Well, it's been awhile but I'm back. . In parts 1 & 2 I covered the "State of the Franchise" part of the story with where we are and how we got here. In parts 3 & 4 we will cover the "Future of the Franchise". In other words, what do we do and what are our chances for success. Since this part of the series deals with what we should do to right the ship, I thought it best to wait until we got closer to the draft and see if there were any labor updates.

Continue reading this post »

Continuing my State of the Franchise post I would like to address the reasons why we are where we are at. As I responded in my earlier post, I agreed with the person who said we weren't an elite team. But I still felt, even with the losses of personnel coming into last season that we were a decent team, and at least good enough to legtimately compete for our third division crown. But we weren't! I don't want to hear any garbage about us only being 2 games out of first at the end of the year. After week one, we were dominated game after game by the teams in our own division. We were never SERIOUS contenders after the 2nd loss to Seattle, and that was at the midway point in the season. Hell, we were DOMINATED by the Panthers, at one point being down by 16 and being outgained 252-89 with less than 8 mins to go before getting a late TD and FG vs a prevent defense to make the game look closer than it actually was.

Now did the palyer defections and particularly the early retirement of KW have alot to do with it? Yes! But these things happen to other teams and they don't fall off the cliff like we did. When Tom Brady went down, how come NE still won 10 games that year? When Big Ben sat out the first 4 games, how come Pitt was still able to win? Remember, even if KW played last year, chances are we'd still be in the same spot today that we were last year at this time because instead of last year he'd be retiring this year. Only difference, we'd be deciding whether or not to resign ML(although I'm convinced now that was never an option).

No, there are usually many reasons that contribute to a team being this bad...so in this post I will explain a few that I think contributed to our downfall.

#1) THE QB SITUATION

Yes, I know, stating the obvious, but I would like to come at it from a different angle. Look for all those bitching about how bad DA was, to quote a former Cardinal coach(somewhat) "He is who we thought he was!". I mean, really? WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE GETTING????? I stated back in preseason while ML was still the starting QB that my biggest fear was that ML might get hurt and we would be forced to use DA. Well, fear realized and dream becomes expected nightmare.

But this situation should have never come to this. There was an article referenced in the "In Whiz We (Still) Trust" fan post that was was really fascinating in it's pure apologist tone it took for coach Whisenhunt in reference to how the QB situation was handled. It was revisionist history at it's best and sure seemed to be written by someone who enjoys his access to the team and wants to keep it. Here is what became CRYSTAL clear this preseason. Whisenhunt never wanted ML as his starting QB. He was another coaches QB, and although he had no choice but to start him in 2007(remember, KW was benched because of his fumbling problems in 2006) and it was OK for the former 1st rounder to sit on his bench, once confronted with the prospect of him being his starter had enough patience to let him start 2 preseason games and then dumped him the first legitimate chance he got(ML went to the media). None of this 'he was the golden boy of the front office' crap! Remember, the first time he got benched was in the preseason also, in game 2 of the 2008 preseason. It came out of the blue and caught most in the media and many fans off guard. It came right after the NO game where his performance was described as 'near perfect'. Why would you pick then to have your young 1st round pick come off the bench? Why would you plant the seed of doubt in his head? My Guess? Whisenhunt wanted to see how ML would handle the adversity..... and he didn't handle it well. He struggled in game 2 and absolutely layed an egg in game 3 vs Oak, although he did rebound for a great game in game 4.

So to come back this year and bench him, again, in preseason(let me ask you...how many starting QB's do you know of who lost their jobs in preseason? ML lost his twice), clearly shows he never had faith in ML. That's fine! You're the coach and we all know he hit a homerun going with KW in 2008. But once you had come to the conclusion about ML, the fact that the eventual replacement for the then 37 y/o KW was not being seriously addressed showed a lack of forethought on the part of the F/O and Whisenhunt, although I get the feeling the F/O was more in the dark about the coaches feelings about ML than they probably even realized, until after the fact.

But this whole situation could have actually been used to our advantage. Once we went to the SB, all of our players stock went up(hence, many of these players being overpaid ever since). It was clear the plan was to go forward for, at least, another 2 years with KW. Why not TRADE ML right then? Now, I know there are those who are going to jump out and say there wasn't a market for ML, but there is only a market when the team who wants to trade the player makes a market. He was a 25 y/o 1st round draft pick(#10) who had a reasonably successful rookie year who was beat out by a future HOF'er. I'm not saying we were going to get the 2 1st round picks Denver got for Cutler(who came with some ?'s of his own), but let's just go back and look at what some QB's have gotten in the past starting with the oldest to the newest:

Rick Mirer (97): a career 53% passer at the time with 41 TD's and 56 INT's nets a 1st round back, based almost solely on a reasonably successful rookie year and his potential being a former #1 pick.  Sounds kinda like ML with a little less (bad) experience.

Rob Johnson (98): a former 4th round pick who had ONE career start nets a 1st and 4th round pick.

A.J.Feeley(03): a former 5th round pick with 5 career starts 57% comp and 5 TD's and 5 INT's nets a 2nd rnd pick.

Matt Schaub(07): a former 3rd rounder who was 0-3 as a starter with 52% comp and 6 TD's and 6 INT's garners two 2nd round picks(07 & 08) plus a switch of 1st round picks.

Matt Cassel(09): a former 6th rounder with 15(successful) starts with 23 TD's and 13 INT's nets the 34th pick in the draft.(BTW - do you think it was an accident Belichek traded him when he did? Strike while the iron is hot!)

Charlie Whitehurst(10): a 3rd rounder who HAD NEVER THROWN A REGULAR SEASON PASS nets a 3rd rounder and a switch of 2nd rounders(a difference of 20 spots equating to basically an extra mid-late 3rd rounder - we gave up a 4th rounder to move up 11 spots).

Brady Quinn(10): I don't even have to look at the numbers. The simple fact that this guy was traded for Peyton Hillis and a 6th rounder tells you that even the WORST of 1 st round QB's have value.

Kevin Kolb(11 ?): I've heard as much as two #2's(1 a future) plus a 4th for this former 2nd round pick with a 3-5 career record as a starter(with a winning team, no less) with 11 TD's and 14 INT's in his career.

Some of these guys were worth it. Some obviously weren't. It has nothing to do with my point. ALL OF THEM had value when dealt at the right time. And what did we get for holding onto ML? Egg on our face. But why should the coach care....wasn't his pick!

One more point, because I know it is going to come up. I know people are going to say ML was wanted by the coach but he ran himself out of town by going to the press bad mouthing the coach. This is complete utter revisionist history. Remember how this all played out. 1)ML is named the apparent starter 2) after two games, reports surface IN THE MEDIA that not only might ML be benched to start the season, but that he might also get cut(and were they not DEAD ON?)   3) A frustrated ML goes to the media and the rest is history. So before I hear any crap about ML running himself out of town by going to the media, I ask you....WHO went to the media first?

#2) THE SWITCH TO THREE-FOUR DEFENSE

I promise....I won't make this(or any of the other reasons) as long as the 1st one. And don't get me wrong. I knew that eventually this was going to be the defense we would run and I was actually pretty excited about it thinking about some of the other successful 3-4 defenses in the league. But the transition has neither been smooth or successful. The addition of Dan Williams, DW and OBS looks like, finally, the beginnings of a successful unit. But if any of these 3 don't continue progressing in year two, it is all going to go in the crapper.

The strength of the 3-4 is stopping the run along with disguising where the 4th pass rusher will be coming from. Well, we have gone from 2007 when we ran exclusively a 4-3 to slowly working it in 2008, more in 2009 and then almost exclusively in 2010(until the end of the year due to injuries). And our run defense has gone down steadily: 2007 - 98 ypg;   2008 - 110 ypg;   2009 - 113 ypg;   2010 - 145 ypg;       (On a side note....to all those people who debated me last year about whether or not Gabe Watson, a man who hardly played at all this year, was the biggest problem with our run defense? How is that theory working out for you?) As bad as this looks, with the continued infusion of young talent, I think this unit will be much better in the near future, and am definitely NOT looking to change back to 4-3.

One other problem with the 3-4 is that it has made Darnell Dockett, our best defensive player, less of an impact player. When 9-0 was in the 4-3, he would exploit Guards and Centers with his quickness taking a straight/shorter line to the backfield.  Playing end in the 3-4 negates much of that speed since many times he is matched up vs a Tackle, invariably a quicker player than an interior lineman, not to mention the fact that his job, when done correctly, is that of a space eater more than a play-maker.  Just my opinion though, nothing to really back it up.

#3)THE DRAFT

For all the accolades that coach Whisenhunt gets for finding diamonds in the rough in the later rounds, save this last year we hope, he, and the F/O have been absolutely atrocious in finding pieces to fit in our 3-4 defense. I think we can all agree that NT and the LB's are the most important positions in the 3-4. Well, A.Branch was never able to play the position effectively. And out of the 4 LB's we drafted before the 2010 draft, 3 of them never played a down, which is really stunning when you think of it, and the other has 3 starts in two years.

But there is a real ray of hope for the defense after the 2010 draft with OBS, and DW squared. We need ALL of them to pan out or this 3-4 may never fully be successful..

#4)THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY

Sometimes, it's not just the players you sign/draft that don't work out that affect your franchise negatiely. It's the ones you don't, the ones you let get away that could have been key pieces to turning a unit around. Choosing Levi Brown over Adrian Peterson is one that sticks out for most people, but I would almost give the franchise a pass because of two reasons. #1, we had just signed E.James to a big buck contract the year before so drafting a RB #1 just wasn't going to happen. #2 even if you had drafted him, with one of the worst OL's in the league at that time, I guarantee you he wouldn't have had the success with us that he had with Minn. Think Thomas Jones and Garrison Hearst, two high draft picks that were absolute failures with our porous OL, but they both had marked success once they left us.

No, the one that bothers me more is more recent. This was a player in a position of great need. And we let let him get away, to a team that didn't have anywhere near the need we had. Cameron Wake should be a Cardinal today. When I go back and look at his highlights from his days in the CFL, you really have to wonder with the team going more to a 3-4 alignment and the 3 LB's on the roster 32, 33 & 34 y/o, why we did not sign this guy? And he signs with Miami, a team with Joey Porter coming off a 17 sack season? And, again, I know plenty of blame is going to be put on the F/O for being 'cheap' but, seriously, Whisenhunt had just lead the Cardinals to the brink of their first SB win, do really think that if Whisenhunt had pushed aggressively for this guy, mgmt would have rebuffed him because of a 4 yr/4.9 mil contract? Don't make me laugh. This was a huge piece of the 3-4 that could be had for a contract, and we let him get away. Along that line, I'm still ticked that Stevie Baggs didn't get a more legitimate chance in preseason. He's no Cameron Wake, but he would have been a solid contributor, and could have probably taken Haggans job, if given the chance.

#5)PASS, PASS AND PASS SOME MORE

You want to know what our season was in a nutshell? Game 16, minute to go in the 3rd Q we have the ball, 1st and goal from the 1 yard line trailing SF 31-7. Someone named Richard Bartel is playing QB having relieved Fordham rookie John Skelton. What do you do? You do what anyone would do in that situation. Well, at least anyone named Ken Whisenhunt....YOU PASS THE BALL!

One thing you have to say about our coach...at least he is consistent. From the 41 passes we threw in game 1 (even though we ran the ball for 5.3 ypc, had a 76 yard TD drive that consisted of nothing but runs and DA went on an 0-12 stretch through the 2nd and 3rd quarters), or the inconceivable pass play called vs NO with under a minute to go and NO having no TO's left, the 1st down pass while in FG range vs TB late in the game(DA's 2nd INT in 3 mins), the passes thrown while blowing a 14pt  lead with 6 mins to go vs Minn., to the final game of the season, coach Whisenhunt was going to prove he could make the passing game work. Forget that you had no real pass-blockers on the OL, forget you had the most innaccurate QB in the league and two extremely green rookies backing him up. Forget that you had 4 RB's you could have used in the run game, I'm a "Whiz" and I'm gonna get it done my way. And now I'm hearing all the apologists say "Well, 'Whiz' really wanted Marc Bulger last year but couldn't wait any longer and had to sign DA". Yeah....riiiight! There is only one problem with that theory. Remember the reason we "had to" sign DA? It was because we couldn't take the chance of the Rams holding onto Bulger because that would mean we might have to start the season with only one veteran QB on our roster. And we couldn't do that, COULD WE?

So there you have it. Yeah, I'm pissed at Whisenhunt because of the arrogance with which he has treated this team since his quick success. Am I asking for him to be fired? No.....not yet. He's made alot of poor decisions but because of the division we play in he still has a chance to turn this thing around. I want him to, at least, make this team competitive in our own division. I want him to make the right 'long term' decisions for this franchise and stop with all the quick fix aging veteran pickups that have mostly not panned out. I want him to make some tough decisions personnel-wise, whether it be with roster moves our calling out some of our under-acheivers, so that this team doesn't sink into another 10 year coma.

Next, what can be done to turn this thing around. But before that, I have to put some of my(long-winded) two cents in regarding the Von Miller-Robert Quinn debate.

Well, it is that time of the year, again. Getting ready for the SB and things are real quiet on the AZ football front, so I thought I would write one of my LOOOONG multi part posts. With this post, I am going to write about where we are at, how we got here, where we are(or should be-IMO) going and the long term odds of success. Those who know my posts know 2 things about me. 1)I am passionate about this team and want them to succeed in the worst way and 2) although I am opinionated, I do my research and try to back up everything I say with facts to support my opinions.

So let's start this first post with where the status of the team is at. Two words: WE SUCK! No great revelation there, but just how bad are we? Some feel with a better QB and a few moves here or there we will be just fine. Others feel we are a disaster. To me, it became pretty clear when we couldn't put the Vikings away, a team being booed lustily by their own fans for most of the game, a team in complete disarray in the middle of the Moss fiasco and a lame duck coach who the players were no longer playing hard for, that the Cardinals were a team with not only personnel problems, but also had become a team that no longer believed in one another. We've all seen teams make miraculous comebacks in the past. But to see a team in the worst stretch of a disatrous season make such a comeback speaks much more about the team they came back on than themselves as Minn. took all the momentum from that win to take consecutive drubbings the next 2 weeks, signaling the end of the Childress era in Minn. So as for my opinion on this team...I've been a fan for over 40 years and IMO, this is one of the worst teams I have ever seen, not because they don't have talent, because they do, but because they are one of the least competitive teams I have ever witnessed and the collapse of this team has actually been historic, even for the Cardinals. And the numbers back me up.

When I look at games, statistically, and I see one team outgained the other by 100 yards or more, that usually signifies that one team pretty much dominated the other. So I found it utterly shocking that the Cardinals AVERAGED getting outgained by almost 105 per game over the course of the entire 16 game season. That is the largest differential EVER in the 40 years since the merger by any Cardinal team. When you combine offensive and defensive statistics of the teams around the league the Cardinals ranked 32nd out of 32 teams. With all the bad Cardinal teams over the years since the merger, and I have seen some bad ones, that has NEVER happened. Our offensive rank? 31st is the lowest since the merger, also. Worse than the Gary Hogeboom led Cards, worse than the Timm Rosenbach led Cards, worse than the Josh McCown Cards. Hell, worse than the Tom 'freakin' Tupa led Cards...and he was a punter by trade for Criss Sakes!!! And there were no Larry Fitzgeralds on those teams or three-headed running attacks. No, no! There were guys like Ernie Jones , Gary Clark and Ricky Proehl(who I happened to like...but as a No.1 Rcvr?). And our running games were led by guys like Earl Ferrell, Johnny Johnson and Ronald Moore, not exactly household names in the annals of history.

Statisically, this team is most closely compared to the 2000 team that went 3-13. But in defense of that club(not that it deserves it), it was a team that was devastated by injuries, with starters losing 68 games due to injury. This 2010 team had no such excuse staying mostly healthy losing only 21 starter games due to injury. But even that pales in comparison when you consider that at least that 2000 team played in a division(NFC east) with only one team out of the other 4 with a losing record(Dallas) and the division played at a .563 winning percentage(18-14) sans our record + division games(which must end at .500 %) while the 2010 team played vs teams that racked up a whopping .300 winning percentage in games outside the division(9-21). That is bad enough, but the fact that we were absolutely dominated by these teams, getting swept at home by a combined 52 points, with our closest loss being 13 points, this team actually had a worse season than that 3 win team, which went 2-2 at home and lost by 5 to eventual NFC champion NYG on the road. Wins and losses are obviously the most important stat, but when you consider how weak our schedule was, 5-11 is a very ominous sign.

Do we have good players on this team? Absolutely! But if these players are not playing at their optimum level, AND playing as a team, what does it mater how many Pro Bowls they've been to or how much they are paid? If you watched the last game of the year vs SF as I did, you saw and heard 2 things that tell you how bad this team is right now. First, what I heard. Jim Mora, Jr. is commenting about about how SF is ripping us up in the 3rd Q and mentions how Alex Smith had told him that that is always the plan vs AZ since it is felt that once you get them down, and I'm probably paraphrasing, some players on that team will QUIT! Now it was shocking enough to me that a former coach would actually say that on the air, but to equate it to the QB on our 'supposed' No.1 rival, it sent shivers down my spine as a Cardinal fan. I almost thought he was going to start naming names. But just the simple fact that Alex Smith believes that, leads me to believe that he has good reason to feel that way, and that he may be right.

Next, what I saw. SF came out in the 2nd half and absolutely steamrolled us and played the game with pride, seeing the game for what it was, a litmus test as to who was the better team going forward. SF played with pride and we did not. Plain and simple. When we had 1st and goal from the 1 and SF up by 24, they played like their whole season was on the line and stopped us 4 straight X and later in the 4th, with under 2 mins to go, 1st and goal at the 3 and crushing us by 31, they still refused to allow even that meaningless TD. Meanwhile, we rolled over like lambs, practically conceding to SF that not only were they better, they were LIGHT YEARS better. Fitz said after the game, "We have to find a way to beat these guys". Maybe, if they thought we would fight for 60 minutes, it might be a little easier.

So where are we at right now? We are on the verge of collapsing back into the dark days of Cardinal football. The days of naming a new starting QB year after year. The days of not being able to hold onto our best talent. All the good feelings of the success of 2008 & 2009 seem like distant memories. There is a real bad vibe running through this team right now. And, I'm afraid, the teams in our division are smelling blood in the water.

I started writing this post right after the win vs NO because I was so furious over the play calling in the 4th Q. But since it was a win and we were going into the bye week I thought I would hold my tongue. I wanted to continue after the atrocious performance vs Seattle, but didn't. But after this game, I can hold my tongue no longer.

I want to start off by saying, I know I had said in the game thread that I wanted Whisenhunt fired(I will never refer to him as WIZ again), but I was just trying to be sarcastic. I don't think he should be fired...yet. He did take us to the Super Bowl but if he loses this divsion title this year it speaks volumes as to how much credit he actually deserved for the earlier success. I'm just starting to think that because the quick success and unquestioning adoration he has received from the fans and media, it has created a situation that is not condusive to winning. He has made some terrible decisions both on and off the field and he needs to be challenged.

But I also write because of my previous, 'similarly titled' article. As far as I'm concerned, I'm entitled. So here we go...four reasons why Ken Whisenhunt IS A DOPE!

#1) Because this QB situation did not fall into his lap, he CREATED this

Alright, we all know that it is clear that Matt Leinart was never Whisenhunt's guy. OK...I get it. But why, for the last 3 years was nothing done to address the eventuality of KW retiring? If ML wasn't going to be the guy, we didn't just need 1 QB, we needed TWO.  I mean, how in the hell do you turn over a playoff team to a man of such dubious credentials as Derek Anderson? And then his backups are 2 late round/undrafted rookies?? As I had stated before ML was cut that, not only should he have been kept, but that he still should have been the starter. He knew the players, the system....what did we have to lose? IF ML screwed up, at least you would've had a veteran to take his place. He was the veteran on this team and he should not have lost his job because of what happened in the preseason. You lose your job because of what happens in the REAL GAMES. But I truly believe arrogance got in the way of what is right for this team and I only hope the damage is not long term.

Just some stats to mull over:

MAT LEINART: in 17 starts was responsible for 17 TO's - 16 INT's and 1 fumble lost.     Team: 17 ML starts 24 TO's

Games team had more than 2 TO's - 2:     Pick Sixes -1(in the meaningless game in week 17 vs GB last year.

Sacks Taken: 25*(only 13 sacks taken in last 13 starts)

DUMB AND DUMBER: 7 games 14 TO's - 11 INT's and 3 fumbles lost: Team: 7 games 23 TO's 

Games team had more than 2 TO's - SIX:     Pick Sixes - 3

Sacks Taken: 26

Now considering our record, including playoffs, under Whisenhunt coming into the season was 31-3 when we either won or were at least tied in the TO margin and 1-24 when we lost the TO battle, was it really wise to turn the team over to a guy like DA? And then to a rookie FA?? There are a lot of things ML is not good at; but he was NOT a TO machine in his starts in AZ. And since I thought we were going to be a grind it out type of running offense, wouldn't it have been smart to have a guy who generally takes care of the football lead the offense? Ahhh, but that is for later.  

#2)BECAUSE HE IS NOT AS GOOD A COACH AS HE THINKS HE IS

You know, they say that a QB gets too much of the praise when a team wins and too much of the blame when a team loses. Well, It is quite clear now that goes for head coaches also, at least in the case of Ken Whisenhunt when it comes to winning. Yeah, I know, all the personnel changes yadda, yadda, yadda.....Kerry Rhodes has been an upgrade over Rolle, this last game notwithstanding. Boobsie's production in his 4 games is on pace to surpass what Boldin did last year. Lenon, while not an upgrade, has been solid enough and is certainly not the problem on defense. Porter has been a solid upgrade over Okeafor and BB and Faneca is starting to look better. That leaves the QB. Now obviously our production was going to drop, but did anyone expect us to be last in passing? But that is how much KW meant to this team.

But it is more than that. The loss of Todd Haley has really hurt this team. Remember, this offense didn't really take off in 2007 until Haley started making most of the play calls and was lights out in 2008 when he did all the play calling. But our 2009 points output dropped by 28 in 2009 and was only slightly better than our 2007 output(3 pts.) and that was the season ML had 5 starts and Tim Rattay had one. So you would think that Wisenhunt would have brought in an experienced play-caller to run things allowing him to manage game situations. But, again, here is where his arrogance has gotten in the way instead of doing what is best for the team. And, boy, has it shown up on the field.

There have been others, but I will go with the two most recent, the TBay and NO games. First NO. It wasn't just calling that pass with 59 seconds to go, (which, btw, I challenge anyone now to find another coach with the other team having no TO's left, winning by 3 and under a minute to go who has thrown a pass in that situation) but everything before and after that. After Toler's INT. We get the ball with 9:04 to go and run the ball twice for 9 yards. And on 3rd and 1 we go empty backfield! EMPTY BACKFIELD??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? YOU ARE NOT EVEN GOING TO TRY TO DISGUISE THAT IT IS A PASS PLAY????? Then we throw an out pattern into press coverage where, if it wasn't tipped at the line would have been a pick six(don't believe me...look at the tape). You have to see Sendlein's reaction after the incompletion...a kind of, WTF are we doing! type of thing, and that will be addressed later, also.

So we go 3 and out and take 1:40 off the clock and NO gets the ball back and goes 3 and out and UNBELIVEABLY takes 2:15 off the clock. THEY'RE DOING A BETTER JOB OF RUNNING OUT THE CLOCK THEN WE ARE!!! I mean, you can't make this up. So, since throwing one pass on the first drive wasn't enough, we get the ball back and throw twice on the 2nd drive and, again on third down we throw a swing pass to a blanketed Hightower that actually hits the defender in the back shoulder, again almost a TO, and falls inc stopping the clock, still preserving NO only timeout they have had left since the 3rd Q. At this point you have to wonder if Whisenhunt is even aware of their TO situation. They take the ball and drive 80 yards in 1:36, still not using a timeout and get within 3. We get the onside kick and since the Saints STILL have 1 timeout left, we can't just take a knee, but still, there isn't much they can do, unlessssss...........

You know what the definition of insanity is? Doing the same thing over and over again and hoping for a different result. THAT'S FRIGGIN' INSANE! OK, let's do the math: the first 2 plays were runs that took 4 seconds and 5 seconds. Let's say you run and take 4 seconds off the clock which takes you to 55 seconds, then the 40 second clock starts. You let it run out and take the 5 yard penalty; there is now 15 seconds left. You punt. The punt in this game took 10 seconds before play was stopped. That leaves 5 seconds. One play and the game is over. But, nooooooo! Whisenhunt, obviously smarter than every other coach in the league, rolls Hall out giving HIM the option of run or pass. Really coach? You are letting a rookie in his first start against the defending Super Bowl champions make a decision on the move whether to run or pass, after almost throwing 2 INT's in his previous forays? Genius! I love going back and listening to the call from the announcer: "Max Hall's gonna "THROW IT'....AND IT'S STRIPPED AWAY!!!!"

But it's not over yet, no, no, no. I know I didn't catch this until after watching the replay because I was too busy calling Whisenhunt an asshole for the play call. Right after the fumble there is panic everywhere. On the Az sideline(you gotta see the look on Hightowers face), on the NO sideline, the refs don't know what is happening(that is how ABSOLUTELY RADICAL the call was)The call on the field was that the ball was saved in bounds and recovered by Fitz, but since the offense cannot advance the ball forward on a fumble in the final two minutes the play is brought back to the spot of the fumble. The clock is stopped momentarily to respot the ball and then restarted once the ball is spotted, this would then also start the 40 second clock at the 51 second mark which should have taken the clock down to 11 seconds before we had to punt. But they don't. The 40 second clock has been running and has only 23 seconds left when the game clock starts. This could have been easily rectified with just a little calm on the sideline, and you can see a coach on the sideline CALMLY telling Whisenhunt to let the clock run(rolling his hand in a circular motion), but by this point Whisenhunt is a mess and he rushes the punt team out onto the field and they punt the ball with 6 seconds STILL on the play clock. Not only that, but instead of max protection, they line up in punt coverage and send two guys out wide and kick the ball in bounds and, luckily for us, NO inexplicably sends out the return team instead of going for the block. But, again, I have to ask why? Why are you rushing the punt team out? Was Whisenhunt afraid of getting a 5 yard penalty in that situation? Why are you kicking with 6 seconds left on a running clock? Why are you not max protecting the kicker? Why are you kicking the ball inbounds? The 4th quarter of this game was a disaster waiting to happen and we won IN SPITE OF the coaching, not because of it.

Now the Tampa game. Although not nearly as egregious as the New Orleans game, something still needs to be pointed out. Forget abandoning the running game, that's for later. Once the cardinals got into FG territory, clock management should have come into play and it didn't. TB had no timeouts left. This was late in a game filled with alot of emotional swings and you got the feeling the defenses were pretty much drained. RUN THE GD BALL!!! Now I am not going to kill Whisenhunt for this(although he deserves it) for two reasons. #1, both Wells and Hyphen did not return after their injuries(but why are you running Hyphen over the middle underneath the LB's...are you trying to get him killed?) and #2 you had to go with Hightower whom you had benched the whole game. But, cmon, you have to run the ball in that situation. It was 1st down at the 20 yard line. I don't know, maybe coach forgot that Rackers was playing in HST now. Force them to stop the run. Take some time off the clock. Worst case scenario, you run the clock down take the easy FG and go into OT. Even if you score on that pass, you give TB the ball back with more than two mins to go to a hot QB going up against a tired defense. It was well documented before the game that Freeman has had a penchant for late comebacks. Why would you take a chance of giving him the ball back with time on the clock? One more thing I wanted to point out in that fourth quarter. When we took the lead, you would have thought that a young team with a young coach would have started to panic, but they didn't and that starts at the top. Remeber, they had no timeouts left and had to start to think that they probably only had 1 or two chances left and they needed a touchdown, a FG did no good. But did they abandon the run? Nope! Here is their play selection: Run-Pass-Run-Pass-Run-Pass-Run Touchdown

Then we get the ball back. Our play selection: Pass(INT). Next possession: Pass-Pass-Pass-Pass-Run-Pass(INT). Now remember, we still had 2 TO's and started on our 43 and we only needed a FG. You needed to mix it up a little, keep the defense honest. But we didn't and we lost.

Bottom line from this season - Whisenhunt has not just been outcoached this season, he has been overmatched by some pretty pedestrian coaches. He CANNOT handle the job of head-coach and play-caller and we better get someone in place before next season. Or this year if someone decent gets fired.

3) BECAUSE HE PUT TOGETHER A TEAM BUILT TO RUN AND REFUSES TO USE IT

Even when AZ let ML go, I still thought that the offense could be successful  because we were going to run the ball. I mean, did we pick up Faneca because of his pass-blocking ability? The loss of KW and Q to the passing game and the emergence of the run game at the end of the year(Az averaged over 5 YPC over the final 8 games including playoffs) led me to bellieve that there was only so much damage that DA could do. Then game one happens and DA throws 41X Uh Oh! And ever since that game, in blowouts and close games, it has been the passing game that has dominated the offense so much so that I have two of the most stunning stats that you are ever going to see..

After this weeks game, on 3rd down and 1, we have thrown the ball 70% of the time and run only 30%. I just can't believe, that this is the type of team we have become. Stunning stat #2 - 64.12% of our plays are now passing plays as compared to 35.8% running plays. In fact, last year with KW at QB we only had a 63-37% ratio meaning we are throwing more often by % this year with DA and Hall. Incredible! I know game situations dictate play-calling, but that 3rd and 1 stat cannot be defended. With this offensive line, this stable of RB's and the lack of a quality QB, we should be running 85-90% of the time in that situation, opening up the possibility of a big play when we do actually throw on 3rd and short. 

But there is another maybe even more important reason we should be running the ball more that I have addressed before and it needs mentioning again. When you throw the ball as much as we have with two QB's as innaccurate as ours are you have alot of incompletions which leads to alot of clock stoppages which leads to longer games which leads to your defense being on the field longer. Our defense leads the league with 487plays while our offense has only run 393 a remarkable discreancy and worst in the league by far. And if you think that means nothing, than explain why our 3 worst defensive performances have come in games where our defense was on the field for 78, 79 and 81 plays the week before and our best performances came when we had 60 plays the week before, the first game of the season and after our bye week? If we can keep our defense on the field for less than 65 plays a week we should be in good shape. And it can be done. Teams like BLT, PITT, NYG all avg in the upper 50's and low 60's because they use their running game effectively. WE MUST shorten these games or our defense will not hold up. Not to mention all of the TO's in the passing game(15) as compared to TO's in the running game(3). Cmon, coach...this is common friggin' sense and our offensive line is built for leaning on people, not pass protecting.

#4)BECAUSE HE IS IN DANGER OF LOSING THIS TEAM

I know this one is mostly only opinion, but I am seeing it on the field. Guys throwing their arms up in the air after bad plays. Guys not giving their all late in games. And I'm seeing it in some of the leaders of this team. And if you lose guys like 90 and Fitz, you have lost the team. Not much more to say on this.

All this being said, the season is not done, but this weeks game is so critical as to how the rest of the season will go. And as winnable as last weeks game was, this one is even more so. Minnesota is just begging to cash it in for the rest of the season. They are just waiting for someone to give them a push. And the fact we are playing in their building is even better because I have no doubt that if we get off to a quick start, the crowd will turn on them in a heartbeat. Bank on it! But we CANNOT come in throwing INT's or muffing punts. Run the ball, sit back and wait for their TO's and then cash in. Sounds simple but this is the same scenario as Jacksonville going into Dallas last week and look what happened there.

As far as the QB situation...Max Hall seems like a nice guy and all, but he needs to be let go. If Whisenhunt has such a man-crush on him, fine. Cut him and resign him to the practice because NOBODY will put a claim in on him. Jacksonville is on a bye this week but they have 4 veteran QB's on their roster and will not go forward with all of them. They will let go either Patrick Ramsey or Todd Bouman. Whoever they let go we should just sign as our backup and go with DA as our starter for the rest of the season.  It was a massive mistake handing the starting job to him. He has had one actual TD drive and thrown 2 pick sixes. ENOUGH! He is not and never will be an NFL caliber QB irregardless of what he did in preseason vs 3rd stringers. IT IS MEANINGLESS unless you can do it in the games that count. And he can't...period! And for those asking to see what Skelton has....his experience to this point is one step above HS football. He is a solid 2-3 years away from being NFL ready. You would destroy him and the team if you used him as your starter.

I'm sticking with Whisenhunt for now, but if his arrogance and stubborness doesn't right itself, I will be with AZ Retiree calling for his head. We are STILL the best team in this division and if we don't defend our title, it will fall squarely on the coach.

Az Cardinals

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Well the Matt Leinart era has come and gone, and I for one hope this is something that never has to be revisited again, because if it does, it can only mean bad things for our beloved Cardinals. Now, onto the reason we are all here:

Why I am a DOPE!!!

1) I didn't take Whiz at his word

Since 'W' has been here he has always stressed that he would put the best person at any given position as a starter at that position. EVERYTHING had to be earned. But, hey, all coaches say that. Only difference is Whiz means it and that is why I know this team will never fall to the depths of the league again as long as he is the coach. He is a 'win now' coach that also has both eyes looking 'down the road' at the same time, a rarity in the NFL, and we are lucky to have him.

But I knew in my heart that there was no way ML would accept being a back-up again on our team, at least not to start the season, and that would mean cutting him. Would Whiz cut the only QB left over from last year's squad? and go with 2 rookies as backups?? Yes and yes. It is a gamble, make no mistake. I mean what if DA gets hurt? Can anyone name me the last team the started an 'undrafted' rookie QB to start a game? Quick, someone look that up. But if it pays off and DA can put up even 55% TD's to 45% INT's we should have another successful year and repeat as division champs and have TWO QB's to build our future around, which is a real good thing....until the next QB controversy.

2) I put waaaaaay too much positive emphasis on the Tenn game last year

All the talk about how ML did in this game or that when the games were blowouts or meaningless were just that to me. Meaningless. The mindset of your team and the team you are playing against is completely different in a blowout then when you are starting from scratch with a full 60 mins to go. So to me, there was only one game to judge ML on and that was the Tenn game last year.

I've watched that game(mostly just the offense) at least 4X and I still think that ML had a very good game. He was told about an hour before gametime that he would be the starter, and for a guy who hadn't played much, did very well. I know the numbers don't look great, but in looking at the game, once he got going he was smooth as silk(finished the game on an 18-22 run and 197 yards), throwing pinpoint passes into tight coverage with a couple of drops thrown in. And they weren't just check-downs. There was a beautiful 30 yard pass to Ben Patrick in the 4th Q when they were backed up on their own 5 and nursing the 4 point lead, and I still say if not for the terrible holding penalty on  Reggie Wells late in the 4th we would have run the clock out and won that game, which would have put ML in a whole nother light since Tenn was one of the hottest teams in the league coming into that game.

But, we didn't win the game. And for as well as I thought ML looked, the offense only scored 10 points, tied for our lowest output of the season, save the last game of the season vs GB. The most important thing for a team to do is win and the most important thing for an offense to do is score points, and with ML at the helm, we didn't do either. And in going back and looking at the 2007 games with Whiz as coach, we really didn't do much scoring in ML's injury-shortened season. In the 5 games ML played the offense produced a total of 56 pts while he was on the field. And even though they won 3 of his 5 starts, except for the Seattle game, ML wasn't very good.

3) Because I had the audacity to question the wisdom of guys like LB, BoogieMan and Walter M.

Yes, that's right...THE AUDACITY!!! I really thought you guys were just ML bashers and just running with the media herd. But you guys were right on the money. BTW, I want to give a hearty  pat on the back to Walter. I went back and read his 53 man roster and he was almost perfect, even calling the trade of Reggie Wells.  Well done, my friend.

4) Because I actually bought a Matt Leinart jersey in 2006

And for that reason alone, I am the most egregiously DOPEY bastard who has ever had the privilege to grace this fine website.

Well there you have it gentlemen. Anyone with anymore reasons, please fell free to add them on, I totally deserve it. Now let's get the season started and kick some 49er tail

SWAGGER LIVES!

One year 2.5 million(including 300,00 signing bonus) + 118,000 workout bonus. Good signing! If we add a solid backup tackle before the season starts our OL is going to be really solid. You would also think this would light a fire under Deuce and get him to sign his contract. Also, to me, this signing confirms that we are going to run the ball alot  more this year. I expect we will be top 10 or better in rushing attempts this year.

Well, here it is. My final entry. Hope you guys enjoy it.

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REASON #3 Our Front 3  run D is still solid

I have to admit, I was a bit confused when I first heard of all the interest in Mount Cody as our first rd pick. To me, in 2008 we had certainly the most underrated run def in the league and I know at one point(I don't know if it was after week 6 or week 7) we were actually the #1 rated run D in the NFL in 2009. Then came the Carolina game and south it went.

But what happend to the 2008 D? We basically had the same players from a year ago, save 2: Clark Haggans becoming the full-time starter and Calais Campbell in for Antonio Smith. I decided to look at the numbers and see what the problem was.

2008 Rank #16  445-1764 yds   110.3 YPG  13-TD's   4.0 YPC

2009 Rank #17  402-1804 yds   112.8YPG    13-TD's  4.5 YPC

And there it is! Everything else is similar except we went from 4.0 to 4.5 in one year. Now I know why everyone is upset. But there is something wrong. If we awere getting gashed for a full 1/2 yard per carry more, why weren't teams running MORE vs us, not LESS? Well let's go inside the numbers.

First off, let's look at exactly how teams attacked us. The NFL has become more of a passing league(54.8% pass to 45.2% run), but when it comes to teams passing vs US it is even more unbalanced(59.6% pass to 40.2% run). But even in running situations, like on 1st down(58.5% pass to 41.5% run) or 3rd and short(3 yards or less)  (50% pass- 50%). teams attacked, at least what they percieve is our weakness, our ability to defend the pass. So if teams are attacking us vs the pass, shouldn't that be what we are shoring up?

I noticed right away our longest run from scrimmage allowed in 2008 was 41 yds and I knew we had topped that in 2009 and we did. FOUR TIMES! Now at a certain point during the success of a running play, you must put more blame on the 2nd line of defense, the LB's and not DL. The first 10 yards, hey DL gotta do a better job. But after that the LB's must make plays. So I checked how many 10 + yard plays we gave up year to year.

2008- 28 runs 10+

2009- 43 runs 10 +

This is a HUGE jump and, to me, shows just how poor our LB play was and played a huge part in why our YPC average went up so much.

Part 2 of reason 3 to follow. 

Reason #2 - BIGGER ISN'T ALWAYS BETTER
As I decided to do theses writeups, I thought it important to review some of the other NT's to see what they brought to the table. I decided to use who I thought were the top 9 going into this season and broke them into 2 groups: those over 340 lbs(Ryan Pickett 6'2" 340, Shaun Rogers 6'4" 360, Jamal Williams 6'3" 348, and Kris Jenkins 6'4" 360) and those under 330 (Vince Wilfork 6'2" 325, Casey Hampton 6' 1" 325, Jay Ratliff 6'4" 303,  Kelly Gregg 6'0" 315 and Abrauyo Franklin 6'1" 317). 

Now before anyone jumps down my throat, I realize that Haloti Ngata is not on this list, and the reason is that he really didn't play alot of NT, at least not last year. Kelly Gregg and Justin Bannan played the Nose and Ngata played LDE. Just look at the film if you don't believe me.

The first thing that jumps out about the list is that evevryone of the +340 players missed significant time last year due to knee injuries(Pickett 3 gms/Rogers 5 gms/Jenkins 10 gms/Williams/15 gms). Now these are all veteran players so you can chalk most of that up to age, but Hampton is a 10 year vet and has missed only 5 games in the last 5, Kelly Gregg is an 11 year vet who has been very durable save the non-playing injury he suffered 2 years ago(bone rubbing against bone), And then Wilfork, Franklin and Ratliff have a combined 21 year of experience and have missed a total of 9 games the past 4 years between them. Again, age is probably the biggest factor, especially in the case of Jamal Williams, but your kidding yourself if you think all that weight does not take a toll. And the reason this relates to Cody is that in his 2 years at Alabama he missed 3 games with...a knee injury.

But let's get back to size vs production. Conventional wisdom is that you need a massive frame in the 3-4 to stop the run, and that is just not the case. Yes, everyone would love to have a player who is the 2nd coming of Ted Washington, but a player can still be a very producitve NT in this league with qualities like a powerful base and strong hands.  Gregg, Hampton and Franklin are, by NFL standards, short, squatty type players. But all 3 of them are very powerful players who use their hands very well, and that is the key to their success. Holding the point of attack so that your LB crew can make the plays is what is the key to the success of a productive NT. And their teams numbers (PIT 89.9 YPG + 3.9 YPC) / (BLT 93.3 YPG + 3.4 YPC)  (SF 97.0 YPG + 3.6 YPC). bear this out.

And, in the case of Kris Jenkins who was a monster vs the run in 2007(when he weighed 330) and 2008(when he weighed 340) the extra weight certainly cut down on his productivity in 2009(when he weighed 360), and the numbers bear it out:

NYJ 1st 5 games with Jenkins before injury: AVg. 26 carries - 110 yds 4.2 YPC

NYJ last 11 games with Sione Pouha 6''2" 325: Avg 26 carries - 93 yds 3.55 YPC

Again, I think because of his size, let's be generous and say 6'5" 358, people think draft Cody and problem at the NT position is solved. But size and experience will not get you nearly as far as talent, and I will address that in a later post.

One more note about size. Except for 1 player, Wilfork, every other player on this list had to 'grow' into the position as they were not nearly as big when they came out of college as they are now. The point being, just because a guy doesn't look big enough to play NT right now doesn't mean there isn't room to add to a players frame to become big enough. It is much easier to add weight than to lose it. Trust me , I know of what I speak. The following is the players listed above and their physical stats their final year of college compared to today.

Ryan Pickett:  6'2" 290lbs     -       6'2" 340lbs

Shaun Rogers 6'4" 320        -       6'4" 360lbs

Casey Hampton 6'1" 310lbs   -   6'1" 325lbs

Kris Jenkins     6'4" 292lbs      -   6'4" 360lbs

Jay Ratliff          6'4" 278lbs      -   6'4" 303lbs

Kelly Gregg 6'0" 285lbs           -   6'0" 315lbs

Abrayou Franklin 6'1" 295lbs -   6'1" 317lbs

I still notice many, many fans still leaning on Cody as the preferred pick for us in round 1, and as I have stated before I am totally against this pick. So I thought it might be fun as the draft draws near to debate some specifics as to the pros and cons of the pick whether it be need, talent or anything else that pops to mind. I don't know how many parts I will do this in but it will probably be 3 or 4, so feel free to post your thoughts on one or all.

Reason #1 not to draft Terrence Cody: TERRENCE CODY

First, anyone FOR drafting Cody, if you have not seen the photo of him at the Senior Bowl weigh-in, I implore you to do so and tell me if you are willing to spend a #1 pick on THAT! My wife walked by and saw him him and wanted to know if he was a man or a woman? To me, the way he showed up at the Senior Bowl, the last game scouts are going to be able to see you play a real game before you start to earn millions of dollars, looking like Eddie Murphy in "The Nutty Professor" sends a huge red flag up. I don't care that he lost 25 lbs over the next couple of weeks; that actually scares me to that his weight can fluctuate so much in such a short period of time. People with weight problems will tell you that once you have one, you have it for your whole life and this kid is 21 y/o. and weighed over 400 lbs as a teenager. Does anyone think he is going to get smaller as he gets older?

The weight also raises 2 more concerns I have with him. #1 is injury. He missed two games(knee) in 2008 so there is some history and the bigger he gets the larger the risk. #2 is his contract. Obviously, signing him means putting a weight clause in his contract, but what will the number be? His agent will surely push for nothing more than 360-365 as a high weight. Will that be acceptable? It may be a small thing, but it is just one more problem to add to a much bigger ?

This first post is obviously more general concern than specific reason, but I will follow up in later posts with much more detailed reasons to look elsewhere in the first round. Thoughts?

Since the draft is getting closer, I thought I would try to get some opinions on what some of you guys thought of some of the players coming out of the draft. Not just the ones we might be interested in, but all the players. The NFL draft is by far the most (over)hyped event in sports that is not actually a sporting event and everyone has an opinion, so let's hear yours. Just pick a player who you think will either surpass or not live up to expectations and give your reasoning why. Doesn't have to be an out and out bust or a future hall of famer. Just a player who doesn't live up to or surpasses the hype.

Compensatory picks just announced and the Cardinals get zip. Although I didn't think we would get a 3rd, I didn't think we would get nothing. Obviously, the McFadden signing canceled out Antonio Smith, which probably would have been a 3rd rounder otherwise. Boy, he better step up this year because, this blows!
Well, we should get a high pick next year because of losing Dansby, and if I'm not mistaken Porter and DA won't count against us because they were both released by their former team, which is the same reason the loss of Rolle won't help us.

Anybody else bummed?

According to the Falcoholic. More convinced than ever 'Spoon doesn't last to #26. I'm just curious though. We have all given our thoughts about who we like, but I have no idea what the FO people are thinking. Has anyone heard anything about any players we might be working out pre-draft?
Also, is there any update in whether or not we will be adding any compensatory picks? When do they announce them?

Adding a veteran QB just got a little more dicey. And with Cleveland choosing Delhomme as their probable starter(he had said he would only be a backup on a contender) what does this say about Derek Anderson? I know the contract was part of it, but Holmgren was brought to Cleveland to field a winner, not cut salary, so I gotta feel even he feels Delhomme is the better player. And as bad as Delhomme was last year, did you get a look at DA's numbers? In fact, if you look at his whole career, besides from the quick start in 2007, this guys numbers have been JeMarcus Russell like.

At this point, it looks like we will be making a run at Charlie Whitehurst, and IF we get him it's gonna cost us a draft pick. And his experience is that of a rookie QB, so we probably then wouldn't draft a QB. This could also open the door to Brian St.Pierre coming back.

Unless, of course, we are gonna just sit back and wait to see what happens with Bulger.