Upon Further Review: Cardinals Week 14

By admin December 9, 2013 16:10

TEMPE, Ariz. — A review of four hot issues from the Arizona Cardinals‘ 30-10 win over the St. Louis Rams.
Palmer rested: All Carson Palmer did after not throwing a single pass in practice all week to rest an injured throwing elbow was toss the second-best completion percentage in Cardinals history.
He completed 27 of 32 passes, or 84.4 percent, which was the next highest to Kurt Warner’s NFL record 92.3 percent in 2009. It helped that he started 11-for-11.
“I didn’t know that and I didn’t feel that way,” Palmer said. “I really didn’t think about it. I was thinking about the lull we had at the beginning of the second half and being a little frustrated with that.”

Back in a groove: It’s been a while since Larry Fitzgerald had double-digit receptions. Almost two years, to be exact. But as Palmer found a rhythm, so did Fitzgerald, catching all 12 of his targets for 96 yards.
“We just had a good connection,” Fitzgerald said. “Everything worked pretty good. As a whole throwing the ball, I think we were pretty effective and we were able to move the ball up and down the field.”
Fitzgerald’s 12 catches were his most since Week 17 of the 2011 season, and was one shy of his career high of 13 catches in a game. He’s hit that mark twice, last in Week 6 of 2009 at Seattle. His 12 catches are tied for the most this season among receivers who caught all their targets, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Fitzgerald knew how close he was to matching his career high.
“I’m very aware all the time of where I’m at,” Fitzgerald said. “But the game was out of reach at that point and I never put myself in front of my team. We did what we needed to do. Hopefully, I can get 13 or 14 next week.”