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Medford Bronco
11-04-2008, 11:03 PM
Arizona On Pace to win 10 games in a season for the First time since 1976


http://www.azcardinals.com/nm_files/Image/migrated/warner02.gif
The Arizona Cardinals have been mostly a laughing stock since they
moved out to Phoenix for the 1988 season. Their only moment of glory
came when Jake Plummer was "Jake the Snake" and led them to a
Wild Card and a 9-7 record and a playoff berth. Then they upset the Cowboys
in Dallas before bowing out to the Minnesota Vikings. The have missed the
playoffs for 9 straight seasons since then.

This year after 8 games they are 5-3 and are on pace to get 10 wins
in a season for the first time since 1976 and win a divisional title
for the first time since 1975. Kurt Warner has found his youth from his
St Louis Rams days. He has led Arizona to 29 PPG so far and thrown
16 tds vs only 6 picks. He has also averaged 300 YPG and has been
a great leader this team has been lacking for many many years. Larry
Fitzgerald 49 catches 742 yrds 5 tds and Anaquan Boldin 42 catches
514 yards and 8 tds have been awesome as usual. Boldin especially after
suffering a concussion vs the Jets in week 4. He looks great since coming
back 2 weeks ago. The Cards dont run that well but last week Tim Hightower
played for the benched Edgerin James and ran for 110 yards and a TD. If he
keeps that up, James will not see the field that much the rest of the year.

Defensively besides one bad game at the Jets, they have done a pretty good
job. Karlos Dansby has 3 sacks and lead them in tackles, Travis Laboy and
Bert Berry both have 4 sacks and Chike Okefor has 3. The Cards dont have
too many picks on the season but if they give up 20 PPG with that offense
they should win lots of games.

Lets project the last 8 games to see if they can get to 10. They basically
would have to throw up all over themselves to not win the division as SF, SEA
and the Rams all are 2-6 so I will give them the division unless something
funky happens. Their schedule is SF at home - win, at Seattle - win,
NYG at home, tough game, loss, at Philly, loss, St Louis at home- win,
Minny at home, win, at NE tough game, loss and Seattle at home win, which
would get them to the magic number of 10.

I also must note that their coach Ken Wisenhunt has changed the culture in
Arizona. Last seasont they finished strong to get to 8-8 and have carried
it over to this season. He brings his winning attitude from Pittsburgh
and IMHO will do great things in Arizona. I commend him for changing
a losing culture that had such awful coaches as Joe Bugel, Dave McGinnis
and Vince Tobin. Good luck to the Cards as they deserve a winner.

Retired_Member_001
11-05-2008, 06:59 AM
First of all, I really appreciate this article Med. I myself haven't been able to write that much recently (working on a Browns preview though) but it's come to my attention that there hasn't been alot of stories about specific teams so this was definitely an interesting read.

Great article! The Cardinals are definitely a team ont he rise and I think that Kurt Warner is a perfect fit for them. They should definitely reach a target of 10 games and make the playoffs. From then on, who knows where they could go with their experience and strong offense?

:beer:

JakeGirl
11-06-2008, 06:38 PM
Thanks for posting this! Great article! I'm so happy to KURT WARNER - he so deserves to take the Cards as far as they can go!!! I wish them the best!

Aren't they on MONDAY NIGHT this coming weekend!??

Medford Bronco
11-11-2008, 05:30 PM
I thought I jinxed the Cards last night but they held on
due to SFs total meltdown in regards to clock management.

as John Madden once said. I would hire a clock management coach.

SF certainly needed one at the end of that game. :lol:

Also Arizona is 3 games over 500 for the first time since 1988.
That is unbelievable.

Northman
11-11-2008, 05:31 PM
Warner is playing great this year.

Medford Bronco
11-11-2008, 05:33 PM
Warner is playing great this year.

Right now IMHO he is the NFL MVP. :salute::beer::salute:

Northman
11-11-2008, 05:35 PM
Right now IMHO he is the NFL MVP. :salute::beer::salute:

Indeed. I have him as the MVP at the halfway point.

These are the other highlighted players for me at this point.


Offense

QB: Kurt Warner - The guy is having a resurrection with the Cards. Has limited his turnovers and has put up amazing numbers so far this year.

RB: Adrian Peterson- Already over 1,000 for the season. Nuff said.

WR: Eddie Royal- This was a tough call considering the likes of Fitzgerald and Johnson (Houston) are having an exceptional year. But, Royal is in the top 10 as a Rookie and that deserves a lot of credit.

TE: Tony Gonzalez- Probably still the go to TE in the NFL. Just sucks he is on a very bad team.

OT: n/a- I hardly ever pay much attention to the Oline but Clady looks like the real deal. Either way i would give credit as a whole to Tennesse for allowing Collins to stay alive and keep them unbeaten.
OG:
C:

Defense

DE: Shaun Ellis- Although Tuck from NY has gotten a lot of pub Ellis has quietly put up 7 sacks on the season. Only 1.5 behind the before mentioned Tuck.

DT: Albert Haynesworth- Second only to Minny's Williams in sacks Haynesworth has been huge for the Titans and their great defense this year.

OLB: Patrick Willis- Hands down this it the best linebacker in the game, especially in tackles.

ILB: Channing Crowder- Only second behind D'Qwell Jackson in tackles some credit has to be given to Crowder for being a large impact for the Dolphins this year.

CB: Charles Woodson- Leads the league in Int's with 2 for TD's.

S: Nick Collins- Yep, another Packer. Collins is a monster for the Pack with 5 Int's, 3 for TD's! He also has 31 solo tackles to add.


Special Teams

K: Matt Prater- Although Bironas is still one of the top kickers in the league Prater came out of nowhere to be a consistent and reliable kicker for the Broncos. And considering he followed a Denver legend in Elam thats saying a lot.

P: Nick Harris- Look, he plays for Detroit and gets a lot of work. What do you expect?

KR: Joshua Cribbs- He certainly needs no introduction. The guy is a playmaker and a difference maker.

PR: Jacoby Jones- Although Andre Johnson is the hero for a struggling Texans team Jones has been a consistent threat.

Other Awards

Best GM: Bill Parcells- Ill admit, he may not be the same coach as the guy that won 2 Super Bowls. But he knows how to put players in place to succeed. Just look at the Dolphins.

Worst GM: Matt Millen- Fired way to late. He set the Lions franchise back at least 3 more years.

Best Coach: Jeff Fisher- Flat out the guy can coach. Having to make the decision to bench your #1 draft pick in favor of team chemistry takes a lot of balls. Not too mention being consistently competitive year in and year out when you have almost no flava clowns.

Worst Coach: Herm Edwards- Yes, his team is competitive. But just like the poor call at the end of the Charger game he always comes up short whether its in K.C or NY. And for him its not about a lack of talent on the field.

Best Owner: Pat Bowlen- Still the best owner in the NFL in my opinion.

Worst Owner: Mike Brown- Hands down the worst owner. Has consistently undermined any good that head coach Marvin Lewis has tried to achieve in Cincy.

Rookie of the Year: Matt Ryan- Almost went with Eddie Royal or Joe Flacco but Ryan has done a excellent job after the turmoil the Falcons have dealt with the last couple of years.

Rookie Bust: Probably too early to tell considering i dont know all who is starting and who is not.