Bordow: Cards lose credibility with ugly loss

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. • Thank God this column is about football and not Anquan Boldin.

Thank God we can criticize the Cardinals for their 56-35 loss to the New York Jets Sunday and not seem inhumane.

Cardinals' Boldin responsive after vicious hit

Sloppy Cardinals pounded by Jets, 56-35

SLIDESHOW: Cardinals vs Jets

When Boldin was taken off the field in a stretcher with 27 seconds left — the victim of a cheap helmet-to-helmet hit by Jets safety Eric Smith — everything up to that moment became irrelevant.

Thankfully, it appears Boldin will be OK.

The same can’t be said about the Cardinals.

They didn’t just lose a game Sunday.

They lost their credibility.

“I don’t think it’s a setback,” defensive end Antonio Smith said.

Really?

What else would he call a 34-0 halftime deficit?

How else would he describe seven turnovers, a career-high six touchdown passes by Brett Favre, 11 penalties and a chip-shot field-goal attempt blocked because Jets nose tackle Kris Jenkins tossed snapper Nathan Hodel aside like a rag doll?

Maybe there’s only one way to depict it, given the Cardinals’ mode of transportation to the game.

It was a train wreck.

“We’re a young team, but that’s no excuse,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said.

He’s right about that.

There’s no excuse for allowing a franchise-high 34 points in the second quarter.

There’s no excuse for giving up 56 points, tied for the most in franchise history.

And there’s no excuse for the way quarterback Kurt Warner played.

Warner threw three interceptions. He had four fumbles, three of which he lost. The six turnovers more than negated his 427 passing yards and three touchdowns, all of which came in the second half, when the Jets knew they had the game won and played like it.

“I didn’t play well,” Warner said. “But I’ll bounce back and play better next week.”

It’s obvious now that the season rides on Warner’s right arm. Arizona can’t run the ball with any consistency — Edgerrin James and Tim Hightower combined for just 42 yards on 15 carries — so it has to throw to win.

That can be a good thing. When Warner’s on, there’s not a prettier passer in the game.

But it can also be a bad thing.

Warner’s problems holding onto the ball have been well-chronicled. But he seemed to have kicked the habit the first three weeks when he had just one turnover, an interception against Washington.

Then came Sunday.

The Cardinals drove to the Jets’ 9 on their first possession, but Warner fumbled when he was sacked by Shaun Ellis, and Arizona was pushed back to the 32-yard line. On the next play, Boldin lost a fumble, and the Jets took over.

Who knows how the game turns out if Arizona scores there to take a 7-0 lead?

“No question it changed the tone,” Whisenhunt said.

Whisenhunt absolved Warner, saying the offensive line needed to protect him better.

That may have been the case on two of the turnovers — the interior of the line collapsed on one play, and former Cardinal Calvin Pace drilled Warner after badly beating Levi Brown on another fumble — but it doesn’t explain the second-quarter pass that Warner threw right into the hands of cornerback Darrelle Revis, who ran 32 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

Nor does it explain the intentional grounding call from the Jets’ 8-yard line in the first quarter, when Warner held onto the ball too long and, finally, in desperation, threw it into the back of center Lyle Sendlein.

“I don’t think Kurt was the issue,” Whisenhunt said.

Sorry, but when a quarterback has six turnovers, he’s an issue.

That’s not to say the Cardinals should change direction and give Matt Leinart the ball.

Warner will have more good days than he does bad days. But the Cardinals have to understand that he’s going to throw a clunker or two in there, as well.

Besides, Arizona’s problems run far deeper than its quarterback.

The Cardinals have turned their 2-0 start into a 2-2 record, and the next two weeks they’ll host undefeated Buffalo and the Dallas Cowboys.

“We have to get all the nasty stuff out of the way and move on,” fullback Terrelle Smith said.

That won’t be easy.

But at least Boldin will be moving on with them.