Heartbreak hath no equal
February 2, 2009
It’s taking me a while to come to grips with the Cardinals heartbreaking last second loss to the Steelers in Superbowl XLIII. I will complete this post once it’s all sunk in a little more… but right now, I need some time.
Superbowl XLIII: Sunday, February 1, 2009, 6:28 PM ET
Steelers 27, 
Cardinals 23
Big Ben drives Steelers to Superbowl XLIII win
Box | Story | Video Highlights
Postgame with Ken Whisenhunt, Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald
Postgame Interviews: Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald
17 Weeks of Whisenhunt
January 20, 2009
Ken Whisenhunt’s postgame remarks from each 2008 regular season game, including press conferences after playoff victories over the Falcons, Panthers, and Eagles on the road to Superbowl XLIII to be held in Tampa on February 1st, 2009.
Week 1: Sunday, September 7, 2008, 4:15 PM ET
Cardinals 23, 
49ers 13
Warner, Cards strike in second half to take opener from 49ers
Box | Story | Video Highlights
Postgame with Ken Whisenhunt, Kurt Warner
Record after win: (1-0)
Week 2: Sunday, September 14, 2008, 4:15 PM ET
Dolphins 10, Cardinals 31
Cards’ offense goes off as Boldin rips Dolphins for 3 TDs in Arizona win
Box | Story | Video Highlights
Postgame with Ken Whisenhunt, Anquan Boldin, Kurt Warner
Record after win: (2-0)
Week 3: Sunday, September 21, 2008, 1:00 PM ET
Cardinals 17, 
Redskins 24
Rogers’ interception puts Redskins in gear vs. Cardinals
Box | Story | Video Highlights
Postgame with Ken Whisenhunt, Kurt Warner
Record after loss: (2-1)
Week 4: Sunday, September 28, 2008, 1:00 PM ET
Cardinals 35, 
Jets 56
Favre’s career day carries Jets past Cardinals
Box | Story | Video Highlights
Postgame with Ken Whisenhunt, Kurt Warner
Record after loss: (2-2)
Week 5: Sunday, October 5, 2008, 4:15 PM ET
Bills 17, Cardinals 41
Bills lose Edwards early, fall to high-flying Cards
Box | Story | Video Highlights
Postgame with Ken Whisenhunt, Kurt Warner
Record after win: (3-2)
Week 6: Sunday, October 12, 2008, 4:15 PM ET
Cowboys 24, Cardinals 30
Cowboys rally in fourth, but blocked punt gives Cards OT win
Box | Story | Video Highlights
Postgame with Ken Whisenhunt, Kurt Warner
Record after win: (4-2)
Week 7: BYE
Week 8: Sunday, October 26, 2008, 1:00 PM ET
Cardinals 23, 
Panthers 27
Delhomme leads Panthers’ comeback as Cards continue road woes
Box | Story | Video Highlights
Postgame with Ken Whisenhunt, Kurt Warner
Record after loss: (4-3)
Week 9: Sunday, November 2, 2008, 1:00 PM ET
Cardinals 34, 
Rams 13
Cardinals take control of NFC West with win in St. Louis
Box | Story | Video Highlights
Postgame with Ken Whisenhunt, Tim Hightower, Kurt Warner
Record after win: (5-3)
Week 10: Monday, November 10, 2008, 8:30 PM ET
49ers 24, Cardinals 29
Warner throws for three scores, Cards’ D steps up big at end to beat 49ers
Box | Story | Video Highlights
Postgame with Ken Whisenhunt, Kurt Warner
Record after win: (6-3)
Week 11: Sunday, November 16, 2008, 4:05 PM ET
Cardinals 26, 
Seahawks 20
Warner throws for 395 yards as Cards start 7-3 for 1st time since ‘77
Box | Story | Video Highlights
Postgame with Ken Whisenhunt, Kurt Warner
Record after win: (7-3)
Week 12: Sunday, November 23, 2008, 4:15 PM ET
Giants 37, Cardinals 29
Manning, Giants beat Cardinals to improve to 10-1
Box | Story | Video Highlights
Postgame with Ken Whisenhunt, Kurt Warner
Record after loss: (7-4)
Week 13: Thursday, November 27, 2008, 8:15 PM ET
Cardinals 20, 
Eagles 48
McNabb throws for four scores, Westbrook ties team record in rout
Box | Story | Video Highlights
Postgame with Ken Whisenhunt, Kurt Warner
Record after loss: (7-5)
Week 14: Sunday, December 7, 2008, 5:30 PM ET
Rams 10, Cardinals 34
Cardinals’ defense scores two touchdowns to clinch division title
Box | Story | Video Highlights
Postgame with Ken Whisenhunt, Adrian Wilson, Kurt Warner
Record after win: (8-5)
Week 15: Sunday, December 14, 2008, 4:05 PM ET
Vikings 35, Cardinals 14
Jackson takes advantage of start with four TDs to help Vikes steamroll Cards
Box | Story | Video Highlights
Postgame with Ken Whisenhunt, Kurt Warner
Record after loss: (8-6)
Week 16: Sunday, December 21, 2008, 1:00 PM ET
Cardinals 7, 
Patriots 47
Pats keep playoff hopes alive with laugher
Box | Story | Video Highlights
Postgame with Ken Whisenhunt
Record after loss: (8-7)
Week 17: Sunday, December 28, 2008, 4:15 PM ET
Seahawks 21, Cardinals 34
Warner, Fitzgerald fly Cardinals past Seahawks
Box | Story | Video Highlights
Postgame with Ken Whisenhunt, Kurt Warner
Record after win: (9-7)
NFC Wildcard Playoff Game: Saturday, January 3, 2009, 4:30 PM ET
Falcons 24, Cardinals 30
Warner leads Cards past unsteady Ryan, Falcons
Box | Story | Video Highlights
Postgame with Ken Whisenhunt, Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald
Record after win: (1-0)
NFC Divisional Playoff Game: Saturday, January 10, 2009, 8:15 PM ET
Cardinals 33, Panthers 13
Soaring Cardinals one game away from first Super Bowl berth
Box | Story | Video Highlights
Postgame with Ken Whisenhunt, Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald
Record after win: (2-0)
NFC Championship Playoff Game: Sunday, January 18, 2009, 3:00 PM ET
Eagles 25, Cardinals 32
Fitzgerald shines as Warner leads Cardinals to franchise’s first Super Bowl
Box | Story | Video Highlights
Postgame with Ken Whisenhunt, Adrian Wilson, Larry Fitzgerald, Kurt Warner
Postgame Interviews: Adrian Wilson, Larry Fitzgerald, Kurt Warner, Edgerrin James
Record after win: (3-0)
NOTE: the below was added upon the completion of Superbowl XLIII.
Superbowl XLIII: Sunday, February 1, 2009, 6:28 PM ET
Steelers 27, Cardinals 23
Big Ben drives Steelers to Superbowl XLIII win
Box | Story | Video Highlights
Postgame with Ken Whisenhunt, Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald
Postgame Interviews: Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald
Record after loss: (3-1)
What’s up with THAT, Whisenhunt?
September 21, 2008
Penalties, turnovers, and a stupid punt with 2:37 left in regulation leads to a 17-24 loss to the Washington Redskins.
Coach Ken Whisenhunt has the Cardinals headed in the right direction, but Whisenhunt lost his way with an inexplicable decision to punt on 4th and 4 from the Arizona 42 yard line with 2:37 left in regulation. Coming on the heels of a clock-eating 6:32 drive by the Redskins, the call just didn’t make any sense. Oh sure, 6 costly penalties and 2 turnovers by the Cardinals ultimately caused the 17-24 loss, but there’s no more surefire way to kill a comeback than to give the other team the ball with less than 3 minutes to go.
Full video highlights on NFL.com here.
What went wrong:
* Turnovers - Edgerrin James fumbled in the first half and Kurt Warner was intercepted off a tipped ball, leading to 10 Redskins points. Defensively, the Cardinals were unable to pressure Jason Campbell into mistakes, or cause any momentum changing turnovers.
* No Defensive Stops - the Cardinals held Clinton Portis to 68 yards on 21 carries (3.2 yard avg) and 1 TD, but couldn’t stop Washington when they needed it most. Campbell had plenty of time in the pocket, and frustrated the Cardinals with a 73.3 completion % to seven different receivers, utilizing WRs (11-105-TD) and TEs (9-76-TD) almost equally.
* Offensive Predictability - Kurt Warner held the ball to long, Washington sat back in a zone, and the offense never looked explosive, despite a 62-yard TD pass to Larry Fitzgerald and a nifty 18-yard pass from WR Jerheme Urban to RB Tim Hightower to setup a short TD pass to Anquan Boldin.
Category: 2008 Season, Game Results | Tags: Anquan Boldin, Edgerrin James, Jerheme Urban, Ken Whisenhunt, Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Losses, Tim HightowerHat trick!!!
September 16, 2008
Kurt Warner and Anquan Boldin connected for 3 TDs in a convincing 31-10 home victory over the Miami Dolphins.
Kurt Warner described Sunday as “one of those days when everything’s clicking and you feel like you can’t be stopped”.
The aerial assault began with Warner’s first pass of the day, a 79-yard TD completion to Anquan Boldin, and they were just getting started. Watch video highlights on NFL.com here.
Keys to Victory:
* Offensive Rhythm - Warner hit Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin in rhythm, which allowed the athletic wide receivers to run after the catch for huge gains. Warner spread the ball around with completions to 7 different receivers, which kept the Dolphins’ secondary from successfully double teaming any one player. Warner’s quarterback rating of 128.5 is second best in the NFL (Ben Roethlisberger leads with a 136.3 rating).
Arizona Receiving
* Offensive Line Play - the Cardinals have allowed 5.0 sacks this year through the first two games (compared with 1.0 total last year at this time), but thus far the offensive line has been fantastic in protecting Warner, it’s just that he refuses to throw the ball away and takes coverage sacks. Similarly, the team is averaging a paltry 2.7 yards per rushing attempt (31st in the league), but the line has only allowed 4 drive-stalling tackles for a loss on running plays in 2008 (combined -6 yards), compared to 6 tackles for a loss (combined -20 yards) through the first two games in 2007. That’s a huge improvement.
* Quarterback Pressure - Bertrand Barry (1 sack) and the Cardinals kept the opposing team’s quarterback uncomfortable in the pocket for the second straight game.
The Boldin the Beautiful
September 8, 2008
No drama here, the Cardinals begin 2008 with a convincing 23-13 win over the 49ers and the NFC West lead.
They didn’t soar to victory, but the Cardinals sure knew how to play keep away from the 49ers in the second half. Tied 10-10 at halftime, Arizona controlled the ball for 22:38 in the second half (75%), keeping Frank Gore and the 49ers offense off the field, and cruised to a 23-13 victory. Full video highlights from NFL.com here.
Keys to Victory:
* Turnovers - last season the Cardinals lost the turnover battle 1-6 versus the 49ers and lost both games. In Sunday’s victory, the Cardinals won the turnover battle 5-0 (4 fumbles and an Adrian Wilson interception), and controlled the game.
* Quarterback Pressure - the Cardinals sacked J.T. O’Sullivan 4 times and forced him into 3 turnovers (2 fumbles and 1 interception). On numerous plays O’Sullivan was knocked down or taken out of rhythm by pressure from Darnell Dockett (5 tackles, FF), Bertrand Barry (1 sack, FF), and Travis LaBoy (2 sacks, FF, fumble recovery).
* Running Game - The Cardinal offense never fully clicked, but the rushing game did just enough to keep the chains moving. Edgerrin James rushed 26 times for 100 yards (3.8 yard avg), and Tim Hightower converted on the tough short yards, including a 1-yard TD plunge on 4th down.
Category: 2008 Season, Game Results | Tags: 49ers, Adrian Wilson, Anquan Boldin, Bertrand Barry, Darnell Dockett, Edgerrin James, Larry Fitzgerald, Tim Hightower, Travis LaBoy, Wins