Cards notebook: Finishing with 8 wins team’s new goal

We’re 8-8! We’re 8-8! As a rallying cry it falls short of, “Give me liberty or give me death!” But that’s the best the Cardinals can do now, so that will be their goal.

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If they can do it — they’ll have to beat Atlanta and St. Louis at home to close out the season — they’ll finish with one of their three best seasons in their 20 in Arizona.

“We’re frustrated,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said of the Cardinals’ near misses this season.

But, he added, “We’re close.”

He called these last two games “important” because the Cardinals need to build momentum for next season.

“I’ve been with or watched a few teams every year, and it seems like the ones which finish strong” get a boost for the next year.

“That’ll be one of the things we focus on this week.”

Whisenhunt also emphasized that a .500 season would not breed satisfaction. “We aspire to do better.”

Still, by the standards of the past, it’s better than another losing season.

“An 8-8 season this year breeds a lot more confidence than a 6-10 season no matter what happened up to this point,” quarterback Kurt Warner said.

“I’d rather say we’re 8-8” and maybe end up with the same record as a playoff team,” he said.

“I think we’re going in the right direction, actually,” receiver Anquan Boldin said.

“I think certainly we’re not the same team as past years.

“We have a different look, different feel. This team is different all around. I think we’re headed in the right direction, taking the right steps.”

So what would an 8-8 record mean?

“It would mean something I’ve never done,” Boldin said. “I think the most games I’ve won is about six.

“It’d be a lot better to go 8-8 than 6-10.”

PRO BOWL CARDINALS?

Pro Bowl selections are scheduled to be announced today.

The Cardinals leading candidates would seem to be receiver Larry Fitzgerald, linebacker Karlos Dansby and defensive tackle Darnell Dockett.

“You just never know,” Whisenhunt said of the selections.

Then, Whisenhunt, a career tight end and special teams player, joked, “I was very surprised when I didn’t make it (laughter).”

STAT NOTES

• The Cardinals entered the red zone four times in Sunday’s game and came away with points on each trip, scoring three touchdowns and a field goal.

Their red-zone touchdown percentage is now at 71.8, second-highest in the NFL behind the Saints’ 72.8.

Overall, the Cardinals have scored 92.3 percent of the time they enter the red zone (36-39).

• With Aaron Francisco starting at strong safety Sunday, the Cardinals have now had 34 different players start at least one game in 2007.

• Linebackers Gerald Hayes and Dansby both reached the 100-tackle mark at New Orleans. Hayes led the team with 10 tackles and Dansby collected eight. Dansby leads the team with 104 tackles while Hayes is second with 103. It is the second 100-tackle season for both players.

• Hayes also had a sack of New Orleans’ Drew Brees, giving him four sacks in the first 14 games. Hayes entered 2007 with one career sack in his first four seasons.

EXTRA POINT

The Cardinals came away with no new significant injuries. Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald will be considered day-to-day for the final two weeks, but they should be able to play.