The Arizona Cardinals opened the 2012-2013 regular season on a high note Sunday, pulling out a gritty 20-16 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in vintage cardiac Cardinal fashion.
Revenge of the Birds, SB Nation's always-entertaining Cardinals site, was obviously ecstatic with the win but still had some critical things to say about a run game that only churned out 23 yards on 15 carries. Here's an excerpt from Tyler Nickel's opinion from his critique of Arizona's ground attack:
"I'm not sure there was any aspect uglier for the Cardinals than the running game. When your leading rusher is a wide receiver that took an end around, your ground game has issues. Outside of that play by Andre Roberts, Beanie Wells, Ryan Williams and LaRod Stephens-Howling averaged 1.8 yards per carry. Eek. They are not going to win many ball games with that kind of performance."
This is a fair assessment considering how solid the rest of the division looked; The San Francisco 49ers were victorious over a very talented Green Bay squad and even the St. Louis Rams made things interesting in their loss with an improved defense that flustered Matthew Stafford into throwing three interceptions.
Still, it's difficult not to get caught up in the excitement surrounding the Cardinals' big win and particularly Kevin Kolb's precise play on that final, no-huddle drive (6-for-8, 66 yards and one touchdown).
For more information on Cardinals football and to join the conversation, head on over to Revenge of the Birds.