Dec 29th 2008 1:06PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: AZ Cardinals, Seahawks, NFC West, NFL CoachingKurt Warner — as he’s been doing to NFC West foes all season — torched the Seattle secondary. He ended his day early with 263 yards and four touchdown passes. Two of those scores were to Larry Fitzgerald, who concluded yet another strong season in the desert. The game itself, however, took a back seat to a few things.

First of all, Mike Holmgren coached his last game for the Seahawks. After a very strong tenure which saw Seattle become a regular in the playoffs and visit their first Super Bowl, Holmgren steps down as easily the most decorated coach in franchise history. They visited the postseason in six of his 10 seasons, and they had only done so four times in their first 23 years of existence. After the game, he was — understandably — quite emotional. “I started talking to the team, and I couldn’t talk,” he said. “I’m an emotional coach, anyway, and I told them I’d visit with them (Monday), because if I tried to do it now, it’d be ridiculous.”Continue Reading

Dec 29th 2008 6:00PM by Shane Bacon (author feed)
Filed under: AZ Cardinals, Chargers, Colts, Dolphins, Eagles, Falcons, Ravens, Vikings, NFL Playoffs

With the playoffs less than a week away, here is everything you need to know about Wild Card Weekend.

Atlanta Falcons at Arizona Cardinals

— Saturday, Jan. 3, 4:30 PM EST
— University of Phoenix Stadium
— NBC
— Atlanta, in a must-win against the Rams in Week 17 for a potential two seed, took care of business behind running back Michael Turner. The first-year Falcon had 208 yards and a touchdown in the 31-27 win over the Rams to secure a playoff bid. Arizona struggled down the stretch but won a lagging NFC West division that only had one team with a winning record.
— None
— Atlanta - 4-1. Arizona - 2-3.
— Atlanta taking down a hot Minnesota team in Week 16, 24-17. Arizona beat Dallas in Week 6, 30-24.
– For Atlanta, it is the rookie Matt Ryan. When the play-caller has a quarterback rating of 94 or higher, the Falcons are 8-1. For Arizona, it is the running game. With Edgerrin James being pushed out as the top back, Tim Hightower and J.J. Arrington have been asked to carry the load. Kurt Warner and his great receiving core will get theirs, so it is up to the running game to balance their offensive attack.
– In terms of least intimidating stadiums to play in, the one in Phoenix has to rack up. Living in the area, I know what Cardinals fans come to expect, and if the team falls behind 10-0 early, you can bet the Card hopefuls will be basically saying to one another, “No surprise here.” For Ryan, a playoff game is a different beast, but he has a pretty favorable match-up to get his feet wet. I think the Falcons go to Glendale and beat the Cardinals.
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Dec 30th 2008 8:30AM by JJ Cooper (author feed)
Filed under: AZ Cardinals, Chargers, Colts, Dolphins, Eagles, Falcons, Giants, Panthers, Ravens, Steelers, Titans, Vikings, NFL PlayoffsWe all know that NFL records are not always created equal, and life isn’t fair.

That explains why the 11-5 Patriots are sitting at home while the 8-8 Chargers are preparing for the playoffs. But now that the playoff pairings have been set, it is pretty easy to get a quick-and-dirty look at which teams were tested during the regular season and which teams skated into the playoffs thanks to very forgiving schedules.

To get a better look at how the playoff teams matched up, I compiled each playoff team’s record against the other playoff teams. It’s a look that has some flaws — a win against the 8-8 Chargers counts while a win against the Patriots doesn’t, but it is a very good, and quick, way to see how many tough games each team played during the regular season.

So which teams earned their way and which ones snuck in? Well, the Dolphins shouldn’t be too proud, while the Eagles didn’t exactly back their way in, even if they had to win on Sunday to snag the NFC’s last wild-card spot.Continue Reading

Dec 28th 2008 4:08PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: AZ Cardinals, Falcons
The NFL playoff picture is coming into focus, and we can now say for sure what one of the wild-card games will be: The Atlanta Falcons at the Arizona Cardinals.

Falcons-Cardinals, which will be played either Saturday or Sunday of next week, was clinched today when the Falcons beat the Rams and the Panthers beat the Saints. Those two outcomes ensured the No. 5 seed in the NFC would go to Atlanta; we already knew that the Cardinals, as NFC West champs, were the No. 4 seed.

Falcons-Cardinals isn’t the most glamorous of playoff games, but it is an intriguing contest if for no other reason than the fact that it matches two teams that no one would have picked to be playing against each other in the playoffs. If you predicted Kurt Warner vs. Matt Ryan as a pair of playoff quarterbacks squaring off against each other, your name is Nostradamus.

Dec 28th 2008 9:55PM by Tom Herrera (author feed)
Filed under: AZ Cardinals, Chargers, Colts, Dolphins, Eagles, Falcons, Ravens, Vikings, NFL PlayoffsAbout an hour ago, we were still talking about the collapse of the Cowboys, Jets, et al. But life moves fast in the NFL and we’ve already got the schedule and times for next weekend’s wild-card round of the playoffs.

Check out the full slate of matchups below, and after the jump, make your predictions for which teams will bang out some big wins. I’m going with Falcons, Colts, Ravens and Vikings (though I was tempted pick all four road teams).

No. 5(11-5) at No. 4 (9-7, NFC West champs)
4:30 PM ET (NBC)

No. 5 (12-4) at No. 4 (8-8, AFC West champs)
8:00 PM ET (NBC)

No. 6 (11-5) at No. 3 (11-5, AFC East champs)
1:00 PM ET (CBS)

No. 6 (9-6-1) at No. 3 (10-6, NFC North champs)
4:30 PM ET (FOX)
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Dec 29th 2008 9:15AM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: AZ Cardinals, Chargers, Colts, Dolphins, Eagles, Falcons, Ravens, Vikings, NFL PlayoffsWinning an NFL division championship means a playoff spot, a home game and nothing else. All four teams that will be hosting the wildcard round of the playoffs are underdogs.

The lines for the four wildcard games has been set:

Eagles (-3) at Vikings
Falcons (-2.5) at Cardinals
Colts (-2.5) at Chargers
Ravens (-3) at Dolphins

The Falcons have two more wins than the Cardinals. The Colts have four more wins than the Chargers. The Ravens and Dolphins have the same record. The Eagles finished with just one less win than the Vikings but the same amount of losses.

Since the NFL has established the current playoff format in 2002, this has not been rare. In both the 2004 and 2005 playoffs, three of the four road teams won their wildcard matchups. This year, we have our first 8-8 division champion since 1985.

Dec 25th 2008 8:47PM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: AZ Cardinals, NFC WestYou would think that a team that had its division title wrapped up a month ago and making its first home playoff appearance in half a century would be feeling pretty good right about now.

Not so in Arizona as the Cardinals are limping into the playoffs. If the Cards lose to Seattle on Sunday, they will win the NFC West with an 8-8 record, marking only the second time that a division winner had a .500 record.

Sure, whomever wins the AFC West won’t win any beauty contests either, but I trust them more than these Cardinals. Arizona just came off a lame 47-7 loss to the New England Patriots. That was the fifth time that ‘Zona has been beaten by at least 20 points in a game this season. Five times!

Arizona has beaten just two teams with a winning record — a Week 2 win over Miami and that overtime win over the Dallas Cowboys. The rest of their wins have come against teams with a combined record of 27-63. They won a division that saw half of its teams fire their coaches before midseason and all replace their starting quarterbacks.
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Dec 22nd 2008 2:00PM by Tom Mantzouranis (author feed)
Filed under: AZ Cardinals, Saints, NFL Real Talk
(

What They Did in Week 16

(at Detroit): 30-for-40 for 351 yards and two touchdowns
(at New England): 6-for-18 for 30 yards

Where They Stand

: 4,683 yards (401 yards away)
: 4,320 yards (764 yards away)
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Dec 21st 2008 2:16PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: AZ Cardinals, Patriots
As the NFL’s crackdown on players celebrating continues, New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker got the season’s first penalty for making a snow angel.

It’s a blizzard in New England today, and after Welker scored on an 11-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter, he decided to take advantage of the conditions for his celebration: He hopped on the ground, got on his back and made an angel. His teammates looked amused, but the officials didn’t: The Patriots were assessed 15 yards on ensuing kickoff for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Welker isn’t the first Patriot to make a snow angel; long snapper Lonnie Paxton famously did one when the Patriots beat the Raiders in the 2001 playoffs.

The Cardinals didn’t have nearly as much fun in the snow as the Patriots; New England won 47-7.

Dec 21st 2008 5:15PM by Adam Gretz (author feed)
Filed under: AZ Cardinals, Patriots, AFC EastThe Arizona Cardinals have had their playoff tickets punched for a few weeks now, and they pretty much had nothing to play for on Sunday in New England. That might explain why they didn’t even bother to show up, as they were systematically dismantled by the Patriots, 47-7, at snowy Gillette Stadium.

Despite playing most of the game in a blizzard, Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel completed 20-of-36 passes for 345 yards and three touchdowns, while New England managed to pound out 183 yards on the ground on 42 carries. Sammy Morris led the way with 88 yards on 18 carries, while Lamont Jordan scored a pair of touchdowns.

New England went into the half with a commanding 31-0 lead, and then continued to pour it on when Randy Moss scored on a 76-yard play just 19 seconds into the third quarter. Kevin Faulk and Wes Welker also caught touchdowns for the Patriots, while Welker was penalized 15 yards after his score for using the snow to create a snow angel. Seriously? A 15-yard penalty for making a snow angel? Is snow considered a prop?Continue Reading