by Bob McManaman - Sept. 17, 2012 10:21 PM
azcentral sports
It should have been a day for more high-fives and fist bumping, a victory Monday worth celebrating like never before.
After all, the Cardinals' 20-18 upset victory over the New England Patriots -- on the road, no less -- was that special. It was probably their most significant regular-season victory in the Ken Whisenhunt era, perhaps in their entire Arizona history.
"Well, I think there was a couple regular-season wins where we clinched the division. Those have been pretty big wins for us in the past," the coach said. "... It's hard to look at the second game of the season as a huge win.
"Well, I shouldn't say that," Whisenhunt said, catching himself. "I mean, it is a big win for us because it was on the road, it was against a very good football team. But as a defining moment, I think Patrick (Peterson) said it (Sunday), 'We've got a lot of games left to play.' We've still got a story to tell as far as who this team is going to be."
Maybe, but Sunday's unexpected victory was like Larry the Cable Guy winning an Oscar. Nobody gave the Cardinals a sniff of a chance. They were 14-point underdogs.
And yet there they all were a day later, victorious but not ready to bask in any glory or puff out their chests as they went about their business Monday at the team's Tempe training facility.
"It's a marathon, not a sprint," said Peterson, a second-year Cardinals cornerback. "We have 14 games left. Starting 2-0 is fantastic, but at the end of the day it's not going to reveal those next 14 games."
"He's right," defensive tackle Calais Campbell said. "We've got to stay humble and stay hungry and keep working hard week in and week out."
It's almost sad this team can't celebrate its victory a little bit longer, but being able to turn the page is a must. They face the 2-0 Philadelphia Eagles at home Sunday, and that's where their focus has settled.
Even the plane ride home was tame by usual NFL standards.
"I think they were excited about the win," Whisenhunt said, "but you know it wasn't like we just won the Super Bowl or something like that.
"I think they were proud of what they had done, the significance of winning a game in New England. I think it sunk in a little bit after the game, but it seemed like they put it behind them and we're moving on."
But how can you forget a game like Sunday? Maybe it helps that the Cardinals always seem to have another unpredictable and exciting finish up their sleeves.
Dating to 2010, the Cardiac Cardinals' past 11 wins each have been decided by seven points or fewer, with the average margin of victory 3.7 points.
In their past five games, four have come down to the final play, and all four of those were Arizona wins.
"We like it that way. We get better TV ratings that way," wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said, smiling. "We like to make sure our fans' blood pressure is on the rise every week."
In the Cardinals locker room Monday, it was calm and mostly quiet, except for the constant banging of free weights in the adjacent workout room, where players were pumping iron with a fury.
"It's intense in there right now," defensive tackle Darnell Dockett said. "That tells me something, and it makes me feel good. Guys aren't satisfied. They're going to keep working hard.
"Mondays and Tuesdays aren't off days around here. If you want to win, if you really want to win, you've got to put your work in seven days a week."
If you thought Sunday's win was something, just wait for the raw energy that is sure to fill University of Phoenix Stadium to the rafters -- and maybe through the retractable roof.
"It will be loud, it will be a great atmosphere and that will feed the confidence of our guys," Whisenhunt said. "Now that's great, but we've got to play smart and not make mistakes. That's where our focus has to be this week."
Given the lack of high-fives and fist bumps and virtually no celebrations at all on Victory Monday, that doesn't sound like it's going to be a problem.
18 Sep, 2012
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Source: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/articles/2012/09/17/20120917arizona-cardinals-get-back-work-after-stunning-road-victory-over-new-england-patriots.html
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