Gambo: Can the Cardinals recover in time for Sat?
As fun and exciting as Sunday’s game at University of Phoenix Stadium was the Cardinals go into this week of practice with several questions.
How will they react with a short week of practice?
Can they address their secondary issues in time to face a potent New Orleans offense?
Will Anquan Boldin be able to return from knee and ankle injuries?
Has Neil Rackers lost his confidence after missing an easy 34-yard field goal at the end of regulation?
But to me the biggest question is simple – Can the Cardinals rebound in a short week from a physically and emotionally draining game?
It is the playoffs so you expect the Cardinals to be ready. They are well coached so you expect them to be prepared. But I can imagine it wasn’t easy getting out of bed this morning if you played in that game Sunday. The Cards are already a 7-point underdog in the game. New Orleans is well rested, they are at home and despite losing their last three games of the season they will have the advantage. Arizona is spent and you can understand why. That game was hard, extremely hard.
What makes you think the Cardinals will have a chance is that New Orleans pass defense is awful – they ranked 25th in the NFL in total yards. The Cardinals played well on the road going 6-2 this season, the second best mark in the NFC. And it’s not like New Orleans likes the way they are playing right now. But I’m sure they are licking their chops watching film of the Cardinals secondary and their inability to defend a pass.
And if the Cardinals can recover from the Packer game we can expect more fireworks next week. As Cardinals wide receiver Early Doucet told us on the show today, “It’s the playoffs so you have to find that edge to get motivated and if you can’t then you don’t need to be in the NFL.”
