The Cardinals have been taking a beating by national media types the last few days.
They’re probably p.o’ed, as much as anything, that the Cardinals – with all their blowout losses – are ratings killers for their networks.
Funny how quickly things change in the NFL.
A month ago, the Cardinals were heroes and Ken Whisenhunt was a miracle worker.
I don’t think the coach has lost the team. There are explanations, sort of, for their slide (though I can’t figure the Vikings’ loss).
All they gotta do is beat the Seahawks – this is not automatic, the ‘Hawks have been playing well lately – and people will focus on the big picture.
And that’s a division title, a winning record and the first home playoff game for the franchise in 61 years.
But a loss?? Well, let’s not think about that quite yet.

The Cardinals are ranked the league’s No. 4 offense, but in looking to next year’s draft I wouldn’t be surprised if club officials emphasize offense.
Obviously, they need a running back most of all. But they can’t get tunnel vision pick for need over talent. So if, say, a dominant player for the defensive front seven is there and a dominant running back isn’t, you’ve got to go defense.
Next to running back, they could use a wide receiver (if Anquan Boldin departs), and most certainly a tight end and probably another offensive lineman.
On defense, they could use a big run stuffer in the middle, and – even with the addition of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie – another corner would help….
Boldin once again sat out practice with a sore shoulder. J.J. Arrington sat out with a sore knee. Without being definitive, coach Ken Whisenhunt indicated that if a playoff berth were on the line, the two would find a way to play. But because that’s not the case, the Cardinals – though they certainly would like for the two to play – will be careful about playing them.

You have to wonder about the Cardinals’ confidence level heading into Sunday at Patriot-land. They’ve gone 0-4 in the East. Two of the losses have been blowouts (at the Jets and Eagles) while two have been close (at the Redskins and Panthers). In addition, only one West Coast team has won in the East this season: the 49ers over the badly fading Bills a couple weeks ago. Also, the Patriots are fighting just to stay alive in the playoff picture. There’s a shot they could go 11-5 and still not make it. The Cardinals are merely choosing between the No. 3 and 4 playoff spots…
Congrats to the Cards’ numerous Pro Bowl picks. Sean Morey shows that you can be a terrific player, regardless of size…
Casting votes for Pro Bowlers with three games left is one of the reasons the game is taken the least seriously of the various all-star games….
The weather forecast calls for a high of 32 degrees in Boston with a 30 percent chance of snow showers. The Cardinals were hoping to get some sub-par weather on Wednesday, but the skies cleared just before their practice. Maybe they’ll have better luck on Thursday.

Handling higher expectations is new for the Cardinals. And they haven’t done a very good job of it so far.
Also, coach Ken Whisenhunt, in response to a question, admitted that you really can’t “fake” importance. And the game Sunday really wasn’t that important to the Cardinals. They were battling for the No. 3 playoff seed, but that’s not nearly as big a deal as clinching the playoffs, which they did for the first time in 10 years the previous week…
The Cardinals came out of the game OK; Travis LaBoy had ankle and elbow issues, Whisenhunt indicated the ankle is the bigger concern. More should be known in the next couple of days…
Adrian Peterson didn’t disappoint. He’s the best player in the game.

Eric Green, now the fifth cornerback, is inactive for the second straight week. Michael Adams is running No. 4 because of his special teams play.

Other inactive players include linebackers Clark Haggans and Pago Togafau, who are injured, plus emergency quarterback Brian St. Pierre, tackle Brandon Keith, defensive tackle Alan Branch and tight end Jerame Tuman.

Also, fullback Tim Castille will replace Terrelle Smith, who had to miss practice this past week because of personal reasons.

As usual, there aren’t many injuries to report for Sunday’s game. The final report isn’t official but I would guess linebacker Clark Haggans and special teams player Pago Togafau would continue to be out.

Backup safety Matt Ware, a special teams mainstay, should return from a facial fracture. Special teams ace Sean Morey has a sore shoulder; he’ll be worked out before the game to determine his status. Fullback Terrelle Smith had to miss practice time because of personal reasons but the Cardinals hope he’ll be available for the game…

It’s hard to believe a multi-billion-dollar industry such as the NFL still decides overtime games — and in some cases, a team’s season — largely by coin flips.

As a kid in eighth grade, I remember the excitement of seeing Bill Russell in his first Valley appearance.

I lived near the Coliseum, so I took in maybe 10 or 12 games in the Suns’ inaugural season. I certainly wasn’t going to miss the storied Celtics’ first appearance in Arizona. Good thing, too, because Russell retired as a player after the season, so this was the only chance to see him here.

Much later, when I covered the team, I got the same sense of excitement when David Robinson — a certain Hall of Famer, even as a rookie — made his Arizona debut. More recently, I got to see LeBron James as a rookie in an early exhibtion game in Los Angeles. Then James played his second NBA regular-season game in Phoenix.

These sorts of memories are what sport is all about. So I’m excited once again. On Sunday, we’ll see the first Arizona appearance of Adrian Peterson, who seems the best player to enter the NFL since Peyton Manning…

Still no definitive word if the recurring foot problems suffered by backup linebacker Clark Haggans will keep him out for the rest of the season.

Monty Beisel, in addition to backing up inside ‘backers Gerald Hayes and Karlos Dansby, is getting some work in Haggans’ place behind Chike Okeafor.

I remember it well.
Driving in my car in April, 2007, I heard a local sports-talk show be part of a national mock NFL draft.
This was before I covered the Cardinals, but I was curious so I listened.
The Cardinals had the No. 5 pick. Adrian Peterson, the dominant player in college football, hadn’t gone in the top four.
So, quite reasonably, the local talkers picked him for the Cardinals.
No way he’ll be available for them in the real draft, I thought. But if he is, the Cards would be lucky to grab him. He could be a star for 10 years.
So sure enough, draft day arrives and – incredibly – the first four teams pass up Peterson.
So do the Cardinals.
They drafted for what seemed a greater need, to fill a hole on the offensive line, and took Levi Brown out of Penn State, a guy who some analysts thought was a reach.
The lesson: Don’t draft for need.
Can you imagine how good the Cardinals would be if they’d taken Peterson? They’d be battling the Giants for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. They’d have been a Super Bowl contender for years.
If the Cardinals don’t make it to the Super Bowl with this group of players, the Peterson miss will be this Cardinal era’s most-remembered decision…
The Cardinals signed linebacker Kelly Poppinga, who played at Utah Sate and BYU, to their practice squad.
He replaces linebacker Chris Harrington, who was signed by Cincinnati to the Bengals’ active roster…
Brad Childress, the Vikings’ coach, told Arizona media members this morning that he’s unsure of the status of quarterback Gus Frerotte, who has a sore back and had to be replaced by backup Tavaris Jackson Sunday.

Backup linebacker Clark Haggans reinjured his left foot Sunday against the Rams, and coach Ken Whisenhunt does not sound optimistic about the matter. The Cardinals already have a backup linebacker, Ali Highsmith, on injured reserve. So this is one area where they could be thin.

Otherwise, the Cardinals came out of the game in good shape…

The Cardinals now are 5-1 at home this season, 11-3 under Whisenhunt. They also recorded eight wins in back to back seasons for the first time since 1975 (11-3) and ‘76 (10-4)…

The Cardinals have recovered 15 fumbles and have 11 interceptions. That ties them for second in the NFL with 26 take-aways…

Neil Rackers scored 10 points vs. the Rams, giving him 106 points on the season. He’s now scored 100-plus points four straight seasons, a franchise record.

Outside of a prayer 68-yard fair catch free kick try, he’s hit 18 straight field goals.

In a bit of a surprise, cornerback Eric Green, who entered the season as a starter, is on the inactive list for today’s game vs. the Rams. Unless he suffered some sort of pre-game injury warming up, he would rank behind Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Rod Hood, Ralph Brown and — at least today – Michael Adams (who had a good game on special teams last week).  

The rest of the list is about as expected. Two injured players are included: backup safety Matt Ware and speical teams player Pago Togafau. Also, emergency quarterback Brian St. Pierre, rookie tackle Brandon Keith, defensive tackle Alan Branch, plus tight ends Jerame Tuman and Ben Patrick.

That means the tight ends will be recent acquisition Stephen Spach and Leonard Pope, with Spach listed as the starter.