http://www.azcardinals.com/news/col_details.html?iid=276
Cardinals Insider: Jurecki on Cards Win over Saints
by: Mike Jurecki
Observations
It was way too early in the season for a must win, but the Arizona Cardinals came out and performed like it was by winning 34-10. This team was able to wear the New Orleans Saints down and the game was won inside the trenches.
Who was that guy wearing number 22? Just when you think this guy’s running on empty, he continued to amaze people around the league and he did it again on Sunday. Yes, Emmitt Smith ran for 127 yards on 21 carries including a 29-yard touchdown run. This marked the 77th time in Smith’s career that he gained over 100 yards which now ties him with the late Walter Payton. How about this - Emmitt has the lone touchdown pass for the Cardinals this year with a 21 yard touchdown pass to Obafemi Ayanbadejo on a halfback option. Great call by Alex Wood, this put the Cardinals up 14-3 going into the half. It looked like old school football with Smith and former Cowboy Troy Hambrick who chipped in 79 yards on 16 carries and one touchdown.
Offensively, it all changed after the Cardinals second possession when Head Coach Dennis Green benched right guard Cameron Spikes and right tackle Anthony Clement. He inserted veteran lineman L.J. Shelton at right tackle and Jeremy Bridges at right guard. Keep in mind Bridges was claimed off waivers where he was playing right tackle and just started playing guard a few weeks ago in practice. What a solid performance accomplished on his part. As for Shelton, we are all familiar with the situation, remember he fell into the coaches’ doghouse and was injured at the end of the preseason. This move has been long overdue. The bottom line is that Shelton can help this team. He is a good football player.
For the first time this year, the offense was able to control the line of scrimmage which led the Redbirds to rush for 211 yards on 40 carries.
Let’s get to the strength of this team and the job that defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast and his staff have done. It all starts with attitude and he has these players believing in each other. Now they’re starting to gain a little confidence, and it shows on the football field with the physical play and the in-your-face mentality.
Going into the game, the Cardinals dressed only three defensive tackles. There were the two starters in Darnell Dockett and Russell Davis, and with Ross Kolodziej inactive nursing a bad ankle, the coaching staff decided they were going to play veteran defensive lineman Kyle Vanden Bosch at defensive tackle. This allowed d-line coach Deek Pollard to rotate Peppi Zellner, Bertrand Berry and Calvin Pace at end, and it worked well. This success on defense isn’t just a mirage. It has been happening over the last few weeks, as they haven’t given up a touchdown in the last ten quarters.
For the fourth game in a row, the defense held up to their end of the bargain. Strong safety Adrian Wilson continues to show his athleticism and slowly is becoming a leader on the defense. Wilson is much more mature than he’s ever been; his role is appealing on this new defense.
A couple other players that deserve props are d-tackles Davis and Dockett, linebackers James Darling and Karlos Dansby and cornerbacks Duane Starks and David Macklin. Sky’s the limit for this defense, they’ve held their own.
Birdseed:
Kudos to those sitting in section 5, 6, 7, and 8! The fans in these sections were very enthusiastic in giving the defense their props when they came to the sidelines. The defense was feeding off it. The players were encouraged by the “d-fense”, “d-fense” chants. Although all the fans were supportive, it was nice to see the game filled with 99%
Cardinal fans, and the sections above were behind the Cardinals bench and the team was having fun with it. It felt like there was 50,000 fans in Sun Devil Stadium.
Running the football
Fantasy football it at an all time high around the water cooler, however passing doesn’t equal wins on Sunday for the majority of the teams. Last week 12 teams around the league ran the ball thirty plus times and finished with an 11-1 record. (Jacksonville 31 rushes for 97 yards lost to Indy 24-17)
Teams record :………………(after four weeks)
When a team rushes 30+ times in a football game… 34-11
When a team has a 100+ yard rusher in a single game… 30-11
When a team’s quarterback throws 300+ yards in a single game… 7-11
When a team’s wide receiver has 100+ yards in a single game…16-24
When was the last time the Cardinals won by a margin of at least 24 points?
On December 5, 1993 they defeated the L.A. Rams 38-10 at Sun Devil Stadium; the Redbirds finished 7-9 under Joe Bugel that year.
NFL teams that will travel the most air miles in 2004 season (includes
preseason)
San Francisco 49ers- 35,756
Seattle Seahawks- 29,956
Arizona Cardinals- 27,622
Miami Dolphins- 26,244
San Diego Chargers- 24,842
According to the league, numbers recently released from the opening day
rosters. The Cardinals are no longer the youngest team in the league, they now are the eighth.
Youngest team
Chicago- 25.26
Indianapolis- 25.64
Cincinnati- 25.70
San Diego- 25.75
San Francisco- 25.77
Jacksonville- 25.92
Tennessee- 25.96
Arizona- 26.06
Arizona
Average Age- 26.06
Experience- 3.79 years
Rookie & 1st year players- 12
Players Age 30 or over- 6
San Francisco
Average Age- 25.77
Experience- 3.62 years
Rookie & 1st year players- 14
Players Age 30 or over- 5
Seattle
Average Age- 26.50
Experience- 4.62 years
Rookie & 1st year players- 8
Players Age 30 or over- 10
St. Louis
Average Age- 26.91
Experience- 4.74 years
Rookie & 1st year players- 11
Players Age 30 or over- 12
All NFL Average
Average Age- 26.60
Experience- 4.39 years
Rookie & 1st year players- 313 (total)
Players Age 30 or over- 325 (total)
Cardinals Insider: Jurecki on Cards Win over Saints
by: Mike Jurecki
Observations
It was way too early in the season for a must win, but the Arizona Cardinals came out and performed like it was by winning 34-10. This team was able to wear the New Orleans Saints down and the game was won inside the trenches.
Who was that guy wearing number 22? Just when you think this guy’s running on empty, he continued to amaze people around the league and he did it again on Sunday. Yes, Emmitt Smith ran for 127 yards on 21 carries including a 29-yard touchdown run. This marked the 77th time in Smith’s career that he gained over 100 yards which now ties him with the late Walter Payton. How about this - Emmitt has the lone touchdown pass for the Cardinals this year with a 21 yard touchdown pass to Obafemi Ayanbadejo on a halfback option. Great call by Alex Wood, this put the Cardinals up 14-3 going into the half. It looked like old school football with Smith and former Cowboy Troy Hambrick who chipped in 79 yards on 16 carries and one touchdown.
Offensively, it all changed after the Cardinals second possession when Head Coach Dennis Green benched right guard Cameron Spikes and right tackle Anthony Clement. He inserted veteran lineman L.J. Shelton at right tackle and Jeremy Bridges at right guard. Keep in mind Bridges was claimed off waivers where he was playing right tackle and just started playing guard a few weeks ago in practice. What a solid performance accomplished on his part. As for Shelton, we are all familiar with the situation, remember he fell into the coaches’ doghouse and was injured at the end of the preseason. This move has been long overdue. The bottom line is that Shelton can help this team. He is a good football player.
For the first time this year, the offense was able to control the line of scrimmage which led the Redbirds to rush for 211 yards on 40 carries.
Let’s get to the strength of this team and the job that defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast and his staff have done. It all starts with attitude and he has these players believing in each other. Now they’re starting to gain a little confidence, and it shows on the football field with the physical play and the in-your-face mentality.
Going into the game, the Cardinals dressed only three defensive tackles. There were the two starters in Darnell Dockett and Russell Davis, and with Ross Kolodziej inactive nursing a bad ankle, the coaching staff decided they were going to play veteran defensive lineman Kyle Vanden Bosch at defensive tackle. This allowed d-line coach Deek Pollard to rotate Peppi Zellner, Bertrand Berry and Calvin Pace at end, and it worked well. This success on defense isn’t just a mirage. It has been happening over the last few weeks, as they haven’t given up a touchdown in the last ten quarters.
For the fourth game in a row, the defense held up to their end of the bargain. Strong safety Adrian Wilson continues to show his athleticism and slowly is becoming a leader on the defense. Wilson is much more mature than he’s ever been; his role is appealing on this new defense.
A couple other players that deserve props are d-tackles Davis and Dockett, linebackers James Darling and Karlos Dansby and cornerbacks Duane Starks and David Macklin. Sky’s the limit for this defense, they’ve held their own.
Birdseed:
Kudos to those sitting in section 5, 6, 7, and 8! The fans in these sections were very enthusiastic in giving the defense their props when they came to the sidelines. The defense was feeding off it. The players were encouraged by the “d-fense”, “d-fense” chants. Although all the fans were supportive, it was nice to see the game filled with 99%
Cardinal fans, and the sections above were behind the Cardinals bench and the team was having fun with it. It felt like there was 50,000 fans in Sun Devil Stadium.
Running the football
Fantasy football it at an all time high around the water cooler, however passing doesn’t equal wins on Sunday for the majority of the teams. Last week 12 teams around the league ran the ball thirty plus times and finished with an 11-1 record. (Jacksonville 31 rushes for 97 yards lost to Indy 24-17)
Teams record :………………(after four weeks)
When a team rushes 30+ times in a football game… 34-11
When a team has a 100+ yard rusher in a single game… 30-11
When a team’s quarterback throws 300+ yards in a single game… 7-11
When a team’s wide receiver has 100+ yards in a single game…16-24
When was the last time the Cardinals won by a margin of at least 24 points?
On December 5, 1993 they defeated the L.A. Rams 38-10 at Sun Devil Stadium; the Redbirds finished 7-9 under Joe Bugel that year.
NFL teams that will travel the most air miles in 2004 season (includes
preseason)
San Francisco 49ers- 35,756
Seattle Seahawks- 29,956
Arizona Cardinals- 27,622
Miami Dolphins- 26,244
San Diego Chargers- 24,842
According to the league, numbers recently released from the opening day
rosters. The Cardinals are no longer the youngest team in the league, they now are the eighth.
Youngest team
Chicago- 25.26
Indianapolis- 25.64
Cincinnati- 25.70
San Diego- 25.75
San Francisco- 25.77
Jacksonville- 25.92
Tennessee- 25.96
Arizona- 26.06
Arizona
Average Age- 26.06
Experience- 3.79 years
Rookie & 1st year players- 12
Players Age 30 or over- 6
San Francisco
Average Age- 25.77
Experience- 3.62 years
Rookie & 1st year players- 14
Players Age 30 or over- 5
Seattle
Average Age- 26.50
Experience- 4.62 years
Rookie & 1st year players- 8
Players Age 30 or over- 10
St. Louis
Average Age- 26.91
Experience- 4.74 years
Rookie & 1st year players- 11
Players Age 30 or over- 12
All NFL Average
Average Age- 26.60
Experience- 4.39 years
Rookie & 1st year players- 313 (total)
Players Age 30 or over- 325 (total)
