In the NFL, the off week is a time for players to put up their feet and let others wait on them. But the Cardinals learned last weekend that if they want a sandwich, they not only are going to have to make it themselves, but also go to the store and buy the ingredients.
In their quest for a third consecutive NFC West title, the Cardinals received no help Sunday. The three other teams in the division all won, and it appears the days of the wrapping up a playoff berth by Thanksgiving or so are gone.
"That's not what you want on your off week,"
coach Ken Whisenhunt said of the division's 3-0 record last weekend, "but those teams played well. Maybe our division isn't as bad as some people think it is."
The winner of Sunday's game between the Cardinals and Seahawks will be alone in first place in the division. But it's a tenuous spot, not only because the season is young.
The Rams (3-3) are rapidly improving behind rookie quarterback Sam Bradford. The 49ers won their first game last weekend and, like the Cardinals, have five division games remaining. There is plenty of time for them to make a run.
The same could be said of most of the NFC. Every team has at least two losses. Seven of the 16 have at least a share of first place. Only two, Carolina (0-5) and Detroit (1-5) appear out of playoff contention.
"It was a terrible weekend for the NFC,"
Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. "I was hoping they (other division teams) were going to lose, but it makes it more interesting."
Through the first five weeks of the season, the NFC West had the reputation of being the league's worst division. But last week, the Seahawks won on the road against the Bears, who lead the NFC North, and the Rams upset the Chargers, the preseason favorite to win the AFC West.
It appears the NFC West will be a much tighter race than the past two seasons. In 2009, the Cardinals and 49ers were 3-2 after Week 6, and the Seahawks (2-4) and Rams (0-6) were showing no signs they could contend.
In 2008, the Cardinals were 4-2 after Week 6 and already had a two-game lead in the division.
Though there is no reason for parades, the NFC West's 3-0 record last weekend is evidence the division might be comparable with the rest of the NFC, where no team has distinguished itself.
The AFC, in contrast, has the Jets, Patriots and Steelers, all with one loss.
Entering Week 7, Whisenhunt isn't interested in handicapping the division race.
"Until somebody's clinched it, it's a wide-open division, isn't it?"
he said, with a smile. "I'm not going to sit here and make any assessments about the division with 11 weeks left. I'm worried about Seattle this week."
"If we take care of our business, all that stuff will take care of itself."
Help on the horizon?
Outside linebacker O'Brien Schofield is an upbeat person by nature, but he will be smiling more than normal this week.
First, his alma mater, Wisconsin, beat then-No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday, and Schofield was on the sideline to watch. More important, Schofield expects to practice football today for the first time since suffering a torn anterior-cruciate ligament in January while practicing for the Senior Bowl.
"It's like a dream come true,"
said Schofield, a fourth-round draft pick. "I've been part of the organization, but I've just been doing rehab and training. Now I finally get a chance to go out there and show coaches that, one, I know what I'm doing."
"I want to show that I've been paying attention and that I can fit in somewhere on this defense."
Schofield has been on the non-football injury list since training camp and wasn't allowed to practice or play for the first six weeks of the season.
Those six weeks are up, and Schofield said he is scheduled to begin practice today. If so, the Cardinals have three weeks in which to evaluate him. At the end of that period, they must put Schofield on the active roster or keep him on the non-football injury list.
The Cardinals never counted on Schofield to play this year, but if he's healthy, he could fill a specific role as a pass rusher. As a senior at Wisconsin, Schofield had 12 sacks and 24 1/2 tackles for a loss, second-most in the country.
"These three weeks that I get, they are going to be like my (training) camp,"
Schofield said, "because I haven't hit, made contact or played football in eight or nine months."
Coaches Corner: Ken Whisenhunt
Coach Ken Whisenhunt, on quarterback Max Hall handling the noise at Qwest Field in Seattle on Sunday:
"I'm sure at some point he's played in it in college. I think he got to experience a little bit of that in Atlanta, some of it in San Diego. I don't think from the standpoint of having to deal with the noise, going through the procedures of doing that, that it's going to be something that's foreign to him."
On whether it will be a challenge to game plan when he isn't sure if receivers Steve Breaston and Early Doucet will play:
"I think the way Andre (Roberts) and Max (Komar) and Stephen (Williams) have all come along really helps. They've gotten a lot of plays and made some plays for us. Those are the kinds of things that give you confidence to put your plan in no matter who your receiver is."
Stat Pack
• Under coach Ken Whisenhunt, the Cardinals are 1-2 after off-weeks.
• The Cardinals have won four consecutive games over the Seahawks and six of the past seven.
Where they rank
Cardinals defense: 28th, 382 yards per game.
Cardinals offense: 31st, 240 yards per game.
QB ratings
Max Hall's rating of 57.6 would put him ahead of only Carolina's Jimmy Clausen at 52.2. (Hall doesn't have enough attempts to be ranked.) Clausen, a rookie, was benched this week. Derek Anderson's rating is 59.5.
