ReutersThe Arizona Cardinals made a strong statement that they’re a real contender on Sunday, welcoming the Eagles to town and then sending them packing with a one-sided beatdown in which Michael Vick got hit so hard and so often it was surprising he stayed in the game.
Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb — the man who was traded out of Philly to make room for Vick — had the biggest game of his NFL career in beating his former team, 27-6. Not necessarily the biggest statistically (though his numbers, 17-of-24 for 222 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, were great), but the most significant demonstration to date that he really could be a good starter for a good NFL team.
In fact, Kolb is a good starter for a good NFL team right now. The Cardinals are 3-0, and the way Kolb has played since John Skelton went down in Week One is a big reason for that.
The biggest reason for that, however, is the Cardinals’ defense. Arizona has put together a tough, nasty, physical bunch of guys who put a serious pounding on Vick, while also containing Eagles running back LeSean McCoy. Vick deserves credit for staying in the game despite the abuse he was taking, but he doesn’t deserve any credit for his ball security. Although Vick finally made it through a game without an interception, he lost two fumbles, including one that Arizona’s James Sanders picked up and returned 93 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the first half, a touchdown reminiscent of James Harrison’s touchdown against the Cardinals on the final play of the first half of Super Bowl XLII.
Since playing in that Super Bowl, there’s been a lot more disappointment than success in Arizona. But this Cardinals team looks like it’s ready to be a real force in the NFC. The 2-1 Eagles may still be contenders, but the 3-0 Cardinals are looking like one of the NFL’s elite teams. Who saw that coming?
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It appears as though the eagles traded the wrong QB
They said that we couldn’t handle Vick because he wasn’t a traditional QB like Brady… Anyways, to be honest, i didn’t expect the Cards to 3-0 but i’m glad and proud of them
The dynasty is on a rise, eh Vick?
As good as we played, all the so-called “analysts” will will have us in the bottom 15 teams in rankings. This team showed that they are top 10 material.
Wow, what a shocker. But what’s not is the Redskins are back in the NfC East cellar.
great win team! How bout them Cards!!!!
When Reid finally gets fired after this year, please consider Ray Horton as the next head coach.
I’m happy for Kolb after all that he’s been through.
Eagles got fleeced.
Shh, I’m still marveling at how “for real” the Eagles are.
So can all the “Eagles won the Kolb trade” posts disappear?
AZ is for real, they are a very good team.
Vick has majority of the Eagle’s TO’s.Vick holds the ball way too long causing his to get sacked and does not throw the ball away when he needs to and makes poor pass decisions making him throw a INT.The Eagles have a total of 12 turnovers and Vick has 9 of them.
I’m done being fooled by this team. The Eagles will always be the underachieving enigma of the NFL. Talent to be great but they don’t have the wherewithal and intelligence of a great team. The offensive line is garbage and the playcalling is mind mindbogglingly bad.
The Cardinals have a piss poor offensive line so what do they do? They run quick strike passes across the middle to neutralize the Eagles defense. But what does Marty do? He runs tons of long developing routes that get Vick killed.
If the Eagles had a coach like Whisenhunt, Belichick or Coughlin they could be really good. But instead we get Andy. I really hope Lurie sticks to his guns and cleans house this year when the Eagles fail again like they have the entire Reid era.
phillyphever, are you sure you can handle having a former Dallas Cowboy as head coach of the Eagles?
Not as good as Gabbert today. Had a whole 75 yards passing for 59 min but pulled one out his rear and got 80 to win the game. Truth!!!!
The Eagles offensive line was terrible,they could pass block at all.
The Eagles are who we thought they were
Dream team…
No way Vick lasts the season. That was brutal. If the replacements didn’t allow the Philly O line so many blatant holds, Vick would be in Arizona hospital right now. No one can put up with a beating like that week after week.
BTW – Babin – you may want to hold off on the flexing and posing after a sack when your team is down by 21 points. No question it was a good play. Just your team needed more and needed it much earlier.
Eagles should be 0-3
If the Cards still had Warner, they’d be major Super Bowl contenders, because that defense is scary good. All the offense really has to do is just not screw up and they’re usually in a position to win games.
Eagles should be 0-3. I’m not surprised one bit that the Cards beat them.
Vick is the weakest link in Philly. The Eagles managed to get to 2-0 despite Vick’s performances.
Lets see if Reid is a man of his word. Seems to me he said something like “… We’ll start the QB that gives us the best chance to win….” when he benched Kolb and started Vick. Well, Andy… Maybe it is time to give Foles a shot? Or is winning by a point to bad teams and losing by a lot to good teams good enough?
Vick’s ball security and feel for being a quarterback negate how electrifying he can be. Reid has to seriously consider going with Foles. It would be interesting to see the Eagles’ offense with a more traditional quarterback.
The eagles should consider Nick Kotys as their next head coach after Reid is fired.
Sorry but there is nothing suprising here. The Eagles are hugely overated. They should be 0-3 as they were lucky to beat the lowly Browns and the vastly superior Ravens.
Can’t wait for the Gmen to inflict more hardship on Vick!
RG3 this is your future!
Maybe Reid can trade Foles for a real QB
The drum begins to beat for Nick Foles.
Cards are not a top ten team get real eagles are just not that good
GO AZ!!!!
Looks like this actually could be it for Reid.
kingjm says:
Sep 23, 2012 7:15 PM
As good as we played, all the so-called “analysts” will will have us in the bottom 15 teams in rankings. This team showed that they are top 10 material.
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Who cares about where “they” place the Cards? Anyone who has watched them this season know how well they’ve played; actually going back to the last half of last season. I watched the Pats’ game last week and was waiting to see how they did today; looks like they are for real. 3-0. Still have 13 more to go.
I must say, if 4 weeks ago someone would have told me the Cardinals would be 3-0, taking out Seattle, New England and Philly, while the Saints would be 0-3 losing to Washington, Carolina and KC, I would have LAUGHED in their face.
That being said, the Eagles played the same way today as they have all year, only this time they got the result they deserved.
Until Kolb at least gets the Cardinals to a Super Bowl, the Eagles will still have won the Kolb trade. He’s just not worth DRC and a 2.
Theyd better fix that O-line, they play NYG next
lilrob10201 says:
Sep 23, 2012 7:22 PM
Vick has majority of the Eagle’s TO’s.Vick holds the ball way too long causing his to get sacked and does not throw the ball away when he needs to and makes poor pass decisions making him throw a INT.The Eagles have a total of 12 turnovers and Vick has 9 of them.
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Vick has been horrible with his decision making since he entered the league and especially this year. His feet used to offset his decision making but he’s a step slower now that he’s older.
Barring a few Dbacks who could catch balls that hit them in both hands, the Eagles would be 0-3.
I saw several plays were Vick was holding the ball 5 – 7 seconds. Of course your going to get hit. Everytime he’s looking deep for someone. How about 5-10 yard plays? If he see’s someone blitzing he takes off running backwards 10 yards, trusting his legs to get him out of trouble instead of throwing it away, trying to sidestep the rusher, or just going down.
Reid’s playcalling doesn’t help but the main culprit is Vick’s inability to process information and hardwired fight or flight instincts.
I also wanted to say that series at the goal line at the end of the half where Vick kept holding on to the ball before he get strip sacked, was all on Vick. Everyone is crowded around the goal line, you have maybe 2 seconds to get rid of it. You can’t hang onto it to try to make a play.
We’re a week closer to the Nick Foles era in Philly.
Awesome…the beating vick took! So deserving!
You can’t keep turning the ball over and think you’re going to be lucky all season. Giants still the best team in the division and will prove it again on SNF next week.
Let the haters hate! Go Cardinals!
Congrats cards fans…your defense looks great…i wish I could at least say it was a good game
Great win for the cards, and I still love watching lil’ mike fail.
It appears as though the eagles traded the wrong QB
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I like how people overreact after one game. Funny statement considering everyone said Kolb wasnt an NFL QB before week one started.
Dynasty!
Vick is so over rated. No souper bowl for you.
“Giants still the best team in the division”
Did you miss week 1? Cowboys played a bad game and still beat the Giants. In NJ. And they played another bad game against the Bucs and beat them pretty handily too, whereas the Giants needed a miracle to overcome the juggernaut that is the Tampa Bay Bucs.
Relax guys, it’s 3 weeks in……sit back and watch…
there is no annoiting in september, and February is a longway off………….
It’s not so much that the Cardinals won as the Eagles beat themse………. awww never mind.
Wow! Does this mean Kolb is going to actually start earning the fat contract he received? I’m sure Fitzgerald would like that alot… it’s been awhile since he’s had a decent quarterback. Can you imagine what his stats would be if he had a Tom Brady or Drew Brees as his QB???
As for the Eagles, well it appears to be the same old story: they look very talented….on paper. Unfortunately for them (and Andy’s job), the games arent played on paper. Vick is taking a beating…couldnt happen to a nicer guy! Eagles wont sniff the playoff’s with Vick as their QB and their head coach calling horrible plays. Looks like the Eagles and Redskins will fight over last place in the NFC-East.
Who are all these Kolb fans crawling out of the woodwork? Is it really necessary to remind you that he’s a 65 million dollar backup QB?
Omg… Did that eagle fan really think the eagles beat themselves and the cards didnt own them all game? Amazing!
Going into the first week of the season, something like 17% of players in one of my fantasy leagues had the Cardinals D. Going into this weekend’s games, it had climbed into the 30′s. I suspect after this game that they are being snapped up like crazy. Ladies and gents, the Cardinals have quietly assembled one of the elite D’s in the league, and they really proved it today. If the offense continues to grow and improve, watch out – the Cards will be in the hunt in January.
That was a tail-waggin’, howlin’ good time.
andrewproughcfe says: Sep 23, 2012 9:05 PM
That was a tail-waggin’, howlin’ good time.
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Loved every minute of it.
The eagles just signed Vick to a $100 million deal, what the hell has he ever won??? Nothing and all he does is get hurt and turn the ball over. Talk about a terrible contract.
Vick just can’t read defenses. He’s not that smart. His success has almost always been on broken plays.
Good NFL QBs do not hold the ball for 5-7 seconds. They read the defense, get their hot routes or progressions ready & the ball is out.
Vick holds the ball so long out of confusion/non-recognition. He tries to wait for the defense to “break down”. In his youth, his legs & speed helped him wait for defensive break downs & he would run or dump to Crumpler. He no longer has those same athletic abilities but it’s obvious he still can’t read defenses pre-snap.
He keeps holding the ball just like he used to but now he gets hit a whole lot more & has become a turnover machine.
Wow, Vick this Vick that…what happened to running the ball in the Frist quarter 2nd quarter? Playcalling was horrendous, O-line was disgusting…yet all I here is Vick this and Vick That…..
Great analysis…..
A real AZ kicking!
The Eagles have gone to the dogs.
Wanna bet, Mike?
If the Eagles beat Eli next week all the fans will be back on the bandwagon. This was one game. Kudos to Kevin Kolb. Always a class act.
I’ve been saying it for a while now. The NFC West will not be the weakest division in the league this season. It just might be the strongest. With the exception of the Rams what team is really looking forward to playing an NFC West team on their schedule this season?
Nobody tries to fleece the Cards and gets away with it!
It’s a long season.
The Eagles looked absolutely terrible but next week the game starts 0-0.
WOOF!…tough loss dawg!
“Omg… Did that eagle fan really think the eagles beat themselves and the cards didnt own them all game? Amazing!”
Didn’t you hear? They won 9 games in a row if you count preseason. It’s actually 74 wins in a row, if you dont count games where the Eagles beat themselves.
That Cardinal defense is good, and it was great seeing Vick get beaten to a pulp.
QB’s like Brady and Manning, have a 3-5 second count in the pocket. Vick had less than 1 second, on most snaps.
No QB in the history of the league can be successful behind that Philly line, that provides no protection.
No one person can win a team game.
As a falcon fan this is nothing new with vick. Is it a coincidence that every where mike played he had a bad oline? No its not dude cant read blitzes holds the ball too long. The packers,,falcons,colts(when manning was there) had awful olines the QBs are smart and release the ball quick. It also doesnt help that Marty is a moron and cant realize that deep passes wont work cause of the protection. The blame is 50/50 in vick n the eagles coaching staff
To paraphrase the first sentence of an article about Bill Giles and the Phillies years ago,
“The Philadelphia Eagles are a bleep sandwich of a football team and everyday Jeffrey Lurie/Andy Reid (name your villain) asks you to take a bite”.
Where are all the Andy Reid apologists right now, the ones that haven’t watched him make the same mistakes over and over again for 14 years?
Yea, what’s with the Eagles’ coaches. They ran the ball 5 times in the first half when they were still in the game. Vick has 9 turnovers in 3 games. He looks like the Vick of last year. And Capt. Andy and Marty look like last year, not good.
What I find funny is, the Eagles could very easily be 0-3 right now, yet most of the “experts” still refer to this team as a serious contender. I see an 8-8 year in the making. Again.
A lot of real good comments here. While it is still a young season, I believe it is hardest to turn one around in the NFL. And they can, but it will take a whole lot of work. Vick cannot take constant hits like those he got yesterday from the Cards D on a weekly basis. I am not a fan, but his health is more important than the game. What was the coaches thinking? It obviously did not work in the first half, why keep going with it on the second?
Yesterday’s pounding by AZ kind of puts into light the first two near losses by Philly. And I’m sorry, the way things look down there in PA, this team neither looks like a “dynasty” nor a “contender” even. I’m not even going to talk about the media who have picked the Eagles to go, not only in the playoffs but, to the SB. The (big name) players they signed look like they will be one of those that will eventually, after all the failures, sign with other teams in the twilight of their careers.
“The Eagles will always be the underachieving enigma of the NFL.”
Sorry, the Cowboys have laid permanent claim to that title. I say this as a Dallas fan.
Let’s talk more about the trade. I liked when DRC got owned by Michael Floyd at the line of scrimmage. A rookie knocked DRC on his butt, and got him to shove back. Kept a nice drive alive with a bonehead penalty by DRC. See why Cardinals fans don’t miss DRC? Eagles fans better hang there hat on the 2nd round pick they got, as it appears that will be the only thing of value for them in the trade.
And, if AW was in the game yesterday, Vick would have been carted off.
Let’s see…Eagles got manhandled by the Cards, Steelers lost, Pats lost, Niners lost. It was football heaven yesterday.
What a shocker, this team is overrated, underachieving, making excuses, and arrogant as all hell..
Sounds like every other year in Philadelphia.
Maximus Decimus Meridius says:
Sep 23, 2012 7:12 PM
It appears as though the eagles traded the wrong QB
You people are so arrogant. “you traded the wrong QB”. Yeah? The one you were complaining about and saying we “ripped you off” in a trade for? It just goes to show a haters are gonna hate. Yeah we got beat by a good Cardinals team, but to say we traded the wrong QB is foolish. I’m glad we traded him or we may not have drafted our starter next year Nick Foles. The majority of you people are bandwagon posters.
sundevils33 says:
Sep 23, 2012 7:28 PM
The Eagles are who we thought they were
After 3 games? And you are exactly as you come off… foolish. Thanks for taking the time out of your day to check out our news thread. Eagles will be fine folks, let the haters hate. However Vick needs to hit the bench sooner then later after these highschool QB performances.
realnflmaster says:
Sep 23, 2012 7:33 PM
Eagles should be 0-3
The fact that were not shows how good we actually are… you ppl are way too easy lol you make no sense at all.
Vick should run OL is bad and he’s getting killed
#CardsGoHard Great W, Az is now 10-2 in their last 12 contest and finally this week they will begin garnering national respect and attention. I don’t think we want any respect or attention at this point. Dr. Horton said in camp that he had studied each offense we would face this season and boy can you tell? Whiz is playing to Kolbs abilities. And who is talking about that O Line now? Hall of Famer Russ Grimm has that line overacheiving and as long as Kolb is not turning the ball over this Arizona Cardinal Team will be very hard to beat!