It’s Always Sunny In Phoenix-delphia — Week 9

Don't fret, Danny Devito, there's always sun in Arizona, too.

Ok.  So there’s no “Phoenix-delphia” in the real world.  And the stadium is technically in Glendale, but throw me a bone here.  After all, that’s what this article is all about.  Finding the good, concentrating on it, and hopefully having a big win to back up the stats.  And every now and then maybe, just maybe, having to sugarcoat it.

Each week, we’ll take a look at the bright spots for the Cardinals, win, lose, or draw (That’s “game-show” for tie, Donovan McNabb).  So as strange as it sounds, I’ll be putting out an APB for sun in Arizona.  Don’t laugh, it may not be as easy as it sounds.  But for now, I’ll take a 41-21 win in Chicago.

First things First, where the hell did this road attitude come from?  The Cards are now 4-0 away from home.  After slumping to a 3-5 finish on the road last season, an unblemished travel schedule is an attractive anomaly.  How’s this for company — Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and New Orleans are the only other clubs who can claim the same feat after nine Sundays of action.  Of course, only Cleveland, Kansas City, and St. Louis have flopped harder at home this fall, but this article isn’t called Cougar Town.  It’s not supposed to be awful.

Still, if you want to get way ahead of yourself, take a look at the remaining road slate.  At St. Louis, at Tennessee, at San Francisco, and at Detroit.  Yeah, you read that right.  8-0 away from home is a real possibility.  The four remaining hosts are a combined 3-11 in their own backyards.  They’re only 5-27 overall.  I haven’t started chiseling Warner’s face into Mount Rushmore, though I think I could use Abe Lincoln’s as a template, but if the chips continue to fall into place away from University of Phoenix Stadium, history will be wearing red.

Over the last ten years, the Super Bowl winner has had at least the second best road record in the NFL seven times.  The 2006 Colts were one exception with a 4-4 mark outside of Indy.  The other two?  The Kurt Warner led Rams who won it all in 2000, and the New England Patriots who had to upset Warner’s Rams in 2002.  That losing Rams team was one of only two teams to go undefeated on the road over that time.  The almost perfect Pats of the 2007 regular season also went unscathed away from Foxboro.  And of course, both squads played for it all.

Sure, an 8-0 road mark guarantees nothing more than a 9-7 season right now, but I’m thinking with Seattle and St. Louis both still set to head southwest there’s at least one more home win in there somewhere.

Or at least there should be if the offense continues to fly straight.  Against the Bears, Warner led all NFL passers with a 132.9 QB rating.  His five touchdowns and zero picks were good enough to rank him a full 16.9 points above second-placer Ben Roethlisberger.  After a five-interception outing in the Carolina flop, that was a serious response.

Rookie Chris Wells didn’t appear to blow anyone away with 72 yards on the ground, but they were good enough for 11th overall this weekend.  Over the last three games, Beanie’s racked up 186 yards on 35 carries; good enough for 5.3 yards a clip.  He’s not there yet, but if he can stay healthy the rushing attack might finally take its hand off of the snooze button.

And of course, it wouldn’t be right to glaze over Larry Fitzgerald’s nine grabs for a-buck-twenty-three and two scores.  Or the fact that Chike Okeafor, Darnell Docket, Will Davis, and Clark Haggans all took their turn sacking Jay Cutler, the anti-Warner.

No one’s saying to book your tickets to Miami just yet.  But word on the street is South Beach has nearly as much sun as Phoenix.  Or even Philadelphia.

Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Beanie Wells, Chike Okeafor, Clark Haggans, Darnell Dockett, Home Game, Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, New England Patriots, QB Rating, Road Game, St. Louis Rams, Super Bowl, Tom Brady