04/19/24
July 24, 2006
Excited Fitzgerald ready to watch Cards rise from ashes: Larry Fitzgerald's take on how his team will perform in '06.
posted by Clevelander32 to football at 06:11 PM - 26 comments
Is this a joke? Cards finish 8-8 this year at best. With no O-line they will go nowhere, Warner sux under pressure. Plus they play the Seahawks twice so thats a garaunteed two losses. Go Hawks!
posted by ggermanctl@sbcglobal at 08:22 PM on July 24, 2006
This could be a real special season for the cards. Especially since they are in the weak NFC West. They only have to beat the Seahawks which won't be easy. They will put up a lot of points this year and put up a fight for the division but lose in the end. Just no quite good enough to beat the Seahawks. 9-7 record is what I think will happen.
posted by kidrayter2005 at 08:57 PM on July 24, 2006
They should be a lot more interesting to watch ( but in that old Atlanta Falcons score 28 give up 35 sort of way). Defense wins championships and schedule matters a lot. Arizona could be as bad as last year in terms of record but 7-9 is possible (pencil in losses to Sea, Sea, Den, KC, Chi, Dal and SD, I also wouldn't expect more than a split with St.L).
posted by kyrilmitch_76 at 09:05 PM on July 24, 2006
ggermanctl@sbcglobal: "Is this a joke? Cards finish 8-8 this year at best. With no O-line they will go nowhere, Warner sux under pressure. Plus they play the Seahawks twice so thats a garaunteed two losses. Go Hawks!" What a slanted point of view. I actually think that the cards could be a lot better than they did last season. They just really need to work on their O-line. They will probably beat everyone in their division twice except for the Seahawks, maybe they will slit with the hawks.
posted by STUNNER at 11:20 PM on July 24, 2006
I don't know how well the Cardinals will do next season, but I do find the article's claim that Fitzgerald is the cornerstone of that offense as, well, dumb. Fitzgerald has tons of talent, but so does Anquan Boldin. In 2004 he played six more games that Boldin but only had two more catches. In 2003, Boldin had 101 catches. Fitz has the body to be more of a threat in the red zone, I understand that. But Boldin isn't too shabby either. Nor is he Fitzgerald's sidekick. All that said, I still worry about Warner's health. And the fact that the line couldn't help produce one 100-yard game for any rusher is plain awful. No playoffs for these guys.
posted by forrestv at 01:07 AM on July 25, 2006
"...play the Seahawks twice so that is a garaunteed two losses. Go Hawks!" all I have to say is: "on any given Sunday!" Ha! Ha! ha!
posted by steelergirl at 05:14 AM on July 25, 2006
Wow, Bidwill usually pays for one of these 'Wait for next season- the Cards are gonna turn it around for sure!' pieces much earlier in the offseason, so by the time training camp rolls around the Cards are everyone's sleeper pick- and then the games start, and we get back to reality... As the old saying goes, 'Fool me once, shame on you; fool me 18 times and counting, shame on me'...
posted by don-peyote at 06:12 AM on July 25, 2006
With no O-line they will go nowhere, Warner sux under pressure. Yes, he was especially horrible and a complete choker in leading the Rams to a Super Bowl title in his first full season as an NFL quarterback. He's also still the most accurate passer in the history of the NFL. When Matt Hasselbeck gets you a ring, let me know.
posted by wfrazerjr at 08:01 AM on July 25, 2006
I'd have to agree. The cardinals with some defensive improvements, might be the team to watch.
posted by massabf at 10:37 AM on July 25, 2006
Warner sux under pressure Yes, he was especially horrible and a complete choker in leading the Rams to a Super Bowl title in his first full season as an NFL quarterback. He's also still the most accurate passer in the history of the NFL. Agreed, waltfrazerjr. Are there any shorter memories in humanity than that of sports fans? So many people today lose track of the idea that it's all about winning it all, the Super Bowl, not just putting up guady fantasy stats.
posted by dyams at 11:14 AM on July 25, 2006
Warner sux under pressure Yes, he was especially horrible and a complete choker in leading the Rams to a Super Bowl title in his first full season as an NFL quarterback. He's also still the most accurate passer in the history of the NFL. It's not about having a short memory, it's about "what have you done for me lately?" Warner isn't the same player he was when he went to 2 Superbowls, I think we all have to admit that. Leinart is one injury away from being the "man" in Arizona. I think this team will be special in a couple years, but this year? 8-8 seems realistic, with a lot of great things to build upon.
posted by vodkinator at 12:27 PM on July 25, 2006
Seemed everyone came out of the woodwork last year claiming the Cardinals were going to playoffs and were even quite a few "experts" SB sleeper pick. Seems this year is the same thing. Seems everyone forgets they still have no offensive line. Seems everyone forgets that THAT is the key part on any successful team. I still remember an article in last years sporting news (an absolutely horrible publication by the way) about how good the o-line was and how the signing of former Steeler G Oliver Ross was the missing ingrediant. As a Steeler fan I got the biggest laugh of that...the man who was nicknamed "horrible" Ross and was run out of town was this guy's "key ingrediant" to them being succesful. 6 games into the season everyone was wondering why their oline was so bad. Gee, I wonder. Offensive weapons are great..but useless if you have no one opening holes for them or giving them enough time to find those skillful recievers. They've tried a lot of good RBs back there..but if there are no holes, there are no holes. Not to mention Dennis Green is one of the most overrated coaches ever. How he couldn't win playoff games in Minn. with that team he had is unimaginable.
posted by bdaddy at 01:30 PM on July 25, 2006
Last year, the Bucs and Cadillac Williams had a good seasons with a terrible offensive line. It is an important part of the team, but not the only part.
posted by bperk at 02:47 PM on July 25, 2006
Arizona is one of the intriguing teams of the NFC this season, along with Philly, Atlanta and Minnisota. These 4 have potential to be great, but also have potential to be the worst teams in their respective divisions. I do believe that at the end of the season one of these teams will be in the playoffs while another will be in 4th in their division...
posted by chemwizBsquared at 03:15 PM on July 25, 2006
Not enough improvement in O-Line and defense. Warner is fragile at best, and Leinart is green. Anything's possible, look at the Bears last year, but probable is another story. Best of luck to the Cards, but unless I was one of their rabid fans, I wouldn't put money on them to make the postseason. Remind me, how many Denny Green coached teams have made the big dance?? The Cards need to hope that their defense shows up to have a chance, and you'd have to expect that to happen without a drastic change in personel.
posted by LostInDaJungle at 03:46 PM on July 25, 2006
Remind me, how many Denny Green coached teams have made the big dance?? Yeah, well, how about Marty Schottenheimer? He hasn't either and he is still the winningest active coach in the NFL. It's sort of a farce to think that it is only up to the coach. The Vikings were one of the cheapest, smallest staffed teams in the league and how many times did Green get them to the playoffs?
posted by bperk at 04:10 PM on July 25, 2006
Remind me, how many Denny Green coached teams have made the big dance?? I'm not an immense Denny Green fan, but the '98 Vikings were a field goal away.
posted by cobra! at 04:50 PM on July 25, 2006
Warner led the Rams to a Super Bowl over 7 years ago. We're talking about the 2006-2007 season, not 1999. Wake up, he's not the same quarterback. He sux now, especially behind that line. The Hawks will sweep the Cards and the Cards will split with the rest of the division.
posted by ggermanctl@sbcglobal at 05:19 PM on July 25, 2006
That last one was for you WFRAZERJR! Live in the now!
posted by ggermanctl@sbcglobal at 05:21 PM on July 25, 2006
With James you dont need to depend on Warner. In past years, the Cards had no running game, and thus relied on Warner. Warner has shown he's a capable starter, and the Cardinals have a solid O- Line. I think that Arizona will turn lots of heads this year, and win 9- 10 games.
posted by redsoxrgay at 12:22 PM on July 26, 2006
the Cardinals have a solid O- Line Where did you get that idea? The only changes the team made to that horrible O- line were drafting Deuce Lutui (not a bad player) and picking up Milford Brown, late of the Houston Texans. If Gary Kubiak didn't view him as worth keeping ... Bottom line, James is in for a rude awakening. Matter of fact, if defenses get into the backfield like they did last year, that's where James will find himself. At the bottom of that pile-up of both lines.
posted by forrestv at 01:14 PM on July 26, 2006
They could be solid. They have a new offensive line coach from Minny. They were starting a couple new guys, a rookie (Brown) and Ross last year. Stepanovich missed a bunch of games with an injury. A new offensive line coach, some more experience working together and their center recovered from injury, along with the addition of Lutui, it could work.
posted by bperk at 01:43 PM on July 26, 2006
Maybe the line didn't get a chance to gel last season, but even if they had, I just don't know how good they would have been. And getting a coach from Minnesota isn't all that big a coup. That team had one of the worst offensive lines in 2005. I don't hate Arizona and the O-Line will get better, but moving from horrible to functional is still a long way from being solid.
posted by forrestv at 02:49 PM on July 26, 2006
Loney had both the offensive line and offensive coordinator positions in 2005 (because the Vikings are CHEAP). But, prior to that, he was only the O-Line coach and has had a lot of success. I certainly am not saying that they are going to be great, but a successful passing game and a great RB will take a lot of pressure off of them. A functional line with Boldin, Fitz, Edge in that weak division may be enough.
posted by bperk at 03:50 PM on July 26, 2006
Hey, I never said that they would rely completely on their line to win games, but I do think that they are capable of doing their job, and ensuring that the offense runs efficentially.
posted by redsoxrgay at 07:59 PM on July 26, 2006
Between Fitzgerald and Boldin, and now with James and Leinhart in the wings, they shore up the O-line and that offense will be devastating. They may make Harrison-Wayne take a back seat this year, provided Warner stays healthy long enough.