T1B

With one week left in the regular season – a home game against the Packers – the Cardinals know they are in the playoffs.

They know that, unless the Vikings lose next week at home against the Giants, they will play the Packers at home the first playoff weekend.

Facing the Packers two weeks in a row leaves many questions about the extent of the play-calling and how much starters will play for both sides. Trying to earn a No. 3 seed instead of No. 4 may not be worth it to coach Ken Whisenhunt to expose his team to Green Bay in any way.

“I don’t know if there’s going to be any clear cut indication of what’s going to happen until possibly right before the game,” Whisenhunt said Monday.

Or even during the game, thanks to the Dallas-Philadelphia game – which is the linchpin of every Cardinal scenario – having its kickoff moved later, to 2:15 p.m. Arizona time, and running concurrently with Cardinals-Packers.

“We’ll go ahead and plan and prepare like we’re playing Green Bay (this weekend) for a game of significance,” Whisenhunt said. “If that changes, at least we’ve gotten a good week of preparation in because there is chance we could play a Saturday game (in the first round).”

The Cardinals’ scenarios are relatively simple. With the Vikings’ dramatic overtime loss in Chicago Monday night, the Cards can still be No. 2 if the Vikings lose again to New York and the Cowboys defeat the Eagles – assuming a Cardinals’ win against Green Bay.

There is one possibility left for the Cards to not be the second seed and not play the Packers. If the Cards win, the Eagles win and the Vikings lose, the Eagles would soar to No. 2 and the Cards and Vikings would be tied with an 11-5 record. The Cards, having beaten Minnesota, would be No. 3 and the Vikings No. 4. The Packers, in that scenario, would be No. 5 and Dallas would be No. 6.

In that case, the Cowboys would visit the Cards.

But every other what-if has the Packers coming to Arizona, whether it is as a 3-6 matchup or as a 4-5.

“Right now,” Whisenhunt said, “I can’t tell you (achieving the No. 3 seed) would make a difference.”

At least the Cards have some higher seeding to play for, while the Packers go into this game knowing they are probably going to have to play every playoff game on the road regardless of the first outcome against the Cards.

Not surprisingly, Packers coach Mike McCarthy heard the same questions Monday himself.

“I think, frankly, a lot of this gets overhyped, game-planning and so forth,” McCarthy told reporters. “Football is about fundamentals and the people that do that win games. Putting this individual against that individual, yeah, you try and do that but also the opponent has the ability to grab the chalk and get on the board too and take that away. That component never changes.

“If we do play them in two weeks, great, we’ll be ready. If we don’t, we’re going to make sure we are ready to play them this week.”

McCarthy also said he was leaning against staying the week in Arizona even if the Packers played here twice, because it was better to stay in a regular routine of flying home and practicing in Green Bay.

There is a chance Sunday’s game will end up a version of a glorified exhibition, with backup quarterbacks Matt Leinart (who threw for 360 yards in the preseason against Green Bay) and Matt Flynn handling most of the duties instead of Kurt Warner and Aaron Rodgers.

Keeping players sharp is important, Whisenhunt acknowledged, although he noted the passing game came together nicely a week after being out of sync in Detroit.

“But it’s going to be awfully hard to keep Kurt (Warner) or Larry (Fitzgerald) or Anquan (Boldin) off the field,” Whisenhunt said. “I’m just telling you that right now up front. We tried to get Larry off the field (Sunday) when he dinged his elbow and he wouldn’t come out.

“Even though we weren’t as efficient last week against Detroit, I feel like we moved that way (Sunday). That’s going to be a big factor for these guys wanting to play this week, just to keep that rolling.”

packwin13 wrote:If the first round bye is out of the question for the Cardinals by kickoff, the week 17 game is going to look a lot like a preseason game. The starters may play for a while, but I wouldn't expect many new schemes on either side of the ball. As long as the Packers avoid the injury bug this week I'll be happy. I do expect us to both be revisiting this thread early next week though when the teams match up again.

McCarthy also said he was leaning against staying the week in Arizona even if the Packers played here twice, because it was better to stay in a regular routine of flying home and practicing in Green Bay.

There is a chance Sunday’s game will end up a version of a glorified exhibition, with backup quarterbacks Matt Leinart (who threw for 360 yards in the preseason against Green Bay) and Matt Flynn handling most of the duties instead of Kurt Warner and Aaron Rodgers.

Keeping players sharp is important, Whisenhunt acknowledged, although he noted the passing game came together nicely a week after being out of sync in Detroit.

“But it’s going to be awfully hard to keep Kurt (Warner) or Larry (Fitzgerald) or Anquan (Boldin) off the field,” Whisenhunt said. “I’m just telling you that right now up front. We tried to get Larry off the field (Sunday) when he dinged his elbow and he wouldn’t come out.

Diogenes wrote:So when was the last time a team finished the regular season against a particular team- and then had them the next week in the playoffs?

poptart wrote:I remember '91 well.

Diogenes wrote:
And yes. I'd still prefer the Cowgirls. Look for Tony Homo to throw at least four picks against whoever is on the schedule.

Yer a Fuckin Jerkoff wrote:...considering what a soft team the Cards are.

Screw_Michigan wrote:Rack the Tards.

Diogenes wrote:

Yer a Fuckin Jerkoff wrote:Fitzgerald was the "one receiver" I was referring to since Bolden is hurt. I didn't forget about Breaston but Sensabaugh will fuck his shit up. What I forgot to mention is that everyone will know that the Cardinals are passing on 95% of downs after the first quarter when their running game goes nowhere, making it easier to tee off on Warner.

You're an Fuckin Moron. Their running game has been steadily improving, Boldin played after coming back early from facial reconstruction surgery and kicked ass-he'll be just fine if you ladies even make it that far, and you probably don't know who Doucet is.

But then, nobody knew who Breaston was before Q got hurt.

mvscal wrote:

Jsc810 wrote:The Saints will handle the Cardinals without much problem, they are better on both sides of the ball.

No, they aren't and they're going to be rusty. Your team sucks. They're gutless bitches who got fat on creampuffs, faded down the stretch and overcame no challenges this season. Now they face a team that hung 51 on the best defense in the NFC and have one of if not the most dangerous postseason quarterback in NFL history.

The stage is set for a Dallas-Arizona conference championship. The Taints and Viqueens are little more than cattle nervously mewling in the slaughter pen. They know something is wrong but can't quite figure out what it is and the steel bolt that blasts through their skulls will come as a complete surprise.

mvscal wrote:The Packers had the #2 defense in the NFL and Warner shredded them like a high school scout team.

Papa Willie wrote:Rack. The second half was some of the most exciting football I've ever seen. God damn - I've never seen that many unfuckingreal passes/catches in one game in my life.

BSmack wrote:

Papa Willie wrote:Rack. The second half was some of the most exciting football I've ever seen. God damn - I've never seen that many unfuckingreal passes/catches in one game in my life.

You mean you've never seen that many busted coverages in one game on your life capped off by one of the worst crew job non calls in the history of football.