Divisional Weekend/Game No. 2

That the Arizona Cardinals are a 10-point underdog for their divisional round game in the NFC playoffs comes as no surprise in light of one simple fat: these birds do not travel very well.

The Cardinals went 0-5 going to play in the Eastern Time Zone this season. Since 2003 they are 2-19 when they head east.

Tonight the Cardinals face the Carolina Panthers and WR Steve Smith (left) at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. Kickoff is 7:15 p.m. and the broadcast is on FOX.

“I don’t really put much stock in that other than to say if we’re 0-5, then maybe we’re due,” said Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt.

“Maybe it’s time we win one. We’re going to win one at some point. Hopefully, it’ll be this weekend.”

What else can a coach say? There’s only one way for the Cardinals to get over this problem and that’s toughen up mentally and not be affected by long flights, hotel room beds and non-supportive fans. Whisenhunt tried this year when the Cardinals had back-to-back games on the east coast and he kept the team there for the week of preparation. They ended up getting smeared in that second game, giving up 56 points to the New York Jets; so much for that strategy.

All five of their opponents finished the season at .500 or above, so that didn’t help either. They get another one in the Panthers who played solid football all season and came within an overtime loss to the Giants of having the best record in the NFC.

One of the Panthers victories came against the Cardinals, right there in Charlotte when they trailed the visitors by 14 points before coming back and picking up a four-point victory in October. The winner was a 65-yard TD pass from Jake Delhomme to Smith.

The game’s outcome will come down to which defense has the best night.

Can the Panthers defense slow down Kurt Warner and the Cardinals passing game that was one of the NFL’s best during the ’08 season? Or can the Arizona defense find a way to stop the No. 3 running game in the league, with De Angelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart running the ball for Carolina.

The Panthers have been in this type of game before. The Cardinals have not.

“We’re trying to make history as we go along here and that’s very exciting,” Berry said. “It’s just a matter of whether guys are going to put into their minds they are going to get it done?

“I feel like this past Saturday (wildcard victory over Atlanta) went a long ways to helping guys in their confidence level. It didn’t really silence the critics, but it definitely raised some eyebrows. In this locker room, it was huge.”

There’s only one player on the Arizona roster that was on the sidelines the last time the team played in the divisional round of the playoffs. That would have been WR Larry Fitzgerald (right). He just happened to be a 15-year old ball boy for the Minnesota Vikings at the Metrodome when the home team beat the visitors 41-21.

Ten years later, Fitzgerald is in his fifth season and in the playoffs for the first time.

“That jubilation you feel after that win last week is indescribable and that was only just a first-round win,” said Fitzgerald. “We all want to have that same feeling coming into the locker room that we had last week. It would mean so much.”

It happens only if the traveling Cardinals can play as well as the Cardinals do at their home dome in Glendale.

“I think we’re a little bit more mentally tougher team,” Whisenhunt said. “Anytime you throw the playoffs equations into it that helps. So the one thing I’ll say, we’ve taken enough trips east that we certainly shouldn’t be surprised about how we’re going to be affected, and hopefully that will help prepare us to play better.”

INJURIES

ARIZONA – WR Anquan Boldin and his injured hamstring will be pre-game decision for the Cardinals. It’s hard to imagine him not playing. Starting DE Travis LaBoy (ankle) and third-string TE Ben Patrick (knee) are also listed as questionable.

CAROLINA - Backup C Geoff Hangartner is listed as questionable with an ankle injury.