Big Red Blog: Bad to worse for Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals’ 2012 campaign went from bad to worse as the team lost its eighth straight game Sunday against the New York Jets.

Bad to worse for Cardinals

Posted by Brad Wilbricht
Tuesday, December 4 - 10:30 AM

The Arizona Cardinals’ tailspin continued on Sunday with an eighth consecutive loss against the New York Jets. Like it has for the majority of team’s current skid, the Cardinals defense did its part holding New York to only seven points but Arizona’s offense continued to be anemic en route to a 7-6 defeat.

A week after making his first career start in which he showed some signs of promise, QB Ryan Lindley suffered through a forgettable afternoon. Lindley completed 10-of-31 passes for only 72 yards and threw his fifth interception in his last two outings. Lindley’s QB rating of 28.0 had fans reminiscing back to the 2010 campaign when Max Hall and Derek Anderson put up similar numbers under center.

Lindley isn’t the only one to blame for the Cardinals' struggles on offense. The offensive line did little to help and the team’s rushing attack did next to nothing on the ground. Arizona managed only five first downs and was 0-for-15 on third down. The Cardinals mustered only 137 yards of total offense and held the ball for under 22 minutes of the game – both stats that will generally lead to a losing effort.

Despite the loss, there were some positives to take away on the defensive side of the ball. CB Patrick Peterson had a spectacular interception on a deep pass from Jets QB Mark Sanchez while safety Kerry Rhodes picked off a pair of Sanchez throws. Sanchez was eventually benched in favor of Greg McElroy who ended up leading New York to the only touchdown of the game.

Offensively, Arizona continued to be difficult to watch. In addition to the aforementioned struggles of Lindley, the Cardinals’ playmakers were in turn just as ineffective. WR Larry Fitzgerald was targeted seven times but reeled in only one catch for 23 yards while WR Michael Floyd was targeted on 10 occasions, only to make two grabs for 22 yards.

RB Beanie Wells was limited to just 22 yards on 15 carries good for a dismal 1.5 yards per carry. The Cardinals leading rusher on the afternoon was safety Rashad Johnson who scampered 40 yards on a fake punt.

Unfortunately for Arizona, things are going from bad to worse and the entire franchise is in jeopardy of being blown up from top to bottom. GM Rod Graves can’t be too comfortable and coach Ken Whisenhunt’s seat is getting hotter by the minute. A handful of veterans have already been benched for poor play and expect that trend to continue as the team needs to get a look at younger players on the roster.

Even with QB Kevin Kolb expected to return in the coming weeks, it will be too little, too late. The Cardinals’ 2012 season is all but over leading to the question: who will still be around next year? That certainly appears to be the most intriguing storyline for the remainder of the season.

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Questions or comments? Contact Brad Wilbricht at

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Questions or comments? Contact Brad Wilbricht at

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