NFC West: Arizona hurt by being one-dimensional

Football Betting Lines

12/02/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Cardinals go only as far as the arm of Kurt Warner can take them. They know that, and now apparently other teams do as well.

The Cardinals feature the second-best passing attack in the NFL at 303.4 yards per game. However, the lack of a run game has prevented Arizona so far from capturing its first division title since winning the NFC East back in 1975, when the franchise was based out of St. Louis.

Though Warner threw for over 300 yards versus the New York Giants two weekends ago, the ground game -- which ranks dead last in the NFL with 76.4 yards per outing -- managed only 23 yards in Arizona's 37-29 setback.

The Philadelphia Eagles then hosted the Cardinals on Thanksgiving Day and knew the formula to beating Arizona: stop the passing game. Philadelphia did just that, limiting Warner to 235 passing yards. He did manage to throw three touchdown passes, but was also picked off three times in the 48-20 loss.

Arizona rushed the ball just 10 times in the setback, totaling 25 yards.

"We've got to figure something out," said Warner after the loss. "When you are playing against good teams that have good schemes...it's tough to throw all the time. And we've got to figure something out if we want to progress forward and obviously through the playoffs. It's tough to be a one-dimensional team and continue to be successful week in and week out."

It's not that Arizona didn't have its chances. However, the Eagles were up to the task and got a little help from Cardinals wideout Anquan Boldin.

Boldin, who has 11 touchdown catches on the season and entered the holiday game with six scores in his last five games, dropped a number of passes, including at least one in the end zone.

"That was uncharacteristic of Anquan," said Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt, who thinks his receiver is going to be okay. "But I've been around a number of great players, and not every player is going to play great every game. That's human nature, sometimes that happens."

Arizona is going to make the playoffs -- that is assured with its next win or San Francisco's next loss. But the club has to be careful that it has some unpredictability to it when it reaches the postseason. After all, it is in the playoffs when defensive coordinators really buckle down with their schemes.

And while the Cards' offense has been great for fantasy owners this year, it's one-dimensional style might not be able to get the franchise its first playoff victory since 1998.

UP NEXT: Arizona will try again to lock down a division title this Sunday, when it hosts the St. Louis Rams. The Cards' 34-13 win over the Rams on November 2 was their fourth straight in the series.

49ERS: HILL MAKING THE CLIMB EASIER

San Francisco's first-round pick in 2005, Alex Smith, didn't pan out. The 49ers' decision to go with J.T. O'Sullivan at the start of the season at quarterback didn't work out too well either.

While the jury may still be out on new starter Shaun Hill, interim head coach Mike Singletary likes what he sees so far.

"One of the things that I've always talked about, and it's always the first thing that comes to mind when I think about Shaun Hill, and that's consistency," said Singletary on Monday. "I think that's the one thing that the team, particularly the offense, continues to draw from him, is just consistency."

Hill, if anything, has been consistent. In his five games this year, he has completed more than half of his passes in four of them. He has also thrown a touchdown pass in each outing and has posted a quarterback rating lower than 96.5 just once.

His 161 passing yards in this past Sunday's 10-3 win over Buffalo may have been his lowest total of the season, but he did complete 14-of-23 pass attempts while throwing for a touchdown and recording a 96.5 rating.

On Monday, Singletary was asked if he thought the 28-year-old Hill, who went undrafted back in 2002, had what it took to be a full-time starter in the NFL, one who could get his team to the playoffs.

His coach said it is certainly possible, but that it is up to Hill.

"But now, as I ask him to take it to the next level, he's the one that has to decide, 'Can I get to that next level?' And that is be the guy at the start of the season and take this team where they need to go, take them to the playoffs, take them to the Super Bowl, take them to the championship.

"It's on him, and week-in and week-out he's going to prove whether he can or cannot do it, but certainly the opportunity is there right now and as time goes on we'll see more."

Hill has made just six starts in his career, including four this season. He gets a good learning experience this weekend, when the Niners host the New York Jets, who of course, are led by one of the top quarterbacks of this generation in Brett Favre.

Though the 49ers are still alive in the hunt for the NFC West title, they will be eliminated with their next loss or Arizona's next win.

UP NEXT: San Francisco will try to hold off elimination one more week and are 8-2 all-time versus the Jets. The Niners won five straight in the series until New York posted a win in the last meeting in 2004, which took place at the Meadowlands. The Jets have not won in San Francisco since gaining their lone victory by the Bay in 1983.

RAMS: NEED TO FIND THEIR OFFENSE

They were once known as the "Greatest Show on Turf", but these days the St. Louis Rams look more like a preschool rendition of Shakespeare.

The Rams are scoring just 13.2 points per game, ranked 31st in the league. That has come off a mere 13 touchdowns, compared to the 41 the team has allowed.

Things haven't gotten any better for St. Louis, which has scored just one touchdown in its last four games. It is therefore no surprise that the club is currently riding a six-game losing streak and is 2-10 on the season.

"In the last six games, we've scored three touchdowns and two of them came at the end when we were down by 14 (points) or more," interim head coach Jim Haslett said on Monday, one day after his team's 16-12 loss to the Miami Dolphins that featured four field goals from Rams kicker Josh Brown. "Somehow, we have to manufacture points and get to the end zone,"

One of the main storylines following the Rams this year has been the play of running back Steven Jackson, who missed all of training camp due to a holdout that eventually netted him a six-year extension.

However, the 25-year-old has been slowed this year by injuries, and missed three straight and four of the last five games due to a lingering quadriceps strain before returning against the Dolphins.

One has to wonder how much missing camp has factored into Jackson's health.

"From what I understand, yeah, he got sore," Haslett said of Jackson on Monday in regards to the Miami game. "He started and then, I said this (Monday) and it got blown out of proportion, he got sore about the 30th play and started dragging a little bit. But his conditioning is actually fine, he did a great job on that, but you could tell he hadn't played in a month and he was a little sore. I commend him for fighting through it and trying to get in there in play. He did a good job when he was in there."

Jackson ran for 94 yards on 21 carries, but has been held to 619 yards and four touchdowns on the season. Three of those scores came in one game.

Hardly seems worth the money Jackson is earning this year, considering how poorly the team has done in the red zone. Haslett said he isn't sure about what is wrong with the play-calling in the red zone, but that his team just hasn't gotten it done.

UP NEXT: The Rams hit the road to face the Arizona Cardinals this Sunday. St. Louis will try to prevent the Cards from winning the division, but its 34-13 setback to them on November 2 was their fourth straight loss in the series.

SEAHAWKS: CARLSON THE LONE BRIGHT SPOT

It has been hard to find any bright spots for the Seattle Seahawks this year. Tight end John Carlson, though, has been one of them.

Carlson was taken with the seventh pick of the second round (38th overall) of the 2008 draft and quickly found himself into Seattle's starting offense. In 12 games this year, the 24-year-old has made 38 catches for 456 yards with three touchdown receptions.

In the national spotlight versus the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day, Carlson made six catches for a career-high 105 yards, including a nice 33-yard grab that helped setup a first-quarter field goal.

"I think John had a pretty good game, he caught the ball well," said Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren. "I think you got a little glimpse, and we know this, but I think the country perhaps, might have gotten a little glimpse of a pretty good tight end of the future."

Carlson deserves credit, considering how Seattle's offense has been this year. Starting quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has been in and out of the lineup due to injury this year, while injuries have also damaged the depth of the Seahawks' wide receiving group.

The Notre Dame product couldn't do enough, though, to prevent Seattle from falling to the Cowboys by a 34-9 count. After allowing Dallas to score on its first possession, the Seahawks were driving until a fumble by former Cowboy Julius Jones led to another Dallas score, and the rout was on.

"I thought we were moving the ball okay early, but we have no margin for error, so when we had the fumble and then we didn't score touchdowns in the red zone against that team, it's not good," said Holmgren.

At 2-10, the Seahawks have little motivation from here on out, but Holmgren isn't going to let his team give up in his final season with the club.

"It's a tough year, but we'll keep it going," he said. "We're going to battle until the end."

And Carlson will be a big part of it.

UP NEXT: After a long break, the Seahawks return home to host the New England Patriots on Sunday. The two teams have split 14 all-time meetings, although Seattle's loss to New England in the last matchup between the teams in 2004 halted a five-game winning streak over the Pats.