Cardinals still struggling to make plays

Ken Whisenhunt spoke for three minutes and 20 seconds.

The Cardinals head coach didn’t say much after the
Cardinals’ 32-20 loss
to the Steelers, the team’s fifth straight, other than the
same thing he has
since Week 1.

“It was a good football team that we played, and they made
the plays today
and we didn’t make enough,” Whisenhunt said.

The Cardinals may say their theme is “We do this
together,” but in reality it
should be something about not making plays. Because if
there’s one thing
to take away from the team through six games, it’s that
they are not
lacking in chances.

Take, for instance, QB Kevin Kolb failing to connect with
a wide-open Rob
Housler for what would have been a game-tying touchdown in
the second
quarter. Make that play and the Cardinals have momentum.
Instead the ball
fell incomplete and a couple plays later (following a
punt) the Steelers
scored on a 95-yard pass to Mike Wallace.

Instead of being tied at seven the Steelers held a 14-0
lead.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Whisenhunt said. “We have
to be able to
make those plays.”

Have to be able to, yes. Physically capable of making
them? The jury is still
out on that one.

Then again, it would be unfair to point to one moment in a
game that
featured many critical situations. Even with Arizona’s
sluggish start, the
team was able to get to within three early in the second
half, but the
Steelers responded with an 11-play, 80-yard touchdown
drive to push the
lead back to 10. The Cardinals would get no closer.

“It is important that we work in concert as units,”
Steelers head coach Mike
Tomlin said of the drive. “When things are going well, to
stack positive
things on positive things, and likewise when things go
south it is important
that you pick each other back up.

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