Voice of The Cardinals

Well once again rumors have started that Larry Fitzgerald might be traded. It seems like this is a discussion we have every couple of months. First let me say that Fitz will not be traded. I don't talk to GM Rod Graves often, but I know he isn't dumb enough to trade away a future Hall of Famer WR because they're having trouble with his contract. Fitzgerald is 24 years old and only getting better. The guy is good for about 100 catches and the trusty 10 touchdowns that come with him every year. Fitz changes the way defenses approach the Cardinals and is part of the best receiving duo in the league along with Anquan Boldin. Yes, that's right, the best receiving duo in the NFL! I wouldn't expect the Cardinals to split up Anquan and Fitz any time soon.

I was talking to my friend's 5 year old son last week and I asked him who is favorite player was. He confidently said " The Predator". I was a little confused at first and I asked him who that was. He said, " number 11, the predator guy with the long hair". I realized the little kid was right, while in uniform Fitzgerald does resemble the Predator. Only Fizgerald embarrasses the Predator when it comes to athletic ability. Both his son and I agreed that Fitz is a far better wide receiver than The Predator could ever be. Fitzgerald is a very smart and controlled football athlete who resembles more of a machine than anything. Besides, Predator would get far too many unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, and we all know the Cardinals can't afford any more penalties. I'm not really getting anywhere with this story but I have to ask this the question, how do you trade someone that looks like the Predator and puts the Predator to shame with athletic talents? You can't! The Cardinals are going to keep Fitzgerald and renew contract, end of story.

I'd like to take some time and look back at some of my predictions from the begging of the 2007 NFL season. This is one of my favorite things to do because it gives me a chance to talk about how smart I am. Just kidding, I'm not the Patriots of predictions in 2007 but I'm pretty darn close. Will say I'm more like the Colts, good but not quite perfect.  Let's start out with my Arizona Cardinal predictions...

As you can see by  Clicking the link here I predicted the 2007 Arizona Cardinals to go 8-8. Well look at that, I was right. The Cardinals did finish 8-8. Through out the year I said if Arizona goes 2-4 in the division they will be 7-9, if they go 3-3 in the division they will be 8-8, and if they go 4-2 in the division they will be 9-7. Well Arizona went 3-3 in their division and finished 8-8.

In my Pro Bowl predictions for the Cardinals I had Matt Leinart going which obviously did not happen, mostly due to his injury. I said Edgerrin James might squeak in there which could still happen with Edge being first alternate. I felt either Larry Fitzgerald or Anquan Boldin would make the Pro Bowl with the other falling short. That prediction did work out for me with Fitz making the roster. I thought Adrian Wilson would make it for a second year in a row and would have had he not been injured.

Not all the NFL awards are in yet but we got a few to talk about. Take a look at my predictions at the begging of the season by clicking here. I feel I did pretty well in this area so far. I had Tom Brady being the MVP of the league and that did happen today. I went with Adrian Peterson as the offensive rookie of the year and that came true. I also predicted Patrick Willis being defensive rookie of the year and that to happened. So I guess I'm on fire with those awards.

For the Super Bowl winner I had the New England Patriots. Right now that looks like a good pick with them being 16-0, which I also predicted on our podcast.  I'm hoping for a New England Super Bowl win because that will make it back to back years I picked the Super Bowl champ correctly. It always feels good to look smart. I'll admit if I had completely bombed on my predictions I probably wouldn't have made a post about my predictions. But since I did so well I have to praise myself. If I don't then who will?

photo courtesy of azcardinals.comThis is a posting by Mark which can also be seen on MVN.com

In what would have been the single worse loss of the year had they not made a comeback at the end, the Cardinals today snatched victory from the jaws of defeat by scoring on the last play of regulation to tie the game 27-27 on Neil Rackers chip shot. Then after a quick march down the field the Cardinals nailed another field goal from 31 yards out to win it in OT, with Rackers finally removing the goat horns he has been wearing most of last year and this season as well.

While i’m glad they won, the fact is they should have NEVER allowed it to be this close other then the Cardinals secondary is quite possibly the worst in the NFL right now. The way Chris Redmond, yes that Chris Redmond, moved the Falcon’s up and down the field in the second half you would have thought Joe Montana was out of retirement. I don’t think I have ever seen an NFL secondary playing as scared as the Cardinals are now and with so little ability to cover man to man or play any type of press coverage. It has to be causing ulcers for the Cardinals coaching staff knowing they are totally limited in their ability to cover man to man at all and that players like Antrel Rolle and Rod Hood are going to be exposed by a guy like Redmond.

The entire second half the Cardinals gave the Falcon’s receivers 7 to 10 yards cushion on every play and the Falcon’s finally figured out all they had to do was play pitch and catch and run down the field. The play in the first half where Rolle was completely turned around by Laurent Robinson on a 73 post pattern, a play where he was 8 yards off the line to start, got turned on a simple move and literally didn’t lay a hand on Robinson the entire way was the single best argument that Rolle MUST be moved to safety next year and off corner. The poor guy is trying but he just doesn’t have the hips or speed to play corner in the NFL so quit trying to force him into that role. he would likely be a fine free safety so how about making the change now rather then seeing him go to another team who does what we should have done from the beginning.  Then late in the game when the Cardinals finally, out of desperation went to press coverage, the Falcon’s went right over the top at Rod Hood who had to tackle the Falcon’s receiver to prevent a touchdown due to his inability to cover deep. I really like Hood and think he was a great signing but he is more of a cover two guy then a press corner and that play showed again his weakness for deep coverage when he is up on the line.

Thankfully, today was the game when Anquan Boldin finally looked like his old self and Kurt Warner started to get him the ball. Boldin set an NFL record today by being the faster player to 400 career catches in NFL history and then put up a 13 catch, 162 yard,  2 TD performance highlighted by 4 superb one hand catches in traffic. It was a monster game that kept the Cardinals from losing a game that shouldn’t even have been close and it was great to see for all of us Boldin fans.

Kurt Warner continued his assault on the Cardinals record books with a 3 touch down, zero interception, 361 yard passing game. He only needs three touchdowns next week against the Rams to set the teams single season passing touchdown record, which given that he only started for part of the year is amazing. I know Kurt has his limitations, but quite frankly so do 95% of all the NFL quarterbacks and that he is having this kind of year at age 36 is pretty remarkable.

Bottom line on this one? The Cardinals dodged a bullet because Atlanta took a full half to realize they should be throwing on almost every down at the Cardinals secondary. I am afraid next week that Mark Bulger is going to have a field day and it could be a painful loss to end the season, but until then lets enjoy this win and the fact that Rackers finally hit some kicks when they counted.

photo courtesy of azcardinals.comPosting was written by Mark on MVN.com

In what should be one of the least watched football games in the US this weekend the Arizona Cardinals will be hosting the broken shell of a team called the Atlanta Falcons. The game is a sell out, the roof will be open but you can expect long lines of ticket sellers outside the stadium trying to unload seats to what will be a totally meaningless game for both teams.

The Cardinals rode this years horses as long and as hard as they could but the injuries to the secondary and defensive line have just totally crippled this defense. The Cards have little or no depth at DE/OBL and in the secondary and the combination of no pass rush and poor coverage has led to career type days the last two weeks by Drew Brees and Matt Hasselback. Thankfully the Falcons passing game is an even bigger mess then the Cardinals secondary, but I still expect the Falcons to hang at least 3 touchdowns on the Cardinals this week.

This is the one game left on the schedule that I think the Cardinals should win as I have serious concerns about their chances against the Rams next week in the season finale. However, even this game could be a trap game as the Cardinals really don’t have anything to play for at this point other then pride and jobs for next year. The thing is the Falcons are in an even bigger mess given the disasters of Michael Vick and Bobby “the lying weasel” Petrino this year. So, a quick analysis of why the Cardinals win this game at the final gun in a squeeker:

1. Atlanta can rush the passer and has a decent secondary but they are susceptible to the run this year and play action. If the Cardinals run Edge more then 24 carries this game they win, if they don’t it could be close.

2. The Cardinals are still just good enough on offense to compensate for the depleted and battered defense. The Falcons offense scares no one and should be weak enough for the Cardinals to hang in and defeat at the point of attack.

3. Some of the Cardinals still want contracts and jobs next year. Most of the Falcons want to get out of town.

4. The Cardinals can’t have another ten penalty, 4 turn over game again, can they?

I have zero interest or enthusiasm for this game, but Eli and I will be there anyways.

Prediction: Cardinals 27 Falcons 23.

photo courtesy of azcardinals.comThe only Arizona Cardinal to make this years Pro Bowl was WR Larry Fitzgerald. Fitz was a lock for his second Pro Bowl in 4 NFL seasons but Darnell Dockett was suppose to be a lock also. Dockett has 8 sacks which leads all NFL interior linemen, 54 tackles(41 solo) and 2 forced fumbles. By the way, Dockett was being doubled teamed the whole second half of the season. Here's the stats of the 3 players that made the Pro Bowl ahead of Darnell...

Pat Williams- 2 sacks, 58 tackles(39 solo) and no forced fumbles

Kevin Williams- 3 sacks, 32 tackles(27 solo) and one forced fumble

Tommie Harris- 7 sacks, 35 tackles(32 solo) and one forced fumble

Clearly Dockett should be ahead of all 3 of these players. Instead Darnell is first alternate along with Edgerrin James who missed out as well. With Edge I feel first alternate is about right. James didn't have a Pro Bowl year but was close. Karlos Dansby did not make the Pro Bowl but I think he would have had he not been injured for a few games this year. Dansby definitely played at a Pro Bowl level this year and hopefully will get his chance to be on next season.

photo courtesy of azcardinals.comOn this weeks Voice of the Cardinals radio, Eli and Mark talk about the heartbreaking defeat handed to Arizona by the New Orleans Saints. The guys will also discuss what lies ahead for the Cardinals, including this weeks up and coming game against the Atlanta Falcons.

To Listen to the Show Click Here 

If you have any questions or comments about the show email us at voiceofthecardinals@gmail.com 

photo courtesy of azcardinals.comA post written by Mark on MVN.com

 This week and last have illustrated exactly why the Cardinals are not ready for prime time or the play offs. Just like last week against Seattle, they once again had little or no pass rush, the secondary was picked apart by a hot quarterback, they abandoned the run when they fell behind and then had foolish penalty after foolish penalty. It hurts as a fan to run these guys down right now, as the effort was there once again by most of the players, but there are some areas of glaring weakness that are keeping this franchise from making the big step forward.

1. Penalties once again killed this team. 10 flags for a total of 78 yards doesn’t begin to tell the story here. It is when they get the penalties, and in which situations, that just kill this team. Why this week they even got the rare ” two penalties on one play” on an extra point! At what point in time is this group going to stop holding, lining up in illegal formations, jumping off sides, etc? If they were flags due to being aggressive I could see it, but these are just dumb, mindless mistakes that you’d expect from a JV football team, not an NFL franchise. The Cardinals lead the league in penalties per game and that's really pathetic.

2. Turnovers at the worst possible times. The first interception was a result of the tight end not hanging on to a pass that hit him in the hands and then deflecting it into a Saints DB. That one was just a bad luck play on a tough pass and catch but it came in a situation where the Cardinals could have taken a lead in the game. The fumble by Warner in the pocket was another situation where the play call was for a deep pass and protection broke down with Kurt was exposed to a solid pass rush. It’s no secret his ball protection stinks, it always has, and he and Todd Haley got into it after the play on the sidelines over what I suspect were the messed up formations and calls that preceded that turn over.

3. Burning time out’s due to plays not getting in on time or the wrong plays for the defensive set being called. The second half was 30 seconds old and Kurt had to burn a time out because the play either didn’t get in or else something was wrong when he went to the line of scrimmage. It was clear that he and the coaches were not on the same page the whole half and quite frankly this has been a recurring theme all season. I’ve never seen a team burn so many time outs or get some many delay of game calls then this years Cardinals. There is clearly something going on with the play calling system that is creating this issue, and you’ll notice when they go no huddle, the offense springs to life. What ever the problem is on play calling it better get fixed in the off season because it was a huge issue this year and just saps the life out of the offense.

4. Failure to stick with the running game. Edgerrin James had 16 carries in the entire game and had 84 yards. Has anyone on the Cardinals staff noticed that when they RUN the ball more and Edge gets 100 yards they almost always win? We all love the passing game but this staff bails out on the running game way too early and tends to run in what would be obvious running situations only, allowing the other team to stack the box. The games where they have more balance we have fewer turn overs and the defense plays better because its off the field. We are paying the guys a kings ransom to be our feature back, so how about we give him the ball 20 times a game at least?

5. The secondary couldn’t cover anyone all day long. Quite frankly i’m shocked N.O. didn’t pass even more then they did. It looked like a flag football league out there with the N.O. receivers typically catching the ball with out a Cardinals DB with in 5 yards of them most of the time.

Long and short of it is the Cardinals just aren’t ready to compete against the top tier teams in the league. Too many penalties, too much confusion on play calling, too many mental lapses and not enough depth to withstand injuries.

I’d expect them to beat Atlanta next week at home but probably lose to the Rams the last week of the season leaving them at 7-9. I wish I could say this was an acceptable record but it’s not, and neither is 8-8 if they finish with that. This team absolutely shouldn’t have been any worse then 10-6 this year and in reality should have been 11-5. For them to finish at 7-9 or 8-8 is a big disappointment and should lead to some guys losing their jobs at the end of the year. To me the test of this management and coaching staff will be if Holt, Arrington and Neil Rackers return, all three of which I will take as signs that they are not serious about upgrading the roster. This is a tough team that works exceptionally hard and doesn’t quit, and that's the most encouraging change from past years, but the mental errors, the penalties and failure to seize opportunity are bitter reminders for fans that this franchise is still a long way from being able to move into the upper levels of the NFC where they can compete every season for a play off berth.

For all you Arizona Cardinals fans that think this was a “good” year, you need to stop being so pleased with poor results and put pressure on this team and ownership to keep doing the things that get it to the next level. Take a look at the stadium, the revenue streams, the skill position guys we have and the weak division we play in and tell me that being 6-8 is acceptable when this team should be 11-5 to finish the year. Stop settling for middle of the pack results and start finding ways to be winners.

photo courtesy of azcardinals.comI'm going to make this short and to the point. The Cardinals have to win this New Orleans Saints game obviously. There's no moral victories here, just win and your still alive or lose and the seasons over. So many Cardinal fans are content with just being in the playoff hunt. If the Cardinals miss the playoffs this season it will go down as a disappointment. There's no such thing as a good season when your team doesn't make the playoffs. So lets not get the Cardinal fan attitude and be happy with an 8-8 record. I want Arizona 9-7 and in the playoffs, anything less is a bad year.

I'm not a professional coach by any means, but I do know in this game Arizona has to throw the ball a lot to Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald is one of the best deep ball/jump ball threat in the NFL. The man that will be defending Fitz in the Saints game is Jason David. David leads the league in touchdowns given up. All this guy does is allow deep touchdowns and I expect more given up in this Sundays game. So the game plan on offense is throw the ball 75 times to Fitzgerald or whoever Jason David is matched up against and hopefully a few touchdowns will come out of it. If Whisenhunt doesn't throw at this guy, I'm going to lose my mind.

For my prediction everything inside me says the Cardinals are going to lose this game. Since that's the case I'm going to pick a bias 27-24 Cardinals victory keeping the season alive. 

photo courtesy of azcardinals.comAll week I've been wondering what the chances are of the Arizona Cardinals making the playoffs. So like most football fans this time of year, I started doing the math to see just how possible that is. My math was just good enough to get a general idea of what the Cardinals and other teams will need to do in order for Arizona to reach the postseason but my math wasn't accurate enough. Fortunately, I was recently sent a link called sportsclubstats.com which is a site that helps break down the probability of Arizona making the playoffs.

Lets discuss the chance of the Cardinals making the playoffs using sportsclubstats.com's statistics.  

As most Cardinal fans know Arizona needs to win their last 3 games to have a chance at the playoffs. As of right now the Cardinals have an 8.3% chance of making it to the postseason. If the Cardinals finish the last 3 games of their season 2-1 it will put them at 8-8 giving them a 7% chance at the playoffs. If Arizona finishes 3-0 for the final 3 games putting them at 9-7 they would have a 45.6% chance at getting in. However, a loss to the Saints this Sunday would reduce those odds to 0.5%, so you can see why this game is truly a must win. A win against the New Orleans Saints would boost the Cardinals chance at the playoffs to 16.2% for the moment. Obviously all this can be changed based on how the Vikings, Lions, and Redskins do in their games. Right now the Vikings have a  43% chance to get in the playoffs, the Saints have a 20.1% chance, the Redskins have a 17% chance, and Lions odds are at 8.3%.

So for the time being the Vikings are the only team that control their own destiny. All the Cardinals can do is win out and hope for the best. This up and coming game with the Saints is the season for Arizona. A loss here and they're done, a win and they have two fairly easy teams left to play in Atlanta and St.Louis. Finishing 3-0 is possible, and we know anything can happen in football. In 1998 the Cardinals were 6-7 and needed to finish 3-0 to make the playoffs and they did it, lets hope for a repeat.

photo courtesy of azcardinals.comThis posting was done by Mark on MVN.com 

In a game that wasn't as close as the score indicates the Arizona Cardinals got slapped around today by the Seattle Seahawks. The win gave Seattle the NFC West for the forth straight season and put the Cardinals at 6-7, a game behind the surging Minnesota Vikings in the wild card race.I find it amazing we are even discussing playoffs with the Cardinals at 6-7 and the devastated roster they are playing with at this point in the season. The team is still playing hard and the veteran leadership is keeping these guys focused, but this game today was a total train wreck on several levels.

1. The Cardinals lost starting TE Leonard Pope to what looks to be a season ending ankle injury, further depleting an already weak tight end position. While Pope still drops too many balls and makes too many mistakes, he has improved a great deal and is probably a year away from being a good NFL tight end. With three games left to play his loss is going to really hurt, particularly with the wide out's so nicked up.

2. Stupid penalties keep killing this team. It probably wouldn't have made any difference in the out come of the game but did Dockett really need to get an unsportmanlike penalty when the Cardinals had forced a 4th down? I'm a huge Dockett fan and I know he gets held on about 50% of all snaps but he really let the team down on that one. Instead of getting 3 points at a time when the game was still with in some sort of reach, he allows Seattle to get a first down and on the next play a touch down to put the game out of reach

3. Kurt Warner was forcing the ball down field to try and make things happen, but the 5 INT's just killed us today. I really don't blame Kurt on two or three of them, but on two others he just air mailed it to the other team. The passing game is very shaky right now with Boldin out, Fitzgerald slowed by his injury and the other guys trying to step in. With out a real tight end to throw too the check down options are pretty slim and he was under constant pressure all day. Which brings me to...

4. Levi Brown. My god man could you at least try holding Kearney or something? Look, I know Levi's a rookie, but it's the 13th game of the season and we took him FIFTH in the NFL draft. You don't see Joe Thomas getting schooled like this, or Tony Ugoh in Indy. Before all you Brown apologists get on my back, remember, i'm not the genius that reached up at the 5th pick and took this guy. He was a good first round prospect but not a top 5 player, particularly with Adrian Peterson on the board. Today exposed him for what he probably is, an average NFL tackle who is going to need a tight end to help him with the elite pass rushing DE's. Kearney must be buying his hotel reservations in Hawaii for the Pro-Bowl a year in advance now that he gets to go against Levi twice a season. I'm sure Levi will have a decent NFL career but watching him today just made you sick when you consider the salary cap implications of his draft position for the next 4 years.

 
5. Special teams. It's trick or treat as usual with our special teams. You get some good Breaston returns, a covered on side kick, but then you have plays where there is no coverage at all and a punter who lets the ball fly through his hands on a clean snap for a safety.

In summary, why oh why do we have coaches for this team put tag lines out there ( you got a winner in town) when they come in that comes back to haunt them? "Tough, smart, disciplined football." As i've said before, this team is definitely tough, occasionally smart, but a long, long way from disciplined. Too many flags, mistakes, coverage errors and screw ups to beat a team like Seattle at home.

They have three games left and will probably have to win them all to get the wild card at this point and with the injuries piling up the glaring lack of depth in the secondary, DE and at tight end is coming back to haunt them. I don't know if they have the horses to pull it out, but next week in New Orleans we will see if the Cardinals can put together another miracle must win effort to stay alive in the play off race.

photo courtesy of azcardinals.comOn this weeks Voice of the Cardinals radio, Eli and Mark talk about the big win against the Cleveland Browns. Along with last weeks game the guys will be previewing this up and coming weeks game against the Seattle Seahawks.

To listen to the show click here 

If you have any questions or comments about the show email us at voiceofthecardinals@gmail.com 

Kellen Winslow holds Antrel Rolle's arm on the last play of the game. photo courtesy of azcardinals.com

The Arizona Cardinals kept their season alive by defeating the Cleveland Browns 27-21 Sunday. the Cardinals controlled the whole game but they never put it away. It came down to a last second throw from Derek Anderson to Kellen Winslow, the ball was caught but called out of bounds. The call could have gone either way. Yes, Cleveland fans are naturally going to complain about the call but I can't believe to what extent. I've never had so many emails sent to me complaining about how their team go shafted. I knew Browns fans were bad but I didn't know they whined this much. Click on the link here, it's a picture of Kellen Winslow clearly holding Antrel Rolle's arm on the last play of the game. They didn't call offensive holding and they should have. The Browns had a couple other calls go their way including a Braylon Edwards touchdown where he was down but the refs said he wasn't. The game was called bad but equally bad for both teams, so Browns fan should stop complaining. Did people in Cleveland ever think to blame their team for the loss and not the refs. Face the facts, the Browns loss to a beat up Cardinals football team. Arizona out played Cleveland in just about every possible way; The Cards deserved to win and the Browns deserved to lose. End of story.

The biggest reason for this victory was a revived running game. For the first time since week 3 Edgerrin James ran over 100 yards which came at a crucial time with Larry Fitzgerald not playing and Anquan Boldin leaving the game early with an injury. So props to the offensive line for stepping up and protecting Kurt and making holes for Edge.

Speaking of Kurt Warner, the guy that people will sometimes complain about for no good reason stepped up again and did his job. Not only did Kurt play a solid game he did it without his two weapons Anquan and Fitz. Kurt's a proven winner and that's why I love having him on this team. Every quarterback is going to make mistakes but not all will bounce back from theirs and that's what makes Kurt so great. He always fights back through adversity and finds a way to get the job done. You can't ask for much more out of your quarterback.

The Cardinal defense played great holding a powerful Browns offense to 21 points. Yes, holding the Browns to 21 points is an accomplishment considering the massive amount of injuries Arizona has on the defensive side of the ball. Rod Hood desperately needed to step up and he did with 2 interceptions including one for a touchdown.

Special teams showed up strong for the Cards. They didn't allow the dangerous Josh Cribbs to hurt them and even caused him to fumble a crucial punt. Steve Breaston is showing us more and more each week that he is the real deal as a return man. Breaston really improves field position and is always a threat to take one to the house.

As of right now the Cardinals are in the lead for the second playoff wild card spot. Isn't that nice to hear this late into the season? I'm nervous still because of all the injuries but us Cardinal fans still have hope, and isn't that all we ever asked for?

photo courtesy of azcardinals.comOn this weeks Voice of the Cardinals radio, Eli and Mark have a guest come on so they can all vent about last weeks heartbreaking lost to the San Francisco 49ers. Along with a review of last weeks game the guys will preview this up and coming weeks game against the AFC North leading Cleveland Browns.

You can download the podcast by clicking here.

If you have any questions or comments for Eli and Mark you can email them at voiceofthecardinals@gmail.com 

I've posted this over at MVN.com also but I've had 3 different people send me this video since Neil Rackers missed the game winning 32 yard field goal against the 49ers last week. So I figure I have to show it because I love the video and it pretty much sums up how Neil is feeling at the moment. I'm mad at Neil right now but I have sympathy for him I guess.

photo courtesy of azcardinals.comAdding insult to injury, or should I say injury to insult, the Arizona Cardinals lose Pro Bowl safety Adrian Wilson and starting cornerback Eric Green for the season. This comes after the most heartbreaking defeat in Arizona Cardinals history. Wilson apparently has a torn achilles and Green has a tear in his groin. These injuries might put an official end to the Cards season. Along with the two injuries the Cardinals have cut punter Mike Barr. Any of you that have watched this guy punt through out the season know he doesn't belong in the NFL. Barr's punting killed the Cardinals in the overtime lost to the 49ers last week and not surprisingly he is no longer with the team. Veteran punters Tom Rouen and Mitch Berger were seen at the Cardinals' complex working out with the team.

If you watch the Cardinals defense with and without Adrian Wilson it's night and day. All year the defense has been great, but as soon as Wilson goes out they allow 37 points to the worst offense in the league. You got to believe this team has no chance without Wilson and Green. You can't have guys like Michael Adams, Ralph Brown and Oliver Celestin on the field and expect to win. The offense would have to score 30+ points a game for the rest of the year in order to help the Cardinals make the playoffs.

Logic tells me that there's no chance the Cardinals can make the playoffs with season ending injuries to Bertrand Berry, Chike Okeafor, Adrian Wilson, Eric Green, and Matt Leinart. But as long as the record still says Arizona can make the playoffs I've got to hope for that miracle, and at this point that's what it will take, a miracle.

photo courtesy of azcardinals.comMark Wrote this on MVN.com and he is clearly frustrated.

The Arizona Cardinals were crushed today by the lowly, laughable San Francisco 49ers in what was the single worse loss I can personally remember in the 19 seasons the Cardinals have been in Arizona.

How this team can continue to totally choke and fail to beat inferior teams when they are just at the doorstep of respectability is truly amazing. I thought the stinkfest against the Tampa Bay Bucs was bad, but today’s debacle at University of Phoenix Stadium totally took the cake.

In my opinion this was the worst loss in Arizona Cardinals history, as it encompassed bad play calling, horrible clock management, stupid penalties, wretched special teams play, pathetic punting, careless turnovers and the biggest choke job by a kicker since “the idiot kicker” Mike Vanderjagt duck hooked a winning field goal that ruined the Colts season two years ago. All of this wrapped around a generally brilliant effort by Kurt Warner who had a brain freeze on the last play of the game in the end zone that ended the game, but which I contend never should have occurred if the team had any kind of brains on special teams. Let’s get to the low lights:

1. Neil Rackers needs to be given his pink slip on Monday morning. I know he’s got his fan club and he was for one season a Pro-Bowl kicker but lets face facts everyone. Since this guy got his big paycheck after his Pro-Bowl year he has cost this team no less then 6 games in the last two years with missed kicks that a money kicker would make, and two of those games were arguably the two biggest losses in franchise history, the Bears last year and today’s game against SF. There is no excuse, none, for his missing that second kick. He was dead on, it was 32 yards, the conditions were perfect and the hold and snap were fine. This guy has turned into a head case ever since he missed the kick to win the Bears game and just ask yourself this question. Would a good coach such as Cowher, Belichick or Parcells keep this guy on the roster after what he did in Washington this year and now against SF? I’m sorry, this guy has to be released.

2. Mike Barr needs to give Neil Rackers a ride out of town. This guy is a horrible punter and needs to be cut as well. When the Cardinals needed a good punt this guy delivered a 12 yard punt that cost them 30 yards of field position at a crucial time. It’s not the first time he’s shanked under pressure and it’s not like Scott Player isn’t sitting home and ready to kick again. The Cardinals have statistically the worst punting unit in the NFL this season and today’s performance was pathetic as Barr was booed off the field. If it’s about money, dump Rackers inflated salary and use it to sign Player for the rest of the year. The Mike Barr experiment has been a total and complete disaster this season and the loss of field position and shanks under pressure are killing this team.

3. Steve Breaston. We love you but what in the world are you doing fielding punts on the 3 yard line son? Holy Cow, you had to watch this to believe it. I sat in the stands and saw not one, not two but THREE punts that he fielded inside his 12 yard line today at crucial times in the game rather then letting them go into the end zone. I know he’s a great punt returner, he doesn’t fumble and he’s got a ton of guts. I love the guy and hope he stays on the team for a long time, but my God what is the special teams coach telling this guy? He had two nice returns when he made this gamble, but each were wiped out by stupid penalties, in particular Ben Patrick blocking in the back on successive punts in overtime to kill field position.

4. Terrance Holt, take a seat on the bench when Aaron Francisco is healthy again, please. Look, I know he got paid big money and he’s Adrian Wilson’s college roommate and all that but I want anyone who defends this guy as a starter to check out the tape of the run Frank Gore made in the first quarter for a touchdown. It was a simple draw play, Gerald Hayes had shot the gap so Holt was in run support. I swear to you that Gore was running right NEXT to Holt and he literally couldn’t put a hand on him. He didn’t break down to tackle he sort of stood up right and gave him a little wave as he went past him untouched into the end zone. Thats not the first open field, basic tackle Holt has missed this year but the one that should be the icing on the cake. He killed us against Tampa and today he missed tackles on two touchdown runs. Move Antrel Rolle to free safety next year and get rid of Mr. Holt please.

5. Coach Whisenhunt. Smart, Tough, Disciplined football. Lets talk about clock management. Never mind the gusty/insane play where Tim Rattay had to throw on the run to a totally covered Ben Patrick on fourth down to bail the coach out of a very questionable call at the goal line, lets talk about the very end of regulation in which the team had a time out. Bryant Johnson was out of bounds at the one foot line and instead of lining up and running a play with 6 seconds left on the clock, which would have allowed you to RUN the ball and still call time out to tie the game, we ran around confused and had to burn a time out virtually insuring that we had to throw on that down, a pass that was broken up in the end zone. Sure that was bad, but how in the world do you let time run out on the game winning field goal in OT when you have TWO time outs in your pocket and allow the clock to expire? Rackers made the kick, but given time to think and move back 5 yards he pushed it to the right and that was the game. There is NO excuse for that clock running down and it’s a weekly occurrence in Cardinals games to see delay of game penalties or wasted time outs due to failure to get a call in or get players on the field fast enough. This is TOTALLY on the coaches, no one else and there is no reason for it at this time of the year.

6. Penalties and turnovers. At what point does the coach bench or cut some guys who continue to make mistakes? The Cardinals once again had 10 or more penalties for 70 yards, but it was actually much more yardage when you figure in the lost return yardage and productive plays wiped out by flags. The Cardinals lead the league in penalties and this game had four turnovers to the 49ers ZERO. If it was a one-game situation, fine, but the reality is that this is a week to week occurrence that shows no sign of improvement.

Highlights? Sure, there were a few.

1. Patrick Willis of San Francisco is the finest linebacker in the NFC and possibly the NFL. Forget Urlacher or anyone else, just slip in today’s game film and tell me that the 49ers don’t have the finest linebacker in the NFC. This guy had 18  tackles, 17 of them solo, a sack and what was the game saving play of the game when he ran down Sean Morey from behind in overtime from 15 yards behind to prevent an 80 yard touchdown to win the game. This guy runs from sideline to sideline, blitzes, covers out of the backfield and is the closest thing to Mike Singletary I’ve seen. This guy is amazing and if you love football you got to love Patrick Willis no matter what team you root for.

2. Larry Fitzgerald is turning into an elite NFL wide out. Anyone who reads this knows I love Anquan Boldin’s game but Fitz has taken his game to a new level this year. Circus catches, winning jump balls in the end zone, great catches in traffic and runs after the catch. He does it all and is one of the guys who keeps the Cardinals in the game. He’s having a breakout year and just totally ate Nate Clements’ lunch today.

3. Kurt Warner, what a game and what a horrible way to end it. Kurt continues to prove he’s one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL with almost 500 yards passing and 2 TDs. However, his limitations in the pocket under pressure once again reared their ugly head as he got blitzed in the end zone and when he couldn’t find his first read was unable to avoid the rush and dropped the ball for the game ending fumble. What a horrible way for a game to end. At the risk of sounding like a Warner apologist I have to question the play call of a drop back pass in your own end zone when the team had been successfully running the ball the entire second half. Kurt played an otherwise great game that should have been good enough to win.

I could go on and on, but the bottom line is the Cardinals, once again fail to seize the opportunity that was in front of them and lost to a team that had no business being on the field with them. I’ve never seen more irate fans, particularly on the heels of the Cardinals sending out INVOICES FOR PLAY OFF TICKETS this week! Oh yeah, right, I’m sending that check right in to hold my playoff tickets and for the Cardinals to hold my money over the holidays. How about this?

Let’s have the Cardinals win a meaningful game at home to put themselves into the playoffs and then send me a bill?

I’ve never been more disgusted as a fan and if you saw the faces of the people leaving the stadium I’ll assure you of one thing for next week against Cleveland. That the crowd will be filled with Browns fans and a lot of Cardinals fans are going to be either staying at home or selling their tickets after the performance today. It was pathetic.

photo courtesy of azcardinals.comThis week the Arizona Cardinals will go up against the struggling San Francisco 49ers. San Fran has lost their last 8 games and have not scored a touchdown in 11 quarters. Clearly this should be an easy win for Arizona but we never know. Against the Panthers it seemed like the Cards couldn’t lose but an injury to Kurt Warner ended that gimme win.

For the first time since 1998 the Cardinals have a chance to go over 500 12 weeks into the season.  My dream is coming true, all I asked for at the begging of this year was hope. I wanted Arizona to go into the last few games of the season saying we have a chance to make it to the playoffs. It looks like we’ll be able to say that after this week. Now the next step is actually making it to the playoffs.

I know I’m getting a little ahead of myself because on any given week any team can win in the NFL. So the Cards can’t look past the 49ers who they lost to on MNF in the season opener. Since the heartbreaking lost to San Fran many things have changed, mostly injuries taking tolls on both teams. Trent Dilfer will be the quarterback for the 49ers in place of Alex Smith and Kurt Warner is now the Cardinals QB in place of Matt Leinart. That switch alone should give the Cardinals a much bigger edge going into this weeks game. The 49ers have only one weapon on offense in Frank Gore, and the Cards have many in Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, Edgerrin James, and Kurt Warner. As far as the defense goes both teams are playing well on that side of the ball. If Arizona can protect the ball and not allow the 49er defense to score, it should be a fairly easy win for the Cards.

The Cardinals have been playing good football lately and the 49ers are just terrible right now. I have to believe this will be an easy win for the Cards that will put them in a tie for the wild card in the NFC. So I’m predicting a win here, a lose for the Cards will be potentially season ending, but this is a different year and I don’t think that’s going to happen.

photo courtesy of azcardinals.comOn this weeks Voice of the Cardinals show Eli and Mark talk about last weeks big win against the Detroit Lions.  Along with last weeks review the guys will give injury updates and preview the up and coming game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

If you have an questions or comments on the show email us at voiceofthecardinals@gmail.com

Click here to listen to the show 

 

photo courtesy of azcardinals.com

    On this weeks Voice of the Cardinals show Eli Talks about the Arizona Cardinals tough lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week. Along with last weeks analyst Eli takes some calls and previews this up and coming weeks game against the Detroit Lions.

If you have an questions or comments on the show email us at voiceofthecardinals@gmail.com

To download the show click here 

photo courtesy of azcardinals.comAlright, well the Arizona Cardinals are half way through the 2007 season and it’s time for their mid term report card. I predicted the Cardinals would be 3-4 going into the bye week. So I’m not surprised where the team is, but we all know it could and should be better.

Offense: D+

I give the Cardinals a D+ on offense for the first half of the season. Some people would give the offense an F and others would give it a C.  I don’t give them an F because of improvement in some crucial areas. The offensive line has improved greatly thanks to Russ Grimm, they’ve given Edgerrin James some room to run and allowed very few sacks. Despite a rough game last week against Tampa, Edge is still on pace to have one of the best rushing seasons in Cardinals history, although that’s not saying much. Maybe the single reason why I didn’t give the Cardinals an F on offense was due to the success in the red zone this season. The Cardinals are the best team in the league inside the 20 and that’s a huge change from other years. The reason the Cards offense doesn’t get better than a D+ is simpily because they are not producing enough points. This should be at least a top 10 offense in the NFL and with the talent they have. But unfortunately things again have just not clicked. You could blame it on some injuries but I put that on the coaches to make sure they get the most out of their players.

Defense: B

I give the Cardinals defense a B. If someone in the beginning of the year would have told me the strength of the Cardinals would have been their defense I would have told them their an idiot. I don’t think anyone predicted a defense like this out of Arizona.  Somehow the D has done the job and kept the Cards in games. The only reason why I don’t give them an A is because of the lack of turnovers they produce. The Cards are -9 in turnover ratio, ranking them 30th in the NFL. On the positive side Darnell Dockett is having a pro bowl year leading the NFL’s interior linemen with 8 sacks. The weak link for the Cards defense is the cornerbacks and there doing a solid job holding teams from big plays with exception of a couple. If the defense keeps up the good work and the offense starts moving the ball a little better, this team could still be heading to the playoffs.

Special Teams: D

I give the Cardinals special teams a D. Probably the only reason why they don’t get an F is because of Steve Breaston’s game winning punt return against Pittsburgh. Breaston is a great return man and one of the toughest at the position in the NFL, he is never afraid to catch a ball or stick his nose in there. But how is he suppose to show his potential if the guy gets no blocking. On kickoffs teams are at the 15 yard line by the time Steve catches the ball. They do a terrible job blocking on Kick and Punt returns. It seems like they get called for holding on almost every play. The Special teams has also allowed their share of big plays on the other side of the ball as well. I love Neil Rackers but the guy has missed a couple big kicks that needed to be made. I still want him as Arizona’s kicker but in clutch moments he needs to improve although he did have one game winning kick this season. Mike Barr the punter seems to have a less than average leg. He is good enough for now but that’s a position the Cards need to upgrade on in the off season.

Coaching: C

I give the coaching staff a C. You have to keep in mind this is the staffs first season with the Cardinals. It usually takes a couple years to instill a new scheme. I give the O-line coach Russ Grimm an A for turning average offensive linemen into good ones. The line has improved no question, even the players that don’t usually play came in and did a great job thanks to Russ. I give Clancy Pendergast an A also with what he’s done with that defense. Like I said before no body saw the defense playing this well and a lot of that is thanks to Clancy. Kevin Spencer who is the special teams coach gets a D- from me. In my opinion I don’t think he has the personnel to have a great special teams but one thing I do know is the department he’s in charge of is failing. So even though Kevin might be doing a good job his special teams are not. Finally I give head coach Ken Whisenhunt a C+. I give him a C+ because he runs the offense and they lack in that area right now. I feel Ken has done a great job bringing a winning attitude to Arizona and I love some things he’s done. But lately the play calling seems a little iffy and the offense just can’t get the job done. Ken’s smart, tough, discipline approach isn’t working yet. The team leads the league in penalty yards. Obviously smart, tough, discipline football teams don’t do that.

Overall Grade: C-

I think a C- is just about right for an overall grade. The team’s record should be a little better than it is but still they’re not out of it. The biggest thing holding the Cardinals down is penalty’s and turnover ratio. It’s actually a miracle Arizona is 3-5 with how bad they are in the penalty and turnover department.

The key game of the second half of the season will be against Seattle. If they lose that game I’d say they have no chance at the playoffs. If they pull one out in Seattle they might just have enough wins to take the NFC West. Hopefully will at least see them make a run at it.