The Cardinals' future looked bright Jan.2, 1999. That's the day Arizona defeated Dallas 20-7 in an NFC playoff game. It has been downhill since.

        Coach Vince Tobin's team went 6-10 last season, and Tobin was fired this year after the Cardinals started 2-5. Dave McGinnis is 1-4 as interim coach.

        Arizona is the league's second-worst team since 1990. The first? No need to ask.

        A scouting report on the Cardinals:

Thumbs up
        Jake Plummer. He's back after missing one game, and it's a plus for the Cardinals. Plummer, even though he has thrown 15 interceptions, has 10 touchdown passes and a penchant for the big play. He has 2,258 passing yards and has thrown TD passes of 70, 56 and 53 yards this season.

        MarTay Jenkins leads the NFL with 27.4 yards on kickoff returns, which has given the Cardinals the third-best drive start at the 30.5-yard line.

        Pass defense. Arizona has the 17th-ranked pass defense in the league at 212.9 yards a game.

Thumbs down
        Rush defense. The Cardinals can stop the pass. They can't stop the run. They're ranked 28th in the league at 148.8 yards a game, which should help the Bengals, the league's second-best rushing team. Arizona also has allowed 23 rushing touchdowns in 12 games.

        Turnovers. Arizona has the league's second-worst turnover differential, minus-17. It has thrown 17 interceptions and lost 15 of its 25 fumbles.

        Points allowed. The Cardinals have given up the second-most points in the league, 28.5 a game. They've given up 30 or more points in six of their 12 games.

Jury's out
        Dave McGinnis. The Cardinals' interim coach is 1-4 in his first five games. He was going to be the Chicago Bears' coach but turned that job down. He runs on emotion and led his team to a 16-15 upset of the Redskins in his second game.

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