azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Associated Press, TEMPE, Ariz. -- In their first three road games this year, the Arizona Cardinals were competitive. They took a step backward in a 38-14 loss at Buffalo, though, and a disappointed coach Dennis Green went back to the drawing board.
This week, special teams will be under the microscope, and the aim will be to beef up the unit.
"A week ago, we looked fast and quick and explosive," Green said Monday. "If you saw us play yesterday, we looked smaller than Buffalo. When speed can't run, you've got a problem. We're going to have to get a little bit more size -- hopefully don't sacrifice as much speed.
"There are some times when that speed will be great for us, but there'll be other times we're going to have to go with a little more size, and yesterday was one of those cases."
The Cardinals (2-5) raised hopes by beating Seattle 25-17 on Oct. 24, but a week later they stunned their fans the way the Bills manhandled them in nasty weather on the shore of Lake Erie.
"I've played in some downpours in east Texas, but these were the worst conditions I've ever been in," Arizona quarterback Josh McCown said after his first experience with the area's notorious wind, which gusted to 40 mph.
Green thought Terrence McGee's 87-yard kickoff return for the Bills seconds after Arizona cut Buffalo's lead to 10-7 at the 8:25 mark of the second quarter was the key play of the game.
"That was something we never could overcome," he said.
With that in mind, the first-year Cardinals coach promised to examine every option to improve special-teams performance -- and everyone knows he means it.
Green cut center Pete Kendall, now with the New York Jets, the day training camp opened to unsettle the rest of the offensive line, and followed up last week by demoting offensive line coach Bob Wylie to scouting duties and promoting first-year assistant Everett Lindsay to Wylie's old position.
Green said Lindsay was hired because of his bright potential and simply progressed faster than expected.
"We took over a team that had four of the highest-paid players on the team on the offensive line last year, and that was the least productive group on the football team," Green said. "To do something about that, you've got to be drastic, and I'll tell you something: I don't mind being drastic."
He thought the line performed creditably despite the coaching shift and the three Buffalo sacks of McCown. Emmitt Smith had 66 yards on 16 carries in the first half, but lost two yards in six tries in the second.
"We didn't do anything when we had the wind," Smith said.
Wide receiver Anquan Boldin, last year's NFL offensive rookie of the year, saw his first action after missing six games because of a knee injury in training camp, and picked up where he left off with a team-high four catches for 50 yards.
But McCown was only 9-of-24 for 101 yards and a 28-yard TD to Bryant Johnson, and the best thing about having Boldin back was probably that fact that he wasn't hurt by a helmet in the back while elevating for his first catch.
Cornerback Renaldo Hill pulled a hamstring and may miss one to two weeks, but Green planned to list linebacker Gerald Hayes (thigh bruise) as probable for this week's game at Miami.
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/news_details.html?iid=2350
This week, special teams will be under the microscope, and the aim will be to beef up the unit.
"A week ago, we looked fast and quick and explosive," Green said Monday. "If you saw us play yesterday, we looked smaller than Buffalo. When speed can't run, you've got a problem. We're going to have to get a little bit more size -- hopefully don't sacrifice as much speed.
"There are some times when that speed will be great for us, but there'll be other times we're going to have to go with a little more size, and yesterday was one of those cases."
The Cardinals (2-5) raised hopes by beating Seattle 25-17 on Oct. 24, but a week later they stunned their fans the way the Bills manhandled them in nasty weather on the shore of Lake Erie.
"I've played in some downpours in east Texas, but these were the worst conditions I've ever been in," Arizona quarterback Josh McCown said after his first experience with the area's notorious wind, which gusted to 40 mph.
Green thought Terrence McGee's 87-yard kickoff return for the Bills seconds after Arizona cut Buffalo's lead to 10-7 at the 8:25 mark of the second quarter was the key play of the game.
"That was something we never could overcome," he said.
With that in mind, the first-year Cardinals coach promised to examine every option to improve special-teams performance -- and everyone knows he means it.
Green cut center Pete Kendall, now with the New York Jets, the day training camp opened to unsettle the rest of the offensive line, and followed up last week by demoting offensive line coach Bob Wylie to scouting duties and promoting first-year assistant Everett Lindsay to Wylie's old position.
Green said Lindsay was hired because of his bright potential and simply progressed faster than expected.
"We took over a team that had four of the highest-paid players on the team on the offensive line last year, and that was the least productive group on the football team," Green said. "To do something about that, you've got to be drastic, and I'll tell you something: I don't mind being drastic."
He thought the line performed creditably despite the coaching shift and the three Buffalo sacks of McCown. Emmitt Smith had 66 yards on 16 carries in the first half, but lost two yards in six tries in the second.
"We didn't do anything when we had the wind," Smith said.
Wide receiver Anquan Boldin, last year's NFL offensive rookie of the year, saw his first action after missing six games because of a knee injury in training camp, and picked up where he left off with a team-high four catches for 50 yards.
But McCown was only 9-of-24 for 101 yards and a 28-yard TD to Bryant Johnson, and the best thing about having Boldin back was probably that fact that he wasn't hurt by a helmet in the back while elevating for his first catch.
Cornerback Renaldo Hill pulled a hamstring and may miss one to two weeks, but Green planned to list linebacker Gerald Hayes (thigh bruise) as probable for this week's game at Miami.
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/news_details.html?iid=2350
