Home playoff games are a rarity for the NFL Cardinals; some would say that home playoff games are an extinct "animal".  Most fans of the NFL would quip that playoff games are an extinct element to the Cardinals franchise, let alone playoff victories. 

In the 88th year of the NFL Chicago/St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals, in their 8th playoff game ever, in only their second home playoff game, the Cardinals were able to put the clamps on the vaunted Atlanta Falcons running game and put the ball in the hands of a stellar rookie quarterback that, well, played like a rookie in the second half, winning their third playoff game ever by six, 30-34. 

One-and-done was the mantra of most NFL writers and fans alike.  "The Cardinals 
are the worst divisional winners ever" is still the common retort on most NFL blogs.  The Cardinals cannot beat anyone outside of the NFC West was even my foregone conclusion.  Damn, it's good to be wrong!

Some random thoughts after the jump.

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FINAL QUALIFIED STANDINGS

Congratulations Red Reign!  You are the inaugural Revenge of the Birds Pick'em League champion!  His 13-3 record for the final week of the 2008 NFL season kept him well ahead of those in a pursuit position.  His picks were correct two-thirds of the time, an impressive feat considering the "any given Sunday" nature of the NFL. 

The Rest of the Pick'em Players

Thank you to all who participated in the Pick'em League this year.  It was fun to read everyone's predictions and then to chuckle at how off we were on some of them. 

I'll compile all our Pick'em Rules and get a document put together.  Sometime during the off-season we can discuss the Pick'em format and any alterations that we'd care to do. 

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For only the second time in Caridinals' history since moving to Arizona, the Red Birds finish with a winning season, matching 1998's 9-7 record.  Nevermind the Cardinals finished the season 2-4.  Nevermind they're 3-7 versus the NFL that isn't in the NFC West.  Nevermind they were losing their last three games by an average of 30 points.  The Arizona Cardinals finished "strong" against the Seattle Seahawks.  The Cardinals host the Altanta Falcons next weekend in the first round of the 2008 NFL Playoffs.

It's a new season starting.  It's time to put our preconceptions about the Cardinals and the rest of the playoff teams in the back of our minds, as anything is possible once the games are in January.

Some typical "chaos reigns" thoughts after the jump...

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The Arizona Cardinals are in an interesting situation that many playoff teams face every season. It's a dilemma that's discussed ad nauseam this time of year, but we're new to this whole scene so we'll rehash the argument. The Cardinals don't get a bye week but they do have a game that means absolutely nothing to their playoff positioning or status. This game only effects thier mental state or level of confidence, but that certainly shouldn't be ignored given their recent play.

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On a completely unrelated note, Happy Holidays to one and all. Warm wishes to you and yours.

Dear Santa,

My Arizona Cardinals have been pretty good this year, sure they've had their moments of poor play, but who hasn't had a couple slip ups. They've won their first division title since Rudolph was a pup and the last time they hosted a home playoff game, you had to visit them in Chicago, you do have the new address right? I know you've had a hard time finding them in the past, but this year they've been much better. They're quarterback, who's almost as old as you, has resurrected his career and they're passing game has been flying high (something I think you know something about). The defense still has it's bone head moments, but even they show some signs of being a good unit from time to time. But alas, I'm sure you know that I'm not writing you to brag or gloat. The Cardinals still need some presents under the tree this year. They've still got some areas that could use some Christmas magic straight from the North Pole. Here's their wish list and I'll let you decide which area needs the most help.

Running Game: Santa they can't run the ball at all. It's harder for them to pick up 4 yards per carry than it is for you to fit into a pair pants without an elastic waistband.

Pass Rush: They had a good pass rush earlier in the year but it disappeared faster than chocolate chip cookies and milk that I leave out for you every year.

Special Teams Coverage: They've in real trouble here because they've lost so many guys. It would be kind of like you have to survive a foggy Christmas Eve with Rudolph.

Psyche: Maybe it's all the years being so bad but it seems like recently this team can't handle being good. Whether it's confidence, determination or just a lack of heart, I'm not sure, but on second thought this may be out of your relm. Do you have the contact info for the Wizard of Oz?

Thank you for your time Santa and I hope to see you sliding down the chimey later tonight. The Arizona Cardinals could sure use some Christmas joy heading into Sunday's season finale. Thank you for previous years gifts like Ken Whisenhunt, bringing Neil Rackers some consistency and of course, our new stadium. Here's hoping for another Christmas miracle.....

Ken Whisenhunt is finishing up his second season as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals and he'll go down as one of the most successful head coaches in Cardinals history (looking at just the first two seasons). A win would put him one game above .500 (17-15), which would be the best percentage to start a Cardinal career since Charley Winner led the 1966 & 1967 St. Louis Cardinals to a 14-12-2 record. He'll also be the first Cardinals' coach since Don Coryell (1975) to lead the Cardinals to the playoffs so quickly in his coaching tenure.

Whiz has tried to bring many of the philosphies that worked so well for him in Pittsburgh to the Cardinals and some have worked, while others remain a work in progress. He's brought a sense of competitiveness and accountability to a franchise that desperetly needed both. Wiinning on the road and establishing a running game though are stil high on his list of "to do's."

So the question I pose to all Cardinal fans is simple: Do you approve of the job that Whiz has done, both this season and his Cardinal career to date? What has he added to this franchise that they lacked before his arrival? What areas that he still have to improve upon, both in the team and in his coaching/mangement style?

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With the Christmas Holiday looming, I know all of us have things other than the Cardinals to occupy our time with.  Stories will still be posted for those that need some news, but for those who will not pop in until after the holiday, on behalf of Charles and myself, I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas (or Happy Holidays for the Politically Correct).  Everyone's contributions to RotB this season has been the best gift of all...aside from that playoff game(s)!

With another week in the books it's time to take another look at the NFC Playoff picture and where your very own Arizona Cardinals stand amongst their playoff foes. The picture didn't get much clearer after this weekend's game considering that not a single team got eliminated. There's a long list of what each team needs to get into the playoffs and who the Cardinals would play in each scenario.

1. New York Giants (12-3): An entertaining win over the Panthers means that they're locked into the top seed in the playoffs. They're game this week against the Vikings (at home) will impact the playoff picture but will have no bearing on their playoff positioning.

2. Carolina Panthers (11-4): The Panthers lost a great game to watch but they're still in the playoffs. They travel to New Orleans to finish the season but they will probably have to win to keep the #2 seed.

3. Minnesota Vikings (9-6): The Vikes have got to be worried. They lost a home game to the Falcons and saw the Bears win an improbable game last night. Now they host the Giants while the Bears travel to Houston.

4. Arizona Cardinals (8-7): The Cardinals are locked into the #4 seed. Even if Chicago overtakes the Vikings, the Cardinals have a worse win/loss percentage among common opponents. This weeks game against the SeaPukes is meaningless outside of the psyche of the team.

5. Atlanta Falcons (10-5) - The 'feel good' story of the NFC clinched a playoff berth on Sunday and they're not out of the running for the NFC South title. They finish with a home game against the Rams so they're playoff positioning will depend on the Panthers.

6. Dallas Cowboys (9-6): The Boys remain in charge of their own destiny even though they lost to the Ravens but a road game in Philly won't be a cake walk by any means.

Best of the Rest:

Tampa Bay (9-6): Still alive but have to beat OAK at home and get help.

Philadelphia (8-6-1) - Still alive but need to beat DAL at home and get a lot of help.

Chicago (9-6) - Still alive but have to beat HOU on the road and get help.

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First lets be clear, the Arizona Cardinals lost by 40 so there's not a single play that you point to and say "this is why they lost." They got out hustled, out coached, out played and out classed. We knew that the Cardinals would have to play a near perfect game in order to beat the Patriots in that kind of environment and they were so far from perfect that it wasn't even funny. With all that being said, there was a point early on during the game when I knew the Cardinals were doomed for failure. To set up the scenario though, the Cardinals get the ball first it's pretty clear that they're game plan is to establish a running game. (Why the worst rushing team in the NFL would try to pound the rock all of a sudden, I don't know.) Regardless though, three Tim Hightower runs results in three yards and a punt. A relatively short, line drive punt (41 yards) would result in a 28 yard return by Wes Welker and the Patriots are set up at the Cardinals 33 yard line. The Patriots commence to pounding the rock and six plays later (five of which are running plays), the Pats punch it in the end zone for six. So a rough start but seven points isn't a huge deficit so no big deal, yet.

The Cardinals started their next drive at the 35, after a good return by Breaston, and two Hightower runs has the Cardinals facing a 3rd-and-2. With snowing bellowing from above, Hightower gets the ball again on third down and follows a Terrelle Smith block over left guard for a nine yard gain and a first down. I immediately think "Ok, maybe we've got something hear," but then the dreaded words, "Oh wait, there's a flag." The penalty would be illegal hands to face on Smith and after a quick replay the guys in the booth, and I'm sure every Cardinals fan watching, were shaking their heads in disbelief. Not only did Smith not grab or even touch the face mask of the defender, he didn't do much to block him. The linebacker (Mayo, I think) went low and Smith basically pushed/fell on him to get him out of the hole. The result though was a ten yard penalty and on 3rd-and-12, Warner's pass would skip in front of Early Doucet, who wouldn't have been close to a first down anyways. The Cardinals would punt and the Patriots would start they're second drive around midfield. On the Patriots first play, a couple of different defenders break through the line and drag Sammy Morris down for a one yard loss. The defense is looking fired up and almost confident. The very next play though would be a short screen pass to Morris who ran across the field, juking Darnell Dockett in the process, and down the sideline for a big 42 yard gain.

In that one play, it looked like all of the life got sucked out of the Cardinals defense. The Patriots scored five plays later and the Cardinals were in a 14 point hole. As we know now, the game would get much worse but in those four minutes between the penalty on Terrelle Smith and the 42 yard catch-and-run by Morris, the sinking feeling of impending disaster crept over me. The next two hours would be painful to watch but I guess by now we're used to it. When did you know, for sure, that the game would end badly for the Cardinals?

In case you missed the Arizona Cardinals game yesterday, be thankful. Consider it an early Christmas present to yourself and move on. In case your one of the unlucky few who watched the game, you pretty much know there's no point in breaking down the game. It was terrible and for the most part it was over by the end of the first quarter, if not sooner. So how bad was it? Well here's some quick facts that will numb your brain.......

• By the time Kurt Warner completed his first pass, the score was 14-0. Oh and the completed pass ended up losing five yards after Tim Hightower fumbled.
  
• By the time the Cardinals picked up their 1st first down of the game, the score was 21-0 and it was five minutes into the second quarter.
  
• By halftime, Ben Graham had punted five times for 188 yards. The Cardinals' offense would muster just 186 all game long.
  
• Kurt Warner finished the game (he actually left in the 3rd Quarter) with six completions on 18 attempts (33.3%) for 30 yards (1.7 yards per attempt). I didn't do any research on this, but I'd have to think that's his worst game as a pro. 
• The Cardinals managed just 186 yards of total offense, 78 of which came on a single play well after the game was decided. 
• The offense had seven three-and-outs including seven of the first eight drives. The Cardinals fifth drive (3 minutes into the 2nd quarter) generated three first downs but by the time the Cardinals picked up another first down the score was 44-0 and Matt Leinart was in the game.
• In a record of futility, Steve Breaston now holds the Cardinals' record with nine kickoff returns in a single game. 
• I didn't say anything about the defense yet but just so they don't get left out, they stunk as well. The Patriots totaled 514 yards of offense including over 300 yards passing and over 180 yards rushing.

To be frank, the game was terrible. The Cardinals literally looked like a fish out of water. For all intents and purposes, the Patriots ran circles around the Cardinals for four quarters. Hopefully I'll be able to provide a bit more analysis later in the day but for now I still get nauseated when I think about the game. Anyone see any bright spots or was this one of the worst games you've ever seen? Who was still actually watching when Leinart hit Fitz on the bomb?

Here's some interesting video I found of the Cardinals weekend trip to the snowy North East......

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