Opening the season with a 4-0 mark despite having arguably the worst offensive line in football and without a legitimate quarterback was a testament to how well Ken Whisenhunt and Ray Horton were scheming the talent they have. Even though they did not have the personnel to match up with the likes of Seattle, New England, Philadelphia or Miami, they still started October tied with the Falcons and Texans for the NFL’s best record.

Since RB Beanie Wells went down in Week Three and RB Ryan Williams in Week Five, the running game has fallen apart, with LaRod Stephens-Howling lacking the power to wear down defenses the way Whisenhunt’s run game is designed to function. Levi Brown and Jeremy Bridges were one of the worst starting tackle tandems in the league, and their replacements, vagabond OLT D’Anthony Batiste and wide-eyed rookie ORT Bobbie Massie, have been heavily exposed, a big reason why the Cardinals lead the league in sacks allowed (41) at the NFL's midway mark.

Since the Thursday-night contest against the Rams, when the Cardinals allowed nine sacks, no team in the NFC has fallen harder, as the Cardinals have dropped five consecutive games with a defense not able to overcome the team's anemic running game. Against Green Bay, the edges were fairly well protected. It was their best blocker, ex-Packers OLG Daryn Colledge, who gave up the only two sacks, getting beat twice in the first half by the quickness of Mike Neal and Mike Daniels.