Official Game Day Thread - IND @ ARI, December 25, 2021
Dec 19, 2021 14:21:12 GMT -7
CardCore likes this
Post by End Zone on Dec 19, 2021 14:21:12 GMT -7
Hello and welcome to the Forum’s 15th Arizona Cardinals Game Day Thread (GDT). On behalf of all Forum moderators, I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas 2021 and Happy New Year 2022. Santa has one more gift in his bag for all Cardinals fans—a big win on Christmas Day. A big win secures for the Cardinals the first playoff berth since 2015.
Forum member Florida Cardinals Fan, aka FLCF, did great research at his Game Week thread posted earlier this week and noted that the Arizona Cardinals and the Indianapolis Colts Christmas Day game, starting tonight at 815pm ET, will be the first time that the Cardinals have played on national TV and on Christmas Day and did not play the Dallas Cowboys! In head-to-head games, the two teams played 17 times, with the Cardinals winning 9 games, the Colts winning 8 games, and, there were no tie games. The two teams play a tough brand of pro football when they meet. I expect the same to happen this Saturday night.
The last time the two teams played was at Indianapolis on September 17, 2017. The Cardinals won that day, 16-13, in OT, their only OT game. The Cardinals were led by QB Carson Palmer (36-19-1, rating 82.2) but only managed 3 points through 3 quarters. In the 4th quarter, the Cardinals offense came alive, scoring 10 points and tying the game, 13-13. The Cardinals won the OT coin flip, drove the field in 1:50 minutes, and K Phil Dawson drilled the game-winning FG from 30 yards. The Colts (0-2) and QB Jacoby Brissett (37-20-1, rating 60.2) never touched the ball in the OT period.
Most points scored in a Cardinals vs. Colts game was 74 on October 21, 1964. The Baltimore Colts shellacked the St. Louis Cardinals in Busch Stadium, Saint Louis, Missouri, 47-27. Most points scored in a game since the Cardinals moved to Arizona was 51 on November 24, 2013. The Cardinals shellacked the Colts at UofP Stadium, 40-11. Do the Colts lose at SFS? Yes, twice. The Colts lost in 2013 and 1990. The Colts won at SFS just one time, on September 27, 2009.
QB. The Indianapolis Colts are led by QB #2 Carson Wentz, 6’5”, 237 lbs, 28 years old, and from North Dakota State. He turns 29 on December 30th. Wentz was selected in the 2016 Draft, 1st round, 2nd pick, by the Philadelphia Eagles. At NDS, he played in 25 games and tossed 42 TDs and 14 INTs. He played at the Eagles from 2016-2020, where he tossed 113 TDs and 50 INTs.
Since joining the Colts in 2021, and through 14 games, Wentz tossed 23 TDs and 6 INTs. He is a game manager, making few QB errors. Other QB stats: 432 attempts, 271 completions, 3,005 yards, 7.0 average per pass, 214.6 average yards per game, and 23 sacks. His QB rating is a solid 95.3 for the 2021 season. In the last 5 games, Wentz threw for 6 TDs and 3 INTs. Colts are 4-1 through this stretch. Versus the NE Patriots last week, Wentz’s QB rating plummeted to 49.7 in the odd win, 27-17. Wentz completed just 5 of 12 passes for 1 TD and 1 INT. The Colts running game led by RB Taylor was ran around the world last weekend! He poked the Patriots in the butt for a whopping 170 yards in the win. He leads the NFL in rushing with 1,518 yards.
This will be the second career start for QB Wentz against the Cardinals. In 2017, with the Eagles, Wentz led the Eagles to a 34-7 win. He tossed 4 TDs and gained 304 yards. That Eagles team was geared toward a passing attack. The Colts team is geared toward the running attack.
Some other juicy statistics on QB Wentz: his career away game record is 17-23. In the last 5 games, Wentz and the Colts were a scoring machine, putting up 27 points on the Patriots, 31 points on the Texans, 31 points on the Buccaneers (lost that game), 41 points on Buffalo, and 23 on the Jaguars. Regarding Wentz big passing games, e.g., 300+ yards, he exceeded 300 yards twice in 2021, and the Colts lost both games, 31-25 to the Ravens, and 38-31 to the Buccaneers. Wentz also does not fare well in career QB shootouts, winning just 7 of 21 of those big passing games (300+ yards) since his rookie year in 2016.
HC. The Head Coach for the Colts is Frank Reich. Reich has held the HC job since early 2018. His 62-game record with the Colts is 36 wins, 26 losses, and no ties (.581%). He has 3 post-season games experience: 1 win 2018, 2 losses 2018 and 2020). He last took the Colts to the playoffs in 2020.
Reich (60 years old) has a long NFL history as a player and coach. He played 14 years in the NFL, mostly with Buffalo Bills as a backup QB behind QB Jim Kelly starting in 1985. His coaching jobs started in 2008 with the Philadelphia Eagles running through 2017 when the team won the Super Bowl and he was the Offensive Coordinator. The Colts hired him as HC in 2018.
Reich did time with the Arizona Cardinals in 2012. He was the WR coach under HC Ken Whisenhunt. He was dismissed along with the entire coaching staff at the end of that dismal season on December 31, 2012. He then followed Whiz to San Diego in 2013, did miserably with that roster, and was fired on January 4, 2016. On January 20, 2016, he was hired by the Eagles OC, eventually riding the roster to the Super Bowl LII win in early 2017. On February 11, 2018, Reich was named HC of the Colts.
Colts HC Footnote: The last Colts HC to take the Colts to the Super Bowl was Tony Dungy (2002-2008) on February 4, 2007. The Colts beat the Bears, 29-17, to win the NFL Championship trophy.
Mid-week pre-game news: Read what you want, believe what you want, hate what you want. These two teams are going in entirely different directions until Christmas Day. The Colts are improving. Cardinals are not improving. Teams are what their records say they are.
The bad-luck Lions soundly beat the half-dead Cardinals by 18 points on December 19. The fired-up Colts soundly beat the Patriots by 10 points on December 18. Both the Cardinals and Patriots defenses were dominated by fierce offensive lines and running attacks. The Cardinals defensive line woes include stopping the run at most games since the 2nd game of the season—oddly the Cardinals throttled RB Derrick Henry and TEN at game 1, then badly faltered at stopping no-name RBs at games 2-14! The Colts prowess is their monster running game led by RB Taylor with 17 rushing TDs since October.
The Cardinals are in a mini tail-spin and looking for an updraft in order to avoid a season-ending flame-out. The 12 points scored by the Cardinals against the Lions last Sunday is example of a team having almost no pulse, or not able to keep its offense on the field. The Cardinals were outgained by the Lions in the 1st quarter, 124 yards to 5, falling behind 17-0 in just the 1st 15 minutes. That is not a misprint. The Cardinals Defense continued to stink all day long, giving up 112 yards rushing to RB Craig Reynolds. Who is Reynolds Wrap? QB Goff surgically removed the Cardinals heart with laser accurate passes again and again, seeming to have direct insights into DC Joseph's defensive schemes.
The Cardinals simply cannot play much worse than they played last weekend at Detroit. That game followed another puzzling game versus the Rams at home on MNF. WTH is happening to the once 7-0 Cardinals team?
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 at Vegas, the Cardinals (2 game tail spin) are playing at home are giving from -2.5 to -4.5 points to the Colts. Per ESPN, the Cardinals are giving just -1.0. Things are getting very interesting. The O/U is exactly 49.5 and holding as of December 23rd. NFL.com has a different forecast, with 8 of 10 analysts predicting a Colts win by a lopsided score. Who is right? Who is wrong? Heck if I know.
Referee Crew Information - see www.footballzebras.com/2021/06/officiating-crews-for-the-2021-season/ . Referee assigned to today's game is Referee #4 Craig Wrolstad. He last worked a Cardinals game vs. the Eagles on December 20, 2020. His crew was flag-happy, dishing out 18 total penalties, 9 to each team. The Cardinals won, 33-26. 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 the December 25th game, Glendale's weather is about as good as it gets: expect 66 F during daytime and high 40s F in the evening. There may be sprinkles in the area at about sunrise. This time of the year, cloudy days are increasing to about 1/3 of the month. This is peak "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 December. It is possible that the Cardinals to open the retractable roof for this game, if outdoor conditions are fair. The roof was open for the MNF game a week ago.
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 NFL NETWORK and 98.7 FM. Kickoff at SFS is 6:15 PM MST. The game is confirmed National TV broadcast -- NFL Network subscription may be required.
Next week's game: ARZ (10-4) visits DAL (10-4).
Odds and Ends. Who has some fairy dust? The Cardinals needs help for the last 3 games. ESPN's Football Power Index and Matchup Predictor is currently listing the Cardinals at 62.8% favorites, Colts 36.9% favorites, and chance of a tie at 0.3%. Info is dated December 20, 2021. Hmmm #1. Wentz, Taylor, and Pittman stats are slightly better than Murray, Conner, and Kirk. Hmmm #2. The Colts are 4-2 on the road while the Cardinals are 3-3 at home. Hmmm #3. Other nutty statistics (if you believe in statistics then you believe in fairy dust!): Colts points per game 28.4, Cardinals 27.0; Colts points allowed per game 21.4, Cardinals 20.3; Colts total yards 373.4, Cardinals 396.1; and Colts yards allowed 358.2, Cardinals 337.9. Hmmm #4. More fairy dust, please.
Cardinals Football Trivia Q&A. The 1961 Chicago Cardinals, 7-7 record, employed how many head coaches that year? 4. The 4 coaches--Ray Willsey (2-0), Ray Prochaska (2-0), Chuck Drulis (2-0), and Frank Ivy (5-7)--were all "co-coaches" that year. Not coincidentally, the winningest Cardinals coaches are also Willsey, Prochaska, and Drulis (1.000% each). The Cardinals played how many tie games in their 101-year history? 40. How many seasons did the Cardinals have 2 tie games? 6. What season was the last time the Cardinals had two ties games? 1964 (record 9-3-3). Did the Cardinals qualify for the playoffs in 1964? No. The team did play in the Playoff Bowl at the Orange Bowl, Miami, FL, beating the packers, 36-34. What was the Playoff Bowl? The Playoff Bowl was devised to match the second-place teams from the NFL's two conferences (Eastern and Western). This doubled from 2 to 4 the number of top NFL teams appearing in post-season play on national television. The new AFL televised more games, earned more advertising dollars, and stole viewers from NFL teams. The NFL had to do something to compete for viewers and revenue. So, the NFL devised the Playoff Bowl in order to showcase more teams in the post-season timeframe. The Playoff Bowl was criticized by some teams and fans as a waste of time. Packers HC Vince Lombardi labeled the game as, "The Loser's Bowl for Losers." Given his stature among football traditionalists, and with lower TV ratings and its games tarnished by a revered icon, the NFL caved and ended the Playoff Bowl for good by early 1965. My personal opinion is that HC Lombardi was embarrassed at losing a nothing game to the lowly Cardinals in 1964, and so he threw a public hissy fits until he got his way with the Commissioner and for the Packers faithful.
Colts Football Trivia Q&A. What year did the Colts join the NFL? The Colts franchise was founded in Baltimore in 1953. What is the Colts Super Bowl record? 2 wins, 2 losses. The Colts lost Super Bowl III vs. the NY Jets, 16-7. The Cols won Super Bowl V vs. the Dallas Cowboys, 16-13. The Colts won Super Bowl XLI vs. the Bears, 29-17. The Colts lost Super Bowl XLIV vs. the Saints, 31-17. Which of the 4 Colts Super Bowls earned the unofficial title, "Blooper Bowl" and why? Super Bowl V is sometimes called the Blooper Bowl because of exceptionally poor teams' play (by both the Colts and the Cowboys), and officiating miscues--which ALWAYS seem to be a problem at Super Bowl games. For a complete Blooper Bowl penalty review, see profootballresearchers.org/archives/Website_Files/Coffin_Corner/26-03-1029.pdf You have to admit, this was a poorly played and officiated game. A full rundown of officials errors is provided at this link, , including a sad review of the Cardinals only Super Bowl appearance
PutMeIn Bottom Line. Cardinals 17, Colts 30. I am really bothered by that score guesstimate. Like most Cardinals fans, I have a lot of sweat equity invested in this Cardinals team this year. I worked hard to keep up the faith and I did sip some red Kool-Aid earlier this year. Now I'm tossing my guts like a poisoned rat. Mommy, make it stop!
My total score (47) is a tad under the Vegas O/U, but I’m okay with the dieting for now. The Cardinals scored 23 and 12 points in the last two games, and gave up 30 points in consecutive games to the Rams and Lions. I just don’t see the Cardinals generating more than 17 points from our HC’s lethargic game planning and piss-poor team execution as again witnessed by fans at the past two games. I mean, really, just 12 points scored by this group of star Cardinals playmakers last game? Hell, the Jaguars (2-12) with no HC and a rookie QB scored 16 points on Sunday! Okay, it was against the Texans. You get my point. Kingsbury and Murray have to figure out something fast. Only 3 games to go. The NFC West Division is still in play. Or it was when I write this GDT!
I suppose the only saving grace for the Cardinals last Sunday was that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and GOAT QB Brady got mugged by the New Orleans Saints by the score, 9-0, at SNF. Yep, 0-9. Goliath was taken down by a rookie NOS QB and nasty NOS Dline. This is the same NOS team that slipped past the Packers at game 1 to open the season. Otherwise, last Monday's report would be headlined by the Arizona Cardinals getting field dressed by a starving Detroit Lions.
There are plenty mysterious things happening in the NFL in December and probably January. Do not look away or you will miss the party gore. Maybe the Cardinals will figure it out and start winning good again. The Colts @ Cardinals on Christmas Day is a great time for our team to step up and sort out the men from the boys.
Go Cardinals. Beat the Colts (by at least 1 point).
Forum member Florida Cardinals Fan, aka FLCF, did great research at his Game Week thread posted earlier this week and noted that the Arizona Cardinals and the Indianapolis Colts Christmas Day game, starting tonight at 815pm ET, will be the first time that the Cardinals have played on national TV and on Christmas Day and did not play the Dallas Cowboys! In head-to-head games, the two teams played 17 times, with the Cardinals winning 9 games, the Colts winning 8 games, and, there were no tie games. The two teams play a tough brand of pro football when they meet. I expect the same to happen this Saturday night.
The last time the two teams played was at Indianapolis on September 17, 2017. The Cardinals won that day, 16-13, in OT, their only OT game. The Cardinals were led by QB Carson Palmer (36-19-1, rating 82.2) but only managed 3 points through 3 quarters. In the 4th quarter, the Cardinals offense came alive, scoring 10 points and tying the game, 13-13. The Cardinals won the OT coin flip, drove the field in 1:50 minutes, and K Phil Dawson drilled the game-winning FG from 30 yards. The Colts (0-2) and QB Jacoby Brissett (37-20-1, rating 60.2) never touched the ball in the OT period.
Most points scored in a Cardinals vs. Colts game was 74 on October 21, 1964. The Baltimore Colts shellacked the St. Louis Cardinals in Busch Stadium, Saint Louis, Missouri, 47-27. Most points scored in a game since the Cardinals moved to Arizona was 51 on November 24, 2013. The Cardinals shellacked the Colts at UofP Stadium, 40-11. Do the Colts lose at SFS? Yes, twice. The Colts lost in 2013 and 1990. The Colts won at SFS just one time, on September 27, 2009.
QB. The Indianapolis Colts are led by QB #2 Carson Wentz, 6’5”, 237 lbs, 28 years old, and from North Dakota State. He turns 29 on December 30th. Wentz was selected in the 2016 Draft, 1st round, 2nd pick, by the Philadelphia Eagles. At NDS, he played in 25 games and tossed 42 TDs and 14 INTs. He played at the Eagles from 2016-2020, where he tossed 113 TDs and 50 INTs.
Since joining the Colts in 2021, and through 14 games, Wentz tossed 23 TDs and 6 INTs. He is a game manager, making few QB errors. Other QB stats: 432 attempts, 271 completions, 3,005 yards, 7.0 average per pass, 214.6 average yards per game, and 23 sacks. His QB rating is a solid 95.3 for the 2021 season. In the last 5 games, Wentz threw for 6 TDs and 3 INTs. Colts are 4-1 through this stretch. Versus the NE Patriots last week, Wentz’s QB rating plummeted to 49.7 in the odd win, 27-17. Wentz completed just 5 of 12 passes for 1 TD and 1 INT. The Colts running game led by RB Taylor was ran around the world last weekend! He poked the Patriots in the butt for a whopping 170 yards in the win. He leads the NFL in rushing with 1,518 yards.
This will be the second career start for QB Wentz against the Cardinals. In 2017, with the Eagles, Wentz led the Eagles to a 34-7 win. He tossed 4 TDs and gained 304 yards. That Eagles team was geared toward a passing attack. The Colts team is geared toward the running attack.
Some other juicy statistics on QB Wentz: his career away game record is 17-23. In the last 5 games, Wentz and the Colts were a scoring machine, putting up 27 points on the Patriots, 31 points on the Texans, 31 points on the Buccaneers (lost that game), 41 points on Buffalo, and 23 on the Jaguars. Regarding Wentz big passing games, e.g., 300+ yards, he exceeded 300 yards twice in 2021, and the Colts lost both games, 31-25 to the Ravens, and 38-31 to the Buccaneers. Wentz also does not fare well in career QB shootouts, winning just 7 of 21 of those big passing games (300+ yards) since his rookie year in 2016.
HC. The Head Coach for the Colts is Frank Reich. Reich has held the HC job since early 2018. His 62-game record with the Colts is 36 wins, 26 losses, and no ties (.581%). He has 3 post-season games experience: 1 win 2018, 2 losses 2018 and 2020). He last took the Colts to the playoffs in 2020.
Reich (60 years old) has a long NFL history as a player and coach. He played 14 years in the NFL, mostly with Buffalo Bills as a backup QB behind QB Jim Kelly starting in 1985. His coaching jobs started in 2008 with the Philadelphia Eagles running through 2017 when the team won the Super Bowl and he was the Offensive Coordinator. The Colts hired him as HC in 2018.
Reich did time with the Arizona Cardinals in 2012. He was the WR coach under HC Ken Whisenhunt. He was dismissed along with the entire coaching staff at the end of that dismal season on December 31, 2012. He then followed Whiz to San Diego in 2013, did miserably with that roster, and was fired on January 4, 2016. On January 20, 2016, he was hired by the Eagles OC, eventually riding the roster to the Super Bowl LII win in early 2017. On February 11, 2018, Reich was named HC of the Colts.
Colts HC Footnote: The last Colts HC to take the Colts to the Super Bowl was Tony Dungy (2002-2008) on February 4, 2007. The Colts beat the Bears, 29-17, to win the NFL Championship trophy.
Mid-week pre-game news: Read what you want, believe what you want, hate what you want. These two teams are going in entirely different directions until Christmas Day. The Colts are improving. Cardinals are not improving. Teams are what their records say they are.
The bad-luck Lions soundly beat the half-dead Cardinals by 18 points on December 19. The fired-up Colts soundly beat the Patriots by 10 points on December 18. Both the Cardinals and Patriots defenses were dominated by fierce offensive lines and running attacks. The Cardinals defensive line woes include stopping the run at most games since the 2nd game of the season—oddly the Cardinals throttled RB Derrick Henry and TEN at game 1, then badly faltered at stopping no-name RBs at games 2-14! The Colts prowess is their monster running game led by RB Taylor with 17 rushing TDs since October.
The Cardinals are in a mini tail-spin and looking for an updraft in order to avoid a season-ending flame-out. The 12 points scored by the Cardinals against the Lions last Sunday is example of a team having almost no pulse, or not able to keep its offense on the field. The Cardinals were outgained by the Lions in the 1st quarter, 124 yards to 5, falling behind 17-0 in just the 1st 15 minutes. That is not a misprint. The Cardinals Defense continued to stink all day long, giving up 112 yards rushing to RB Craig Reynolds. Who is Reynolds Wrap? QB Goff surgically removed the Cardinals heart with laser accurate passes again and again, seeming to have direct insights into DC Joseph's defensive schemes.
The Cardinals simply cannot play much worse than they played last weekend at Detroit. That game followed another puzzling game versus the Rams at home on MNF. WTH is happening to the once 7-0 Cardinals team?
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 at Vegas, the Cardinals (2 game tail spin) are playing at home are giving from -2.5 to -4.5 points to the Colts. Per ESPN, the Cardinals are giving just -1.0. Things are getting very interesting. The O/U is exactly 49.5 and holding as of December 23rd. NFL.com has a different forecast, with 8 of 10 analysts predicting a Colts win by a lopsided score. Who is right? Who is wrong? Heck if I know.
Referee Crew Information - see www.footballzebras.com/2021/06/officiating-crews-for-the-2021-season/ . Referee assigned to today's game is Referee #4 Craig Wrolstad. He last worked a Cardinals game vs. the Eagles on December 20, 2020. His crew was flag-happy, dishing out 18 total penalties, 9 to each team. The Cardinals won, 33-26. 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 the December 25th game, Glendale's weather is about as good as it gets: expect 66 F during daytime and high 40s F in the evening. There may be sprinkles in the area at about sunrise. This time of the year, cloudy days are increasing to about 1/3 of the month. This is peak "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 December. It is possible that the Cardinals to open the retractable roof for this game, if outdoor conditions are fair. The roof was open for the MNF game a week ago.
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 NFL NETWORK and 98.7 FM. Kickoff at SFS is 6:15 PM MST. The game is confirmed National TV broadcast -- NFL Network subscription may be required.
Next week's game: ARZ (10-4) visits DAL (10-4).
Odds and Ends. Who has some fairy dust? The Cardinals needs help for the last 3 games. ESPN's Football Power Index and Matchup Predictor is currently listing the Cardinals at 62.8% favorites, Colts 36.9% favorites, and chance of a tie at 0.3%. Info is dated December 20, 2021. Hmmm #1. Wentz, Taylor, and Pittman stats are slightly better than Murray, Conner, and Kirk. Hmmm #2. The Colts are 4-2 on the road while the Cardinals are 3-3 at home. Hmmm #3. Other nutty statistics (if you believe in statistics then you believe in fairy dust!): Colts points per game 28.4, Cardinals 27.0; Colts points allowed per game 21.4, Cardinals 20.3; Colts total yards 373.4, Cardinals 396.1; and Colts yards allowed 358.2, Cardinals 337.9. Hmmm #4. More fairy dust, please.
Cardinals Football Trivia Q&A. The 1961 Chicago Cardinals, 7-7 record, employed how many head coaches that year? 4. The 4 coaches--Ray Willsey (2-0), Ray Prochaska (2-0), Chuck Drulis (2-0), and Frank Ivy (5-7)--were all "co-coaches" that year. Not coincidentally, the winningest Cardinals coaches are also Willsey, Prochaska, and Drulis (1.000% each). The Cardinals played how many tie games in their 101-year history? 40. How many seasons did the Cardinals have 2 tie games? 6. What season was the last time the Cardinals had two ties games? 1964 (record 9-3-3). Did the Cardinals qualify for the playoffs in 1964? No. The team did play in the Playoff Bowl at the Orange Bowl, Miami, FL, beating the packers, 36-34. What was the Playoff Bowl? The Playoff Bowl was devised to match the second-place teams from the NFL's two conferences (Eastern and Western). This doubled from 2 to 4 the number of top NFL teams appearing in post-season play on national television. The new AFL televised more games, earned more advertising dollars, and stole viewers from NFL teams. The NFL had to do something to compete for viewers and revenue. So, the NFL devised the Playoff Bowl in order to showcase more teams in the post-season timeframe. The Playoff Bowl was criticized by some teams and fans as a waste of time. Packers HC Vince Lombardi labeled the game as, "The Loser's Bowl for Losers." Given his stature among football traditionalists, and with lower TV ratings and its games tarnished by a revered icon, the NFL caved and ended the Playoff Bowl for good by early 1965. My personal opinion is that HC Lombardi was embarrassed at losing a nothing game to the lowly Cardinals in 1964, and so he threw a public hissy fits until he got his way with the Commissioner and for the Packers faithful.
Colts Football Trivia Q&A. What year did the Colts join the NFL? The Colts franchise was founded in Baltimore in 1953. What is the Colts Super Bowl record? 2 wins, 2 losses. The Colts lost Super Bowl III vs. the NY Jets, 16-7. The Cols won Super Bowl V vs. the Dallas Cowboys, 16-13. The Colts won Super Bowl XLI vs. the Bears, 29-17. The Colts lost Super Bowl XLIV vs. the Saints, 31-17. Which of the 4 Colts Super Bowls earned the unofficial title, "Blooper Bowl" and why? Super Bowl V is sometimes called the Blooper Bowl because of exceptionally poor teams' play (by both the Colts and the Cowboys), and officiating miscues--which ALWAYS seem to be a problem at Super Bowl games. For a complete Blooper Bowl penalty review, see profootballresearchers.org/archives/Website_Files/Coffin_Corner/26-03-1029.pdf You have to admit, this was a poorly played and officiated game. A full rundown of officials errors is provided at this link, , including a sad review of the Cardinals only Super Bowl appearance
PutMeIn Bottom Line. Cardinals 17, Colts 30. I am really bothered by that score guesstimate. Like most Cardinals fans, I have a lot of sweat equity invested in this Cardinals team this year. I worked hard to keep up the faith and I did sip some red Kool-Aid earlier this year. Now I'm tossing my guts like a poisoned rat. Mommy, make it stop!
My total score (47) is a tad under the Vegas O/U, but I’m okay with the dieting for now. The Cardinals scored 23 and 12 points in the last two games, and gave up 30 points in consecutive games to the Rams and Lions. I just don’t see the Cardinals generating more than 17 points from our HC’s lethargic game planning and piss-poor team execution as again witnessed by fans at the past two games. I mean, really, just 12 points scored by this group of star Cardinals playmakers last game? Hell, the Jaguars (2-12) with no HC and a rookie QB scored 16 points on Sunday! Okay, it was against the Texans. You get my point. Kingsbury and Murray have to figure out something fast. Only 3 games to go. The NFC West Division is still in play. Or it was when I write this GDT!
I suppose the only saving grace for the Cardinals last Sunday was that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and GOAT QB Brady got mugged by the New Orleans Saints by the score, 9-0, at SNF. Yep, 0-9. Goliath was taken down by a rookie NOS QB and nasty NOS Dline. This is the same NOS team that slipped past the Packers at game 1 to open the season. Otherwise, last Monday's report would be headlined by the Arizona Cardinals getting field dressed by a starving Detroit Lions.
There are plenty mysterious things happening in the NFL in December and probably January. Do not look away or you will miss the party gore. Maybe the Cardinals will figure it out and start winning good again. The Colts @ Cardinals on Christmas Day is a great time for our team to step up and sort out the men from the boys.
Go Cardinals. Beat the Colts (by at least 1 point).