Cards notes: Coach sets tone early

SEATTLE – Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt didn’t make a single play Sunday, but his ingenuity played a huge part in Arizona’s 27-3 victory over Seattle.

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After the Cardinals took the opening kickoff and marched 80 yards in 15 plays for a 7-0 lead, Whisenhunt called for a pooch kick from Neil Rackers.

Rackers executed the kick perfectly, rookie cornerback Greg Toler recovered at the 23-yard line, and Arizona scored three plays later to take a 14-0 lead.

There was nothing in film study to suggest the Seahawks would be vulnerable to a pooch kick, Whisenhunt said. But Rackers was kicking against the wind, and the Cardinals coach wouldn’t have minded if Seattle called for a fair catch at about the 25 rather than let return man Josh Wilson handle the ball.

“That was a big swing for us,” Whisenhunt said. “We’ve used it a number of times in the past. Neil is a weapon with some of those things.”

Rackers, as you might expect, loved the call.

“It’s fun to kick, and coach Whisenhunt isn’t afraid to call it,” he said. “I told Greg Toler to get on his horse and he made a play.”

RELEASE THE HOUNDS

Defensive end Calais Campbell was credited with just one sack, but that might be reviewed later in the week. It appeared Campbell had two sacks, one of which forced a Matt Hasselbeck fumble in the first quarter.

“I thought I had more than one,” a smiling Campbell said. “You’ve got to help me out there.”

Campbell’s play has softened the loss of Antonio Smith, who left as a free agent and signed with Houston.

“Calais played like a grown man today,” nose tackle Bryan Robinson said.

MOMENTARY LAPSE

About the only thing that didn’t go the Cardinals’ way was a fake punt Seattle executed to perfection in the second quarter.

Trailing 17-0 and on their 38-yard line, the Seahawks lined up in punt formation but punter Jon Ryan lofted a pass to tight end John Carlson for a 42-yard gain. The trick play led to Seattle’s only points, a 28-yard field goal by Olindo Mare.

“We wanted to get that shutout,” defensive end Darnell Dockett said. “But that’s OK. Anytime you shut down an offense like that, that’s big.”

BIG DAY FOR BREASTON

Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin get all the attention, but Steve Breaston continued to prove why he’s such an integral part of Arizona’s offense.

Breaston caught seven passes for 77 yards and one touchdown, a 16-yard catch in which he made like Fitzgerald and leaped high into the air to bring down a Kurt Warner pass.

“We have two great receivers on the outside and they get a lot of balls, but when it comes my way, I have to be ready,” Breaston said.

KEY INJURIES

Seattle lost middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu for the season with a torn pectoral muscle.

Boldin suffered a high ankle sprain and didn’t finish the game, but he said he thought he’d be able to play Sunday against the New York Giants.

EXTRA POINTS: Kenny Iwebema collected his first career sack on a 3rd-and-goal from the Arizona 3 early in the second quarter.

Warner eclipsed 30,000 career passing yards in his114th career game, tying Dan Marino for the fastest ever to 30,000.

Seattle’s 14 rushing yards were the fewest in franchise history.