I was listening to some talk radio this morning and I heard a interesting argument as to why the combine actually hurts rookies and basically the argument was that for six weeks or so these prospects train like track athletes instead of football players. For the most part the emphasis is entirely on running well, being explosive and being as fluid/flexible as possible instead of getting stronger or adding bulk that might actually help some guys transition to the next level.

I can remember last off season Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was quoted in an article talking about how much he was looking forward to his second season because he wouldn't have to spend half the off season training for track. He blamed part of his rookie struggles on being under weight and wearing down as the season progressed (although his stats don't really suggest that he faded down the stretch).

While I'm not really suggesting that the league should ever eliminate the combine entirely, I wonder if some incoming rookies wouldn't benefit more from training for stuff that might actually help them during their rookie season and beyond. Thoughts?

Update: After re-reading my own post, I should probably clarify that I'm not saying that the players shouldn't try to maximize their value or perform as well as possible at the Combine. My main point/question was whether draft "experts" or more importantly the NFL as a whole places too much emphasis on what basically amounts to a track meet.

Today is the start of one of the biggest weeks leading up to April's NFL draft and no I'm not talking about the Combine. I'm talking about real live NFL prospects strapping on their helmets and pads and going to work. The Senior Bowl, and more importantly the week of practices leading up to the actual game, can really help a draft pick soar up the charts. Just a couple of years ago the great DRC wowed scouts and proved that his stellar play at Middle Tennessee State would translate to the NFL. This year some of the very best seniors, including quite a few guys that we'll be talking about as potential Cardinals draft picks, from the world of college football will be on display. The official weigh-ins have already taken place and the first practice, aired on NFL Network, will start very soon. If you haven't already set your DVR's, go ahead and check it out.

Some of the interesting notes that have already come out of the weigh in:

• Terrence Cody, possibly the #1 nose tackle in the draft and apparently doing his best Andre Smith impersonation from last year, tipped the scales at a whopping 370 pounds. His primary competition for the #1 nose tackle on the board, Dan Williams, was a much leaner 329 (can 329 really be lean?).
  
• The consensus top overall guard, Mike Iupat, had freakishly long arms, 35 inches, which was also the widest wingspan of any offensive lineman there. That's only note worthy because with arms like that you're guaranteed to see him take some snaps at tackle now (think Brandon Albert in 2008).

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The East/West Shrine game is the red headed step child compared the Senior Bowl but there were still plenty of draftable prospects in this game. Most of the evaluation process on these guys came from the week of practice leading up to the game, which I obviously wasn't able to see so most of this will be just summation of various reports from around the web. The game itself was rather uneventful (13-10 final), but here are some final thoughts (focusing on positions that the Cards might actually target).

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There's nothing pretty about 45-14, or even 51-45 for that matter, but we as Arizona Cardinals fans have two choices. We can either sit back in the lazy boy and sulk over another tub of Ben and Jerry's or, as others have poetically suggested, we can take a step back and appreciate not only this season of football but also the past three seasons under Ken Whisenhunt. Losing in the playoffs sucks, there's no way around that fact, but it sure beats finishing 5-11, if you ask me. With all that being said here's my post-post season randomness....

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First of all, what a crazy game. Say what you want about Arizona Cardinals' football, but there is never a dull moment. This offense played with their football on the gas for 60 minutes and the defense did just enough to walk out of UoP with a win in what could be the most entertaining playoff game in league history. A million thoughts are rolling through my head right now but here are a selected few:

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I was doing my daily Mike Sando reading and ran across this radio interview with T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Nate Burleson and Deion Branch (check out a link to the audio and transcript here). It's amazing to hear these guys talk about how their a "good" team but they're just not playing good. This is a 5-10 football team that's been outscored by 82 points over the past three weeks, although to their credit they've managed to win one more game than last year's 4-12 squad.

Branch blasts off on just about everyone and points out that he has two Super Bowl rings and no one on the team, including no one on the coaching staff, can say that......

"I'm fixing to give it to you raw and uncut. Hey, I've been a part of two Super Bowls. Nobody on this football team has been a part of it, period. No coach. Nobody. I have. I've won two of them. The bottom line is are we winning? No. Do we have a good team, yes? To Hugh Millen and Ian Furness. We have a good football team. Are we talented? Yes. Are we playing good? No. We're not playing good football, no we're not. We're not executing plays."

Now calling out your own coaching staff normally isn't a good idea but this trio is also quick to point out that Matt Hasselbeck doesn't get enough criticism for the team's struggles. Housh is also boasting that no one can cover his man-to-man.

This is too often what happens when a highly successful team starts to get old but they still see themselves as premier players. This is no longer the team that won the West five years in a row, this is a team that lost double digit games for two years in a row. And the worst part is that the core of this team has no idea how far they've fallen. I'm tellling you this team hasn't hit rock bottom yet and we've got a front row seat to this theatre of mass destruction. I'm loving it.

Ok so the Cardinals aren't really broken, in fact this is probably the best time in team history, but I like this series so I figured I'd chime in on the Cardinals' needs. I'd love to include an Anquan Boldin trade scenario in this but it's way to early to muddy those waters. I will play it safe and assume Karlos Dansby, Mike Gandy and Chike Okeafor are all allowed to walk after this season. Dansby is clearly the biggest loss and he leaves a giant void at ILB. Other needs, in somewhat of an order include OLB, OT, NT, CB, TE.

Round 1: Brandon Spikes (LB - Florida) - I know alot of mocks may already have him off the board by the late first round but inside backers have fallen in each of the past two drafts and I think Spikes falls this year. McClain would be my first choice but I think he'll already be selected. Either way though Spikes steps into a starting spot from day one and fills a giant void left by Dansby.

Round 2: Jason Fox (OT - Miami) - Some mocks have Fox creeping into the first round but his recent "illness" (which ended up being an irregular heart beat) that caused him to miss the regular season finale and his most recent "lower extremity injury" (which sounds like it's knee surgery), have me thinking that this might even be a reach. For now though I'm ignoring those two big red flags though and taking Fox, a converted tight end, because he's an experienced and complete tackle with tremendous size (6-6, 314).

Round 3: O'Brien Schofield (OLB - Wisconsin) - Schofield's an interesting prospect simply because he's played both defensive end and outside linebacker at Wisconsin, but hasn't put up the eye-popping numbers like some of his peers. While he's second in the NCAA in tackles for loss this season, his sack totals aren't all that impressive (career high this year of 7.5). Still though he already has experience dropping into coverage and is pretty stout against the run. Considering that two of the top three OLB's on the team will be second year guys next year, I'm thinking that Whisenhunt may take a guy with a bit lower ceiling but is closer to NFL-ready so Schofield is the pick.

Round 4: Torrell Troup (DT/NT - UCF) - Troup's got the size and space eating mentality to thrive in a thankless position like nose tackle. He's got good size (6-3, 314) but he's trimmed down from almost 350 during his time at UCF so if a team wants him to put some poundage on, I'm gonna assume he won't mind. He doesn't fill up the box score but he's constantly double teamed and rarely gives any ground. He's a big reason why the UCF defense is respectable and given a good off season he might be gone well before this point.

Round 5: Walter Thurmond (CB - Oregon) - There's a decent chance that Thurmond is already off the board by the fifth round but alot of that will depend on his health. Most had the corner as a second round pick last year but he returned to college only to see his senior campaign end with a knee injury in the fourth game of the season. One thing is indisputable though, when he's healthy he's a dynamic return specialist and a ball-hawking corner with decent size (6-0, 180). He scored two touchdowns in the first four games of the season this year (one INT return and one punt return)  and he'll help a team immediately and could develop into a starter.

Round 6: Adrian Tracy (DE/OLB - William & Mary) - Tracy has dominated the Subdivision level of competition for the past four years and during that time has started 47 games. During that time his 62.5 tackles for a loss leads the nation among all active players, while he ranks third with 31 career sacks. He has the size (6-3, 245) and athleticism to make it at the next level but it will take some time for him to adjust to the jump in competition.

Round 7: Max Hall (QB - BYU) - The Cards need a young arm to fill the third string spot and serve as the new developmental project. Hall's put up incredible numbers but has obvious flaws in his game. Maybe a year or three on the sidelines could help him develop into a decent backup.

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For seven days the Arizona Cardinals, and us fans, wondered if they were an elite team in the NFL. Last night we got our answer, an emphatic NO. Facing a sub-.500 divisional opponent who was crippled with injuries the Cardinals simply laid an egg. They got physically battered, abused and embarrassed. They couldn't protect their quarterback, they couldn't hold onto the ball and they couldn't mount any kind of serious comeback attempt because they couldn't go five plays without putting the ball on the carpet. Simply put, the Arizona Cardinals were embarrassed by an inferior opponent and no amount of "glass half full" Kool-Aid can sugar coat this loss.

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While perusing around AZcentral.com I ran across the story talking about Warner's hip (which he says is ok) and buried at the bottom was a concerning statement about Mike Gandy's pelvis.....

There were concerns late last week that Gandy may have to undergo surgery to correct the problem, but the Cardinals' medical staff doesn't think that is a necessary option.

Now I'm certainly not a doctor and the closest I've come to diagnosing an injury is watching House every Monday but this sounds like a bigger problem than I originally thought. Gandy and Whisenhunt still sound optimistic about him returning to practice this week and potentially playing on Monday but it seems odd to go from "possibly surgery" to "ready to play" in a weeks time.

I'm sure with Jeremy Bridges strong showing this doesn't seem like a big issue but it could turn into a domino effect considering that now Brandon Keith is the primary backup and could be forced into duty at any position along the line, outside of center. Either way it's something worth keeping an eye on and it might be the safest strategy to hold him out until he's clearly 100% rather than force him back into action before he's fully comfortable. There's also the possibility that with a games worth of tape out there on Bridges, the 49ers will have a better plan of attack on him than the Vikings did. Thoughts?

While we're still all high-fiving and patting each other on the back I figured I'd throw out this pipe dream. I'm sure as Cardinals fans we all want Kurt Warner and company to have the best possible playoff seed heading into the post season and at this point the best case scenario looks like the #2 seed. With that in mind last night win over the Vikings was obviously huge and it opens a whole can of "what if" worms. The Cardinals are in the drivers seat to secure the #3 seed but the #2 seed still might be attainable, but what will it take?

First and foremost the Cardinals will most likely have to win out. That sounds more daunting that it actually is considering the rest of their schedule contains four very "winnable" games. To start, the Red Birds will most likely be favored in each game, only one team remaining can boast an above .500 record and the four game stretch includes teams which have combined for a 15-32 (.469) record. Two of the games, including the most difficult (Packers), are at home and road trips to San Francisco and Detroit aren't exactly buzzkills. If the Cardinals can win their remaining four games they'll be sitting at a very healthy 12-4, but will that be enough?

Currently the Vikings are 10-2 so they have a two game lead with four to play, but their remaining schedule isn't near as favorable. Next week they'll host the 9-3 Bengals, who are 4-1 on the road and a road trip to Carolina will follow. It's concievable that the Vikings could lose to the Bengals and then beat the Panthers leaving them at 11-3 but still holding a one game lead over the Cardinals. The Vikings remaining two games include a road trip to Chicago to take on the rival Bears then a home tilt against the upstart Giants. Despite the lack of quality play from the Bears this season we all know how quirky rival games can be and as the Cowboys learned yesterday, the Giants are no pushover. It's again concievable that the Vikings lose one of these games and leave them sitting at 12-4 with the Cardinals.

If, and I realize that's a big IF, this scenario plays out the Cardinals will enjoy much needed bye week heading into the playoffs before hosting a game at UoP. The only question now is, can it be done? Thoughts?

So we didn't beat the Rams by 20 like I thought and it took a late defensive stand at the goal line to ensure the Cardinals moved to 7-3, but there's more to this story. Sometimes it takes an ugly win when you don't have your 'A' game and at least in the NFL we don't have to worry about style points or margin of victory. A 'W' is a 'W' and that's really the only thing that matters. In case you're feeling a bit bummed about the this unimpressive win, consider this note from Kent Somers:

The Cardinals are 7-3 for the second consecutive year. They have a three-game lead over the 49ers. As a friend pointed out, if the Cardinals go 3-3 the rest of the way, the 49ers would have to go 6-0 to overtake them.

Considering that the remainder of the Cardinals schedule includes only two teams with a record above .500, and both of those games are at home (although this year they may actually be a negative), I think it's fair to say that it's only a matter of time before we clinch the West. With that being said, here's the randomness.....

• Obviously most of the talk about this game will surround Matt Leinart's play. While I expected him to play better (aka, at least put some points on the board), it's hard to ignore that he completed over 70% of his passes and he didn't turn the ball over. Of course that's not the whole story and so I'll defer to the 'so-called' experts, the two main 'beat writers' (Urban and Somers). It's interesting that Urban seems to focus on what Leinart did well and what could have been if things had gone just a bit differently....

His numbers weren't bad (10-for-14 for 74 yards). Whisenhunt said if tight end Anthony Becht hadn't lost a fumble after a second-down catch and had the Cards executed a third-and-1 pass - running back Beanie Wells apparently didn't look back quickly enough for the ball - he had no doubt Leinart would have piloted the Cards to points. Leinart also had the clutch third-down pass to Early Doucet that gained a first down late in the game.

While Somers doesn't tip-toe around Leinart's performance quite as gingerly....

Coach Ken Whisenhunt defended the play of backup quarterback Matt Leinart, although the Cardinals haven't scored this season in his three appearances. On Sunday, a couple of players mentioned that Leinart entered the game under "tough" circumstances. Ahead 21-3 and facing a bad team is tough? Sounds ideal to me.

I don't blame Whisenhunt for defending Leinart. What's he supposed to say? But I'm not joining the chorus of people who think Leinart can't play. I do think it's reasonable to see progress from him this year. And he hasn't shown it. He still tends to throw high when he's nervous, mostly because his footwork gets out of whack. That's been a problem for more than two seasons now. Leinart was set up to succeed Sunday and it didn't happen. You can't get around that fact and it has to concern Cardinals coaches and management. All that said, not all of the problems in the second half were Leinart's fault. Tight end Anthony Becht fumbled. The running game stalled. The defensive intensity dropped off.

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Like it or not, Dockett's elbow to the throat of Matt Hasselbeck isn't getting swept under the rug. Darren Urban is talking about it at the team's official site, Mike Sando is talking about it on ESPN, Seahawks head coach Jim Mora has sent film to the NFL offices and even Nine-0 referenced the situation via his twitter account.

For anyone who has yet to see video evidence of what we're talking about, you can see it right here.

I think at the very least Dockett will be some kind of slap on the wrist fine but this could be the kind of thing where the league and perhaps more importantly referees start watching him more closely. We all know that Dockett can have a short fuse and he's picked up his share of personal foul penalties over the years. He's also got a reputation for "questionable" behavior at the bottom of a pile (just google Dockett and Earnest Graham or Dockett and Rex Grossman). I really doubt that any kind of suspension could be coming but one can never tell how Roger Goodell will respond. Luckily this didn't happen against Peyton Manning or some other high profile QB in a nationally televised game (like it not, that makes a difference), but this might follow DD around for a while.

The Cardinals got off to a slow start but once they got the ball rolling, it was all over with. Warner was slinging, Beanie was rumbling and the defense was doing just enough to keep Bad-beck and the Seahawks off balance. Here's some randomness......

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Here are some random thoughts about the 5-3 Arizona Cardinals:

• The Cardinals are the best team in the NFC West and it's not exactly a slim margin. They're the only team with a winning record and the only team that's scored more points than they've allowed. Most importantly though, they're the only team that doesn't have questions at the most important position on the field (QB), but more on that in a bit.
  
• While the Cardinals aren't an elite team, that doesn't mean that they season is doomed for failure. Elite teams put forth a consistent winning effort week in and week out despite the quality of their opponent, but at best we're only talking about three or four teams in this league. The Cardinals are one of the "muddled middle" that's capable of beating or losing to just about anyone. Consistency is the goal but for now we're winning more often than not and getting into the post season is the first step.
• Kurt Warner is still the same quarterback that he's been for the past decade or so. He's going to have his "dud" games and if his history is any indication, he'll have another four or five turnover game before the season ends. The good news is that he'll also have a handful of games where's he virtually unstoppable. Best in the league? Not even close but he's the best chance that this team has of returning to the promised land and I wouldn't bet against him in a gun fight.
  
• The Cardinals won't ever be mistaken for the Jets or Titans but our league worst rushing attack is improving. The duo of Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells are leading that improvement and it's more than just their 149 yard performance against the Bears. Through the first five games Beanie and Timmy accounted for 292 yards (at 3.4 ypc) but in the past three games they've racked up 311 yards (at 5.0 ypc). The Cards don't have to lead the league in rushing but any success they have on the ground takes pressure off of KW and the passing game.
  
• The defense isn't great but more often than not, it's going to be good enough. They are a better defense when they're playing with a lead and they're going to have their mental lapses that lead to big plays but overall this is an above average defese. With this offense, most of the time, that's going to be good enough to win.

For now that's all. The Cardinals hold a two game lead in the division (if you don't count the tie-breaker with the 49ers) and they've got two very winnable in the upcoming weeks (Hawks and Rams). The West is ours to lose and in a couple weeks we should be talking about playoff positioning.

Bad, Disappointing, Disgusting loss = Don't want to talk about it

I know I'm not the only one out there who'd rather just sweep yesterday's patchetic showing by the Cardinals under the rug and move on. With that in mind (and since we haven't had a draft thread in a while), I thought we could talk a little NFL draft......

(And no this doesn't mean that I'm giving up on the season or don't think we're playoff bound, I'd just rather focus on something else right now (call it a rebound-topic)).

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I'll freely admit that I'm not a scout or a draft expert but it seems like there's a general consensus that the top two middle linebackers in this year's draft are Brandon Spikes and Rolando McClain (if he come out of course). Both are expected to go somewhere in the first round and would seem to be day one starters where ever they end up. So my question to you guys is which guy would you rather have?

Brandon Spikes (6-3, 256): 32 tackles this season in six games with 4.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. He was an All-American last year finishing with a 93/8/2 stat line and he also added four picks (two of which he returned for scores). Everything I've read/seen from him suggests that he's got a long future in the league and can do just about everything that you'd want from an inside backer, although he can get undisciplined at times. He's missed most of the past two games with a groin injury although he's expected to return this weekend.

Rolando McClain (6-4, 248): 57 tackles in eight games with 7 tackles for loss, two sacks and two picks in eight games. He was a third team All-American last year (despite being a sophomore) after posting a 95/12/3 and he added one pick. McClain plays in the Tide's 3-4 defense so his role is slightly different than Spikes but he's still a pretty complete player who seems capable of starting immediately in the NFL. McClain might also be the better athlete of the two.

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Sure a 4-2 record and a division lead is something we should all be thankful for but the Cardinals have the opportunity to go on a serious run over the next five weeks. Their next five opponents have a combined record of 7-24 and not a single team has a winning record. While we might normally be worried that three of these games are on the road, not so much this year. Check out the next five:

• Carolina Panthers (2-4)
• @ Chicago Bears (3-3)
• Seattle Seahawks (2-4)
• @ St. Louis Rams (0-7)
• @ Tennessee Titans (0-6)

Trips to Chicago and Tennessee won't be layups by any means but these are five very winnable games. Just imagine heading into the month of December with a 9-2 record (or even 8-3 if you want to be modest). We'd again be talking about playing for a bye or even the #1 seed. To sweeten the pot even more the Niners play at Indianapolis and at Green Bay during this same stretch. If we take care of business, we could easily have a three or four game lead in the West heading into the final five games. What will our record be after these five games?

If yesterday proved one thing to me it wasn't that the Arizona Cardinals are capable of playing a nearly perfect game and dominating an opponent. I watched the playoffs last year so I know what this team is capable of doing in a given week when they bring their A-game. What this game proved to me is that the Seattle Seahawks of 2009 and the foreseeable future are not the same team that dominated the NFC West four of the past five seasons. The Seahawks are an old, broken down, shadow of their former selves. The NFL, like most things in life, is a cyclical system right now we're watching the downward spiral of the Hawks. Over the next five years or so we should witness the complete rebuild of this team and I for one, can't wait to see them suffer.

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