By BOB BAUM
AP Sports Writer

TEMPE, Ariz.(AP) -- Arizona Cardinals fans are wondering where all
of the big plays have gone.

The dynamic offense that carried the Cardinals to the Super Bowl
has morphed into one that has to plunk a short pass here and
there to move the ball downfield.

Then again, the bar was set very high.

Remember Larry Fitzgerald had TD catches of 42 yards against
Atlanta in the first round, 29 yards against Carolina in the
conference semifinals, 62 yards against Philadelphia in the NFC
championship game and 64 yards against Pittsburgh in the Super
Bowl. Anquan Boldin caught a 71-yarder for a touchdown against
Atlanta.

Kurt Warner completed 92 of 135 passes for 1,147 yards and 11
touchdowns, with three interceptions, in the four postseason
contests.

"It seemed like every time we dialed one up we had an
opportunity at it," Warner said after Wednesday's practice.

Fitzgerald had the best postseason of any receiver in NFL
history with 30 catches for 546 yards and seven touchdowns, all
league records.

By comparison, Warner has only two completions of more than 30
yards this season - a 40-yarder to Jerheme Urban in the
season-opening loss to San Francisco and a 44-yarder to Boldin
in the road victory over the New York Giants two games ago.

Fitzgerald has a team-high 47 catches for 509 yards, but he's
averaging 10.8 yards per reception compared with 14.9 in the
playoffs. His longest this season is 27 yards.

"I think if you're coming in to play the Cardinals, defenses
look at what happened last year and they say 'We're going to
make sure we don't let Larry get down the field,"' coach Ken
Whisenhunt said.

Fitzgerald said the double teams are "not every play but I see
my fair share of coverages."

"But we're not using excuses," he said. "We've just got to find
solutions."

Whisenhunt and Warner say the lack of plays downfield is about
half due to opponents' defensive adjustments and half due to the
Cardinals' failure to execute properly.

"The defense has done a good job in certain instances of just
taking it away when we call a deep play or something to take a
shot," Warner said. "We're just not getting the right look. Then
there have been other times where we have had a good look, and
we just haven't made it work."

The Cardinals, who play at Chicago on Sunday, have had to move
the ball a few yards at a time as defenses scheme to take away
the deep threat.

"I understand that we haven't had a lot of those plays this
year, but you look at what we have done," Whisenhunt said. "In
four of the seven games that we have played this year we have
opened the game with an extended touchdown drive, which is
something that is oftentimes overlooked. That's not easy to do."

Warner often has had to check down to his running back Tim
Hightower, whose 39 catches are the most by a running back in
the NFL.

"A lot of people think of us as a huge big-play team because of
the playoffs," Warner said. "Although we want a lot more of
those, I don't think that's how we have to be successful. I
think we are built to be successful in other ways as well."

The coach acknowledges, though, that big plays "energize your
team."

"We are trying to do that. We are trying to take our shots,"
Whisenhunt said. "Also, we are not going to throw the ball up.
If they take it away, we are going to try to check down and get
positive yardage and keep the chains moving. We have done a good
job of that."

The Cardinals rank eighth in passing, 18th in total offense and
last in rushing among 32 NFL teams, but Whisenhunt points to
Arizona's 138 first downs.

"That means we are having sustained drives. We are moving the
football," he said. "Maybe we're not having 50-yard plays, but I
think we are doing some things well."