azdad1978
Championship!!!!
by: Mike Jurecki
Observations
What a difference a week makes in terms of coaching, execution and effort! On Sunday from the opening whistle, the Arizona Cardinals controlled the tempo and played physical against the St. Louis Rams.
According to Redbirds defensive tackle Darnell Dockett, the Rams weren’t a very physical team and that was the mind set going into practice all week. They wanted to come out, start fast and be physical right from the beginning of the game.
Not only did Arizona come out and shut the Rams down but they started gaining confidence and scored 10 points in the first quarter alone. This put them in the lead 17-7 going into the half. During their four game losing streak, they only scored three points total in the first quarter and trailed in all four contests.
Arizona’s defense held Marshall Faulk and company to just 22 yards on the ground. For the first time in 35 games, the Rams offense was shut out. They only scored when defensive end Leonard Little picked up a fumble to run 61 yards for the touchdown going into half time. Cardinal’s defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast had his players flying around to the ball up until the very end of the game; they continued to blitz to keep the Rams off guard and looked out of sync the entire afternoon.
It’s easy to question Rams Head Coach Mike Martz’s game plan. Quarterback Chris Chandler looked like he’d rather be somewhere else. I guess after spending 17 years in the league, it could be time to hang it up. As for the backup, according to Martz, Jamie Martin was shopping for a Christmas tree a couple weeks ago and didn’t know any of the offense. This brings me to my point, why didn’t they try to run the football early in the game? Considering that the Rams are fighting for a division title, they didn’t show up to play at all.
As for the Cardinal offense, they finally had their day in the sun by putting up over 400 yards of total offense including 26 first downs and held the ball close to 38 minutes. Not only that but quarterback Josh McCown had a career day by leading the Cardinals to four touchdowns with two through the air to rookie wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. He also had two running touchdowns himself. McCown was very efficient by spreading the ball around to seven different receivers and completing 65% of his passes by going 22-34 for 287 yards.
The offensive line did a better job of opening up some running lanes for the backs, as the Cardinals registered 131 yards on the ground, and they were able to wear down the Rams in the second half. As a whole, the line fared well when it came to pass protection as McCown was only sacked twice, one that led to a fumble that he was blindsided on. The former third round pick did a nice job of protecting the football with zero interceptions and showed he can be a leader with his on-the-field presence. McCown did an excellent job of moving the chains. The bottom line is that as a quarterback, he seems to be playing much more relaxed. It’s apparent that he is starting to mature as a young quarterback and has a bright future ahead of him.
Birdseed:
Update Time…. After 15 weeks… (overall record)
When a team’s quarterback throws 300+ yards in a single game-27-35
When a team’s wide receiver has 100+ yards in a single game-69-83
When a team has a 100+ yard rusher in a single game-113-31
When a team rushes 30+ times in a football game-131-34
NFC West remaining schedule:
Seattle… 7-7
Week 16- Arizona… 5-9
Week 17- Atlanta… 11-3
Opponents combined record- 16-12
St. Louis… 6-8
Week 16- Philadelphia… 13-1
Week 17- N.Y. Jets… 10-4
Opponents combined record- 23-5
Arizona… 5-9
Week 16- at Seattle… 7-7
Week 17- Tampa Bay… 5-9
Opponents combined record- 12-16
San Francisco… 2-12
Week 16- Buffalo… 8-6
Week 17- at New England… 12-2
Opponents combined record- 20-8
5-9 teams in the league
Arizona
Chicago
Dallas
Detroit
New York Giants
Oakland
Tampa Bay
Washington
PLAYOFF SEEDS IF THE SEASON ENDED AFTER WEEK 15
AFC
Seed-Team -Record
1-Pittsburgh (North Champions)-13-1
2-New England (East Champions)-12-2
3-San Diego (West Champions)-11-3
4-Indianapolis (South Champions)-11-3
5-N.Y. Jets (Wild Card)-10-4
6-Jacksonville (Wild Card)-8-6
Baltimore-8-6
Denver-8-6
Buffalo-8-6
Houston-6-8
Kansas City-6-8
NFC
Seed Team Record
1-Philadelphia (East Champions)-13-1
2-Atlanta (South Champions)-11-3
3-Green Bay (North Champions)-8-6
4-Seattle (West Champions)-7-7
5-Minnesota (Wild Card)-8-6
6-Carolina (Wild Card)-6-8
New Orleans-6-8
St. Louis-6-8
Tampa Bay-5-9
Detroit-5-9
Chicago-5-9
Arizona-5-9
N.Y. Giants-5-9
Dallas-5-9
Washington-5-9
•San Diego is third AFC seed based on conference record with Indianapolis (8-2 to Colts' 7-3).
•Jacksonville is second AFC Wild Card based on following tiebreaker steps: Buffalo drops out of the 4-team tie due to conference record (5-6 to 5-5 for other three 8-6 teams); Denver drops out next due to strength-of-victory (.423 to .491 for Jacksonville and Baltimore); Jacksonville then gains second Wild Card based on strength-of-schedule with Baltimore (.571 to Ravens' .544).
•Green Bay is NFC North Champion based on head-to-head with Minnesota (1-0). •Carolina finished second in the NFC South based on head-to-head with New Orleans (1-0).
•Carolina is second NFC Wild Card based on head-to-head with St. Louis
(1-0).
DRAFT ORDER IF THE SEASON ENDED AFTER WEEK 15
Order-Team-W- L
1-San Francisco-2-12
2-Miami-3-11
3-Cleveland-3-11
4-Tennessee-4-10
5-Arizona-5-9
6-Chicago5-9
7-Tampa Bay-5-9
8-Washington-5-9
9-Dallas-5-9
10-Detroit-5-9
11-N.Y. Giants*-5-9
12-Oakland-59
13-St. Louis-6-8
14-New Orleans-68
15-Cincinnati-6-8
16-Houston-6-8
17-Kansas City-6-8
18-Denver-8-6
19-Buffalo**-8-6
20-Baltimore-8-6
•Dallas has the 11th selection based on head-to-head with N.Y. Giants (0-1).
*-New York Giants traded its 2005 first round pick to San Diego for the rights to Eli Manning.
**-Buffalo traded its 2005 first round pick to Dallas so the Bills could select J.P. Losman with the 22nd pick.
Draft positions 1-20 are determined by record, the team with the worst record during the regular season picks first and so on. If two teams have the same record, the strength of schedule tie-breaker is used which is the combined winning percentage of all teams on each team's schedule for the current season. If teams are still tied after strength of schedule has been applied, the division or conference tie breakers are used. If teams are still tied after applying all tiebreakers or if two teams are tied that are in different conferences, a coin toss after the season will determine which team gets priority.
Playoff teams fill out positions 21-32 based on the round in which they exit the playoffs. If you do not see your team above, if the season ended today, they would be in the playoffs.
Next year’s schedule… as of week 15
Home
San Francisco
Seattle
St. Louis
Philadelphia
Washington
Jacksonville
Tennessee
NFC South 3rd place (New Orleans or Tampa Bay)
Road
San Francisco
Seattle
St. Louis
Dallas
N.Y. Giants
Houston
Indianapolis
NFC North 3rd place (Chicago or Detroit)
Emmitt Smith – 1,000 yards update
Attempts- 221
Yards- 803
Touchdowns- 9
Projected numbers at Smith’s current pace…
Attempts- 253
Yards- 918
Touchdown- 10
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/col_details.html?iid=297
Observations
What a difference a week makes in terms of coaching, execution and effort! On Sunday from the opening whistle, the Arizona Cardinals controlled the tempo and played physical against the St. Louis Rams.
According to Redbirds defensive tackle Darnell Dockett, the Rams weren’t a very physical team and that was the mind set going into practice all week. They wanted to come out, start fast and be physical right from the beginning of the game.
Not only did Arizona come out and shut the Rams down but they started gaining confidence and scored 10 points in the first quarter alone. This put them in the lead 17-7 going into the half. During their four game losing streak, they only scored three points total in the first quarter and trailed in all four contests.
Arizona’s defense held Marshall Faulk and company to just 22 yards on the ground. For the first time in 35 games, the Rams offense was shut out. They only scored when defensive end Leonard Little picked up a fumble to run 61 yards for the touchdown going into half time. Cardinal’s defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast had his players flying around to the ball up until the very end of the game; they continued to blitz to keep the Rams off guard and looked out of sync the entire afternoon.
It’s easy to question Rams Head Coach Mike Martz’s game plan. Quarterback Chris Chandler looked like he’d rather be somewhere else. I guess after spending 17 years in the league, it could be time to hang it up. As for the backup, according to Martz, Jamie Martin was shopping for a Christmas tree a couple weeks ago and didn’t know any of the offense. This brings me to my point, why didn’t they try to run the football early in the game? Considering that the Rams are fighting for a division title, they didn’t show up to play at all.
As for the Cardinal offense, they finally had their day in the sun by putting up over 400 yards of total offense including 26 first downs and held the ball close to 38 minutes. Not only that but quarterback Josh McCown had a career day by leading the Cardinals to four touchdowns with two through the air to rookie wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. He also had two running touchdowns himself. McCown was very efficient by spreading the ball around to seven different receivers and completing 65% of his passes by going 22-34 for 287 yards.
The offensive line did a better job of opening up some running lanes for the backs, as the Cardinals registered 131 yards on the ground, and they were able to wear down the Rams in the second half. As a whole, the line fared well when it came to pass protection as McCown was only sacked twice, one that led to a fumble that he was blindsided on. The former third round pick did a nice job of protecting the football with zero interceptions and showed he can be a leader with his on-the-field presence. McCown did an excellent job of moving the chains. The bottom line is that as a quarterback, he seems to be playing much more relaxed. It’s apparent that he is starting to mature as a young quarterback and has a bright future ahead of him.
Birdseed:
Update Time…. After 15 weeks… (overall record)
When a team’s quarterback throws 300+ yards in a single game-27-35
When a team’s wide receiver has 100+ yards in a single game-69-83
When a team has a 100+ yard rusher in a single game-113-31
When a team rushes 30+ times in a football game-131-34
NFC West remaining schedule:
Seattle… 7-7
Week 16- Arizona… 5-9
Week 17- Atlanta… 11-3
Opponents combined record- 16-12
St. Louis… 6-8
Week 16- Philadelphia… 13-1
Week 17- N.Y. Jets… 10-4
Opponents combined record- 23-5
Arizona… 5-9
Week 16- at Seattle… 7-7
Week 17- Tampa Bay… 5-9
Opponents combined record- 12-16
San Francisco… 2-12
Week 16- Buffalo… 8-6
Week 17- at New England… 12-2
Opponents combined record- 20-8
5-9 teams in the league
Arizona
Chicago
Dallas
Detroit
New York Giants
Oakland
Tampa Bay
Washington
PLAYOFF SEEDS IF THE SEASON ENDED AFTER WEEK 15
AFC
Seed-Team -Record
1-Pittsburgh (North Champions)-13-1
2-New England (East Champions)-12-2
3-San Diego (West Champions)-11-3
4-Indianapolis (South Champions)-11-3
5-N.Y. Jets (Wild Card)-10-4
6-Jacksonville (Wild Card)-8-6
Baltimore-8-6
Denver-8-6
Buffalo-8-6
Houston-6-8
Kansas City-6-8
NFC
Seed Team Record
1-Philadelphia (East Champions)-13-1
2-Atlanta (South Champions)-11-3
3-Green Bay (North Champions)-8-6
4-Seattle (West Champions)-7-7
5-Minnesota (Wild Card)-8-6
6-Carolina (Wild Card)-6-8
New Orleans-6-8
St. Louis-6-8
Tampa Bay-5-9
Detroit-5-9
Chicago-5-9
Arizona-5-9
N.Y. Giants-5-9
Dallas-5-9
Washington-5-9
•San Diego is third AFC seed based on conference record with Indianapolis (8-2 to Colts' 7-3).
•Jacksonville is second AFC Wild Card based on following tiebreaker steps: Buffalo drops out of the 4-team tie due to conference record (5-6 to 5-5 for other three 8-6 teams); Denver drops out next due to strength-of-victory (.423 to .491 for Jacksonville and Baltimore); Jacksonville then gains second Wild Card based on strength-of-schedule with Baltimore (.571 to Ravens' .544).
•Green Bay is NFC North Champion based on head-to-head with Minnesota (1-0). •Carolina finished second in the NFC South based on head-to-head with New Orleans (1-0).
•Carolina is second NFC Wild Card based on head-to-head with St. Louis
(1-0).
DRAFT ORDER IF THE SEASON ENDED AFTER WEEK 15
Order-Team-W- L
1-San Francisco-2-12
2-Miami-3-11
3-Cleveland-3-11
4-Tennessee-4-10
5-Arizona-5-9
6-Chicago5-9
7-Tampa Bay-5-9
8-Washington-5-9
9-Dallas-5-9
10-Detroit-5-9
11-N.Y. Giants*-5-9
12-Oakland-59
13-St. Louis-6-8
14-New Orleans-68
15-Cincinnati-6-8
16-Houston-6-8
17-Kansas City-6-8
18-Denver-8-6
19-Buffalo**-8-6
20-Baltimore-8-6
•Dallas has the 11th selection based on head-to-head with N.Y. Giants (0-1).
*-New York Giants traded its 2005 first round pick to San Diego for the rights to Eli Manning.
**-Buffalo traded its 2005 first round pick to Dallas so the Bills could select J.P. Losman with the 22nd pick.
Draft positions 1-20 are determined by record, the team with the worst record during the regular season picks first and so on. If two teams have the same record, the strength of schedule tie-breaker is used which is the combined winning percentage of all teams on each team's schedule for the current season. If teams are still tied after strength of schedule has been applied, the division or conference tie breakers are used. If teams are still tied after applying all tiebreakers or if two teams are tied that are in different conferences, a coin toss after the season will determine which team gets priority.
Playoff teams fill out positions 21-32 based on the round in which they exit the playoffs. If you do not see your team above, if the season ended today, they would be in the playoffs.
Next year’s schedule… as of week 15
Home
San Francisco
Seattle
St. Louis
Philadelphia
Washington
Jacksonville
Tennessee
NFC South 3rd place (New Orleans or Tampa Bay)
Road
San Francisco
Seattle
St. Louis
Dallas
N.Y. Giants
Houston
Indianapolis
NFC North 3rd place (Chicago or Detroit)
Emmitt Smith – 1,000 yards update
Attempts- 221
Yards- 803
Touchdowns- 9
Projected numbers at Smith’s current pace…
Attempts- 253
Yards- 918
Touchdown- 10
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/col_details.html?iid=297
