Carolina Panthers

The tight end of the Arizona Cardinals and 26 years-old Stephen Spach, is out for the rest of the season due to a tore ACL on his right knee, the injury happened while doing a block during the second half of the game against the Carolina Panthers last Saturday. Spach was a great help for the Cardinals in the running game, especially by his blocking abilities, which were an important weapon in the progress of the Cardinals classification. During the game against Atlanta before playing against Carolina, Spach got a 23-yard catch on the third quarter and a late 16 situation in the 30-24 wild-card victory.

In the game against Carolina, Spach was doing a great job but he could not add any good plays since his injury took place in the second half. Although, even with Spach out of the game, the Cardinals took care of business and obtained the victory against the Panthers with a comfortable score of 33-13. This triumph gave the Cardinals the qualification for the NFC Championship and a possible spot in the Super Bowl XLIII.

Before playing for the Cardinals, Stephen Spach started as a free agent in 2005 and signed with the Philadelphia Eagles for one season. However in September 2006, Spach was released and didn’t play during the rest of the year. In 2007, he signed with the Vikings on January but was released again in training camp in September of that year. Moreover in December 2007, he signed with the Patriots, where he played in three regular season games and one postseason match. Although, in October, 2008 Spach signed with the Cardinals after his release of the Patriots and became later a key player in the Cardinals roster.

With his short time inclusion in the Cardinals team, Spach appeared in 9 games this season, receiving 2 catches, having 15 yards and averaging 7.5 per game.  For Coach Ken Whisenhunt, Stephen Spach has been a key player for his squad and he is really pleased with Spach work, and although he thinks his injury comes in a very inopportune time, he expects that it won’t affect the team.

“He (Spach) has done a good job for us in the running game, but it’s not going to change our scheme,” Coach Whisenhunt expressed. “We’re very comfortable with Ben and with Leonard in doing what we’ve been doing. And they’re healthier now than they were at times this year when we’ve struggled. So it shouldn’t be a big issue.”

With this, Coach Whisenhunt will use the other two tight ends of the roster Ben Patrick and Leonard Pope, which were as well with a knee injury and a sore ankle respectively. Whisenhunt, also stated in the press conference that even having these two tight ends, he would sign one more. The possible candidate is Jerame Tuman, who was released by the Cardinals this past December.

We hope the best for Stephen Spach and his soon recovery and we also hope the best for the Cardinals in the final of the NFC championship and their possible inclusion to the Super Bowl XLIII. 





By: Cindy Ferguson