Ken Whisenhunt Gets His First Win as Cardinals Head Coach

Ken Whisenhunt Gets His First Win as Cardinals Head Coach

Neil Rackers and the Arizona Cardinals had been there before- too many times. Just last year on Monday Night Football, the Cardinals and Rackers blew a chance at a last minute win against the Bears, an NFL powerhouse franchise. Rackers missed a field goal from the left hash mark that would have won the game.

On Sunday, nearly from the exact same spot Rackers had a shot at redemption and with one second remaining on the game clock, Rackers nailed the kick and the Cardinals are 1-1 to start the 2007 season as they beat the Seahawks, an NFL powerhouse franchise, 23-20 in front of a sold out and ruckus crowd.

The Cardinals had a 17-0 lead against Seattle only to see it fade away in the second half. It looked like this was going to be another Arizona Cardinal debacle- Arizona had seemed destined to loose in its usual heartbreaking fashion. Instead, the three-time defending NFC West champions Seahawks were sent home in disbelief and Rackers and the Cardinals had gotten the monkey off their back, at least one of the monkeys.

Matt Leinart had a better game and made up for his sluggish performance against the 49ers in week one. The extra work in practice last week paid off for Leinart has he finished 23-of-37 for 299 yards and a touchdown to along with just one interception. Leinart looked more comfortable in the pocket and made some key passes to Larry Fitzgearald and Anquan Boldin.

Special teams figured large in Arizona's early lead as the Cardinals blocked their first punt in three seasons. Sean Morey made a big play and blocked a Seattle punt that helped set up Rackers' 28 yard field goal to make it 3-0 early on. Leinart then connected on a 31-yard pass to Boldin that ignited a four-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. On third-and-1 at the Seattle 30, Leinart faked a handoff and then threw to a wide-open Leonard Pope for the score. It was the first NFL touchdown for the second-year tight end and it was all Arizona early on.

The Seahawk offense finally got moving on a 10-play, 80-yard drive near the end of the second quarter. Nate Burleson had a nice catch and run as he fought his way over the goal line on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Hasselbeck to cut it to 17-7.

The play of the game came late in the fourth quarter- Darnell Dockett recovered a botched handoff attempt between Matt Hasselbeck and Shawn Alexander that gave the Cardinals a chance to win in regulation. "I don't know, I think I'm just in shock right now still," Hasselbeck said. "I was kind of in between handing the ball to Shaun or just holding on to it, and a guy sort of came through the middle of us, then the ball was on the ground." That guy was middle linebacker Gerald Hayes who had a terrific game and helped secure the victory for the Cardinals. Dockett recovered at the Seattle 45 with 1:48 to go and from there it was all Edgerrin James .

James rushed for 128 yards on 24 carries and added a big first half touchdown but more importantly, he led the Cards back into Seattle territory with timely runs after Dockett recovered the Hasselbeck fumble.

The Cardinals defense stood tall and the bend but don't break motto was practiced to perfection Sunday. The Cardinals front-seven harassed Hasselbeck and Alexander all game and for the second straight week, held the oppositions back under 100 yards. Alexander ended the game with 70 yards on 18 attempts.

The Cardinals (1-1) gave Ken Whisenhunt his first victory as a head coach."The big thing is we made a play defensively at the end of the game when things weren't going great," Whisenhunt said. "One of the things people talk about this football team is not being able to finish a game. We're trying to learn how to do that as a young team."

The Arizona Cardinals may be taking baby steps still but Sunday's win clearly sends a message to the NFC West and the rest of the NFL that these Arizona Cardinals are a little different this year.

From My Note Pad

•    The young Cardinal offensive line looks to be improving each week. Against San Francisco, the Cardinals were able to run but failed to give Leinart time to find his receivers. This week the Cardinals were able to effectively pass block as well as run block and looked much more consistent in week two- nice job Russ Grimm.
•    The Edge is off and running- James has 220 yards and two touchdowns to start the 2007 season. James was a major reason the Cardinals were able to hold off the charging Seahawks in the second half.
•    Leinart had a better game and made some big passes late that ignited the Cardinal team on both offense and defense.
•    Fitzgerald ended the game with seven receptions for 87 yards and Boldin chipped in with four catches for 83 yards.
•    Antonio Smith and Bertrand Berry looked impressive again as they wreaked havoc on the Seahawk offensive line all afternoon- Smith recorded a sack Sunday.
•    Dockett was a beast once again- he pounced on the Hasselbeck fumble that set up James and Rackers for the win. Dockett is having a great year but will be tested this week against Jonathan Ogden and the Ravens offensive line.
•    Eric Green had an impressive game as he had five tackles while defending the pass admirably. The Cardinal secondary has looked much better than advertised so far this year but needs to get better play from safety Terrance Holt.
•    Gerald Hayes led the Cardinals with 6 tackles and a timely forced fumble as he broke up the play with Hasselbeck and Alexander.
•    Deion Branch had a solid afternoon for Seattle- he had seven catches for 122 yards but failed to reach the end zone.
•    Lofa Tatupu had a monster game with 11 tackles and an interception that helped breathe life back into the sputtering Seattle offense. Tatupu is emerging as one of the NFL's best middle linebackers.