolina, Davis was a teammate of Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers. Cardinals defensive end Calvin Pace attended Wake Forest finishing second on the school’s all time list with 29 sacks. He set a school record with 54 stops for -223 yards. Cardinals strong safety Adrian Wilson is a native of High Point, NC where he attended T.W. Andrews High School. Wilson played his college ball at N.C. State where he was a two-year starting safety recording 254 tackles (144 solo) and 11 stops behind the line of scrimmage in 33 games for the Wolfpack. Cardinals center Alex Stepanovich (100th overall) and Carolina defensive back Chris Gamble (28th overall) were teammates together at Ohio State and were both selected in the 2004 NFL Draft.
NFL TURNOVER LEADERS
The Cardinals have been outstanding in 2004 when it comes to winning the turnover battle. They enter this week’s action with a plus/minus of +9. Arizona has 20 total takeways and rank behind only Cincinnati (24) and Pittsburgh (22) in that category. The Cards are tied for the league lead with 11 fumble recoveries.
Plus/Minus Total Takeways Fumble recoveries
1. Philadelphia +12 1. Cincinnati 24 1. Arizona 11
2. Pittsburgh +11 2. Pittsburgh 22 Cincinnati 11
3. NY Jets +10 3. Seattle 21 Pittsburgh 11
Detroit +10 4. Arizona 20 Chicago 11
5. Arizona +9 N.E. 20
Philadelphia +9 NY Giants 20
NY Giants +9 Chicago 20
PROTECT THIS HOUSE
The Cardinals have compiled a 3-1 record in their first four home games this season, the best start since 1998 when they went 3-1 at home, finishing the season with a 9-7 record overall, 5-3 at home, and also earning a playoff berth. With the Cardinals 17-14 win over the Giants last weekend, it marked the first time since 1999 they have recorded three consecutive home victories-Detroit (11/14), Dallas (11/21) and Philadelphia (12/5). The last time the Cardinals won four consecutive home games was 1984-85 (last two games in 84, first two in 85).
ODDS & ENDS
• Last week against the Giants, the Cardinals were penalized three times for 15 yards, their lowest figure of the year (6 for 43 vs. New England, 9/19/04).
• Emmitt Smith needs 59 yards from scrimmage to surpass Walter Payton (21,264) for second place (Jerry Rice 23,238)
• The Cardinals are looking for their second consecutive road victory after snapping a 17-game road losing streak two weeks ago at Miami. The last time the Cardinals had two consecutive road wins was 2002 with wins over Seattle and Carolina.
• The last Cardinals running back to score two touchdowns in a game before Emmitt Smith’s two last week was 12/15/02 when Marcell Shipp recorded touchdowns from 5 and 1 yards out at St. Louis.
• Before Ronald McKinnon’s blocked field goal last week vs. N.Y. Giants the last time the Cardinals blocked a field goal was 12/2/01 when Fred Wakefield blocked a 41-yard Sebastian Janikowski attempt.
• Steelers rookie QB Ben Roethlisberger is 7-0 in his first seven starts. Roethlisberger now owns the record the
only rookie to win his first seven games. The only other rookie in NFL history to start his career with six wins
was current Cardinals QB coach Mike Kruczek (6-0 for the Steelers in 1976).
• With 32 catches (307 yards) second-year WR Bryant Johnson needs four to surpass his rookie total of 35 (438 yards).
• The Cardinals are 3-1 when wearing their all red uniforms. The Cards last two victories saw the Cardinals wearing all red. Last year’s season finale vs. Minnesota also saw the Cardinals in all red. The Cards only loss in all red was on 12/21/02 vs. San Francisco, 17-14.
• Denny Green’s 4-5 record in his first year with the Cardinals is the best record in the first nine games since Charley Winner’s first year in 1966. Winner compiled a 7-1-1 record in his first nine games and finished the season 8-5-1.
BERRY LEADS SACK ATTACK
Defensive end Bertrand Berry, a key free agent signing from Denver in the offseason, leads the NFC and is second in the NFL (J. Abraham 9.5) with 9.0 sacks. He had a career high 4.0 sacks against Kurt Warner and the Giants this past Sunday, leaving him second (Curtis Greer 4.5, Dec. 18, 1983 vs. Philly) in Cardinals history for single game sacks. LB Karlos Dansby and his 4.0 sacks rank first in the NFC and tied for first in the NFL (DE Jared Allen, K.C. 4.0) for all rookies. A year ago, the team’s leading sacker had 3.0 (shared by two players). The last time the team’s leading sacker finished the year with more than 4.0 sacks was 2000 (Simeon Rice, 7.5) and the last time the Cardinals had a double-digit sacker was 1999 (Rice, 16.5). Through nine games, the Cardinals have a total of 24.0 sacks. They finished with just 21.0 in 16 games last season.
Quarterback Sacks/Game 4.5 Curtis Greer, Dec. 8, 1983
4.0, Bertrand Berry, Nov. 14, 2004
3.0, 10 players tied with 3.0 sacks
RED ZONE DEFENSE
The Cardinals continue to lead the NFC in red zone defense and rank third in the NFL. Opponents have penetrated the Arizona 20-yard line 32 times and have scored just 12 touchdowns. Arizona is the only NFC team that ranks in the top five:
Team Poss. TD TD pct.
1. New England 31 11 35.5
2. Buffalo 25 9 36.0
3. Arizona 32 12 37.5
4. Denver 21 8 38.1
5. Baltimore 26 10 38.5
UP NEXT
After visiting the Panthers, the Cardinals head back home to celebrate the Thanksgiving weekend by hosting the New York Jets, the second New York team to visit Sun Devil Stadium this season. The Jets (6-3) are on the road against the Browns this week. The Panthers remain at home to host the Buccaneers next week. Tampa Bay (3-6) is hosting San Francisco this week.
http://azcardinals.com/news/news_details.html?iid=2396
ARIZONA CARDINALS (4-5) at CAROLINA PANTHERS (2-7)
Sunday, November 21, 2004
11:00 AM (MST) – Bank of America Stadium
THIS WEEK’S GAME
The Cardinals opened the second half of their 2004 schedule with a 17-14 come-from-behind home win over the New York Giants. Earlier in the day, St. Louis defeated Seattle moving both teams to 5-4 and putting Arizona one game out of first place in the NFC West. The win over the Giants was Arizona’s third straight home victory, marking the first time the team accomplished that since November- December of 1999. A win this week would give Arizona a three-game win streak for the first time since Sept.-Oct. of 2002. The defending NFC champion Panthers increased to 2-7 with a 10- point win at San Francisco (37-27). Carolina trailed 17-0 but came back thanks to a 34-point second half rally. The Panthers other 2004 win came in week 2 at Kansas City, 28-17.
THE SERIES
The Cardinals and Panthers have faced each other only four times since 1995 with the series split even at 2-2. The last time these two teams faced off was last season when the Panthers took a 20-17 victory from Sun Devil Stadium on December 14. The Cardinals took wins from the Panthers in 2002 and 2001. The last game between the clubs in Carolina was on 10/6/02 when the Cardinals posted a 16-13 victory. Prior to their win at Miami earlier this month, that was Arizona’s most recent road win and the Cards went 17 road games in between. The next time these two teams will face each other will be 2007 when the Cards host the Panthers.
Date Site Result
Dec. 14, 2003 @ Arizona L, 20-17
Oct. 6, 2002 @ Carolina W, 16-13
Dec. 30, 2001 @ Carolina W, 30-7
Nov. 19, 1995 @ Carolina L, 27-7
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TELEVISION
Network: FOX
Play-by-Play: Thom Brennaman
Color Analyst: J.C. Pearson
CARDINALS RADIO NETWORK
Flagship: 1060 KDUS (AM)
KSLX 100.7 (FM)
Play-by-Play: Dave Pasch
Color Analyst: John Mistler
Sideline: Mike Jurecki
CARDINALS SPANISH RADIO
Flagship: KMIA (710 AM)
Play-by-Play: Gabriel Trujillo
Color Analyst: Luis Zendejas
Halftime/Analyst: Felipe Coral
Last Meeting
Panthers 20, CARDINALS 17
December 14, 2003 – Sun Devil Stadium – (23,217)
The Cardinals won the battle but lost the war in their sixth consecutive loss. Carolina’s John Kasay booted a 49-yard field goal with four seconds remaining to give the Panthers a 20-17 victory and the NFC Southern Division title in their first Arizona appearance. The Cards enjoyed advantages in most statistical categories – first downs (23-17), plays (69-51), offensive possessions (11-9), total yards (317-298), rushing yards (170-67), and time of possession (37:54-22:06) – and broke even in giveaway-takeaway ratio (one interception one fumble apiece). Arizona quarterback Josh McCown, in his first NFL start, ran for the Cardinals first touchdown, a 16-yard first-quarter scamper that tied the contest at 7-7 and offset his earlier interception that Carolina strong safety Mike Minter returned 35 yards for the Panthers’ opening six points. Arizona took a 14-7 halftime lead on running back Emmitt Smith’s four-yard second-quarter touchdown, his first home score as a Cardinal. Carolina answered with the first 10 second-half points (21-yard Kasay field goal, 31-yard DeShaun Foster touchdown reception). The Cards then drove within field-goal range twice. Neil Rackers missed the first attempt (35 yards) but made the second (44 yards) with 1:09 to play to knot the contest at 17- 17. Panther quarterback Jake Delhomme completed six of eight passes for all 49 yards on Carolina’s game-winning march, including a key clock-stopping seven-yard toss to wide receiver Steve Smith with eight seconds and no timeouts remaining that barely pulled Carolina within field-goal range. McCown completed 14 of 25 passes for 172 yards. He also ran seven times for 47 yards. Marcel Shipp (23-89) and Smith (9-23) combined for 112 yards rushing. Anquan Boldin’s seven receptions raised his total to 86 to inch to within four catches of equaling the NFL single-season rookie record.
#1 ALL-TIME… AND COUNTING
With his performance in the season’s first nine games, Emmitt Smith has proven that reports of his demise have been greatly exaggerated. The 15-year veteran has started every contest, is averaging 3.7 yards per carry, and has scored a rushing touchdown in seven of nine games. He has topped 100 rushing yards twice (both wins). When he went over 100 rushing yards vs. Seattle, it was his 78th career 100-yard game and gave him sole possession of the NFL lead in that category (Walter Payton, 77). With 67 rushing yards in the last home game against the Giants, Smith became the first person to NFL history to surpass the 18,000 career rushing yards milestone. Through nine games in 2004, Smith leads the Cardinals in rushing with 632 yards (5th in the NFC) on 170 carries and eight touchdowns. Smith’s two rushing touchdowns against the Giants marked his first multiple touchdown game with the Cardinals and his 36th career multiple touchdown game. With eight rushing touchdowns so far in ’04 he has quadrupled his ‘02 total (2). Projecting his eight game statistics over the entire season, Emmitt is on pace to finish with 1,123 yards and over 12 touchdowns. If he does, he would top 1,000 rushing yards for an NFL record 12th season. His best game came vs. New Orleans (10/3) when he rushed 21 times for 127 yards and a 29-yard TD that put the Cards up 27- 10 with five minutes to play in the fourth. On that same TD drive he also had an 18-yard reception and a key first down that moved the ball to the New Orleans 36. The 29-yard TD run was his longest run as a Cardinal. Smith also pulled off a career first when he completed his first career passing attempt for a 21-yard TD to fullback Obafemi Ayanbadejo. The 127-yard rushing game vs. the Saints was his first 100-yard game as a Cardinal and his first since Thanksgiving of 2002 (11/28/02 Dallas vs. Washington when he was 23-144). The last player to top 100 rushing yards after his 35th birthday was Marcus Allen for Kansas City at Oakland on 12/3/95 (21-124). Emmitt topped 100 rushing yards for the second time in ‘04 with a 26-106-1 TD performance vs. Seattle on 10/24. He added another 30 yards on four catches. The TD was his fifth of the year and a pivotal play in the game. With the Cardinals clinging to a 1-point lead with two minutes to play, he raced 23 yards on a 3rd-n-nine play, putting the Arizona up by 8. In week one at St. Louis, the future Hall of Famer opened the 15th season of his NFL career/second with the Cardinals rushing 16 times for 87 yards (5.4 average) against the Rams with an 11- yard TD run in the third quarter. In week 2 vs. NE, he ran for just 31 yards on 13 carries but scored again on 1-yard TD jaunt marking the first time since ecember of 2001 that he had rushing TDs on consecutive weeks.
CARDS-PANTHERS CONNECTIONS
Carolina running backs coach Jim Skipper coached the same position for the Cardinals during the 1996 season. During that season, fullback Larry Centers led all NFL running backs with 99 receptions for 766 yards to earn Pro Bowl honors.
Carolina wide receiver Ricky Proehl was a third round choice (58th overall) by the Cardinals in 1990. In five seasons with the team, he played in all 80 games with 65 starts collecting 287 receptions for 3,840 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Carolina linebacker/long snapper Jason Kyle is a native of Tempe, AZ where he attended McClintock High School. Kyle played his college ball at Arizona State where he was a three-year letterman and a two-year starter for the Sun Devils. He finished his ASU career with 204 tackles, 12 stops for loss, 4 sacks, and 2 interceptions. Carolina quarterback Rodney Peete attended Sahuaro High School in Tucson, AZ for three years where he was named Arizona High School Athlete of the Year as a junior. Arizona offensive coordinator Alex Wood was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Wake Forest from 1993-94. Cardinals quarterbacks coach Mike Kruczek coached Carolina tight end Michael Gaines at Central Florida when Kruczek was the head coach for Central Florida. Cardinals offensive tackle Anthony Clement and Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme both hail from Breaux Bridge, NC and played college together at Southwestern Louisiana from 1994-1996. Cardinals defensive tackle Russell Davis is a native of Fayetteville, NC where he attended E.E. Smith High School. Davis played his college ball at North Carolina where he started 22 games in his career with 10.5 sacks, 24 tackles for loss and 49 hurries. While at North Carolina, Davis was a teammate of Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers. Cardinals defensive end Calvin Pace attended Wake Forest finishing second on the school’s all time list with 29 sacks. He set a school record with 54 stops for -223 yards. Cardinals strong safety Adrian Wilson is a native of High Point, NC where he attended T.W. Andrews High School. Wilson played his college ball at N.C. State where he was a two-year starting safety recording 254 tackles (144 solo) and 11 stops behind the line of scrimmage in 33 games for the Wolfpack. Cardinals center Alex Stepanovich (100th overall) and Carolina defensive back Chris Gamble (28th overall) were teammates together at Ohio State and were both selected in the 2004 NFL Draft.
NFL TURNOVER LEADERS
The Cardinals have been outstanding in 2004 when it comes to winning the turnover battle. They enter this week’s action with a plus/minus of +9. Arizona has 20 total takeways and rank behind only Cincinnati (24) and Pittsburgh (22) in that category. The Cards are tied for the league lead with 11 fumble recoveries.
Plus/Minus Total Takeways Fumble recoveries
1. Philadelphia +12 1. Cincinnati 24 1. Arizona 11
2. Pittsburgh +11 2. Pittsburgh 22 Cincinnati 11
3. NY Jets +10 3. Seattle 21 Pittsburgh 11
Detroit +10 4. Arizona 20 Chicago 11
5. Arizona +9 N.E. 20
Philadelphia +9 NY Giants 20
NY Giants +9 Chicago 20
PROTECT THIS HOUSE
The Cardinals have compiled a 3-1 record in their first four home games this season, the best start since 1998 when they went 3-1 at home, finishing the season with a 9-7 record overall, 5-3 at home, and also earning a playoff berth. With the Cardinals 17-14 win over the Giants last weekend, it marked the first time since 1999 they have recorded three consecutive home victories-Detroit (11/14), Dallas (11/21) and Philadelphia (12/5). The last time the Cardinals won four consecutive home games was 1984-85 (last two games in 84, first two in 85).
ODDS & ENDS
• Last week against the Giants, the Cardinals were penalized three times for 15 yards, their lowest figure of the year (6 for 43 vs. New England, 9/19/04).
• Emmitt Smith needs 59 yards from scrimmage to surpass Walter Payton (21,264) for second place (Jerry Rice 23,238)
• The Cardinals are looking for their second consecutive road victory after snapping a 17-game road losing streak two weeks ago at Miami. The last time the Cardinals had two consecutive road wins was 2002 with wins over Seattle and Carolina.
• The last Cardinals running back to score two touchdowns in a game before Emmitt Smith’s two last week was 12/15/02 when Marcell Shipp recorded touchdowns from 5 and 1 yards out at St. Louis.
• Before Ronald McKinnon’s blocked field goal last week vs. N.Y. Giants the last time the Cardinals blocked a field goal was 12/2/01 when Fred Wakefield blocked a 41-yard Sebastian Janikowski attempt.
• Steelers rookie QB Ben Roethlisberger is 7-0 in his first seven starts. Roethlisberger now owns the record the
only rookie to win his first seven games. The only other rookie in NFL history to start his career with six wins
was current Cardinals QB coach Mike Kruczek (6-0 for the Steelers in 1976).
• With 32 catches (307 yards) second-year WR Bryant Johnson needs four to surpass his rookie total of 35 (438 yards).
• The Cardinals are 3-1 when wearing their all red uniforms. The Cards last two victories saw the Cardinals wearing all red. Last year’s season finale vs. Minnesota also saw the Cardinals in all red. The Cards only loss in all red was on 12/21/02 vs. San Francisco, 17-14.
• Denny Green’s 4-5 record in his first year with the Cardinals is the best record in the first nine games since Charley Winner’s first year in 1966. Winner compiled a 7-1-1 record in his first nine games and finished the season 8-5-1.
BERRY LEADS SACK ATTACK
Defensive end Bertrand Berry, a key free agent signing from Denver in the offseason, leads the NFC and is second in the NFL (J. Abraham 9.5) with 9.0 sacks. He had a career high 4.0 sacks against Kurt Warner and the Giants this past Sunday, leaving him second (Curtis Greer 4.5, Dec. 18, 1983 vs. Philly) in Cardinals history for single game sacks. LB Karlos Dansby and his 4.0 sacks rank first in the NFC and tied for first in the NFL (DE Jared Allen, K.C. 4.0) for all rookies. A year ago, the team’s leading sacker had 3.0 (shared by two players). The last time the team’s leading sacker finished the year with more than 4.0 sacks was 2000 (Simeon Rice, 7.5) and the last time the Cardinals had a double-digit sacker was 1999 (Rice, 16.5). Through nine games, the Cardinals have a total of 24.0 sacks. They finished with just 21.0 in 16 games last season.
Quarterback Sacks/Game 4.5 Curtis Greer, Dec. 8, 1983
4.0, Bertrand Berry, Nov. 14, 2004
3.0, 10 players tied with 3.0 sacks
RED ZONE DEFENSE
The Cardinals continue to lead the NFC in red zone defense and rank third in the NFL. Opponents have penetrated the Arizona 20-yard line 32 times and have scored just 12 touchdowns. Arizona is the only NFC team that ranks in the top five:
Team Poss. TD TD pct.
1. New England 31 11 35.5
2. Buffalo 25 9 36.0
3. Arizona 32 12 37.5
4. Denver 21 8 38.1
5. Baltimore 26 10 38.5
UP NEXT
After visiting the Panthers, the Cardinals head back home to celebrate the Thanksgiving weekend by hosting the New York Jets, the second New York team to visit Sun Devil Stadium this season. The Jets (6-3) are on the road against the Browns this week. The Panthers remain at home to host the Buccaneers next week. Tampa Bay (3-6) is hosting San Francisco this week.
http://azcardinals.com/news/news_details.html?iid=2396
