Paulie’s Blog: A look and listen at Arizona Cardinals win
Sep 19, 2012, 2:47 AM | Updated: 4:35 am
We keep seeing the highlights over and over. But after taking in the Arizona Cardinals big win (BIG, BIG win) as the sideline radio reporter who tries to stay out of the way, I keep hearing the XL victory over the Patriots. Over and over, it keeps playing in my head on a loop.
Hmmm. What if we plugged headphones into my ears?
For instance, I can picture the Cardinals first drive (13 plays) that ate up over six minutes on the clock. But what I keep hearing is the echo of Daryn Colledge and Adam Snyder reminding the offense (and maybe themselves) to “just play, no pressure. Let’s just play, take what they give us.” Soon after, the Cards did just that with an opening drive that featured a half-dozen run plays and a half-dozen pass plays.
Before taking the field on defense, I can still vividly remember the Cards’ defense barking at each other: “Be fast, be physical. They can’t handle that.” Later, just for further ammunition, the leaders on defense reminded everyone the Patriots “disrespected” the Cardinals pre-game routine by walking through their stretching lineups.
Speaking of “fast & physical,” the Cards’ D might want to trademark that moniker before Vin Diesel swipes it for the title of his next stunt-driving movie (“Fast & Physical”). I can still hear defensive players in the locker room telling me how playing fast AND physical is the Cards’ competitive advantage, since most NFL defenses are usually one OR the other.
We can all picture the Quentin Groves punt block. Of course, a game-changing play by the special teams is quickly becoming the norm, right? Upon his return to the sideline, you also couldn’t help but hear Quentin Groves shouting “I TOLD you so…I TOLD you so!” Turns out, Groves had called his shot before that play a la Babe Ruth pointing to the bleachers. Ding.
Now, what was unknown to almost everyone on the sideline was the play call on the final touchdown. As teammates discovered, Kevin Kolb and Lyle Sendlein had put the “sneak” into QB sneak indeed. As Sendlein explained repeatedly: “We talked about that all week. We were the only ones who knew.”
And I can still hear Blues Brothers music blaring over the PA system and the lyrics yapping about a “Wish Sandwich” (a sandwich where you have two pieces of bread and wish you had some meat). Why? Well, the stadium cameras caught Dan Akroyd in a luxury suite. On cue, Akroyd obliged the crowd by busting a few moves — Blues Brothers style.
So, with all apologies to the best booth in the NFL (Dave Pasch/Ron Wolfley), sometimes a sideline reporter has to turn the station, remove the headphones, and put his ear to the field turf.
