arizona cardinals

Arizona Cardinals Renew

Cards To Open vs. 49ers In Week 1

AZCARDINALS.COM has learned the Arizona Cardinals Football Club will open its inaugural regular season at the new Cardinals Stadium by hosting NFC West Division rival San Francisco on Sunday, September 10th.

The 2006 season opener marks the first time the Cardinals will open at home in Week 1, due to the team playing at Sun Devil Stadium the past 18 seasons. In seven of the past nineteen seasons the Cardinals have opened on the road in Weeks 1 and 2, but the new state of the art and air conditioned Cardinals Stadium allows Arizona to host a game while temperatures remain elevated in the valley at the beginning of the NFL season.

The Cardinals and 49ers have met 28 times in their teams existences, with the 49ers holding a 17-12 lead in the series.

Most recently, in the NFL’s first regular season game ever played outside the United States, the Cardinals notched their first win of the 2005 season with a 17-point come-from-behind win over San Francisco. A crowd of 103,467 watched the game at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, making it the highest-attended regular season game in NFL history.

The first meeting between the two organizations occurred at San Francisco’s Kezar Stadium during the 1951 season. The Cardinals defeated the 49ers by a 27-21 margin. The two teams have met twice annually since the NFL realignment prior to the 2002 season.

This year’s match up will mark only the second time the Cardinals and 49ers have met on opening day in the two team’s histories. The 49ers hosted the Cardinals opening weekend during the 1957 season. The Cardinals defeated the 49ers 20-10 in the Week 1 contest.

Cardinals Stadium will not only feature a retractable roof but will also be the first in the United States to feature a fully retractable grass playing surface. In addition to hosting Cardinals games, the stadium will host Super Bowl XLII in February of 2008. It will also be the annual site of the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and will host the first-ever BCS National Championship Game in January of 2007. The stadium will have a seating capacity of 63,000 with the ability to expand to 73,000 for mega-events

posted by: arizonacardinal at 16:06 | link | comments (2) |

AZCARDINALS.COM Selected as NFL's Most Improved Website

The official website of the Arizona Cardinals Football Club – www.azcardinals.com – has received the “Webby” award for the NFL’s most improved site.

The award is voted on by all 32 NFL clubs and the announcement was made earlier this week at the league’s annual Business Summit in Dallas.

Working with web developer J&A Partners, the Cardinals launched the new and improved site on January 24. The new site includes a more immersive experience for fans with a focus on the new Cardinals stadium, more and improved multimedia with a cleaner look, easier navigation and a homepage that is more user friendly.

This is the Cardinals first award in the four year history of the “Webby” awards. The other awards presented at the Business Summit follow below.

Best Overall Site - Philadelphia Eagles
Best Content - Dallas Cowboys
Best Design - Baltimore Ravens
Best Multimedia - Washington Redskins
Best Fan Interactivity - Philadelphia Eagles

 

 

posted by: arizonacardinal at 16:05 | link | comments |

Cardinals Re-Sign LB Gerald Hayes and DE Antonio Smith

The Arizona Cardinals Football Club today announced that restricted free agent linebacker Gerald Hayes has signed his one-year qualifying offer and defensive end Antonio Smith has signed his one-year exclusive rights contract. In accordance with club policy, terms were not disclosed.

Hayes (6-1, 241) missed the entire 2005 season after injuring his knee during training camp. Hayes was inactive for the first four games of the season and was place on injured reserve on October 6. Originally the Cardinals third-round selection (70th overall) in the 2003 NFL Draft out of Pittsburgh, Hayes appeared in 28 games (three starts) in 2003-2004 collecting 48 tackles (34 solos), 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 31 special teams tackles.

Smith (6-4, 272) appeared in 11 games last season, with eight starts at defensive end in place of the injured Bertrand Berry. He collected 14 tackles, 3.0 sacks and 1 forced fumble in 2005 in his first season of extended action on defense. Originally the Cardinals fifth-round selection (135th overall) in the 2004 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma State, Smith appeared in two games in his rookie season seeing limited action on special teams and defense. Smith spent the first four weeks of the 2005 season on the practice squad until he was promoted to the active roster on October 6.

posted by: arizonacardinal at 16:05 | link | comments |

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