2004 Arizona Cardinals season

2004 Arizona Cardinals season
2004 Arizona Cardinals season
Owner	Bill Bidwill
General manager	Rod Graves
Head coach	Dennis Green
Home field	Sun Devil Stadium
Results
Record	6–10
Division place	3rd NFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	DE Bertrand Berry

The 2004 season was the Arizona Cardinals' 85th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 106th overall and their 17th in Arizona. The team finished with a 6–10 record, an improvement on their 4–12 record from the previous season, and finished in third place in the NFC West, failing to make the playoffs for the sixth straight season. Season lows for the Cardinals included losing two games to the San Francisco 49ers, the only two games the 49ers won in 2004. The Cardinals, during Week 9, also defeated the Miami Dolphins for the first time in franchise history.

The season was notable for drafting wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald with the third overall pick of the draft. At the end of the season, Emmitt Smith retired after 15 years in the league.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team
1	3	Larry Fitzgerald	Wide receiver	University of Pittsburgh
2	33	Karlos Dansby	Linebacker	Auburn University
3	64	Darnell Dockett	Defensive tackle	Florida State University
4	100	Alex Stepanovich	Center	Ohio State University
5	135	Antonio Smith	Defensive end	Oklahoma State University
6	167	Nick Leckey	Center	Kansas State University
7	202	John Navarre	Quarterback	University of Michigan

[1]

Pat Tillman

On April 22, 2004, former Cardinals safety Pat Tillman was killed in a friendly fire incident while on patrol. Tillman was the first professional football player to be killed in combat since the death of Bob Kalsu of the Buffalo Bills, who died in the Vietnam War in 1970. Tillman was posthumously laterally promoted from Specialist to Corporal. He also received posthumous Silver Star and Purple Heart medals. On Sunday, September 19, 2004, all teams of the NFL wore a memorial decal on their helmets in Tillman's honor. The Cardinals continued to wear this decal throughout the 2004 season.

Personnel

**2004 Arizona Cardinals staff**

	Front office President – Bill Bidwill Vice president and general counsel – Michael Bidwill Vice president of football operations – Rod Graves Senior director of football operations – John Idzik, Jr. Head coaches Head coach – Dennis Green Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Alex Wood Quarterbacks – Mike Kruczek Running backs – Kirby Wilson Wide receivers – Robert Ford Tight ends – Mike Wilson Offensive line – Bob Wylie Offensive quality control – Bill Khayat Offensive consultant – Carl Hargrave			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Clancy Pendergast Defensive line – Deek Pollard Linebackers – Frank Bush Defensive backs – Richard Solomon Defensive quality control – Rick Courtright Special teams coaches Special teams – Kevin O'Dea Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Steve Wetzel Assistant strength and conditioning – Ryan Capretta Assistant strength and conditioning – Daryl Lawrence

Roster

**2004 Arizona Cardinals final roster**

	Quarterbacks 4 Shaun King 12 Josh McCown 16 John Navarre Running backs 20 Damien Anderson 30 Obafemi Ayanbadejo 32 Larry Croom KR 33 Josh Scobey KR 22 Emmitt Smith Wide receivers 81 Anquan Boldin 11 Larry Fitzgerald 84 Lawrence Hamilton 80 Bryant Johnson KR 89 Nate Poole 86 Karl Williams PR Tight ends 83 Eric Edwards 88 Freddie Jones		Offensive linemen 73 Jeremy Bridges G 65 Anthony Clement T 60 Nick Leckey C 66 Alan Reuber G/T 76 Cameron Spikes G 71 Alex Stepanovich C 74 Reggie Wells G Defensive linemen 92 Bertrand Berry DE 91 Wendell Bryant DT 98 Russell Davis DT 90 Darnell Dockett DT 72 Ross Kolodziej DT 97 Calvin Pace DE 67 Antonio Smith DE 93 Kyle Vanden Bosch DE 94 Peppi Zellner DE		Linebackers 58 Karlos Dansby OLB 51 James Darling OLB 54 Gerald Hayes MLB 59 Leon Joe OLB 53 Isaac Keys OLB 57 Ronald McKinnon MLB 55 Raynoch Thompson OLB 56 LeVar Woods OLB Defensive backs 41 Clarence Curry CB 29 Quentin Harris FS 21 Renaldo Hill CB 27 David Macklin CB 37 Adrian Mayes SS 25 Ifeanyi Ohalete FS 22 Duane Starks CB/PR 44 Michael Stone CB/S 26 Robert Tate CB 24 Adrian Wilson SS Special teams 48 Nathan Hodel LS 10 Scott Player P 1 Neil Rackers K		Reserve lists 75 Leonard Davis T (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 47 Troy Hambrick RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 42 James Hodgins FB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 95 Kenny King DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 70 L. J. Shelton T (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 31 Marcel Shipp RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 97 Fred Wakefield DE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad 49 Bobby Blizzard TE 69 Rolando Cantú G/T ^Int'l 82 Lorenzo Diamond TE 15 Chris Lewis QB 45 Casey Moore FB 87 Reggie Newhouse WR 62 Jim Newton T 36 Tyrone Sanders CB Rookies in italics 53 active, 7 inactive, 8 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

In the 2004 regular season, the Cardinals' non-divisional, conference opponents were primarily from the NFC South, although they also played the New York Giants from the NFC East, and the Detroit Lions from the NFC North. Their non-conference opponents were from the AFC East.

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 12	at St. Louis Rams	L 10–17	0–1	Edward Jones Dome	65,538
2	September 19	New England Patriots	L 12–23	0–2	Sun Devil Stadium	51,557
3	September 26	at Atlanta Falcons	L 3–6	0–3	Georgia Dome	70,534
4	October 3	New Orleans Saints	W 34–10	1–3	Sun Devil Stadium	28,109
5	October 10	at San Francisco 49ers	L 28–31 (OT)	1–4	Monster Park	62,836
6	Bye
7	October 24	Seattle Seahawks	W 25–17	2–4	Sun Devil Stadium	35,695
8	October 31	at Buffalo Bills	L 14–38	2–5	Ralph Wilson Stadium	65,887
9	November 7	at Miami Dolphins	W 24–23	3–5	Pro Player Stadium	72,612
10	November 14	New York Giants	W 17–14	4–5	Sun Devil Stadium	42,297
11	November 21	at Carolina Panthers	L 10–35	4–6	Ericcson Stadium	72,796
12	November 28	New York Jets	L 3–13	4–7	Sun Devil Stadium	35,820
13	December 5	at Detroit Lions	L 12–26	4–8	Ford Field	62,262
14	December 12	San Francisco 49ers	L 28–31 (OT)	4–9	Sun Devil Stadium	35,069
15	December 19	St. Louis Rams	W 31–7	5–9	Sun Devil Stadium	40,070
16	December 26	at Seattle Seahawks	L 21–24	5–10	Qwest Field	65,825
17	January 2, 2005	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 12–7	6–10	Sun Devil Stadium	31,650

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 7

Week Seven: Arizona Cardinals vs Seattle Seahawks – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Seahawks	0	3	7	7	17
Cardinals'	7	6	3	9	25

at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

Date: October 24
Game time: 1:16pm local
Game weather: clear, 77 °F (25 °C), 30% humidity, wind calm
Game attendance: 35,695
Referee: Bill Vinovich
TV announcers (Fox): Spero Dedes, Erik Kramer and Kevin McCabe
Gamecenter, Gamebook

Game information

First quarter

ARI – Larry Fitzgerald 25-yard pass from Josh McCown (Neil Rackers kick), 8:23 (ARI 7–0)

Second quarter

SEA – Josh Brown 54-yard field goal, 6:28 (ARI 7–3)
ARI – Neil Rackers 55-yard field goal, 3:01 (ARI 10–3)
ARI – Neil Rackers 55-yard field goal, 1:01 (ARI 13–3)

Third quarter

ARI – Neil Rackers 50-yard field goal, 2:50 (ARI 16–3)
SEA – Darrell Jackson 1-yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck (Josh Brown kick), 0:05 (ARI 16–10)

Fourth quarter

SEA – Ken Lucas 21-yard interception return (Josh Brown kick), 13:07 (SEA 17–16)
ARI – Safety, Donnie Jones blocked punt out of end zone, 8:50 (ARI 18–17)
ARI – Emmitt Smith 23-yard run (Neil Rackers kick), 1:53 (ARI 25–17)

Top passers

SEA – Matt Hasselbeck: 14/41, 187 yds, 1 TD, 4 INT
ARI – Josh McCown: 22/36, 212 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT

Top rushers

SEA – Shaun Alexander: 12 car, 65 yds
ARI – Emmitt Smith: 26 car, 106 yds, 1 TD

Top receivers

SEA – Darrell Jackson: 8 rec, 109 yds, 1 TD
ARI – Larry Fitzgerald: 4 rec, 73 yds, 1 TD

Team – pass – rush – total – to

SEA – 180 – 77 – 257 – 4
ARI – 189 – 127 – 316 – 2

Week 16

Week Sixteen: Arizona Cardinals @ Seattle Seahawks – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	7	0	0	14	21
Seahawks	0	10	7	7	24

at Qwest Field, Seattle

Date: December 26
Game time: 1:16pm local
Game weather: overcast, 46 °F (8 °C), 89% humidity, wind variable 3 miles per hour (4.8 km/h)
Game attendance: 65,825
Referee: Tony Corrente
TV announcers (Fox): Curt Menefee, Tim Green and Tony Ventrella
Gamecenter, Gamebook