Die Hard Sports Fan

The Giants and the Cardinals came into the game as the first and second best scoring teams in the NFL, but it was the Giants who won the shootout in the desert giving Big Blue their tenth win of the 2008 Regular Season.

Note: Brandon Jacobs was inactive due to a knee injury.

1st Quarter

Note: Plaxico Burress left the game after the first possession by the Giants and his return is questionable.

The Cardinals kept converting on third and long as they went 79 yards on 13 plays during their opening drive, and Neil Rackers made a 34-yard Field Goal Attempt giving the Cardinals a 3-0 lead with 6:18 remaining.

On 2nd and 6, Bertrand Berry sacked Eli Manning for a loss of 8 yards with 5:08 remaining on the Giants’ second possession which ultimately led to a punt.

2nd Quarter

The Giants converted on a 4th and 1 play which kept the drive alive as they went 62 yards on 11 plays, and Derrick Ward capped it off with a 1-yard Touch Down run up the gut with 11:38 remaining giving the Giants a 7-3 lead.

A 55-yard kick off return by Arrington gave the Cardinals great field position in Giants’ territory, and they took advantage of that when Tim Hightower ran up the middle and into the end zone for a 2-yard Touch Down run. The snap on the Extra Point Attempt was mishandled so the Cardinals have a 9-7 lead with 7:51 remaining.

An 83-yard kick off return by Hixon set the Giants up at the Cardinals’ 17 yardline, but they were only able to walk away with a 33-yard Field Goal Attempt made by John Carney with 6:51 remaining giving the Giants a 10-9 lead.

Warner hit Urban over the middle for 41 yards to begin the drive, and Neil Rackers finished the drive by connecting on a 20-yard Field Goal Attempt giving the Cardinals a 12-10 lead with 3:49 remaining.

A 66-yard kick off return by Hixon set up the Giants at the Cardinals’ 32 yardline, and Eli Manning threw a 12-yard Touch Down pass to Amani Toomer who caught the ball at the 7 yardline and ran it into the end zone with 1:08 remaining giving the Giants a 17-12 lead.

3rd Quarter

During the opening drive of the Cardinals, Kurt Warner was scrambling on 3rd and 9 when Justin Tuck knocked the ball lose and it was recovered by Mathias Kiwanuka at the Cardinals’ 40 yardline with 12:39 remaining.

Manning aired out a 28-yard pass to Smith along the right sideline which gave the Giants 1st and Goal at the 2 yardline, and then Eli Manning threw the ball to the left to Madison Hedgecock who ran it into the end zone for a 2-yard Touch Down catch giving the Giants a 24-12 lead with 10:35 remaining.

A bunch of Giants’ penalties assisted the high flying Cardinals offense to a 90-yard scoring drive which was capped off by a 1-yard Touch Down run by Tim Hightower as the Cardinals tried to cut into the Giants lead 24-19 with 0:49 remaining.

4th Quarter

The Giants immediately responded with an 80-yard scoring drive of their own, and Eli Manning hooked up with Kevin Boss for a 9-yard Touch Down pass giving the Giants a 31-19 lead with 11:15 remaining.

On 2nd and 7, Kurt Warner threw an interception to Terrell Thomas who returned it 13 yards to the Cardinals’ 29 yardline with 10:30 remaining.

The Cardinals’ defense was able to keep the Giants out of the end zone which led to a 27-yard Field Goal Attempt by John Carney with 6:17 remaining giving the Giants a 34-19 lead.

The potent offense of the Cardinals would not quit as they assembled a 55-yard scoring drive, and Kurt Warner threw his first Touch Down pass of the game to Anquan Boldin making it a 34-26 lead with 4:02 remaining.

The relentless Giants failed to get into the end zone again so John Carney connected on his 33-yard Field Goal Attempt with 1:55 remaining giving the Giants a 37-26 lead.

The Cardinals had to settle for a 44-yard Field Goal Attempt made by Neil Rackers on their final possession of the game which was not enough.

Wrap Up

Eli Manning went 26/33 and threw for 240 yards, 3 TDs, and 0 INTs.

Derrick Ward led in Rushing Attempts and in Rushing Yards with 20 and 69 respectively.

Domenik Hixon led in Receptions and Receiving Yards with 6 and 57 respectively.

Derrick Ward had 1 Rushing TD, Kevin Boss had 1 Receiving TD, Amani Toomer had 1 Receiving TD, and Madison Hedgecock had 1 Receiving TD.

John Carney went 3/3 in Field Goal Attempts.

Kenny Phillips led the team in Tackles with 7.

Justin Tuck had 1 Sack.

Terrell Thomas had 1 INT.

Justin Tuck had 1 Forced Fumble.

The NFL.com Game Center: Post Game is attached.

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The Buffalo Bills came out flat in this one and got blown out 41-17 by the Arizona Cardinals.  Not only did the Bills lose the game to drop to 4-1 on the season but they also lost QB Trent Edwards to a concussion early in the 1st quarter. 

1^st Quarter

After Edwards was lost for the game (and possibily even longer), the Bills offense could get nothing going.  The only score of the 1st, came when Cards QB Kurt Warner threw a TD pass to a wide open Larry Fitzgerald.  After 1, Cards lead 7-0.

2^nd Quarter

The Bills attempted to make this one a ball game but their defense could not stop the Cardinals offensive attack.  Rookie RB Tim Hightower added a 17 yard run for a TD and vetran Edgerrin James also had a short TD run in the quarter. 

The Bills would get two touchdowns this quarter as they tried to get back into it.  The first one came on an absolute strike by backup QB JP Losman to Lee Evans.  The play went for 86 yards and the Bills finally got on the board.  The 2nd TD came on a Losman QB draw from the 2 yard line.

The teams would head into the tunnel at halftime with the Cardinals leading by 10, 24-14 over the Bills after K Neil Rackers hit a 47 yard FG as time expired.

3^rd Quarter

The Bills were able to get the game back to a 1 score game when K Rian Lindell hit a 48 yard FG of his own.  The Cards would not be shut out though in this quarter.  Towards the end of it, Larry Fitz caught his 2nd TD pass of the game and Arizona still lead 31-17 going into the 4th.

4^th Quarter

The Bills would end the game putting up a goose egg in the 4th where they are usually very good.  Neil Rackers hit another FG and Hightower scored his 2nd TD of the game on a short run inside the redzone.  The Cards high power offense was able to overmatch the Bills, winning the game 41-17.

Game Notes

• JP Losman sucks (Sorry not really a stat just had to throw it out there.  I’ll get more into that with the post tomorrow)
• The Bills turned the ball over 4 times in this one, while Arizona didn’t have any. 
• Marshawn Lynch had anothe subpar game with 55 yards on 13 carries.  In his defense though, the Bills started passing more and more as the game went on.
• The Bills also got killed in the time of possesion battle with the Cards holding onto the football for 36:16.
• This is the Bills last game before the bye week.  They take on the San Diego Chargers at home in their next game.

More to come on this game tomorrow.  As you can tell I am not very happy with the outcome or the way the game was played by the Bills in general.

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Quarterback

Last week, the Miami Dolphins entered the game with a plan to shut down the running game and make QB Kurt Warner beat them with the pass. Well, that might have worked in recent years. But, as of right now…not so much!

Warner destroyed the Dolphins. He threw for 361 yards, three touchdowns, and ZERO turnovers. Moreover, he finished the day with a PERFECT rating of 158.3. That, by the way, is the third time in his career that he has achieved a perfect rating. It’s been a while since we’ve seen this version of Warner. Personally, for this week, I’d prefer more of the Warner from the past few years. Unfortunately, I think we’re going to see the current Warner, which more closely resembles his glory years with the St. Louis Rams.

Speaking of his achievement against the Dolphins, Warner is quoted by the Associated Press, as such:

When you have one of those days when everything’s clicking and you feel like you can’t be stopped, it brings back a lot of memories of those great years…The game was slowing down. I was putting the ball where I wanted to put it, and it felt good.

At 37 years old, and being the veteran that he is, there is not much we can do to fool him. Rather, we need to be in his face, all day. And, when we get there, if he’s still holding on to the ball, which isn’t likely, we need to put him on his butt…hard! The only time that Warner hasn’t played well in the past is when he is being pressured, rushed, and hit. That’s how Tom Brady got his first NFL Super Bowl ring.

But, thus far this season, that hasn’t happened. In fact, the Dolphins used that defensive strategy and blitzed Warner from all different angles. They even knocked him down a number of times; sacked him twice. It didn’t work. So, clearly, either we need to do it better than the Dolphins. Or, we need a different strategy.

The Cardinals are 2-0 for the first time in 17 years. If they come in to our house and win on Sunday, it will be the first time enjoying a 3-0 record since 1974.

Greg Blache has his hands full this week in preparation for this matchup.

Running Backs

Edgerrin James rushed for 55 yards on 18 carries last week. Each yard was a hard fought victory. Still, it was enough to lift James to become only the 14th back in the history of the NFL to gain 15,000 yards from scrimmage. Without question, James is still a good, effective running back and has all the ability to hurt us if we ignore him. He shares time with Tim Hightower, a big, powerful back that has seen the end zone twice in as many games. Both of these guys can move the chains.

Receivers

Big. Strong. Fast. And, great hands. That’s all that really needs to be said about the Arizona Cardinals receivers. The combination of Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald has been too much for opposing defenses this year. Boldin had six catches for 140 yards. It was the 22nd time in his relatively short career that he’s had over 100 yards receiving in a game. He can play some ball. Fitzgerald, on the other side, is definitely no slouch either. Last week he caught six passes for 153 yards. It was his 14th time in his even shorter career that he has been over 100 yards in a game.

~ ~ ~

It is often said that defense is a state of mind…an attitude, if you will. For this weeks game, we need every ounce of attitude we can muster, and a heavy dose of execution. It would be too easy to look past these Cardinals and start thinking about the upcoming trips to the Dallas Cowboys and Phildelphia Eagles. But, that would be foolish.

These guys are coming to play. And, they believe that they can give us a spankin’. Well, they have the paddles to do it. But, our *attitude* needs to be that we’re going to bring some lead pipes to their paddle party.

Hail to the Redskins.

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