Official Game Day Thread - CAR @ ARI November 14, 2021
Nov 8, 2021 8:50:05 GMT -7
aris, FLCardinalFan, and 1 more like this
Post by End Zone on Nov 8, 2021 8:50:05 GMT -7
Hi everyone! The draft Game Day Thread (GDT) for the CAR @ ARI game this weekend is posted. Enjoy!
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Hello and welcome to the Forum’s 10th Arizona Cardinals Game Day Thread (GDT). Holy smokes. Last Sunday, November 7th, the Cardinals improved their record to 8-1, winning their 5th road game and beating the NFC West Division rival San Francisco 49ers, 31-17. The Cardinals proved their completeness as a team by ripping the 49ers without QB Kyler Murray and WR DeAndre Hopkins. The Cardinals pivoted their offense to a rushing force behind RB James Connors (3 TDs) and QB Colt McCoy (22/26, 249 yards, 1 TD, no INTs, QBR 63.8, Rating 119.4) and the team backed up the Offense with more active, aggressive Defense (5 sacks). The Cardinals team just keeps giving reasons to believe they have what it takes to keep up the winning and take the NFC West Division crown under HC Kliff Kingsbury’s leadership and play-calling. Furthermore, on Sunday, the Cowboys (@ home), Packers (@ KC), and Rams (@ home) all lost, going down versus the Broncos, Chiefs, and Titans, respectfully. Currently, the Cardinals claim temporary ownership of the NFC playoff Bye and NFC West Division crown with 8 hard games to go. Lastly, the Sporting News magazine today honored the Cardinals efforts on November 8th with the NFL’s #1 Power Ranking. Life as a Cardinals fan is very good!
Panthers History. A big chunk of the Panthers glorious history includes the former Panthers' QB Cam Newton. He’s long gone, both from the Panthers team and the NFL. What else is there to know? Plenty. The proud Panthers are the NFL’s 29th franchise, established in 1993. The team played excellent football for a several seasons, achieving a 12-4 record their first year in the League in 1995, winning the NFC West Division title but losing to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game. The next winning season was 2003, when the team finally won the NFC CG trophy but narrowly lost to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl XXXVIII, 32-29. The team returned to the playoffs again in years 2005 and 2008, but did not win games. In 2008, the Panthers rebounded with a 12–4 regular season record, winning the NFC South and securing a first-round bye. However, the team was eliminated in the divisional round of the playoffs, losing 33–13 to the eventual NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals after QB Delhomme turned the ball over 6 times. From 2013-2015, the team ripped off 3 consecutive NFC South titles. Finally in 2015, the team won 15 regular season games, won the NFC CG, and returned to the Super Bowl, but lost to aging QB Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. The Panthers last made the playoffs in 2017, but failed to win a game. The Panther’s have heated NFC South Division rivalries with the Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and New Orleans Saints. The Panthers games against the Buccaneers are some of the most physically intense, yielding some dramatic plays and severe injuries. The team owner is Mr. David Tepper since 2018..General Manager (GM) is Mr. Scott Fitterer. Head Coach (HC) is Mr. Matt Rhule. HC Rhule was hired away from the University of Baylor on January 7, 2020, to replace former HC Ron Rivera. After the 2020 season, the Panthers moved on from QB Teddy Bridgewater, trading him to the Denver Broncos. The Panthers then traded with the New York Jets for QB Sam Darnold. I’ll discuss QB Darnold more, below.
Panthers Today. It seems that the entire Panthers offense runs through starting RB Christian McCaffery (25 yo, 5'11", 205 lbs). He is an amazingly gifted athlete, has adjusted to starting QB changes, and continues performing at the highest levels. However, McCaffery has spent a portion of the 2021 season on IR (weeks 4-8). His latest game versus the New England Patriots defense was okay on November 7th, but not spectacular, with him rushing for 52 yards and catching 4 passes for 54 yards. Regarding QB Sam Darnold, his last game was dismal, with him passing 16 for 33 for 172 yards and 3 INTs. He played the entire game versus the Patriots, unlike the week prior when he was lousy and finally pulled by HC Rhule while playing against the woeful NY Giants. The Panthers struggled against the Patriots defense last week, amassing 65 yards in the 1st half, and adding 185 yards in the 2nd half when the game was essentially over. I think it is important to add that the Panthers can run the ball—a weak spot for the Cardinals defense this year. Versus the Atlanta Falcons a couple weeks ago, the Panthers rushed for 203 yards. And that yardage was done without McCaffery’s help. Injuries are killing the Panthers this year. More damage was done last week when C Matt Paradis went down in the 1st quarter with a serious knee injury. He was carted off the field. Then, LT Cameron Erving went down with a calf injury. Both players’ status remains unknown for next Sunday. A highlight for the Panthers Defense is CB Stephon Gilmore, who gained his 2nd INT in two games. HC Matt Rhule is struggling to find consistency and execution from the current player roster. Many fans claim that QB Sam Darnold is not the answer and that he will be gone from the Panthers Carolina after this season. Some fans are so frustrated with QB Darnold that they are pleading for the Panthers to re-sign QB Cam Newton. The Panthers’ OLine is a patched up dumpster fire with no hope of getting well this season. Arizona Cardinals fans will note a familiar name on the Panthers roster. #43 LB Haason Reddick wears the Panthers colors now. How’s he doing for the team in 2021? 26 tackles (NFL tied 102nd), 8.5 sacks (NFL tied 5th), 0 INTs, Fumbles Recovered 0. Reddick is 6’1” 235 lbs and 27 yo. Versus the Patriots last week: 3 tackles, 1 sack. He was the Cardinals 1st round pick at the 2017 Draft (#13). I do not miss his performance.
If opposing teams can take RB McCaffery out of the play, then the game is basically over -- however, so far in his career, he's proving to be up to the Sunday challenge! QB Sam Donald (24 yo, 6'3", 225 lbs) shipped over from the New York Jets to the Panthers during the 2021 off-season. Why did the Jets move on from Darnold? Drafted with the 3rd pick in the 2018 Draft, the Jets had high hopes in the former USC QB (Rose Bowl winner, etc). However, his college skills just did not translate well at the pro level. Darnold struggled with the Jets offense it seemed every week during the 2018-2019 season. Things got worse in 2020. In Week 13 against the Las Vegas Raiders, Darnold threw for 186 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception and also recorded a rushing touchdown during the 31–28 loss. This was Darnold’s first game of the season in which he threw more touchdown passes than interceptions. Darnold finished the season with 2,208 passing yards, 9 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions to go along with 217 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns in 12 games as the Jets finished 2-14. After 3 frustrating years, the Jets had seen enough and cashed out Darnold. At Carolina, Darnold's shortcomings continue, as noted above. Since the opening game win against the NY Jets last September, Darnold has proved that he can succeed against poorer defenses and that he struggles against top defenses. Nothing much has changed at Carolina since QB Cam Newton exited the scene. The team continues going sideways in the standings, rebuilding a roster on the fly, and looking to hang onto its far-flung NC low-country area fanbase.
Notable Panthers (4-5) Statistics for 2021. Record is 4 wins and 5 losses or .444%, losing streak is 1, last five games record 1-4, road record 2-2, points for 171, points against 183, 3rd down conversions 43/123; 4th down conversions 7/12; rushing yards 994; passing yards 1874; sacks 23; FGs 17/19; TDs 17, INTs 11; Turnover Ratio -5.
HC. HC Matt Rhule became Carolina's 5th HC in franchise history on January 8, 2020. He came to the Panthers after successful head coaching stints at Temple (2013-16) and Baylor (2017-19), leading both programs to consecutive bowl appearances in his last two seasons at the NCAAF D-1 level. Rhule’s DC is Mr. Phil Snow. The OC is Mr. Joe Brady.
QBs. QB P. J. Walker will start in place of QB Sam Darnold (fractured shoulder blade last week). See other threads for his background. His NFL rap sheet is very thin. QB Sam Darnold works a lot harder than most QBs for his yards: attempts 306, completions 182, yards 1986, completion 59.48%, yards per att 6.5, TDs 7, INTs 11, longest pass play 57 yards, sacked 22 times; QBR 71.3. B/U QB P. J. Walker is awful: attempts 15, completions 3, yards 33, completion 20%, 0 TDs, 0 INTs, longest pass play 19 yards, sacked 3 times, QBR 39.6.
QBs v Cardinals. There is no NFL data on P. J. Walker worth mentioning -- other than there is no data worth mentioning! He did play for the Houston team in the now defunct XFL a year and a half ago. He started 5 XFL games, winning all 5 games. He has a good arm and decent speed.
Injury Reports. See FLCF’s post. Moderators will post player injury data provided by the Cardinals medical or coaching staff no more than 24 hours prior to the game. It is NFL policy that, “If any player has a significant or noteworthy injury, it must be listed on the practice report, even if he fully participates in practice and the team expects that he will play in the team’s next game. This is especially important for key players whose injuries may be covered extensively by the media.” Moreover, the policy also reads, “The information must be credible, accurate, timely, and specific within the guidelines of the policy, which is of paramount importance to maintaining the integrity of the game.” Teams found in violation of the policy face the risk of being fined or forfeiting Draft picks.
Roster Information. The Cardinals team roster information (updated weekly) can be reviewed at www.ourlads.com/nfldepthcharts/depthchart/ARZ . Roster Rules 2021 (COVID-19): (1) Expansion of practice squads to 16 players, including up to 6 who have more than 2 accrued seasons; (2) The ability to protect up to 4 practice squad players per week from being signed by other teams; (3) Elevation of up to 2 practice squad players to the active roster, without removing any current players, before 4 p.m. ET the day before a game; (4) Elevation of 1 additional practice squad player within 90 minutes before kickoff in the event of a late COVID-19 positive test result; (5) Players placed on injured reserve can return after 3 weeks, rather than 6 weeks as in normal seasons; (6) Removal of the limit for how many players can be activated from injured reserve.
Odds. Per the professionals, the Cardinals are 10.5 point favorites over the Panthers. The O/U is 45.5.
Referee Crew Information - see www.footballzebras.com/2021/06/officiating-crews-for-the-2021-season/ . Referee assigned to today's game is Adrian Hill. *** Referee Hill made unwanted headlines during a January 3, 2021 game when he called a "roughing-the-passer" penalty against Detroit Lions S Tracy Walker after he sacked QB Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings on a 4th and goal play. The sack, which would have given the Lions the ball, appeared to be routine as the Lions players started to celebrate before realizing the penalty flag was against them. Cousins told Walker "I don't necessarily agree with that call, but I'll take it" as players on both sides of the field looked befuddled about the call. The Vikings would score a TD two plays later and go on to win the game 37-35. Both social media and mainstream media outlets covered the call with headlines such as "Tracy Walker’s phantom personal foul penalty causes uprising on social media" (Detroit Sports Nation), "NFL fans could not believe the horrendous, game-changing roughing call from Lions-Vikings" (USA Today), "Detroit Lions robbed by one of the worst calls ever in game vs. Minnesota Vikings" (Detroit Free Press), "Ridiculous roughing call on Kirk Cousins sack sets up Vikings' game-winning TD" (Yahoo Sports), "Lions flagged for roughing passer against Vikings on simple sack, befuddles fans" (Fox News) and "Worst Call in NFL History Aids Vikings in 37-35 Win against Lions" (Sports Illustrated). Though it seemed to be a blown call, Hill explained it as a clear-cut penalty in a post-game interview saying “By rule, one of the categories for roughing-the-passer is full body weight, where the tackler lands with his full body weight on the quarterback. That’s the category this play fell into.” It seems to me that Hill's penalty on the Lions was correct, it just ticked off the Lions team and fans because it happened on a hard-to-get sack that should have ended the game for the Vikings and allowed the Lions to gain a precious win. Other officiating information: For 2020, NFL games averaged 156.4 plays; there were 40,032 total plays; 99.1% of the plays were officiated on the field without Instant Replay Booth involvement; only 364 of the plays were reviewed; the most commonly reviewed plays were pass completion (82), incomplete pass (47), and runner broke the goal line plane (44).
Weather. For November 14th game, forecast is 84F High, 54F Low, 19% humidity, full sun, no rain, and 4mph light winds. Glendale's average weather is about 80 F for a high and mid-50s F for a low. This time of the year, cloudy days are increasing to about 1/3 of the month. This time of the year is the "High Season" for tourists and snowbirds living in sunny Arizona and avoiding winter conditions in the High North states. Rain occurs on average just 1-2 days in November. It is possible that the Cardinals to open the retractable roof for this game, since outdoor conditions will be awesome. This is the game that PutMeIn and Missus P might attend in person. A 4,000 mile trip for a 3-hour football game is a hell of a long trek but absolutely worth the cost since the Cardinals are leading the NFC.
State Farm Stadium Information. See www.statefarmstadium.com/ for all necessary information to enjoy a great day. Additionally, see the Arizona Cardinals website at www.azcardinals.com/.
Game Broadcasts. Game will be carried by FOX and 98.7 FM. Kickoff at SFS is 2:05 PM MST.
Next week's game: ARZ (8-1) visits SEA (3-5).
Cardinals Football Trivia Q&A. The Cardinals team was formally established in 1920. However, the franchise has roots that go back another 22 years, to at least 1898. The first city associated with the turn-of-the-century team was what city? Chicago. Why then was the football team associated with "Racine," and not Chicago, since the team played its home games at Chicago? In 1898, Chicago painting and building contractor Chris O'Brien established an amateur Chicago-based athletic club football team named the "Morgan Athletic Club." O'Brien later moved the MAC to Chicago's Normal Park and renamed them the "Racine Normals," since Normal Park was located on Racine Avenue in Chicago. Not much creativity went into naming the team which primarily needed locals to buy tickets in order for the Racine Normals to survive. So, how did the eventual team name Chicago Cardinals come about? In 1901, O'Brien bought used maroon uniforms from the University of Chicago, the colors of which had by then faded, leading O'Brien to exclaim, "That's not maroon; it's cardinal red!" It was then that the team changed its name to the "Racine Street Cardinals." How many seasons was there no team named the Racine Street Cardinals? 8, from 1906-1912, and 1918. The first 7-year break was due to no professional football clubs operating in the Chicago area. A professional team under the same RSC name again formed in 1913, claiming the previous team as part of their history. Why did the team again suspend operations in 1918? The Spanish Influenza pandemic forced people to employ extreme isolation measures to avoid the deadly disease. As was the case for most professional football teams in 1918, the team was forced to suspend all operations until the disease waned. Football operations resumed in 1919, and the Chicago Cardinals then first appeared in 1920.
Panthers Football Trivia Q&A. Who was the Carolina Panthers 1st draft pick? QB Kerry Collins was selected #5 in 1995. He would become a successful NFL QB, beating every NFL team during his career and throwing for over 200 TDs total. WR Steve Smith was drafted by the Panthers #74, 3rd Round, 2001 NFL Draft. His name is well known to many NFL fans for his Panthers performance 2001-2013: TD leader 67, receptions leader 836, and receiving yards leader 12,197. What else is Smith known for? His comparatively small WR size and his huge heart. At just 5'9" and 195 lbs, he played much bigger and stronger against truly bigger defenders. The fight in this Cat was amazing. Smith had a knack for playing smart and disciplined football at all times.
PutMeIn Bottom Line. I like the Cardinals to win, 35-3. Why and how? The Arizona Cardinals (8-1) are surpassing everyone’s expectations (except Forum member Drachir, and he projected all Cardinals wins and no Cardinals losses for the entire 2021 season including the Super Bowl). The team has excellent and proven coaching and good roster depth across the board. Team execution is consistent and the O/D are producing lots of points. Team errors are few. The Cardinals are a complete team, are resilient, do bend, but do not break. The Panthers (3-4) are struggling to execute on O/D. Injuries have decimated the starting roster. Backup players are working hard but not experienced and not yet functioning as a team. Individual players (Darnold, McCaffery) can excel in situations but will not dominate an entire game. This is not a trap game for the Cardinals. The Cardinals recognize that the Panthers have won 3 games and can score points. The Panthers have 2-3 good playmakers. If a Defense can take these 2-3 guys out of the game, then the Cardinals winning is likely.