Cards notebook: Front 7 shut down Panthers’ ground game

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - They were thought to be too small for the big time. But the Cardinals’ front seven played large Saturday night, once again shutting down a top-notch running game.

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SLIDESHOW: Cardinals vs. Panthers

They held the Carolina Panthers to just 75 yards rushing in the NFC divisional playoff game.

And when the offense got them a big lead, forcing the Panthers to throw, the Cardinals played the passing lanes nearly perfectly.

They came up with a franchise-playoff record five interceptions.

“I was a little worried early because they ripped off a couple runs on us,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said.

Then, “Our defense calmed down.

“That’s one of the things that we haven’t done this year. We calmed down. We stayed disciplined.

“I can’t give our defense enough credit.”

“We knew we had to stop the run,” said safety Adrian Wilson, who often played up, like a linebacker, in this game.

“And we took what we practiced to the game.”

“We’re just getting in the way,” said defensive tackle Darnell Dockett. “They’re running in the wrong holes.”

RISE OF DRC

One of the brightest spots of this Cardinals’ season has been the play of rookie cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

“He has done a fantastic job for a rookie,” Whisenhunt said before the game. “He’s exceeded expectations for that position.”

First-round draft picks are expected to contribute, maybe even start.

But “DRC” turned into one of the league’s top defensive rookies.

“To start the number of games he’s started, to have some of the big interceptions ... it makes a huge difference for us.

“In turn, his confidence has grown.”

Against the Panthers, Rodgers-Cromartie often was responsible for covering superstar receiver Steve Smith.

With the Panthers in position to tie the game early in the second quarter, he stepped in front of Smith and intercepted a Jake Delhomme pass at the 1-yard line and returned it to the 19.

The play started a long Cardinals’ drive that ended with a Neil Rackers field goal that made it 17-7.

Later, Rodgers-Cromartie made a spectacular leaping deflection on one of Delhomme’s best passes, a bomb that otherwise would have hit Smith in stride.

Smith didn’t make a catch until the final seconds of the third quarter, when the game was all but over.

MEANINGLESS NUMBERS

The Cardinals were 0-5 in the East in the regular season.

The Panthers were 8-0 at home in the regular season.

“We joked early in the week about being 'due,’” Whisenhunt said upon emerging from the Cardinals’ raucous locker room.

“Maybe we actually were.”

QUIET TIMES IN CHARLOTTE

A story in the Charlotte Observer noted that fans at Panthers games caused the fewest false start penalties in the NFL over the past three seasons.

Just 25 such penalties were whistled at Panthers games during this time.

By contrast, Cardinals fans caused the sixth-most penalties from 2006-08 with 43 at home games.

The most penalties were called in Seattle (54) and Minnesota (50).

The story seemed designed to encourage Carolina fans to be more vocal.

CARDS GET WEATHER BREAK

After a week of speculation, the weather wasn’t a factor.

The game-time temperature was a pleasant 53 degrees. More important, rain didn’t disrupt the game much.

Fans got a shower for a couple of minutes, about 15 minutes before kickoff, but that was about it until a downpour hit on the final plays of the first quarter. But it lasted only a few minutes.

Afterward, rain drizzled off and on but didn’t seem to affect play until the game’s final seconds, when another downpour hit.

GOOD SEATS AVAILABLE

Season-ticket holders joined scalpers in trying to get rid of fistfuls of tickets before the game.

One sad-faced scalper asked $50 for club-level seats.

In the Cardinals' game here on Oct. 26, thousands of seats were empty, even though the Panthers boasted one of the NFL’s best records.

OWNER FIGHTS FOR LIFE

Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, one of the most respected operators of a big-league franchise, is hoping to receive a heart transplant.

Richardson, 72, is the first former NFL player since George Halas of Chicago to own a franchise.

He played in 1959-60 for Baltimore; his signature play was catching the game-winning touchdown pass from Johnny Unitas in the 1959 NFL title game.

He later went into the food-services business and purchased the expansion Panthers.

“People around the region know what kind of guy Mr. Richardson is,” Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme said.

The owner has befriended his players, and “not only the so-called stars,” Delhomme said.

“It’s little things, like knowing guys’ wives, knowing their girlfriends, something about their families.

“And he’s not in the spotlight. That’s one thing I think guys respect more than anything. He’s not one of these guys always on the sidelines, wanting to have interviews. That’s not him. He’s such a man of class and respect.

“The biggest compliment … is if the owner walks through the locker room … for the most part you are going to see people under them kind of turn and look the other way and not try to make eye contact, or hide.

“He walks in the locker room and guys flock to him. Guys go talk to him because of just the way he is, just the kind of man he is.”