Cardinals reshuffle the NFC West lead

By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 11/04/2008

 ST. LOUIS — These are not the same old Cardinals at 5-3, and the NFC West is not what it used to be.

Quarterback Kurt Warner is a legend in St. Louis, having won a Super Bowl there in 1999, and he was the NFL’s MVP that year and in 2001. Warner is at again, surgically carving up NFL defenses.

 Forty-five times in his career Warner has thrown for 300 yards or more; Sunday he did so for the 15th time as quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals. Warner has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 16 straight games, which ties for second-best in franchise history.

 Doctor Warner’s scalpel has been his receivers, two of the best in the NFL, both All-Pros — Larry Fitzgerald, Jr. and Anquan Bolden comprise the best receiver tandem in the NFL. Add the emergence of second-year receiver Steve Breaston, and the Cardinals are tough.

 With Fitzgerald (742 yards), Bolden (514 yards), and Breaston (503 yards) the Cardinals are the only team in the NFL with three receivers with 500 yards or more.

 The high-flying Cardinals are the highest scoring team in the NFL, having scored 234 points and averaging 29 points a game. They have scored 30 points or more five times so far and are 4-1 in those games.

 “We just wanted to stay aggressive,” said Bertrand Berry, whose first-half sack and forced fumble set up the go-ahead score in the explosive second quarter when the Cardinals scored 24 points. “We knew if we could keep Mark Bulger in the pocket and get some pressure on him, we could rattle him and disrupt his timing,” Berry added. “And we did a pretty good job of that most of the game [and] got some turnovers, which was really key.”

 Warner threw two more touchdown passes Sunday — that’s 16 in eight games — and rookie running back Tim Hightower ran for 109 yards and a touchdown. The Cardinals dominated the St. Louis Rams 34-13 in St. Louis to open up a three-game lead after eight games in the NFC West. The Cardinals had 510 yards in total offense against St. Louis.

 San Francisco (2-6) fired their coach, Mike Nolan, two weeks ago and replaced him with Mike Singletary. The Rams also fired their coach, Scott Linehan, and replaced him with Jim Haslett three weeks ago, while Seattle’s head coach, Mike Holmgren, is resigning at the end of the season.

 All three teams are 2-6, and the Cardinals are flying away with the NFC West. Next Monday, November 10, the Cardinals host San Francisco on Monday Night Football.

 Fitz Notes & Quotes

 

The Vikings are starting to kick it into gear offensively after beating Houston Sunday 28-21. The 4-4 Vikings win set up a showdown with the Green Bay Packers (also 4-4); both teams trail the Chicago Bears (5-3) in the NFC North.

 The Vikings have scored 30, 41 and 28 points in three of their last four games. They must beat the Packers Sunday. Head Coach Brad Childress’ job may be on the line. Childress is 0-5 vs. Mike McCarthy and the Packers.

 The Vikings are 1-2 in the NFC North. This game is huge.

Two Vikings — guard Steve Hutchinson and cornerback Antione Winfield — were selected to the USA Today Midseason All-Pro team. Larry Fitzgerald, Jr. of the Arizona Cardinals, with 49 receptions and five touchdowns for 742 yards, was also selected to the team.

 Watching the Gophers lose their homecoming game 24-17 was tough to see. The game was tied 17-17 with just 24 seconds left. The Gophers had the ball when quarterback Adam Weber, deep in his own territory, tried to get the ball to receiver Eric Decker. Decker was limping on an injured ankle and had the ball go off his hands; it was intercepted and returned for a touchdown.

 The last time the Gophers were 7-1 with a chance to go 8-1 this late in the season was in 1961.

Finally, former Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper has ended his brief retirement and signed a two year contract with the Detroit Lions.

 Larry Fitzgerald can be heard weekday mornings on KMOJ Radio 89.9 FM at 8:25 am, and on WDGY-AM 740 Monday & Saturday mornings at 7:50 am and Fridays at 3:50 pm; he also commentates on sports 7-8 pm on Almanac (TPT channel 2). Larry welcomes reader responses to lfitzgerald@spokesman-re corder.com, or visit www.Larry-Fitzgerald.com.