The past two weeks were supposed to be games the Arizona Cardinals used to prove that they belong with the elite teams in the NFC. Instead, they were soundly beat by the Giants at home and then absolutely waxed 48-20 by the Eagles on Thanksgiving night.
What was interesting about the Cards’ loss to the Eagles Thursday night was that Philly didn’t blitz all that much. One could fathom that if Kurt Warner were under constant duress for four quarters, he would certainly struggle. But the Eagles dropped extra defenders into coverage and relied on their four-down linemen to create enough pressure on Warner to get him out of rhythm. The result: Warner did throw for 235 yards and three touchdowns, but he was also picked off three times.
But a more telling sign that Arizona quite isn’t there yet is how both the Giants and Eagles did whatever they wanted to the Cardinal defense. Philly racked up 48 points and 437 yards in one game against Arizona, this after totaling just 20 points the past two weeks in a tie to the Bengals and a lose to the Ravens.
Fortunately for the Cardinals, they play in the weakest division in the league. They’ll win their division, but what happens when they have to go into Carolina or Tampa come playoff time or worse yet – the Meadowlands? They should be able to get by a Wild Card team at home, although so far they haven’t proven that they can go on the road and beat a good team at their place.
Kurt Warner has been a nice story this season, while Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston form one of the best receiving corps in the NFL – if not the best. But the defense is full of holes and ‘Zona has yet to prove they can beat a good team on the road. There seems to be a ceiling to this team’s success.
