We had a lot of trouble with Carolina's great running back duo last week. DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart hit us pretty hard. They are both pretty similar in size and stature and they can both do serious damage if you allow them to.

They were able to take the game over in the second quarter where they outscored us 21-0 going into the half. We made mistakes and they made big plays. You can't afford to make mistakes against a team with as many weapons as the Panthers have.

We got the Bears next and in a lot of ways they are similar to the Panthers. They have a good QB, great running back and some dangerous receivers. We just have to go out and execute like we can and we'll be alright.

It's probably gonna be cold in Chicago during the game, but that doesn't really bother me. I played in Pittsburgh for years so I'm used to the cold. We had a “no sleeve” rule in Pittsburgh so I think I'll be alright out there. But still, any time you spend outside in that type of cold is tough.

Bryant McFadden is a defensive back with the Arizona Cardinals. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.bryantmcfadden25.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/25bryantmcfadden.

I can't tell you how much better it is to be 3-2 rather than 1-2. It's a winning record and that's always what you want. Everybody is playing at a real high level for us right now. Going into the bye at 1-2 I thought we were pretty close to getting it together and we have gotten a lot better in the last two weeks.

We held a pretty good Seahawks offense to 128 total yards last week and it was a collective effort defensively that allowed us to do that. We didn't allow them to get into a rhythm. We sent pressure all day and stayed in Hasselbeck's face and didn't give him time to find his receivers.

We don't know if we're gonna have Anquan for this week's game against the Giants, but if he doesn't play someone else is gonna have to step up. That's just how it goes. Whether it's one guy or a group effort, we know we have the players capable of stepping up and playing well in his absence. If Anquan isn't there it won't be the same obviously, but we see what the other guys can do in practice all the time.

It's always a plus to have guys like Kurt, Larry and Anquan on our team because they are the guys who always get it done for us and allow the defense to stay off the field. Hopefully they can make the kinds of plays that the Saints did last week against the Giants.

Every week is a new challenge, but this could be a real good indicator of where we are as a team. Since we play the Seahawks twice a year we kinda knew what to expect from them. With the Giants this is probably the only time we will face them, so it's a different kind of challenge in preparing for them and finding out their tendencies. It would look real good to be 4-2 after starting out 1-2, for sure.

Bryant McFadden is a defensive back with the Arizona Cardinals. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.bryantmcfadden25.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/25bryantmcfadden.

We were able to come away with a win over a tough Texans team last week. They battled back and almost sent the game into OT, but we were able to stop them at the goal line. That was the biggest play of the game because who knows what would have happened in OT? After that moment the game swung in our favor.

DRC came through with a big interception for a TD that ended up being the difference in the game. It was a big play not only for him but for the team. They were driving towards maybe taking the lead at that point and his pick grabbed momentum for us.

We're feeling good that the win got us right back in the division race at 2-2, but we didn't play as well as we need to in order to compete. But with that said, our fundamentals were a lot better in the Texans game. A lot of the mental mistakes that we were making before our bye were a lot better too. We worked a lot on technique and better tackling during our week off and it paid off. We did a god job of knocking down some passes in the game too.

It's a plus for us that all the guys in the secondary are good tacklers so we can come up and help in run support. We take pride in being able to help with the run as well as the pass.

We get the Seahawks on the road on Sunday and it's gonna be tough. They are always really hard to beat in their place. It's gonna take a collective effort to win and we will need to play a complete ball game. Division games are always tough, especially on the road. But hopefully the D can step up and play top notch.

Nobody really plays their best ball in September and October, so if we can keep improving as the weeks go by we'll be happy and win some games.

Bryant McFadden is a defensive back with the Arizona Cardinals. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.bryantmcfadden25.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/25bryantmcfadden.

We practiced through last Thursday then got until Monday off because of our bye. I went back home to Florida and just relaxed mostly. My ankle has been bothering me for a while so it was good to get some rest. I feel almost back to 100% now.

I would say the bye came at a good time for us because of the way we lost the last game beforehand. It's not like we went in on a winning streak and didn't want to break up the momentum.

Our focus as a defense has been on getting back to the fundamentals and footwork. We worked on the little things a lot over the last week or so. Just like against the Colts, stopping the pass is going to be a huge deal against the Texans. The last couple games our emphasis has been on slowing down the pass game. That's the number one thing we have to do against teams who play so well through the air.

It's kind of a must-win atmosphere right now for us, but really every week is like that in the NFL. Every game counts and you don't have the luxury to just relax whether or not you won the game before. We have to have that attitude that this game is a must-win. I think we need that sense of urgency.

After this game at home we play five of the next seven on the road. For me on defense it isn't that big of a deal because we don't ever have to worry about crowd noise or anything, but still, it's hard to win on the road.

Bryant McFadden is a defensive back with the Arizona Cardinals. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.bryantmcfadden25.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/25bryantmcfadden.

It's always a good feeling to get that first win, especially on the road. Jacksonville is a tough team and they played the Colts real tough in their opener so it was great to play so well against them.

 

The defense got plenty of rest in the game because the offense was putting together long drives and putting points on the board. It was great to watch.

 

Antrel scored a TD for us on special teams which is always a huge plus. He kinda took advantage of the dream scenario. There aren't many tacklers on the field when the kick team is in, so he pretty much just had to catch the ball in order to score.

 

After the first game against the 49ers I thought the DBs needed to be more fundamentally sound and get off the field on third down. We did some real positive things against the Jaguars. We got our hands on some balls and forced some fumbles. We take pride in creating turnovers. We still need to improve, but we were a lot better.

 

We got Peyton Manning and the Colts this week. I love playing against a guy like him. What competitor doesn't love a challenge like that? He gets you geared up to play even more because you know he's one of the best in the game. His accuracy and patience make him as dangerous as they come.

 

He's extraordinary because he's always very composed and at ease. You have to do your best to make him uncomfortable back there because he's always calm.

Bryant McFadden is a defensive back with the Arizona Cardinals. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.bryantmcfadden25.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/25bryantmcfadden.

My time as a Cardinal has been pretty cool so far. It was a really good situation for me to come here after my time with the Steelers. I decided to come to Arizona because they are a good team and I know some of the players and coaches from before.

Some of the guys gave me some stuff about the Super Bowl last year as soon as I got here. Our strength coach always talks about it. Everybody says that Santonio Holmes never got that second foot down in the end zone. It's pretty funny, though.

It was weird walking into the visitors locker room at Heinz Field the other day. Before the game I played the situation in my head a lot. I kept thinking I would walk into the Steelers locker room by mistake. But it was cool getting to see all those guys again.

I've made a smooth transition to Arizona and even though this is my first time changing teams my home will always be in Florida, so it wasn't like I had to pack everything up and move. Even when I was in Pittsburgh I made my home in Florida. I just packed up a few things to come out here.

The guys here have really helped make it as easy as possible for me. When I got here everybody was talking to me like I've been here for years and I really appreciate that.

It's good to be back with a bunch of my FSU friends again. Me, Darnell Dockett and Boldin all played together and have been really good friends for a long time. I'm looking forward to the Miami-FSU game coming up. I think Miami is a couple years away from being what they used to be. We should be able to handle them. Ending the season with Florida is going to be the really tough one. I haven't quite gotten used to the heat out here in Scottsdale yet. Even though it's hotter here you sweat a lot more in Florida because of the humidity. It's weird to be where it's 105 all the time.

But I am excited about my new team. Talent-wise we have the ability to be one of the best secondaries in the league. In Pittsburgh we got a lot of national recognition as the #1 pass defense and I think we have similar talent here. When this group jells together it's gonna be great because these guys are spectacular.

I won't miss covering Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, that's for sure. I get enough of that in practice these days.

This team knows that they can win now instead of just hoping to win. If we prepare hard there's no reason we can't compete for the NFC crown again.

Bryant McFadden is a defensive back with the Arizona Cardinals. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.bryantmcfadden20.com