Losses continue to define Cards’ franchise, season

They no longer get blown out. In fact, you can almost count on their games hinging on one or two key plays and going down to the wire.

Read Mike Tulumello's blog, Bird Watching

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, they still lose more than they win.

But that’s a progress of sorts. They and their fans will have to settle for that as they enjoy their bye week.

At 3-4, the Cardinals probably will have to go 6-3 to have a realistic shot at the NFL playoffs, maybe even 7-2.

That’s possible, given their schedule, ranked the easiest in the NFL at the season’s start.

They got through the toughest portion — the first four games — at a more-than-respectable 2-2, then went a disappointing 1-2 when the opposition seemed to get softer.

Now, they will start the post-bye portion of their schedule on Nov. 4 in Tampa in a near must-win situation.

If they can pull it off, they’ll be 4-4, with five of their final eight games at home (including hapless Atlanta and St. Louis to close the season).

Here’s a look at how the Cardinals have fared across the board.

OFFENSE: C

The slow starts, only one touchdown in the first quarter, are a head-scratcher.

“Offensively we’ve been sporadic,” coach Ken Whisenhunt acknowledged. “The biggest thing for us offensively is starting a little quicker. If we can do that, it will put our defense in a better situation.”

On the plus side, they’ve got a much-improved running game led by the same runner: Edgerrin James.

They’ve also got new players on the offensive line, instead of settling for the same-old, same-old — the doomed approach of Dennis Green.

Assistant head coach Russ Grimm has coached them up.

The line even has depth thanks to the play of Elton Brown and Lyle Sendlein, the undrafted rookie.

But the so-so start of Matt Leinart is cause for long-term concern.

Kurt Warner was brilliant in the hurry-up offense but now will have to stay injury-free and avoid turnovers at all costs.

Otherwise, the Cards’ season will go the usual way.

DEFENSE: B

That the Cardinals have leaped from their lowly No. 29 rank last season to No. 9 so far this season is a surprise.

After all, these are mostly the same players (though in better shape), because the defense didn’t get help from the draft.

Darnell Dockett is dominating at times, and Calvin Pace actually is living up to his first-round draft stature.

What’s not surprising is that linebackkcers Gerald Hayes and Karlos Dansby are outstanding.

In the secondary, Adrian Wilson is solid but he needs to eliminate the penalties. Rod Hood has rescued the cornerback group; he was a key off-season pickup.

“Overall, our defense has done a great job of limiting our opponents in yardage and scores,” Whisenhunt said.

The grade here would be A-minus had it not been for a long touchdown drive given up in the final three minutes to the 49ers in the season opener.

In retrospect, this game — more than any other loss — was the one that got away.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C

They’ve made terrific plays, including a blocked punt and two deflections.

Rookie Steve Breaston has given them the No. 8 punt return team (though only No. 22 on kickoffs).

But on the other side, they’ve had a maddening tendency to give up long returns. They rank No. 22 on kickoffs and a lowly No. 30 on punts.

Punter Mike Barr hasn’t done much statistically, but he’s usually been effective at pinning teams inside the 20 (though he missed opportunities Sunday at Washington).

Kicker Neil Rackers has been fantastic on kickoffs but isn’t as dependable on field goals as he was in that memorable season two years ago.

Whisenhunt said, “That’s the biggest thing we have to do over the second half: establish more consistency from our special teams.”

COACHING: B-plus

If instilling a positive attitude counts for anything, the new coaching staff would get an A.

The players worked themselves into much better shape in the off-season. They clearly wanted to be pushed and to be coached.

The result is they’ve outplayed everybody but Carolina down the stretch of games.

Yet the coaching staff also has to take responsibility for the team’s 1-3 record in down-to-the-wire close games.

And, in retrospect, they should have had three quarterbacks on the roster from the start.

MISCELLANEOUS

The Cardinals shored up their two weakest areas, cornerback and offensive -line. Now, it’s fair to say their talent level is at least average.

That’s fairly revolutionary for this franchise in its 19-plus seasons in Arizona.

Yet they added little in the draft: Just a kicker returner in Breaston and a tackle in Levi Brown, who — while promising — has been unspectacular and has missed three games with an ankle injury.

The Cardinals have had little success in the past using first-round picks on offensive linemen. The pattern may well hold here, especially when you consider they passed up the draft’s best player in Adrian Peterson.

By drafting Peterson at No. 7, they would have gotten a potential superstar relatively cheap. Instead, they got an expensive offensive lineman.

BOTTOM LINE

The Cardinals should be able to bring home seven wins, eight if they have no more injuries at quarterback. But the playoffs are a long shot.