Defensive improvement is the main reason the Cardinals have won three of the past four games, but they faced just one explosive offense during that time.

The stretch included two games against the St. Louis Rams (ranked 30th in total yards), one against the San Francisco 49ers (27th) and one against the Philadelphia Eagles (first until Thursday night’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks).

That’s why the Cardinals defense is viewing Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys (ranked sixth) as potential validation of the strides it has made.

“It’s a huge challenge,” cornerback Patrick Peterson said. “We’re definitely getting better as the year as has progressed. We just want to continue doing the things that we’ve been doing all year. That’s preparing hard, winning one-on-one battles, paying attention to small, fine details. And just stick together.”

Defensive coordinator Ray Horton said he added a significant amount of new schemes to the defense this week, bringing it to where he wanted it to be by the second game.

“It just took us awhile to get it,” Horton said. “It’s going to be fun, because they want to be good, and they want to come after people, and we’re going to come after them.

“I now have supreme confidence to call anything on my list. If you go back to the Seattle game, which was Week 3, there was nothing on our list to call. The players understood that, but we also played better that week.”

Defensive lineman Nick Eason played in this defensive system for eight years with Pittsburgh before signing with the Cardinals this summer. He said accountability by players is a key factor in the improvement.

“Guys are watching the film and seeing the mistakes being made, but they were also seeing that when we were all on the same page and everybody was doing what they were supposed to do, this defense works and we can be a great defense,” he said.

Based on total yards, the Cardinals defensive ranking hasn’t improved much over the past four games: going from 27th to 26th. But the defense has yielded just four touchdowns during that period.

Eason said it’s because players have a better understanding of how they fit into the scheme.

“Some plays are not designed for you as an individual to make a play,” he said. “It’s to maybe get another guy free. Or a certain defense is called for a certain defensive back. Guys are realizing that now.

“We still have a long ways to go defensively. Even though we won games, I tell guys, ‘Don’t become complacent with yourself.’ “

Horton said Dallas will be in the NFC Championship Game. For a defense that wants to be a challenged, here it is Sunday. Any time Horton put in something new and it failed in practice, he offered to take it out and the players wanted to keep it in. He said they want to play “exotic” defense.

“They’ve grown leaps and bounds from (games against) Carolina, from Washington, where we couldn’t get lined up on the right guys,” Horton said.

Republic reporter Paul Coro contributed to this article.

(Sports Network) – After losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII,
the Arizona Cardinals were viewed as a team on the rise. A team in distress may
now be a more accurate description.

As for Pittsburgh, the franchise continues to set its sights on a third NFL
championship game appearance in four seasons.

Arizona hopes to avoid a fifth straight defeat this Sunday as it takes on
visiting Pittsburgh for the first time since its narrow loss to the Steelers
in Tampa at the end of the 2008 season.

Led by Kurt Warner and the dangerous wide receiver tandem of Larry Fitzgerald
and Anquan Boldin, the Cardinals went 9-7 during their Super Bowl season of
2008, the franchise’s first winning record since 1998. Arizona posted a 10-6
mark the following year to win a second straight NFC West title, but lost in
the playoffs to the Saints in the Divisional Round, and the retirement of
Warner as well as a trade of Boldin contributed to the club going just 5-11 in
2010.

Hoping to turn things around, the Cardinals opened this season with a home win
over the Carolina Panthers, but have since lost games to the Washington,
Seattle, the New York Giants and Minnesota before last weekend’s bye.

The first three losses of this skid came by a combined eight points, but
Arizona was blown out by a 34-10 margin at Minnesota two weekends ago, falling
behind by four touchdowns in the first quarter. Three of the Vikings’ first-
quarter scoring drives began inside the Cardinals 25-yard line.

Arizona has now lost 15 of its past 21 games since the start of 2010, but head
coach Ken Whisenhunt is hoping his team was able to clear their collective
minds during the break.

“You should feel a little bit healthier, a little bit more refreshed and maybe
a new perspective on where we are,” said Whisenhunt, who spent six seasons on
Pittsburgh’s coaching staff from 2001-06 — including the final three as
offensive coordinator — before taking over the Cardinals.

With 11 games still to go, Fitzgerald is hoping his team can still make a run
despite the large gap between the Cardinals and first-place San Francisco 49ers
(5-1) in the NFC West.

“Getting away and watching other teams, watching some other games, just seeing
the success other teams are having just made me realize anything is possible,”
Fitzgerald said. “We just have to get going in the other direction.”

Pittsburgh takes aim at a third straight victory and has won four of six to
begin the season, which followed a Super Bowl loss to Green Bay back in
February. The Steelers are currently tied with Cincinnati for second in the AFC
North, just back of the 4-1 Baltimore Ravens.

After a convincing 38-17 win over Tennessee on Oct. 9, the Steelers jumped out
to a quick lead this past Sunday versus the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars
before going a bit flat in the second half. Despite getting outscored 10-0
after halftime, Pittsburgh held on for a 17-13 victory.

“Great to get the win,” Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin said. “Not the type
of finish we’re looking for, but obviously we’ll take it. We acknowledge we
didn’t play the type of football we wanted to in the second half.”

The Ben Roethlisberger-led offense racked up 315 yards in the first half,
including 113 on the ground from running back Rashard Mendenhall, but was
outgained 141-55 after intermission.

The Steelers also saw safety Troy Polamalu leave the game in the fourth
quarter after he hit his head on the leg of Jacksonville running back Maurice
Jones-Drew, but Tomlin said on Tuesday that his star defender passed a
concussion test and was cleared to practice this week.

“Troy Polamalu appears to be good to go,” Tomlin said. “He did a concussion
test, and he passed it. He met with our neurosurgeons, and they are very
comfortable with where he is.”

Pittsburgh could also have guard Chris Kemoeatu (knee), offensive tackle Marcus
Gilbert (shoulder) and linebacker Jason Worilds (quadriceps) back this weekend,
but will likely remain without defensive linemen Casey Hampton and Aaron Smith.

SERIES HISTORY

The Steelers hold a 31-23-3 overall advantage on the Cardinals in regular-
season play, but Arizona won the last such meeting between the teams via a
21-14 decision at University of Phoenix Stadium in 2007. Pittsburgh did top
the Cardinals at Heinz Field by a 28-15 score in 2003, but is just 1-3
lifetime in Arizona, with the lone victory a 26-20 overtime verdict at Sun
Devil Stadium on Nov. 30, 1997.

As previously noted, the most memorable and meaningful matchup among the two
clubs occurred in Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa on Feb. 1, 2009, with the Steelers
rallying for a 27-23 win on a Roethlisberger touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes
with 35 seconds left.

Whisenhunt, who spent six seasons with the Steelers as an assistant and served
as that team’s offensive coordinator from 2004-06, is 1-1 against his former
employers as the Cardinals’ head coach. Tomlin is 1-1 versus both Arizona and
Whisenhunt, with the win coming in the aforementioned Super Bowl.

WHEN THE STEELERS HAVE THE BALL

Pittsburgh ranks 10th in the league with an average of 373.0 yards per game and
has gone over the 350-yard mark in consecutive weeks. The Steelers ended with
370 against the Jaguars, with its 185 rushing yards giving the team back-to-
back games with at least 160 yards on the ground for the first time since late
November of last year. After being active but not getting a carry in a Week 5
win over the Titans, Mendenhall (319 rushing yards, 3 TD) roared back with 146
yards on 23 carries with a touchdown against Jacksonville. The game marked the
first time in his career he surpassed 100 yards rushing in the first half.
Roethlisberger (1576 passing yards, 9 TD, 6 INT) had a quiet game, managing 200
yards passing while completing just 12 of his 23 pass attempts, but that didn’t
stop wide receiver Mike Wallace (33 receptions, 4 TD) from having another big
day. He made just two catches but totaled 76 yards, pulling in the 20th
reception of his career for at least 40 yards. Twelve of those have resulted in
touchdowns. Hines Ward (23 receptions, 2 TD) added three catches for 47 yards,
leaving him 61 yards shy of becoming the 19th player to reach 12,000 in his
career, while tight end Heath Miller (19 receptions, 1 TD) led all Pittsburgh
receivers with four catches against the Jaguars.

Arizona’s 20th-ranked run defense (118.8 ypg) was torched by Minnesota running
back Adrian Peterson two weeks ago to the tune of 122 yards and three
touchdowns. The unit also took a hit when safety Kerry Rhodes (24 tackles, 2
sacks) suffered a broken foot that is expected to sideline him for a few
weeks. That led to Cardinals’ signing veteran safety Sean Considine. Cornerback
A.J. Jefferson (28 tackles) saw plenty of action against the Vikings, making a
team-leading eight tackles, while inside linebacker Daryl Washington (23
tackles, 2 sacks, 1 INT) came away with the Cardinals’ only sack as part of his
five-tackle day. Defensive end Calais Campbell (29 tackles, 2.5 sacks) has
stepped up his game over the past three weeks, recording 21 tackles, 2 1/2
sacks, four tackles for a loss and a forced fumble in that span. Linebacker
Joey Porter (14 tackles, 1 sack), who spent the first eight years of his career
with Pittsburgh starting in 1999, had only one tackle in the Minnesota game and
remains two sacks shy of becoming the 26th player in league history to reach
100 in his career. He is aided on the right side by Paris Lenon (30 tackles).
Rashad Johnson will likely start in Rhodes’ place beside Adrian Wilson (20
tackles, 1 INT).

WHEN THE CARDINALS HAVE THE BALL

Arizona traded for quarterback Kevin Kolb in the offseason to bring long-term
stability to the position, something the club lacked last year after Warner’s
retirement, but the offense has struggled as Kolb goes through his growing
pains. The Cardinals rank 18th in total yards per game at 340.2 and is scoring
at just a 19.2 points-per-game clip. Kolb (1281 passing yards, 5 TD, 6 INT)
completed half of his 42 passes versus the Vikings for 232 yards and was picked
off twice, while also being sacked four times without a touchdown throw.
Arizona’s lone trip to the end zone came on Beanie Wells’ two-yard run in the
third quarter. Wells (381 rushing yards, 6 TD) posted his fourth straight game
with a rushing touchdown, tied for the second-longest streak in club history.
Ottis Anderson was the last Cards player to do so, scoring in five consecutive
games from 1983-84. Kolb has one of the best options in the game in Fitzgerald
(27 receptions, 2 TD), but it was fellow wideout Early Doucet (21 receptions, 1
TD) who was targeted 16 times against Minnesota. He made eight catches for 92
yards, while Fitzgerald had four receptions for 66 yards. With Todd Heap (13
receptions) missing the game with a hamstring injury, tight end Jeff King (10
receptions, 2 TD) made five catches for 35 yards.

Kolb figures to be in for another long day on Sunday, as he goes against the
league’s top-ranked defense. Pittsburgh is allowing only 270.5 yards per game,
including an NFL-best 157.7 yards through the air. The Steelers are also fourth
overall with an average of 17 points allowed per game. Pittsburgh held the
Jaguars to 76 net passing yards, marking the fourth time in the past five games
it has held its opponent under 150 passing yards. That 76-yard total was also
the team’s fourth-lowest output under Tomlin. Pittsburgh brought the pressure
in a big way as well, notching five sacks versus the Jaguars, including four in
the first half for the first time since Nov. 3, 2008. Linebacker LaMarr Woodley
(27 tackles, 5 sacks) and defensive end Brett Keisel (15 tackles, 2 sacks) both
had two sacks, with Keisel matching a career high. Woodley, meanwhile, has
multiple sacks in two straight games, and inside linebacker James Farrior (42
tackles, 2 sacks) also had a quarterback takedown in addition to a club-leading
11 tackles. Safety Ryan Clark (38 tackles) ended with 10 stops, while Woodley
had eight and Polamalu (40 tackles, 1 sack) five before exiting. Woodley has
grabbed Pittsburgh’s only interception this year.

KEYS TO THE GAME

The Cardinals fell behind big two weeks ago and may have trouble staying out
of a big hole again on Sunday. Pittsburgh has scored on its first three drives
in two straight games and has yielded three points or less during the first
quarter in four of its last five contests.

If Arizona can keep pace, Wells should get a big workload. He has rushed for
216 yards and five touchdowns in the second half this season, compared to
165 yards and one score before halftime. Wells will be key to the Cardinals
grinding things out late, as 13 of his 18 rushing first downs have also come in
the second half.

Having Polamalu will be key for the Steelers as they try to lock down on
Fitzgerald. The Cardinals’ Pro Bowl receiver had a pair of touchdowns in the
Super Bowl meeting and made 10 grabs for 120 yards in his only regular-season
game versus Pittsburgh.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

This appears to be a heavy mismatch on paper, and that should hold true on the
field even with the Cardinals the fresher of the two clubs. Arizona’s offense
has had trouble finding a groove as Kolb goes through his first long-term
action as a starter, and the Cardinals don’t have enough weapons outside of
Fitzgerald to keep Pittsburgh’s hungry defense in check. The Steelers,
meanwhile, have featured a balanced offense all season that should give the
Cardinals trouble. Expect the Black and Gold to claim this Super Bowl rematch
with ease.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Steelers 31, Cardinals 13

The Sports Network

TEMPE, Ariz. – Sometimes a bye week is welcome to heal an NFL team’s physical wounds. Sometimes it’s the mental fatigue that needs rest.

Count the beleaguered Arizona Cardinals in the latter faction.

“It’s a chance to just breathe,” defensive end Calais Campbell said, “relax a little bit and just restart up again.”

Even coach Ken Whisenhunt will try to get a little time away from the game as he searches for answers to problems that have shown up across the board, with the possible exception of the running game. The player lockout and its late conclusion has led to an exhausting two months of virtually non-stop work for the coaching staff.

“If you think about where it was two months ago and how we came back into training camp, we were working 24 hours a day, seven days a week there to start,” he said. “We have been grinding away for two months now. We will be in the office and we’ll be working, but we will take some days off this weekend. It’s really important that you step away from it, relax, spend time with your family and enjoy your weekend, and then get back in here ready to go next week.”

The arrival of quarterback Kevin Kolb and a host of other new players brought a sense of optimism to training camp after the Cardinals’ 5-11 season in 2010.

A season-opening victory over Carolina, though far from perfect, bolstered that good will. Then came three excruciatingly close losses at Washington, at Seattle and home against the New York Giants. In each game, Arizona had the ball at the finish and couldn’t come through. Finally, there was a 34-10 rout at the hands of the previously winless Vikings in Minnesota.

At least the Cardinals are ensured to have a better Sunday this week.

Self-criticism abounds. If there’s any criticism of one player to another, it’s happening behind closed doors. At a team meeting before Tuesday’s practice the theme, Kolb said, was accountability, an oft-heard sports term that simply means everyone needs to do his job and take responsibility for his own actions.

“I just think that if everybody has accountability and everybody does their job, we win football games,” Kolb said. “It’s hard to get that many guys to do it. It really is. Everybody has different personalities.”

Whisenhunt has often said “we know what works” when he talks about his team digging out of losing streaks. But it hasn’t worked for some time, now. Arizona is 5-16 since Kurt Warner retired after leading the Cardinals to consecutive NFC West titles and even a Super Bowl.

“I know that what I believe in, what we believe in, works, and I know you stick to it,” Whisenhunt said a day after the Vikings’ blowout. “I remember probably four years ago, a lot of people banging on us saying we weren’t a very good team, and we went to the Super Bowl. I believe in sticking with what we know works, and if we make plays then so be it. I like the guys on our football team.

“We have a mix of young guys who need reps and need work and we’re trying to get them those plays. We’re going to continue to work the way we know can be successful for us. At some point, it will start working.”

The emergence of Beanie Wells as one of the NFL’s top backs has been one of the few bright spots for the 1-4 team. He had a career-high 138 yards and scored three touchdowns in the 31-27 loss to the Giants, a game Arizona led by 10 points with five minutes to play. But the running game became an afterthought against the Vikings when the Cardinals fell behind 28-0 in the first quarter.

The Cardinals also have struggled mightily in the red zone and on third downs, areas of emphasis in the two practices this week, all that is allowed under the new collective bargaining agreement with the players.

On defence, Arizona’s two young cornerbacks — rookie Patrick Peterson and second-year pro A.J. Jefferson — have been severely tested. Their growing pains are accentuated by the lack of a pass rush. Unless new defensive co-ordinator Ray Horton dials up some exotic blitz mix, opposing quarterbacks have had plenty of time to wait for receivers to break open.

The schedule gets tougher, at least in the short term.

Next up are the Pittsburgh Steelers, who come to Arizona on Oct. 23. That is followed by a game at Baltimore on Oct. 30.

The Cardinals have lost 10 straight road games dating to last season’s opening win at St. Louis. They are much better at home, going 5-5 in that span, and that makes the Steelers game crucial if this season is to be salvaged.

“Just to have a good feeling coming in on Monday,” Kolb said. “It’s just frustrating to lose that many games in a row when you know you have a good team. We are really striving as hard as we can to get it back on track.”

TEMPE, Ariz. – Statistically, the Arizona Cardinals don’t have the worst secondary in the NFL. It just seems that way sometimes.

Untimely big plays against a pair of young cornerbacks and a pair of veteran safeties make the Arizona defensive backs an easy target for criticism. When rookie cornerback Patrick Peterson is beaten on a play, it’s there for all to see.

“It’s easy to criticize a corner,” Peterson said after the team practiced on Tuesday, “but as a defence as a whole, we all have to make plays. We’re all to blame — period.”

Now the team, on a four-game losing streak after a season-opening victory over Carolina, will be without free safety Kerry Rhodes for several weeks because of a broken foot. Third-year pro Rashad Johnson will step in and a young secondary will become younger.

Johnson has some extra time to work his way into the mix because the Cardinals have a bye this week. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, the team practiced Tuesday and will work out Wednesday, then the players have four days off before returning to work on Monday.

Arizona ranks 21st out of 32 NFL teams in yards allowed through the air, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The Cardinals have allowed 26 passes of 20 yards or more, second only to New England’s 32. Eli Manning’s shredding of the Arizona defence in two rapid-fire late touchdown drives two weeks ago come to mind, a game the Cardinals led by 10 with five minutes to go only to lose to the New York Giants 31-27.

Then on Sunday, things crumbled on both sides of the ball in a 34-10 loss at previously winless Minnesota.

When Greg Toler went down with a season-ending knee injury in the preseason, the decision was made to go with Peterson, the No. 5 pick overall, at one corner and A.J. Jefferson, a second-year pro who spent his rookie season on the practice squad, at the other.

“It’s a tough position to play,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “You know that there’s going to be some growing pains with young guys, but they’re working hard at it and that’s all you can ask. They’re going to be good players for us.”

Peterson said he and Jefferson have stuck together through the struggles.

“Me and A.J, we believe we’re definitely getting better each and every week,” Peterson said. “It’s a long, long, long season. We’re just young guys that have been thrown into the fire early. We have a lot of confidence within each other. We have a lot of veteran guys that have been around guys like us. These guys are definitely pulling us along, just letting us know it’s a long season, just keep your head up, and the plays will come and go.”

Adrian Wilson, Arizona’s four-time Pro Bowl strong safety who turns 32 on Wednesday, was in no mood to talk to reporters on Tuesday.

Johnson, a third-round draft pick out of Alabama in 2009, played in the preseason while Wilson was recovering from a mild tear of the biceps.

“Every day I come to practice and do my job and do what the coaches ask me to do,” Johnson said.

“During the preseason I had to step in for ‘A-Dub’ when he was down, so I’m just ready to take it and make it work,” he said.

Defensive end Calais Campbell said the secondary gets too much criticism.

“When they make mistakes, everybody sees,” Campbell said. “As a D-line I feel like we can play a lot better. Even though we’ve shown signs of greatness at times, there are some times we don’t do as well. The linebacker corps as well. It’s a team game. We all make mistakes. The secondary, I believe in those guys. They make a lot of plays and they’ve got a tough job. We’ve got to do something to help them out a little bit more. I feel like we can get a better pass rush, stop the run a little bit more, make it easy for our secondary, and I think we’ll be a better team.”

Statistically, the Arizona Cardinals don’t have the worst secondary in the NFL. It just seems that way sometimes.
Untimely big plays against a pair of young cornerbacks and a pair of veteran safeties make the Arizona defensive backs an easy target for criticism. When rookie cornerback Patrick Peterson is beaten on a play, it’s there for all to see.
“It’s easy to criticize a corner,” Peterson said after the team practiced on Tuesday, “but as a defense as a whole, we all have to make plays. We’re all to blame — period.”
Now the team, on a four-game losing streak after a season-opening victory over Carolina, will be without free safety Kerry Rhodes for several weeks because of a broken foot. Third-year pro Rashad Johnson will step in and a young secondary will become younger.
Johnson has some extra time to work his way into the mix because the Cardinals have a bye this week. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, the team practiced Tuesday and will work out Wednesday, then the players have four days off before returning to work on Monday.
Arizona ranks 21st out of 32 NFL teams in yards allowed through the air, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The Cardinals have allowed 26 passes of 20 yards or more, second only to New England’s 32. Eli Manning’s shredding of the Arizona defense in two rapid-fire late touchdown drives two weeks ago come to mind, a game the Cardinals led by 10 with five minutes to go only to lose to the New York Giants 31-27.
Then on Sunday, things crumbled on both sides of the ball in a 34-10 loss at previously winless Minnesota.
When Greg Toler went down with a season-ending knee injury in the preseason, the decision was made to go with Peterson, the No. 5 pick overall, at one corner and A.J. Jefferson, a second-year pro who spent his rookie season on the practice squad, at the other.
“It’s a tough position to play,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “You know that there’s going to be some growing pains with young guys, but they’re working hard at it and that’s all you can ask. They’re going to be good players for us.”
Peterson said he and Jefferson have stuck together through the struggles.
“Me and A.J, we believe we’re definitely getting better each and every week,” Peterson said. “It’s a long, long, long season. We’re just young guys that have been thrown into the fire early. We have a lot of confidence within each other. We have a lot of veteran guys that have been around guys like us. These guys are definitely pulling us along, just letting us know it’s a long season, just keep your head up, and the plays will come and go.”
Adrian Wilson, Arizona’s four-time Pro Bowl strong safety who turns 32 on Wednesday, was in no mood to talk to reporters on Tuesday.
Johnson, a third-round draft pick out of Alabama in 2009, played in the preseason while Wilson was recovering from a mild tear of the biceps.
“Every day I come to practice and do my job and do what the coaches ask me to do,” Johnson said.
“During the preseason I had to step in for ‘A-Dub’ when he was down, so I’m just ready to take it and make it work,” he said.
Defensive end Calais Campbell said the secondary gets too much criticism.
“When they make mistakes, everybody sees,” Campbell said. “As a D-line I feel like we can play a lot better. Even though we’ve shown signs of greatness at times, there are some times we don’t do as well. The linebacker corps as well. It’s a team game. We all make mistakes. The secondary, I believe in those guys. They make a lot of plays and they’ve got a tough job. We’ve got to do something to help them out a little bit more. I feel like we can get a better pass rush, stop the run a little bit more, make it easy for our secondary, and I think we’ll be a better team.”

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP)—The Arizona Cardinals have signed safety Sean Considine(notes)
and released punter Ben Graham(notes).

Considine, in his seventh NFL season, played in the first four games for
Carolina this year before being released on Oct. 4. Known for his special teams
play, Considine was a fourth-round draft pick of Philadelphia in 2005 and played
for the Eagles for four seasons. He signed as a free agent with Jacksonville in
2009.

The signing bolsters the safety corps depleted by the loss of starter Kerry
Rhodes(notes) with a broken foot. Rhodes is expected to be sidelined for several weeks.

Arizona re-signed its former punter Graham last week because Dave Zastudil(notes)
was out with a sore knee. The Cardinals are off this week.

Statistically, the Arizona Cardinals don’t have the worst secondary in the NFL. It just seems that way sometimes.
Untimely big plays against a pair of young cornerbacks and a pair of veteran safeties make the Arizona defensive backs an easy target for criticism. When rookie cornerback Patrick Peterson is beaten on a play, it’s there for all to see.
“It’s easy to criticize a corner,” Peterson said after the team practiced on Tuesday, “but as a defense as a whole, we all have to make plays. We’re all to blame — period.”
Now the team, on a four-game losing streak after a season-opening victory over Carolina, will be without free safety Kerry Rhodes for several weeks because of a broken foot. Third-year pro Rashad Johnson will step in and a young secondary will become younger.
Johnson has some extra time to work his way into the mix because the Cardinals have a bye this week. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, the team practiced Tuesday and will work out Wednesday, then the players have four days off before returning to work on Monday.
Arizona ranks 21st out of 32 NFL teams in yards allowed through the air, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The Cardinals have allowed 26 passes of 20 yards or more, second only to New England’s 32. Eli Manning’s shredding of the Arizona defense in two rapid-fire late touchdown drives two weeks ago come to mind, a game that the Cardinals led by 10 with five minutes to go only to lose to the New York Giants 31-27.
Then on Sunday, things crumbled on both sides of the ball in a 34-10 loss at previously winless Minnesota.
When Greg Toler went down with a season-ending knee injury in the preseason, the decision was made to go with Peterson, the No. 5 pick overall, at one corner and A.J. Jefferson, a second-year pro who spent his rookie season on the practice squad, at the other.
“It’s a tough position to play,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “You know that there’s going to be some growing pains with young guys, but they’re working hard at it and that’s all you can ask. They’re going to be good players for us.”
Peterson said he and Jefferson have stuck together through the struggles.
“Me and A.J, we believe we’re definitely getting better each and every week,” Peterson said. “It’s a long, long, long season. We’re just young guys that have been thrown into the fire early. We have a lot of confidence within each other. We have a lot of veteran guys that have been around guys like us. These guys are definitely pulling us along, just letting us know it’s a long season, just keep your head up, and the plays will come and go.”
Adrian Wilson, Arizona’s four-time Pro Bowl strong safety who turns 32 on Wednesday, was in no mood to talk to reporters on Tuesday.
Johnson, a third-round draft pick out of Alabama in 2009, played in the preseason while Wilson was recovering from a mild tear of the biceps.
“Every day I come to practice and do my job and do what the coaches ask me to do,” Johnson said.
“During the preseason I had to step in for ‘A-Dub’ when he was down, so I’m just ready to take it and make it work,” he said.
Defensive end Calais Campbell said the secondary gets too much criticism.
“When they make mistakes, everybody sees,” Campbell said. “As a D-line I feel like we can play a lot better. Even though we’ve shown signs of greatness at times, there are some times we don’t do as well. The linebacker corps as well. It’s a team game. We all make mistakes. The secondary, I believe in those guys. They make a lot of plays and they’ve got a tough job. We’ve got to do something to help them out a little bit more. I feel like we can get a better pass rush, stop the run a little bit more, make it easy for our secondary, and I think we’ll be a better team.”

Sean Considine was signed by the Arizona Cardinals today, the same day he had a workout with the team. Arizona needed some help at free safety with kerry Rhodes out with a broken foot. Sean was released by the Carolina Panthers a week ago after playing in the first four regular season games. He worked out with the New England Patriots at the end of last week.

Ken Whisenhunt must have been a dishwasher in his previous life.

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Photos from the game | Box score | NFL scoreboard

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Most of his comments after each of the Cardinals’ first three games – which has left them at a very humble 1-2 – have been about how much he and his team must “clean things up.”

It was more of the same Monday, a day after the Cardinals fell 13-10 in Seattle against a very suspect Seahawks team, which ruined another potential golden opportunity for Arizona.

Instead of being 3-0 and in control of the NFC West, they have dropped consecutive games against beatable opponents on the road. They’ve lost nine in a row, in fact, away from home and have lost six in a row to division opponents.

Yes, it’s still early, but it’s getting late in the win-loss column, especially with a hungry New York Giants team that has gained vast amounts of confidence coming to town Sunday.

As bad as the NFC West is, a loss next week could be a debilitating defeat that the Cardinals just can’t afford to swallow.

“We had opportunities to win both of the last two games,” left guard Daryn Colledge said, “but again, we’re making little mistakes and we’re killing ourselves.

“That’s the worst part. If we’re getting beat, flat out, it would be something else. But for us to shoot ourselves in the foot, that’s what hurts the most.”

Never mind the fact the Cardinals have allowed an average of only 18.6 points per game. They had a chance in facing Cam Newton, Rex Grossman and Tarvaris Jackson to be unbeaten.

“We can be so much better, man,” rookie cornerback Patrick Peterson said.

They had better be, but Whisenhunt didn’t sound quite so concerned Monday during his news conference as some Cardinals fans did on the airwaves.

He didn’t get into excuses, really, but said he continually sees hope and optimism on the near horizon. He rattled off several areas in which he feels the Cardinals are headed in the right direction, at least in his estimation:

- Quarterback Kevin Kolb and the offense, which took a big step back Sunday. Kolb didn’t look nearly so poised or threatening from the pocket, and Whisenhunt acknowledged it was an “uneven” performance wrought with “growing pains.”

“But we still had our opportunities,” he said. “We’ll learn from it, and we’ll get better. But I have no doubts we’ll continue to improve offensively, especially at the quarterback position.”

- The overall defense, which was drilled by the passing game in a Week 1 win over Carolina and humbled by the running game in a Week 2 loss at Washington.

“Our defense played well, and I still think we’re motivated to improve,” said Whisenhunt, who added he wasn’t pleased with some missed tackles early against Seattle. “But as far as being around the ball, putting pressure (on the quarterback) and making some plays, it was a noticeable improvement from our defense.”

- Special teams and particularly kicker Jay Feely, who missed two must-have field goals in the game. Weather conditions might have played a role in at least one miss, but the coach isn’t ready to panic.

“I have great confidence in Jay,” Whisenhunt said. “Whatever kick he’s kicking next, the next one will go through.”

Oh, yeah, and he said he’s sure the Cardinals will find a way to get Larry Fitzgerald the ball when it matters, even though the franchise’s all-time leading touchdown receiver didn’t catch a pass in the second half at Seattle.

Whisenhunt sounded so optimistic that he was asked it was difficult to keep such a positive frame of mind considering what’s happened to his club the past two weeks.

“First of all, let me say I’m stinging from the loss. It hurts,” he said. “It hurts as bad as all the losses do. But I feel good about the guys we have on our football team. And it hurts to know we had a chance to win a game and we didn’t. It’s so hard to do it on the road.

” . . . But I’m encouraged – and listen, I believe we’re going to continue to get better. I’ve said this weeks ago, we’re going to get better as the season progresses, and we’re going to be a good football team.”

Maybe, but like Whisenhunt always seems to say, they’ve got a lot of things they need to clean up.

SEATTLE – It’s only Week 3 in the NFL. A loss Sunday to the Seahawks wouldn’t be devastating for the Cardinals, at least not mathematically.

But emotionally? It could be damaging to a team still puckering from the aftertaste of a 5-11 season.

The Cardinals (1-1) lost five of six NFC West games a year ago, including two to Seahawks, who won the division with a 7-9 record.

A victory Sunday over the Seahawks (0-2) would provide some affirmation of the Cardinals’ belief that they are much better in 2011.

“That was embarrassing last year,” receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. “This is going to be a huge game. I know their record is 0-2 but it’s their home opener, they’re dropping the (division title) banner, that place is going to be rocking.

“We have got to be able to match the intensity. I’m really looking forward to it.”

It’s early, but the NFC West looks wide open this season. That’s a nice way of saying that no one has looked good yet.

Seattle and St. Louis haven’t won. The 49ers and Cardinals looked shaky and vulnerable in both defeat and victory.

The vital signs of the Cardinals offense are strong, but it’s produced only 21 points in each game. The defense has yielded 932 yards but done a decent job at keeping opponents out of the end zone.

The Seahawks have been worse. Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, signed this off-season, has been sacked 10 times, equally divided between the two games. The defense has been decent, but doesn’t make opponents cower in fear.

“Any person in the NFL will tell you that when a team is in a must-win situation, which we both feel like we are, then you don’t want to play them on that week,” Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb said. “We know we’ve got to go in there with all we have. We have to start fast.”

Just two games into the season, coach Ken Whisenhunt declined to assess which team is more desperate for a victory. Besides, desperate is desperate. Either you are or you are not.

“I don’t know that you can have a desperate team after two games,” Whisenhunt said. “I know Seattle beat us twice last year. I know Seattle is a tough place to play.

“They’re a little bit like us. They’ve made a lot of mistakes, they’ve got a lot of young guys they are trying to bring along. This is a tough business.”

Both the Seahawks and Cardinals underwent dramatic changes in the off-season. Both acquired new quarterbacks. The Seahawks are rebuilding the offensive line and have a new coordinator in Darrell Bevell, who played at Scottsdale Chaparral High.

The Cardinals changed their defensive coordinator, hiring Ray Horton, who has implemented a new scheme. Like a car in its first model year, there are system errors to be fixed.

The Cardinals have made assignment mistakes in the secondary and have been burned when players tried to freelance. In the first game, Carolina continually beat the Cardinals through the air, and last week, the Redskins pounded away with the run game.

Whisenhunt has preached patience. The lockout eliminated about 1,000 snaps of off-season practices, he said, so the early struggles are expected.

“This is a process,” Whisenhunt said. “We’ve got a lot of new moving parts, and our guys are working to get better. Half the time in a game, you are going to see things you never saw in practice or you don’t see on tape. I know that’s what we try to do offensively.

“When that happens, you have to fall back on your rules, and when you haven’t been using your rules very long, or you haven’t been in situations where you’ve had to apply them, you’re going to make mistakes.”

NFL teams have been together now for nearly two months. Including preseason, they have played six games. Sunday is the first of six division games for the Cardinals, and there’s no better time to begin to distance themselves from 2010.

“I think there are times in games where we’re doing it right and we’re very good,” Whisenhunt said. “And that’s what we’re going to hang our hat on: when we do it right we have a chance to be a good football team.”

The Arizona Cardinals rank near the bottom of the NFL in defense, but a
meeting with the winless Seattle Seahawks should improve their numbers.

The NFC West rivals face off Sunday in Seattle, where the defending division
champs try to avoid their first 0-3 start since 2002.

After Carolina’s Cam Newton shredded Arizona’s defense for 422 passing yards
in the Cardinals’ season opener, they did little to slow down Washington in a
22-21 loss last Sunday.

Rex Grossman(notes) threw for 291 yards and two touchdowns, while former Cardinal
Tim Hightower(notes) rushed for 96 yards on 20 carries. The Redskins finished with 455
yards of offense.

Arizona (1-1) led 21-13 in the fourth quarter, but Washington scored on its
three fourth-quarter drives, taking the lead on a 34-yard field goal with 1:45
to go.

“There a lot of mistakes we are making,” safety Kerry Rhodes(notes) told the
Cardinals’ official website. “It’s kind of mind-boggling.”

Despite the large amounts of yardage Arizona has given up in new defensive
coordinator Ray Horton’s scheme, the Cardinals are a surprising 11th in points
allowed, having given up three red-zone touchdowns in nine opportunities. They
had a pair of interceptions last week, including one in the red zone.

“When we’re on the same page, and guys are understanding what we’re doing,
we’re a pretty good defense,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “But when we make our
bad plays, they’re really bad. We’re dropping coverage, we’re not hitting the
right gaps, we’re not stepping the right way with blitzes. All of those are
things we’ve got to get cleaned up. It’s a function of not having been in the
scheme for too long.”

Rhodes said they may simplify the defense, which could help ease the
transition for several young players.

Whisenhunt is looking for the defense to take the pressure off the offense,
which has otherwise been solid.

Beanie Wells(notes) has rushed for 183 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 5.7
yards per carry, while Kevin Kolb(notes) has thrown for 560 yards passing over his
first two games. He has four touchdowns and one interception.

While Kolb could have a big game against a Seahawks defense that has given
up 437 passing yards and yet to force a turnover, Wells could have difficulty on
the ground. Seattle is surrendering 3.1 yards per carry, which is fifth-best in
the league.

That may be the only thing the Seahawks (0-2) have to be pleased about after
the first two weeks. Seattle followed up its 33-17 season-opening loss at San
Francisco with a 24-0 defeat Pittsburgh, finishing with 164 total yards and has
been outscored 33-0 in the first half of its games.

While turnovers were not a problem against the Steelers, the running game
was. The Seahawks were held to 33 rushing yards by Pittsburgh, rank last in the
league with 47.5 per game and Marshawn Lynch(notes) has 44 yards on 19 carries.

“We need more explosive plays, we need more plays down field,” quarterback
Tarvaris Jackson(notes) told the Seahawks’ official website. “We need to get our
running game going. If we get our running game going it will help with those
explosive plays.”

Jackson could have Sidney Rice(notes) available after he missed the first two weeks
with a shoulder injury. Rice had 17 catches for 280 yards last season with the
Minnesota Vikings as Jackson’s teammate after amassing a career-high 1,312
receiving yards in 2009.

However, the team will be without veteran guard Robert Gallery(notes), who needs
groin surgery and will miss at least a month. The Seahawks will go with Paul
McQuistan(notes) at guard instead of moving rookie right tackle James Carpenter(notes).

“There’s a challenge to everybody on this team right now, myself included,
that we have to find ways to improve our performance and we all have to work at
it really hard,” coach Pete Carroll. “We all have to fight to find ways to make
us better and compete like crazy to do that.”

Seattle won both meetings with Arizona last season en route to a division
title.