azdad1978
Championship!!!!
The Cardinals‘ inability to punch the ball in the end zone and a rash of costly penalties were twin culprits in a frustrating 17-12 loss to the St. Louis Rams before 45,160 fans in the team’s home opener at Sun Devil Stadium.
“Obviously we’re disappointed for the second week in a row,” said Head Coach Dennis Green. “All we had to do was outscore the opponent in the second half and we could win the game. We didn’t do that last week and we didn’t do that this week.”
After being called for 10 penalties last week, the Cards managed to avoid being flagged until four minutes remained in the third period. But the walls came crashing down in the fourth quarter to the tune of six penalties for 52 yards, including a game-ending false start with seven seconds remaining. By rule, 10 seconds were run off the clock and the game ended with the Cardinals on the St. Louis 10-yard line and no chance to pull out a last-second victory.
In addition to stopping themselves with penalties, the Cards were unable to punch the ball in the end zone despite reaching inside the Rams’ 20-yard line on four occasions. On three trips into the red zone, Arizona had to settle for Neil Rackers field goals of 29, 26, and 35 yards as their only points of the afternoon. And a fourth stop inside the 20-yard line resulted in the nightmarish penalty to end the game.
Green echoed the frustration of the team with the inability to convert touchdowns near the goal line. “It’s frustrating for the whole team because it’s affected by everything. It’s something we’re working real hard on and something we’ll have to take care of. Any time you kick six field goals in two games that’s a lot of missed opportunities.”
The Rams took the opening kickoff at their own 20-yard line and drove 80 yards in seven plays to take a 7-0 lead. Ram tailback Steven Jackson bolted for 24 and 15 yards on back-to-back carries in the drive, and Bulger connected on passes to Kevin Curtis (23 yards) and Torry Holt (19 yards), the latter for a score.
Late in the first quarter, Card quarterback Kurt Warner lost the ball on a sack, then on the next play Card defensive tackle Darnell Dockett intercepted a botched shovel pass attempt by Bulger to Jackson to give the Cards the ball on the 34-yard line. The Cards were unable to capitalize, however, and Warner was intercepted by Rams cornerback De Juan Groce on a long pass at the four-yard line.
The Rams were forced to punt from their own 10-yard line, and Arizona got ideal field position at the Rams 45-yard line. Warner promptly connected with Larry Fitzgerald for 22 yards to the 23-yard line. On third and seven Warner found Anquan Boldin on a crossing route for first down to the 10-yard line, and hit “Q” again on the next play for nine yards to the Rams two-yard line. Once again, the Cards had to settle for another Rackers field goal, this one from 26 yards, after a botched hand-off and sack lost yardage.
Following a St. Louis 10-play, 69-yard drive to a field goal for a 10-6 Rams advantage with just over three minutes left in the first half, the Rams forced Arizona to punt and ran out the clock to end the first half with a10-6 lead.
With the opening kickoff of the second half, the Cardinals began at their own 25-yard line, drove to the Rams 31 and cut the St. Louis lead to one at 10-9 with a 48-yard field goal by Rackers, his third of the day. The Rams responded with a 76-yard drive on eight plays, capped by a seven-yard touchdown run by Jackson to push the Rams ahead 17-9 midway through the quarter. Bulger was a perfect 5-5 for 68 yards on the drive which ended with Jackson finding the end zone with a seven-yard run around left end.
After forcing the Rams to punt early in the fourth quarter, Arizona got the ball on their own 27-yard line with 12:47 left. Marcel Shipp, starting at tailback in place of rookie J.J. Arrington (illness), blasted for 24 yards on a short pass from Warner to start the drive, but three penalties for 25 yards kept the Cards temporarily in check. Later in the drive, Warner connected on passes of 11 yards to Bryant Johnson, 20 to Charles Lee, and 21 to Fitzgerald for a first and goal at the nine-yard line. But a nine-yard sack and incomplete pass on third down resulted in another Rackers field goal, this time from 35 yards, to cut the lead to 17-12 with just under seven minutes left.
Another exchange of punts gave Arizona the ball at their own 14-yard line with 1:53 remaining. Warner found Johnson for four yards, Lee for eight and then six, and pitched a 20-yard strike to Fitzgerald to near midfield. The Rams were called for delay of game on the play, stopping the clock with 53 seconds left at the St. Louis 43-yard line. Boldin came through once more and caught a 27-yard pass to the 16, and the Cards called their final timeout with 32 seconds remaining. On the first play following the timeout, Boldin snapped down an 11-yarder and ran out of bounds to put the ball at the five yard line with 27 seconds left. But Warner was sacked for a five-yard loss by former Arizona State Sun Devil Adam Archuleta and rather than spike the ball, the Cards lined up for another play. With the clock ticking and players scrambling for position, Card left tackle Leonard Davis was called for a false start with seven seconds left, thereby mandating the 10-second run-off and the game was over.
Notes: Temperature at kickoff was 94 degrees … With rookie J.J. Arrington inactive due to a flu-like illness that kept him out of practice all week, Marcel Shipp received his first start at tailback since the 2003 season finale vs. Minnesota on Dec. 28, a span of 630 days … Lester Towns, signed Sept. 13, started at middle linebacker in place of James Darling (knee) … rookie tight end Adam Bergen started his first NFL game.
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/news_details.html?iid=3068
“Obviously we’re disappointed for the second week in a row,” said Head Coach Dennis Green. “All we had to do was outscore the opponent in the second half and we could win the game. We didn’t do that last week and we didn’t do that this week.”
After being called for 10 penalties last week, the Cards managed to avoid being flagged until four minutes remained in the third period. But the walls came crashing down in the fourth quarter to the tune of six penalties for 52 yards, including a game-ending false start with seven seconds remaining. By rule, 10 seconds were run off the clock and the game ended with the Cardinals on the St. Louis 10-yard line and no chance to pull out a last-second victory.
In addition to stopping themselves with penalties, the Cards were unable to punch the ball in the end zone despite reaching inside the Rams’ 20-yard line on four occasions. On three trips into the red zone, Arizona had to settle for Neil Rackers field goals of 29, 26, and 35 yards as their only points of the afternoon. And a fourth stop inside the 20-yard line resulted in the nightmarish penalty to end the game.
Green echoed the frustration of the team with the inability to convert touchdowns near the goal line. “It’s frustrating for the whole team because it’s affected by everything. It’s something we’re working real hard on and something we’ll have to take care of. Any time you kick six field goals in two games that’s a lot of missed opportunities.”
The Rams took the opening kickoff at their own 20-yard line and drove 80 yards in seven plays to take a 7-0 lead. Ram tailback Steven Jackson bolted for 24 and 15 yards on back-to-back carries in the drive, and Bulger connected on passes to Kevin Curtis (23 yards) and Torry Holt (19 yards), the latter for a score.
Late in the first quarter, Card quarterback Kurt Warner lost the ball on a sack, then on the next play Card defensive tackle Darnell Dockett intercepted a botched shovel pass attempt by Bulger to Jackson to give the Cards the ball on the 34-yard line. The Cards were unable to capitalize, however, and Warner was intercepted by Rams cornerback De Juan Groce on a long pass at the four-yard line.
The Rams were forced to punt from their own 10-yard line, and Arizona got ideal field position at the Rams 45-yard line. Warner promptly connected with Larry Fitzgerald for 22 yards to the 23-yard line. On third and seven Warner found Anquan Boldin on a crossing route for first down to the 10-yard line, and hit “Q” again on the next play for nine yards to the Rams two-yard line. Once again, the Cards had to settle for another Rackers field goal, this one from 26 yards, after a botched hand-off and sack lost yardage.
Following a St. Louis 10-play, 69-yard drive to a field goal for a 10-6 Rams advantage with just over three minutes left in the first half, the Rams forced Arizona to punt and ran out the clock to end the first half with a10-6 lead.
With the opening kickoff of the second half, the Cardinals began at their own 25-yard line, drove to the Rams 31 and cut the St. Louis lead to one at 10-9 with a 48-yard field goal by Rackers, his third of the day. The Rams responded with a 76-yard drive on eight plays, capped by a seven-yard touchdown run by Jackson to push the Rams ahead 17-9 midway through the quarter. Bulger was a perfect 5-5 for 68 yards on the drive which ended with Jackson finding the end zone with a seven-yard run around left end.
After forcing the Rams to punt early in the fourth quarter, Arizona got the ball on their own 27-yard line with 12:47 left. Marcel Shipp, starting at tailback in place of rookie J.J. Arrington (illness), blasted for 24 yards on a short pass from Warner to start the drive, but three penalties for 25 yards kept the Cards temporarily in check. Later in the drive, Warner connected on passes of 11 yards to Bryant Johnson, 20 to Charles Lee, and 21 to Fitzgerald for a first and goal at the nine-yard line. But a nine-yard sack and incomplete pass on third down resulted in another Rackers field goal, this time from 35 yards, to cut the lead to 17-12 with just under seven minutes left.
Another exchange of punts gave Arizona the ball at their own 14-yard line with 1:53 remaining. Warner found Johnson for four yards, Lee for eight and then six, and pitched a 20-yard strike to Fitzgerald to near midfield. The Rams were called for delay of game on the play, stopping the clock with 53 seconds left at the St. Louis 43-yard line. Boldin came through once more and caught a 27-yard pass to the 16, and the Cards called their final timeout with 32 seconds remaining. On the first play following the timeout, Boldin snapped down an 11-yarder and ran out of bounds to put the ball at the five yard line with 27 seconds left. But Warner was sacked for a five-yard loss by former Arizona State Sun Devil Adam Archuleta and rather than spike the ball, the Cards lined up for another play. With the clock ticking and players scrambling for position, Card left tackle Leonard Davis was called for a false start with seven seconds left, thereby mandating the 10-second run-off and the game was over.
Notes: Temperature at kickoff was 94 degrees … With rookie J.J. Arrington inactive due to a flu-like illness that kept him out of practice all week, Marcel Shipp received his first start at tailback since the 2003 season finale vs. Minnesota on Dec. 28, a span of 630 days … Lester Towns, signed Sept. 13, started at middle linebacker in place of James Darling (knee) … rookie tight end Adam Bergen started his first NFL game.
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/news_details.html?iid=3068
