Cards confident for Carolina
January 5 Arizona Republic
"Throughout the second half of the season, the Cardinals have looked to their game against the Panthers in late October for encouragement.
They lost 27-23 in Charlotte, N.C., but they led 17-3 in the third quarter, and the game turned on two turnovers.
To the Cardinals, however, the game proved they could play well on the road against a good opponent.
On Saturday night, they will have a chance to back up that belief with a second game at Bank of America Stadium.
The Panthers surprised the Cardinals by selling out to stop the run in that game, forcing the Cardinals to pass. So they did. Kurt Warner completed 35 of 49 for 381 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
A firm decision
When the Cardinals took possession with 4:15 remaining Saturday against Atlanta, offensive coordinator Todd Haley was determined not to just hand off. He continued to call passes, and Warner completed three passes for first downs.
The strategy worked and the game ended with Warner kneeling.
"It's the same thing with everybody," Haley said. "You run it, you run it, you run it and if you don't pop one of those runs, then you're punting it."
Haley said the Cardinals used that strategy once early in the year and punted. "I had made the decision back then that I wasn't going to fall into it again," he said. "We've lived by it all year, that we could make a play. My thinking was 'we got to win this game.' "
Taking the blame
Kicker Neil Rackers missed a 51-yard field goal against the Falcons, but coach Ken Whisenhunt took the blame.
He decided late to try to the field goal instead of punting and Rackers had to hurry to get the kick off before the play clock expired.
"What I should have done in retrospect is call a timeout and let Neil gather himself," Whisenhunt said. "I put him under pressure to make that kick. Next time I will be smarter in that situation.""Link
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