By TJ Troup 
First, Congratulations to DeMarcus Lawrence for joining three other men by returning two fumbles for touchdowns in the same game!
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| DeMarcus Lawrence |
From Al Nesser's opening day in 1920 for the Akron Pros to Lawrence this past Sunday, this is an amazing achievement! Few can put it on their NFL resume.
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| Al Nesser, shown here with the 1925 New York Giants |
Matt Stafford has now completed 69 of his last 101 passes for 743 yards with 13 for scores, and nary an interception! Can the future Hall of Famer maintain his accuracy as the Rams take on the Seahawks for first place in the NFC West? Read that Washington has lost four straight games by at least 20 points, tying the mark of the 1954 'Skins. For those of you who have never seen film of that Washington defense in '54, they were -- a.) pathetic, b.) soft & slow, c.) abysmal, d.) all of the above.
Maybe going to Madrid, Spain, will help coach Quinn and his team? When a team returns an interception for a touchdown, historically, they win 80% of the time. This season, 9 of 11 times an interception has been returned for a touchdown, that team has won; some things just don't change.
The Cardinals have had many discouraging and losing seasons in their history (this season will probably add to that), yet there have been years where the Cardinals actually did win, and will end today's historical saga by going back in time to the November 16th games of the Cardinals in '47, '75, and '08!
Slowly, coach Jimmy Conzelman has built his team into contenders entering the '47 season, and the title of today's saga comes from him. Reading Joe Ziemba's superb book ("When Football was Football")will give you plenty of insight into this extraordinary man!
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| Jimmy Conzelman art credit: Gary Thomas |
Rookie star Charlie Trippi has been added, and he is the final piece to the Conzelman/Cardinal puzzle, yet they must win at home at Comiskey Park over the Packers to keep pace with their hated crosstown rivals, the Bears! Trippi plays very little in this game, but the Cardinals will find a way to win!
Chicago's first possession is a 61-yard drive with Paul Christman pitching to Mal Kutner for 20 yards and the first salvo of the game. Green Bay moves 55 yards, and Ted Fritsch kicks a field goal to put the Pack on the scoreboard. Late in the first quarter, Fritsch intercepts Christman and on the first play of the second quarter punches over from the one. Green Bay 10, Chicago 7.
The teams either punt or give the ball away on turnovers the rest of the quarter, with the exception of Fristsch's 44-yard field goal at 9:08 of the quarter! Twice, Green Bay had a chance to add to their lead but Fritsch missed field goal attempts of 35 & 42 yards! Half-time Green Bay 13 Chicago 7! Linebacker Ken Keuper pilfers an errant throw by Christman on the first drive of the 3rd quarter, and Indian Jack Jacobs delivers a strike to Bob Forte for 22 yards to up the lead to 20-7!
Can Conzelman rally his boys? Christman struggles finding the mark as he completes 2 of 5 and another interception; and additionally, twice he is taken to the turf by the Packers' pass rush. Red Cochran returns Jacobs' punt 11 yards early in the 4th quarter to his own 43. Chicago drives 57 yards in nine plays to score as Pat Harder pounds into the end zone.
Green Bay goes three and out, and here come the Cardinals to score and take the lead. Christman finds his favorite receiver, fleet All-League receiver Mal Kutner, for 27 yards and the go-ahead touchdown. Ray Mallouf punts to Canadeo with just 1:30 left with the Packers on their own 27-yard line. Twice, Jacobs delivers strikes to Nolan Luhn to gain 45 yards, and veteran clutch kicker Ward Cuff will attempt from the twenty-three. His kick is wide left! Chicago escapes 21-20 and goes on to win their only Championship.
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| Don Coryell |
Watching the highlights from "This Week in the NFL" and listening to Pat Summerall's narration for the game of November 16th was a joy. Randy Johnson, filling in at quarterback for the 'Skins, has averaged 18 yards a completion as Washington is ahead late in the game. 
Though Jim Hart has been able to get the ball to speedy Mel Gray enough to keep the Cardinals in the game, they trail 17-10 and face 4th down and goal on the Washington seven-yard line with just 25 seconds remaining. Gray darts to the endzone covered by left corner Pat Fischer as Jim Hart fires on target. One official rules incomplete, another completes and the field is a wild melee as players rejoice, despair, until the play is ruled a touchdown.
Overtime; and here come the Cardinals with Jim Otis pounding away on inside runs (he gains 109 on 23 carries for the game). Veteran Jim Bakken, who has already missed twice today, splits the uprights; thus, St. Louis with the victory, will go on to again win the NFC East.
The Cardinals have been in Arizona for 21 years, with very little success, but the season of 2008 is "magical" for veteran gunslinger Kurt Warner.
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| Kurt Warner |
November 16th, the 6-3 Cardinals travel to Seattle as Warner is again decisive & accurate in pitching the pigskin. Outstanding receivers Anquan Boldin & Larry Fitzgerald latch onto 23 passes for 337 yards during the victory! This will be Warner's 4th of five consecutive games gaining over 300 yards passing. He engineers four scoring drives in the first half as Arizona leads 16-7.
Warner completed 22 of 28 in the first half for 257 yards. The Cardinals add to their lead in the second half to lead 26-7, with the final being 26-20.
During the season, Warner is quoted "If you're willing to put yourself and your dreams on the line, at the very least you'll discover an inner strength you may not have known existed". Having to win on the last day of the season to earn a wild-card berth, the Cardinals again beat Seattle.
Arizona scores 95 points in winning all three NFC playoff games (at least 30 in all three)and leads the Steelers late in the Super Bowl before the clock strikes midnight for the "Cinderella Cardinals."
The Cardinals this Sunday play a 49er team that needs to rebound after the loss to the Rams; can the Cardinals add to their success in November 16th games in their history?
BW ...
ReplyDeleteDespite touching blades of grass with his toe, Holmes never tapped the ground with that foot in the 2008/09 SB, but because his team was owned by a Rooney, rather than a Bidwell, his team got the benefit of a doubt ... sorry, Cardinals fans.
The Rams are playing well, as is Seattle, who are finally playing well on the offensive line, compared to last year. The 49ers have been tough with Mac Jones but can they continue to stay in the Western race with the injuries? Will the Cardinals keep trusting Brissett or go back to Murray later on?
Jags and Giants lost big leads with Denver, Balt and NE continuing to win.
Kurt Warner....the signle most underving HoF inductee since (or before) Jerry Jones.....UGH.
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