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Cardinals' season in review
Feb. 12, 2008
Overview: After their first non-losing record since 1998 and only the third in 20 seasons in Arizona, the Cardinals feel they are on the right track under the direction of Ken Whisenhunt, whose 8-8 record was the best for a first-year Cardinals head coach since Buddy Ryan went 8-8 in 1994. A steadily growing home-field advantage — the team finished 6-2 at University of Phoenix Stadium in 2007 — and a lively offense that scored 30-plus points in six different games would appear to bode well for the Cardinals’ future. It’s worth noting, though, that the team faces a much more difficult schedule in ’08 than it did in ’07.
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Date
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Opponent
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Spread
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Result
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09/10/07
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at San Francisco
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+3½
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17-20
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09/16/07
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Seattle
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+3
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23-20
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09/23/07
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at Baltimore
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+7
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23-26
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09/30/07
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Pittsburgh
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+6
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21-14
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10/07/07
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at St. Louis
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-3½
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34-31
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10/14/07
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Carolina
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-6
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10-25
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10/21/07
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at Washington
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+8½
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19-21
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BYE WEEK
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11/04/07
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at Tampa Bay
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+3½
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10-17
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11/11/07
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Detroit
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-2½
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31-21
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11/18/07
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at Cincinnati
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+3
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35-27
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11/25/07
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San Francisco
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-10
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31-37 (OT)
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12/02/07
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Cleveland
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-1
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27-21
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12/09/07
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at Seattle
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+7
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21-42
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12/16/07
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at New Orleans
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+4
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24-31
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12/23/07
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Atlanta
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-11
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30-27 (OT)
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12/30/07
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St. Louis
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-6
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48-19
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Team MVP: The nod goes to the team’s lone Pro Bowl selection, WR Larry Fitzgerald, who had an NFC-leading 100 catches for 1,409 yards and 10 touchdowns in 15 games. The team’s 2004 first-round pick registered four 100-yard receiving games and saved his best effort for last when he gained 171 yards receiving — including a franchise-record 136 yards in the first half — and scored a pair of TDs in the Cardinals’ season-ending 48-19 rout of the Rams.
Biggest surprise: Seemingly in the twilight of his career, nobody expected QB Kurt Warner to throw multiple TDs in eight straight games and finish the season with 27 TD passes — the second-highest total in team history — after replacing the injured Matt Leinart in the starting lineup. Almost, but not quite, as big a surprise was the unexpectedly good job that former first-round pick Calvin Pace turned in as the team’s starting left outside linebacker in place of the injured Chike Okeafor.
Biggest disappointment: The inability to win on the road, slow starts and frequent struggles with clock management were all major concerns, but the Cards’ biggest disappointment was that they led the league in penalties, many of them proving to be costly. What made the team’s penchant for ill-timed flags particularly disappointing is the emphasis Whisenhunt has placed on playing smart, fundamentally sound football from the moment he first set foot in the desert.
Offseason outlook: The Cardinals were reportedly about $30 million under the 2008 salary cap entering the offseason, but they also had only 34 players under contract. The team’s priorities figure to be: signing unrestricted free-agent LBs Karlos Dansby and Pace to new contracts, renegotiating Fitzgerald’s contract (which is currently scheduled to pay him $14.6 million in ’08) and filling key needs at running back on offense and at cornerback on defense.
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