Game blog: Cardinals slam Panthers 33-13, move on in playoffs
Jan 10, 2009
11:26 p.m., Panthers season is over: It's been fun but my prediction was way off in this one. This is a horrible ending for a team with the first-round bye. 33-13 is the final score here. The Cards will play the winner of Philly at New York in the NFC Championship Game. Now I get to head down and talk to the sulking Panthers. There isn't much to ask after this one.
11:22 p.m., Panthers score: Jake throws a touchdown to Steve Smith. Smith fought really hard to power into the endzone. The chart must have said to go for two because they do and miss it. The Cardinals will win this one 33-13 and the rain is starting to come down like cats and dogs again. What do you know Larry Fitzgerald caught the onside kick!
11:16 p.m., Two minute warning: Can't we just decide there isn't a need for it tonight? Just wind the clock!
11:12 p.m., Rackers hits it: The Cardinals lead 33-7 with 3:10 left in the game. They will play the winner of Philly at New York in the NFC title game. If Philly wins they will host the game.
11:07 p.m., Tick tock: That is the sound the Panthers want to hear as their season ends. Timeouts are being used up. The Cardinals will kick a short field goal here in a second to go up 33-7.
10:59 p.m., There it is: Jake throws it to Roderick Hood this time. Moose kind of fell on the play but a great snag by Hood for the pick. Del-homey has five picks and a lost fumble. He has no scores. Remember when CAR was up 7-0? That was a while ago. These nine minutes can't be over soon enough.
10:55 p.m., Is it over yet?: The Panthers are back on offense with 11:29 left to go in the game. Can Del-homey throw a fifth pick? Only time will tell.
10:48 p.m., Bad Jake: He just threw another interception that will not allow the Panthers to take points on the drive. Count them out now. This was really an awful game to watch too, with the Panthers just hanging by a thread the whole game. Del-homey has no touchdowns and four picks and a lost fumble. He has been horrible. The Cards get the ball back with under 14 minutes to play with a 30-7 lead.
10:40 p.m., There Steve is: The Panthers finally hit a 35 yard gain to Steve Smith. The third quarter closes with the Cards up 30-7. This would take a miracle but the Panthers have to score every time they have it and stop the Cards everytime they get it.
10:35 p.m., Just not their night: The Panthers can't convert a fourth and five barely into Cardinals territory. I agreed with the call to go for it there. You had to try and get something going there. Now the rain is coming down again, and fans are going home. The Panthers are getting the ball back here before the fourth quarter comes.
10:27 p.m., Settling for field goals: But they are doing the trick as the Cards lead 30-7 with 4:40 to go in the third. Neil Rackers has made three tonight. It's getting to that point where CAR must score nearly every time it touches the ball. I am not counting them out just yet. Arizona has missed the chances to score touchdowns to seal this deal. It's not likely now but we'll see what the Panthers do with the ball here.
10:21 p.m., That's not what I had in mind: Well I meant to say they must throw an interception. Jake throws a wacky pick to Antrel Rolle who returns it 47 yards. It wasn't a good throw and Steve Smith tipped it back in the air and allowed Rolle to catch it. The Cardinals are on the Panther 26 to start this drive. I think they can put this one away here. There is 7:51 left in the third with AZ up by 20.
10:18 p.m., Big turnover: Warner makes a nice toss to Jon Beason. I really think Kurt didn't even see him in the flat as he was trying to go to the invincable Larry Fitzgerald. The Panthers must turn the interception into points. They must!
10:14 p.m., No offense for Carolina: Hey that little DeAngelo run was nice though wasn't it? It's too bad the rest of the drive did nothing. Del-homey got rocked on a third and long and the ball just fluttered to the middle of the field. He is lucky it wasn't picked again. Cards will take over at their own 25. With 10:06 left in the third AZ still leads 27-7.
10:08 p.m., Big hit: Kurt, meet Chris Harris. Finally the Panthers get some pressure on the gloved bandit and force an Arizona punt. It's time to get some offense.
10:05 p.m., Cardinals with the ball to open half: Jerheme Urban makes a snag! Nothing like the fourth string receiver coming up big on third down. I will rag on his parents for that rediculous spelling of a first name. What's wrong with Jeremy? You just had to be different didn't you?
9:55 p.m., What should we do?: I appreciate all of the commenters we have tonight. Should the Panthers look to Josh McCown in the second half? Somehow I don't think that would help. Jake Del-homey has proven that he can get that ball to Smith and Moose this season. I also think this is as much the offensive line's fault tonight as well. They aren't pushing Arizona off the ball when they try to run, or give much pass protection. Either way they were not there to play in the first half as much as Jake wasn't. Don't you love Kurt Warner wearing those damn gloves? What a complete moron. Be a man and take the one off on your throwing hand. Do you think you are Tom Brady in a snowy game in New England? Maybe I would cut him slack if this was a first time thing but he does it in perfect weather AZ as well. Be man Kurt! Hey he sure looks good throwing the ball to Larry though. He has 151 and a touchdown in the first half. At this rate he will have 400 receiving yards tonight. But seriously I think he tops the 220 mark.
9:49 p.m., Halftime is here: What a break the Panthers got as Neil Rackers misses short on a 53 yarder before halftime. They still trail 27-7 and don't get the ball to start the third quarter.
9:42 p.m., Injury: Panthers back-up linebacker Landon Johnson got hurt pretty bad on the last play. Play was stopped for nearly eight minutes as he is carted off the field with a leg injury. The Cardinals have a first down at their own 40 with 44 seconds left in the half.
9:34 p.m., Two minute warning: And it was another three and out for Carolina, now the Cardinals have 1:52 to score again. If they make it 34-7 you might as well pack up and leave because it will be over. And don't call me Billy Packer either. I don't see the Panthers as a come back team regardless, and their quarterback is rattled. If Jake keeps up this play he might get pulled. Who thought this would happen? The Cardinals are boat racing the Panthers!
9:25 p.m., Really bad Jake: What a horrible pick he just threw. There was no reason he should have thrown it over the middle without knowing what was going on. He has pressure on him and should have taken the sack. Now he has three turnovers and has done nothing positive to make up for them. Now as I am writing this Larry Fitzgerald catches a touchdown and makes a great stretch for the pylon to score. He has 151 yards and a TD now. At least this time two guys were defending him, they just got burnt badly. The Cardinals are whooping that "you know what" 27-7 with 3:29 left in the half.
9:21 p.m., Field goal: Neil has racked up two field goals so far, as he gives the Cards a 20-7 lead with a 30 yarder with 5:28 left in the half. Can Carolina make a game of this now? They must have a score before halftime. Arizona has 20 unanswered points.
9:16 p.m., Larry again: This is the second and third time the Panthers defense doesn't even have a man on him, let alone a double as they should. The first time an easy 25 yard gain, and the next time a 17 yard gain through a weak zone. The defense is amazing me right now. These last two catchers weren't like Fitzgerald just out worked his opponents, they were more like blown coverages. Larry has five catches for 122 yards. The Cards have a third and one at the Panthers 13 with 6:18 left in the half and a 17-7 lead. Carolina has to worry about being blown out right now.
9:12 p.m., Three and out: Carolina couldn't pick up a first and they only had five yards to go after a neutral zone infraction. Jake Delhomme had a ball volley ball spiked back in his face. Kurt Warner is clearly winning the quarterback battle early as he has 100 yards to Delhomme's 24.
9:02 p.m., Penalties and Edge: It amazes me how James has come on in the last two games with how absent he was the whole regular season. He has 39 total yards and a touchdown so far. Richard Marshall picked up a dumb personal foul to put the Cards in good position. Nothing beats a back-up making dumb fouls. Have a nice seat on the bench Richard. Neil Rackers tacks on a 49 yard field goal to make it 17-7 with 10:16 left in the first half.
8:56 p.m., Bad Jake is here tonight: Delhomme just thew an interception in the red zone so the Panthers come away with no points. He tried to play action to Steve Smith in the corner of the end zone, but it was a throw you just can't make with the number of defenders Arizona had in the area. Rodgers-Cromartie made a nice pick, but the best thing that could have happened was he knocked it down. It was never even getting to the Panther.
8:50 p.m., Steve Smith time: Hey may not have made the catch but when he gets in a one-on-one situation he will either catch it or draw the flag. He drew a 45 yard flag on this one as Antrel Rolle was all over him on a deep ball, no question about the call. Panthers move it to the Cards 15 yard-line. Panthers look to tie it up here. I finally heard that great generic Panther growl over the PA system. It is absolutely pouring out there as the quarter comes to a close. Panthers trail 14-7 at the end of one.
8:45 p.m., Come on Delhomme: Delhomme holds the ball way too long on first down and Antonio Smith makes a great play to strip the ball and recover it. Nice looking drive by the Panthers there, one play and a lost fumble. The Cardinals get it back and on the second play "The Edge" runs it in for a short touchdown. That's Edgerrin James. Cardinals up 14-7 with 1:47 left in the first quarter.
8:39 p.m., Tie it up: The suspect Panther defense got exposed a little bit on this drive. Warner threw it all over them as he tossed an easy screen to Tim Hightower for a three yard score. Again not one defender released to cover the dump pass. Cardinals tie it up at 7 with under three minutes to play in the opening quarter.
8:34 p.m., Cards with the ball back: Carolina ran three times after the Cards punt and went three and out. They haven't looked down the field yet. Warner already hit Fitzgerald for a short pass on this drive that started at their own 42. On third and short Warner threw up one of those short balls to Larry Fitzgerald and he went up and got it over two defenders. It was much like the touchdown he caught last week. Cards have it first and goal.
8:28 p.m., Panthers get a stop: Julius Peppers was helped out a lot by the Cards offensive line who blocked him right into J.J. Arrington for a nice seven yard loss. That forces a punt from Arizona and takes away the chance for a Rackers field goal. Panthers up 7-0 with 8:30 to go in the first.
8:26 p.m., Keep an eye on Larry: How can you let Fitzgerald run free at all tonight? There is no Boldin to watch on the other side. Warner hit Larry underneath for a huge gain on a third and long. Not one defender picked up the best athlete on the field.
8:20 p.m., Too easy: Running the football is what they do. DeAngelo busted a long one down to the nine, and Jonathan Stewart went up the middle untouched for the score. Panthers lead it early 7-0 with 11:56 left in the opening quarter. Take that Kurt Warner, start throwing it aimlessly.
8:16 p.m., Go Mark Jones go: A 39 yard return to start the game from Mark Jones starts the Panthers at the 50. He was a half step from going all the way.
8:14 p.m., Hootie and the Blowfish!: Remember them? Me neither. Darius Rucker sang the national anthem, a little off-key, but I will cut him some slack. He probably hasn't had a gig in nine years. We are ready to roll in this one. Panthers won the toss and they will receive it. Let's play.
8:00 p.m., Weather a factor tonight: Get out your ponchos, rain jackets, umbrellas, or whatever you prefer because the rain is coming down 15 minutes before kick-off. It's not driving rain by any means though, and the field looks like it is in great condition. This is a natural grass surface here so it could be affected if weather continues throughout the game. There is a small system coming from the southwest but it really doesn't look like anything. They had the ol' punt pass and kick constestants on the field a few minutes ago, always fun to watch the kids participate. I always wished I would have done that myself.
7:39 p.m., AFC update: I just got seated in the press box at the beautiful Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. They were good to wralsportsfan.com as they have me seated right smack on the 50-yard line with no other writers' heads in my sight-line. I just saw the Baltimore "freaking" Ravens knock off the Titans en route to the AFC title game. Shane Falco, I mean Joe Flacco, is going to be one game away from the Super Bowl in his rookie season.
The fastest fact I can give you on this game here tonight is that Anquan Boldin is inactive. His left hamstring will not allow him to play tonight. That will be a huge help for the Panthers defense in this one. I will check back here before kick-off with some final thoughts. I am excited to be here to take part in my first playoff action in the NFL.
