No contest: Arizona Cardinals get steamrolled in Carolina

As I’ve sat here for awhile after the event the titled the NFC Championship Game, I’ve been pondering where to begin.  Then I realized, the Arizona Cardinals never really began their game, so it was easy, just start typing without really caring in what direction I go.  It seemed to work for the Cardinals Sunday evening in their 49-15 thrashing at the hands of the Carolina Panthers.

Sit and ponder all you want.  It is disappointing, it is frustrating, it is hard to be a fan right now.  At least that’s what I thought as this game progressed from the opening kickoff until the very end, a time frame that seemed like 12 hours and not three.

I say though there is still no better time to be a Cardinals fan.  If you are feeling bad though, imagine the disappointment the Cardinals themselves are feeling.  They’ve already said it post game, they’ve said it on Twitter.  They know they let the fans down and more importantly they let themselves down.

Cardinals head coach said the season was not a success and that the “secondary was pitiful”. That they were but as Arians also pointed out there was no one person or unit to blame.  The whole team is to blame for that embarrassment on Sunday evening.

What has me really in a bunch now are all the comments on social media directed towards Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer.  It’s like the season never happened.  The fans have turned on him in an instant.  It really is mind boggling.

Sure, he threw four interceptions at a time when it was least acceptable.  He never got into a rhythm on Sunday evening but let me tell you this.  If it weren’t for him, the Cardinals wouldn’t even be in this position in the first place.  Amen to that.

During the game I was reading tweets from people saying we need to dump Carson now.  During and after the game I read numerous comments questioning Palmer and his future with the team, that he is no better than the Palmer the Cincinnati Bengals and Oakland Raiders had.  Let’s all just slow down now, shall we?

Let’s not forget that secondary.  Patrick Peterson made mistakes.  How about the pass rush?  I mean, how about the lack of a pass rush?  Hey, how about those receivers?  Even Larry Fitzgerald dropped passes and he never drops passes.

I know there is frustration and it will sting for awhile.  It is supposed to.  A six-month journey has just ended and it will be another six months before we get going again.

For now, let’s congratulate the Panthers.  Quarterback Cam Newton is the real deal.  He went 19-28 for 335 yards and two touchdowns.  He was picked off once but it really didn’t make much difference, although at the time it could have.

The Panthers defense was stifling as I expected it to be.  They sacked Palmer three times and forced seven turnovers.  This was never a contest from the get go.  The Cardinals had the chance to start things off right but went three-and-out in their first series.  It was all downhill from there for the Cardinals.