The Cardinals' struggles on the East Coast again will on public display this week as the club prepares to travel to Carolina a second time this season.

The Cardinals are 0-5 in the Eastern time zone this year, including a 27-23 loss at Carolina in late October.

Since 2003, the Cardinals are 2-19 when playing in the East, with their last victory coming in 2007 against the Bengals.

It's a big reason the Cardinals opened the week as 10-point underdogs to the Panthers, the No. 2 seed.

The Cardinals have had numerous chances this season to prove they can be competitive when traveling across two or three time zones to play. They failed each time, and some of the losses were embarrassing, especially late in the year.

They lost by 40 in New England and 28...

Maligned Arizona defense strong against Falcons (AP)
There are two faces to the Arizona Cardinals' defense. There's the ugly one that surrendered 514 yards at New England. Then there's the handsome one that shut down the Atlanta Falcons in the Cardinals' biggest game of the season. The Falcons managed just 250 yards in their 30-24 wild-card playoff loss to Arizona on Saturday, including a season-low 60 on the ground.

Boldin has strained hamstring, status uncertain (AP)
Arizona wide receiver Anquan Boldin has a strained left hamstring and his status is uncertain for Saturday night's NFC divisional playoff game at Carolina. "We'll see how it goes this week," coach Ken Whisenhunt said at his Monday news conference. Boldin was injured on a 71-yard touchdown pass from Kurt Warner in the second quarter of Arizona's 30-24 wild-card playoff victory over the Atlanta...

Why is the worst divisional playoff matchup on in primetime? (Yahoo! Sports)
Of the four divisional playoff games this weekend, the Arizona Cardinals - Carolina Panthers matchup is easily...

Drew Brees understood what breaking a record set by Dan Marino would mean to the New Orleans Saints. So coming up 15 yards short was disappointing to the Saints quarterback, who won The Associated Press 2008 NFL Offensive Player of the Year award Tuesday. Brees threw for 5,069 yards, 15 fewer than Marino's 1984 mark and only the second time someone has eclipsed 5,000 yards passing in a season.

While disgruntled fans clamored for the head of defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs, coach Sean Payton said his staff would take a week off before starting on their season-ending personnel evaluations, including the coaches.

As a result, Payton said he had nothing to report and that he would let the media know. Yet, he didn't rule out not making any changes to a staff that has already lost offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Doug Marrone—who left in mid-December to take the head-coaching job at Syracuse.

"We'll see," Payton said when asked specifically about any tweaking of the current staff. "We'll look closely at the makeup of our staff as we head into 2009, and the responsibilities will be clearer."

Payton did take several minutes to defend Gibbs,...

Vikings' Williamses not worried about suspensions (AP)

As the Minnesota Vikings packed their stuff following their playoff loss, the Williams Wall vowed to play in the 2009 season opener. Kevin Williams and Pat Williams, along with three players from the New Orleans Saints, were suspended by the NFL for four games following a positive test for a banned diuretic.

The Monday morning chatter at Scott Truman's Michigan office was all about the face that invaded people's living rooms over the weekend. Did you see Matt Millen on TV? Can you believe they put him on? Truman and his fellow Detroit Lions fans are a bit biased, of course. It's natural that seeing their former team president on NBC's playoff coverage Saturday would rekindle their fury toward the...

James Harrison wasn't drafted out of Kent State, was cut four times before finally making it onto an NFL roster, yet is The Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year in only his second season as a Pittsburgh Steelers starter. A tough road? For sure. Now, it gets even more difficult for Harrison, a self-made player who won an honor normally reserved for stars.