Big Red Blog: Bye week blues for Cardinals

Arizona's bye week couldn’t have come at a worse time, in the midst of five-game losing streak with the Atlanta Falcons on deck in Week 11.

Bye week blues for Cardinals

Posted by Brad Wilbricht
Tuesday, November 6 - 9:45 AM

The Arizona Cardinals bye week couldn’t have come at a worse time. The Cardinals are in the midst of a five-game losing streak and following their week off will travel to take on a currently undefeated Atlanta Falcons squad.

During a 4-0 start, everything was going Arizona’s way but those fortunate bounces have come to a halt and reality has set in on the Cardinals. The team’s knack for making big plays on both defense and special teams has dried up. Patrick Peterson and the return game has been in a slump and while the defense is still holding its own, it hasn’t performed like it was through the first quarter of the season.

Unfortunately for Arizona, the reality is that the its not nearly as good as a 4-0 start led us to believe. The Cardinals have major issues along the offensive line and it’s safe to say that has contributed to the team being offensively challenged across the board. Quarterback play has been sketchy and the running back situation – partially due to injuries – certainly has not helped matters.

Also working against Arizona is the fact that the NFC West continues to be a highly competitive division with the San Francisco 49ers once again in a dominating position. After the 49ers, it has been the Seattle Seahawks that have seized the second spot with a record of 5-4.

Despite all of the negatives, Arizona is still in the hunt for a playoff berth and even can likely control its own destiny. The Cardinals are currently one game back for the final Wild Card spot, trailing the Seahawks and the Minnesota Vikings who also have a record of 5-4. The Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are also in the mix, just a half game back with 4-4 records.

Another positive for Arizona is that they could soon have Kevin Kolb back under center. Since Kolb went down in Week 6 against the Buffalo Bills, the Cardinals offense has sputtered badly. Like usual, John Skelton has done an admiral job but the offense was clicking with Kolb at the helm and was a much more cohesive unit.

While getting the services of Kolb back should help ignite the offense, it won’t be easy considering the remainder of the Cardinals schedule. Following a bye this week, Arizona travels to Atlanta and will also be on the road at Seattle and San Francisco in Weeks 14 and 17. Additionally, home tilts against Detroit and the Chicago Bears will be no walk in the park as both are playoff-caliber teams.

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Questions or comments? Contact Brad Wilbricht at

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Questions or comments? Contact Brad Wilbricht at

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