CARDS, WARNER ROUT SEAHAWKS

The Arizona Cardinals put together their most complete effort of the 2009 NFL season on Sunday afternoon, routing the Seattle Seahawks on the road 27-3.  Kurt Warner became the fastest quarterback to reach 30,000 yards passing as he threw for 276 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.  Receiver Larry Fitzgerald had 100 yards receiving and caught one of Warner’s scoring strikes.   The Cards’ defense, meanwhile, sacked Seahawks’ QB Matt Hasselbeck five times and limited him to 112 yards passing.  Arizona improved their record to 3-2 while the Seahawks slipped to 2-4.

Arizona opened up a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, leaving the NFL pointspread result in little doubt.  The Cardinals easily covered as +3 road underdogs and improved their ATS record to 3-2.  Seattle dropped to 2-4 against the number.  The 30 points scored went UNDER the posted total of 45’.  Arizona has gone UNDER in four of five while Seattle has played UNDER the total in four of six this season.

Warner was surprisingly restrained in his postgame comments, suggesting that there was still much work to be done:

"We just need to keep building. We're still not there yet."

The Cardinals played well in a potential ‘lookahead’ spot with a big game against the New York Giants at the Meadowlands on deck.  After the contest, much of the talk among Arizona players was this big matchup.  Larry Fitzgerald had this to say:

"Oh, that game is huge. It's really going to be an opportunity to see where we're at."

Defensive tackle Darnell Dockett sounded a similar note:

“We better start focusing on New York. I honestly feel they are a much better team -- no disrespect to Seattle."

Dockett also talked about Seattle QB Hasselbeck’s struggles behind a patchwork offensive line:

"At some point it seemed like he wasn't even looking at his receivers. I'm going to make no excuses that they had backup offensive linemen. They got out there and they got whupped."

Seahawks’ coach Jim Mora had little to say after the game, though he did praise Cards’ receiver Fitzgerald:

"That guy's remarkable. You can be draped all over him, and he still makes the catch. ... He just amazes me."

The Cards can now focus on their matchup with the Giants next Sunday night.  The Giants were soundly defeated by the New Orleans Saints this week, so they should be particularly motivated for the encounter.  Arizona will return home the following week to host the Carolina Panthers before going back out on the road for a game against the Chicago Bears on November 8.  Seattle will have a bye week before a November 1 game on the road against the Dallas Cowboys.  They’ll return home the following Sunday to take on the Detroit Lions.