Every season we experience an increase in supporters from the previous year. With success comes progress and it has shown with the sheer number of supporters that have reveeled themselves. Well this year is a little different.  After coming off a down year, and the worst in the Whiz era, our members have steadily increased. A true sign that we are not bandwagon fans. Three years ago we all came together with stories of how we fell in love with the Arizona Cardinals.  They ranged from following them since they were in St. Louis, to being a true homer, to following them from different parts of the globe.  I myself am from Florida.  I saw one poster from Alaska and of course we have our green blooded Irish lovers.  With so many new bloggers I'm again curious as to where all of your user names came from.  Some of them are a play on your names.  Some seem to make little sense like hevchv.

Here, in this third installment, I would like to continue the tradition. It has become customary before the first game of the season to welcome all of our new followers, as well as our faithful holdovers, by inviting them to share the stories behind their member names. So I will start. I go by hevchv. For those of you who don't know, its short for Heavy Chevy, a nickname I picked up while over in Iraq. Between lifting weights, and already being a solid guy, a lot of my buddies just started calling me Heavy Chevy and it stuck. I'm 5'10'' and 240. But what about the rest of you? What does your name mean?

First let me preface this by saying that I still don't agree with AZRetiree that Whiz is intentionally tanking the season. With that said, "in Whiz I NO LONGER Trust." I have played the "good wife" for too long. I can no longer support someone who isn't trying. I honestly believe there are just too many issues for Whiz to fix in one offseason to turn this ship around. The quarterback situation has proven to be a munumental blunder. No matter how many ypc our backs accomplish, we always end up passing the ball 40+ times a game. Yes I know we often are playing from behind, but we start the birrage of passes before the game is even out of reach. What happened to playing to your players' strengths? Our line is not built for pass protection and our QBs are not built for passing (literally). Skelton did show a ray of hope tonight but the season is already lost. He might as well start the rest of the season now. Never mind. He might actually start winning some games and ruin our chances at a Top 5 Pick.

 Russ Grimm is the Man. Just not our Man. I have no doubt he will make a good head coach. It just feels right with him. But he has done nothing to improve our offensive line. Oh and let me beat you to the punch. "Imagine how bad the line would be without him." Then guess what? I blame Whiz for putting this sorry group of bums together. I probably shouldn't write while I am angry, but it just seems to flow right now. Anyway, our defense has no room to speak. This is the worst I have seen it in years, not just the worst in the league. At this point it is just time for a fresh start. And I believe Jim Harbaugh would be the man to do it. His offense is couldn't be any worse than ours and his 3-4 defense would surely be an upgrade over our current version.

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Everyone knows Derek Anderson has a rifle for an arm. His passes have more zip and zing than touch and accruacy. So why is it that even his leading passes get short armed by the receivers? Well here is my best assessment of why.
The receivers are afraid to extend for a pass. Its that simple. Since preseason DA has managed to get at least 4 of our top receivers (Fitz, Early, Breaston and Williams) hurt from either high or errant passes. Even when the receiver is in space DA some how leads the receiver straight towards a defender instead of using that rifle to put it right on the numbers. Every extension is a gamble that these receivers lose more than they win. Picture back last year when everyone (especially me ) was giving Jereme Urban a hard time because of his gator arms. He would never extend for fear (in my opinion) of getting hurt. Whether he had just cause is debatable, but this year's group has overwhelming proof. How many times in the last two games have Early and Breaston been hit jumping extremely high and dump on the heads or backs? There is no confidence in DA's ball placement. As much as I sit there and scream at the tv for Fitz to make that catch, I can't help but think that in the back of his mind he assuradly avoided that season (or career) ending blow. Our dropped passes are just too high.

How much more can the receivers take before the coaches realize this experiment is not worth our players' safety. At only two games out of 1st place, the season is far from over, but is DA really  worth it? Max Hall has turned into a turnover magnet and they see the same qualities in John Skelton as they do DA. Not very promising. Where is Mr. Checkdown when you need him? I hate to admit it, but I doubt if Matty Boy would have gotten anyone hurt. No pass would have gone passed 11 yards. What are your thoughts?

Once again the Cards found a way to lose while enjoying a 4th quarter lead. As I said last week, "is it wrong that I no longer get upset after a Cards defeat?" As much as I root for my boys, I just can't shake that "same 'ol Cards" mantra that seems to be resurfacing. Although this is more a rebuilding year, than your average poor season, we are keeping that race close with inconsistent play all around. Today, we saw Derek Anderson not have a great day, but not destroy us with turnovers either. And Fitz finally broke 100 yards receiving. Special Teams was great as LSH once again took one to the house. I swear he should be a Pro Bowler this year. Our run game was anemic with Timmy getting most of the carries and doing nothing with it. Our defense was attrocious. Did I read that right? Did the one legged wonder throw for over 400 yards? Well of course he did. What else would you expect from our defense. I don't really feel like giving a full recap. I started re-watching the game to take notes, but decided to erase it. On to the next week. I just have one question. What one thing needs to be fixed to turn our season around? Is it getting a true OC, is it finding stability at the QB position, or is it replacing the DC? What do you guys think? 

Definitely not in the West. The NFC West that is. At this point I just don't know what else to do. Is it bad that I no longer get upset that we lose. I mean, I felt so good about our QB situation coming into the year. Matt was gone and we just needed someone to manage the game while our backs did their thing. Well unforunately, starting almost every game from behind leads to increased passing. This is obviously not our strong suit. Max is proving all the non Kool Aid drinkers right. He is not an NFL QB. Derek can't find enough confidence to be a decent QB again. And Skelton hasn't been given his opportunity to fail just yet. Don't confuse this rant with someone giving up on the Cardinals. I have not lost faith in our team, or Whiz for that matter. But I have lost faith in QB situation. And I'm not the only one. Although Fitz will never admit it, he throws his hands up in frustration a lot more than he ever has. Is there a solution to our QB problem? Does it lie in our organization? Or do we need to scour the cast-offs of the other teams? What are your thoughts?

Arizona Cardinals	San Diego Chargers
2-1	1-2
Time: 4:15 PM ET	TV: FOX
Weather: 78°F, 20% Rain	Sirius: 713(Directv)
Location: San Diego, CA	Online: Game Center
Stadium: Qualcomm Stadium	Vs Chargers Since '01: 1-2
Favorite: Chargers	SBNation: Bolts From The Blue

Cardinals vs Chargers coverage

Go Cardinals!!!

Adrian Peterson WHO? It's debatable that Beanie Wells has the best stiff arm in the NFL. When Stanford Routt is able to get up off the ground you can just ask him. Ladies and gentlemen he is back. And by popular demand, so is the stiff arm. Beanie was out for the first two games due to a minor surgery that he had during the preseason. To much of our surprise, it wasn't revealed until just recently. It doesn't matter now because he is back and looks hungrier than ever. But alas, when one star shines, another star flickers out. Steve Breaston is that twinkle. Having had the same surgery, he will be missed for the next few weeks. Can we survive with Fitz and three rookies (two undrafted)? We'll find out. Here are 5 things to look at during the big game this weekend.

1. The Howling BeanTower is finally healthy. We weren't quite sure what we would get out of these three last week as Beanie was just coming back from injury and hadn't seen the field all season. To say it bluntly, he looked DAMN good last week. 75 yards on 14 carries and NOfumbles. He looked decisive in the holes and ran with authority and a mean streak we had been missing the first 2 weeks. Timmy remains a good option to start as he still is our best pass blocking back and is not too bad in the run game either. LSH continues to punish teams that passed him over in the draft. He has a stifling 7 yards per carry. Exciting, yeah I would say so. Now that the Beanie's dress rehearsal is over, I think we are ready to see the full assault from all three this week.

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First we'll start with our divisional games, then we'll delve into the rest of the league.

Arizona 17, St. Louis 13

Was the game ever really that close? Absolutely. We had more fumbles (7 with 4 lost ) then they had penalties (5). And speaking of penalties, we had our fair share of those as well with10. Five things can be determined from this game: 1) Fitz is no where100% yet and needs more time to sync with DA. 2) Q will be missed by most, but not because of his production (Breaston had a pretty good game), 3) Our safeties looked GREAT (although Rolle would have scored on that INT, had he been in position), 4) Bradford will be a thorn in our sides for years to come (he is fearless) and 5) can anyone not fumble the ball? Is it time to panic yet? I don't think so. Consider this a tune-up game. We did not fair well, but we won the game. D-Wash and Lenon were beasts while Komar and Stephen Williams were not. I guess the lime lights of the REAL season were too much for the two rookies. I have faith those jitters will be gone by week 2 and we will see more cohesion.

This week: Arizona @ Atlanta and St. Louis @ Oakland.

San Fransisco 6, Seatle 31

As expected the 49ers destroyed the Seahawks in week 1. Wait a minute. I guess I got that backwards. The Seahawks totally manhandled the 49ers. In an unexpected turn, Coach Singletary thanked Seatle for whipping their butts. I was expecting more of a " Can't do it! Won't do it!" type of response. Pete Carrol has seemlessly transitioned from the college game back to the pros. OK not so fast. Its just one game, but they did do us a favor by giving the eventual NFC West Champs (not my words) a black eye. Neither team gained more than 263 yards of total offense. Is that a by-product of a bad offense, a good defense or a little of both. Either way, our kinks should be worked out before we face these two.

This week: Seatle @ Denver and New Orleans @ San Fransisco

The rest of the league after the jump...

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Is our offensive line set for success? That question can be debated. Brandon Keith was moved to RT to protect the blindside of Matt Leinart since he was a left handed quarterback and our projected starter. He is the best of our tackles at moving his feet . Levi Brown was moved to LT because that was his more natural position, playing there in college, and because he would be less of a liability in the pass game. But going up against speedy ends won't fair well for Leonard Davis Levi Brown. He is too slow on the edge. With no more left handed QBs on the roster would we be better served moving Keith and Brown back to the other sides, or will we live and die with this decision? At this point does it really matter?

The search for 53 will continue as early as today with the Cards expected to make their first cut of five. Although the deadline is the 8/31, why not get it it over with and ease some troubled minds. One player making a name for himself is undrafted rookie Stephen Williams. He has been called everything from a Beast to a Beast. Me personally, I think of him as a Beast. There is no other way to describe him, although Beast would work if you're fishing. Even Fitz has taken notice of the rookie's qualities calling him "the Playmaker". If that isn't a compliment and a glowing endorsement, I don't know what is.

But Williams is not the only rookie vying for a roster spot. The battle for the third (or second if you believe the rumors) QB spot is a battle between two promising candidates, John Skelton and Max Hall. Week four will display very few starters for even fewer minutes as it is used to let the camp hopefuls get that last hoorah and to impress before the big cut. So who is indeed on their way out this week? Let's look at it position by position.

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Not much positive came from last night's game for the Arizona Cardinals, except the fact that Fitz didn't get hurt(er).  And from what I hear, he was actually running routes and making cuts before the game.

On a day where we saw both offenses go three and out on consecutive drives, the light switch finally came on for the Titans and the breaker exploded for the Cardinals. Now I admittedly watched the entire game and save for a few potty breaks (I might have had a couple 2,3) didn't miss a beat. I also recorded the game so that I could give a thorough synopsis of what went well and not so well for the Birds. Unfortunately, I just don't have the energy to watch it again so this will all be from memory before I purposely accidentally forget.

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You're only as good as your last game. Or for preseason's sake, as good as you played while the starters were in the game. If this holds true, we have a long way to go. Although we ran a basic offense, we expected our starters to at least put a few points on the board. Now with this game our starters will have an even harder time getting on the score board with Fitz and Early likely not playing. In a rematch of a late season loss we expect to play as a much better team this time around.

The starters will probably see another 3-4 series this game before the caps replace the helmets. During the game here are a few things to watch for...

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First, let me start by saying thanks Andrew for this opportunity. My wife hates when I am on the computer, but even she is excited for me. As for everyone else, I hope you enjoy this first installation of "53 Card Pick-Up, Fight for the Winning Hand." So without further ado...

 After a hit that nearly removed a lower limb, the All-Pro jumped right back on his feet and waved off the injury as if it was nothing. The blow was hardly nothing as it set off a chain reaction in player movement with more surely to come.

Enter Mike Jones, a former Arizona State Sun Devil who was just recently released by the Seatle Seahawks weeks earlier. With the injury to Larry Fitzgerald (knee) and the injury to Early Doucet (abdomen) the once fruitful position, and unofficial strength of the team, has suddenly become a little barren at best. Early reports suggest Fitz will be out a few weeks, and with no official timetable on Doucet, the only logical thing to do was add at least one more receiver in camp. As one new Card is drawn from the deck of free agency, another Card must then be dropped.

Aaron Rouse is the first of the Cards to be dropped following the first preseason game. His release leaves us with five safeties on the roster. Mike's signing also gives us 10 receivers. Obviously we won't go into the season with 10 receivers, but our next game will be crucial for our top reserves to make their presence felt. Will there be anymore drops/pick-ups before the next game? Let's see who has made a case for sticking around a little longer.

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Last season we experienced an increase in supporters from the previous year. With success comes progress and it showed with the sheer number of supporters that showed themselves. Well this year is no different.  Two years ago we all came together with stories of how we fell in love with the Arizona Cardinals.  They ranged from following them since they were in St. Louis, to being a true homer, to following them from different parts of the globe.  I myself am from Florida.  I saw one poster from Alaska and of course we have our green blooded Irish lovers.  With so many new bloggers I'm again curious as to where all of your user names came from.  Some of them are a play on your names, such as our very own Andrew602, or Andrew.  Some are a little more inventive like hevch. For those of you who don't know, its short for Heavy Chevy, a nickname I picked up while over in Iraq. I used to lift weights a lot and all of my buddies just started calling me Heavy Chevy and it stuck. But what about the rest of you? What does your name mean?

With so much happening this weekend all across the sport's world, I figured I'd ask what is the most important.  Depending on your sport of choice, you could go in a multitude of directions, including one of your own choices. Personally I've got to go with Tiger. He's getting so much pub for cheating on his wife. Yeah, I think he is a douche bag for doing it, but is it really any of our business? Now he is making public apologies and losing sponsors cause he can't be faithful. Really? This could all be put to the back burner though with the blockbuster trade of one Mr. McNabb. I must admitt I never saw this one coming. The trade, yes, but not within the division. What do you guys think?

Well its time for another edition of Good For, Bad For where we will outline some topics and discuss if it is good for or bad for the Cards Organization.  First up to bat is...

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This segment is designed to spit out random subjects in the league, mainly with the Cardinals, and to give readers a chance to debate whether it is good for the player, team, division, etc. or if it bad for the player, team, division, etc. As a huge Cardinals fan I am always interested to see how every move made in the NFL affects my beloved team. This forum will allow us to openly discuss the pros and cons and possible effects of each.

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With the Seatle Seahawks firing their Head Coach, Jim Mora, and already having fired their GM what's next for them?

Well the hot news around town is that Pete Carrol is extremely interested in the job providing he would have control, a la Mike Shanahan. This seems very likely as his coaching resume is quite astonishing. Yes he was with the Jets and the Patriots and yes he was fired, but he did have a winning record when he left. But hold on Cowboy. There still seems to be one thing missing. A new GM. And Stephen Keim can't be ruled out just yet for the job. Yep you can see where this is going. If Keim were to get the job I have no doubt that his new head coach, if he had his way, would be Russ Grimm. If that were to happen and with an already below average O-line, where would that leave us?  Hmmm.

Next it is no longer a rumor that Charlie Weis could be the next OC for the Chiefs. It has been made official. Now the next major rumor floating around is that Romeo Crennel could be the next DC. If this were to happen, and it is very possible, could the Chiefs be trying to recreate "the Dynasty" better known as the 21st Century New England Patriots? At least they picked a fine organization to model after. Matt Cassel, Mike Vrabel, Matt Gutierrez and last but not least, the GM himself Scott Pioli. I'm sure there are more but that is all I can think of off the top of the dome. Any thoughts or ideas?