Four Months Later

It sometimes takes a while to get over disappointments.

It isn't news that the Cards finished last year with a record of 8-8. Hidden in there is the fact that they lost twice to the hapless 49ers. Turn around those two games, and the Cardinals win the division. Bottom line: it was a disappointing year. Hmmm, I wonder how many times I can use the word disappoint here?

So the new year comes. The Super Bowl makes me happy, and then the bill for the next season arrives.

I've been a season ticket holder since the Cardinals moved to Arizona in 1988. That first season, they soaked fans thanks to a huge customer base willing to pay top dollar for NFL product. I was on the sunny side of the stadium on the south goal line paying $40 per game to attend.

Next I moved to the northeast corner of the stadium at the front of the upper deck. While more reasonably priced, the view was the pits. I was happy to have my father join in the fun in 1997, and we moved back to the lower deck around the 20 yard line on the north and shaded side. When we moved into these seats, tickets again moved above $40 per game.

After an incident with a Raiders fan (she couldn't figure out how to keep her knees out of my back), we moved to the 30 yard line with backs for our seats (but still bleachers). In our last season at Sun Devil Stadium, tickets cost $61.20 per game.

We have roughly the same seats at UofP Stadium. In year 1 (not even including the facility charge), tickets were $75 each. Last year, they went up to $82.50. This year, they hit $92.50. In three short years, I've experienced a price increase of more than 50%. Dad doesn't want to buy in again. It's just too expensive. I'm not sure what to do. For this year, I've committed to buying the seats whether he comes in or not.

I want my team to be successful, but they seem to be doing their best to find my breaking point. Sadly, I think it may come sooner rather than later.

Pointless? Yep, But Still Fun

I was out of town last weekend. My daughter and I paid a visit to the Happiest Place on Earth, and oh did it make us happy. I didn't accomplish any of the shopping I wanted to do, but oh well, it was better than watching the Cardinals fall to the Saints thereby ending their postseason chances.

So now, the Falcons make their way to Arizona. Boy, what a sad story Atlanta has been this year. If I weren't so partisan for the Cardinals, I'd have enough pity to hope that the Falcons could win a game, and I do hope for that, just not this week.

The team Arizona faces is only a shadow of the team that was already inept before Bobby ditched them. If this game is anything short of a blowout, then the Cardinals have not met expectations.

Merry Christmas, Atlanta. Keep your televisions turned off.

So What's on the Horizon for Next Year?

Well, the Cardinals are not yet eliminated, but they may as well be. For them to get that final wild card spot, they would have to be a full game better than Minnesota since the Vikings have the better conference record, and with only three games remaining, that means that the Cardinals would have to win out (very much possible) combined with the Vikings losing two of their remaining three. Let's see, who do they play? Their next two games are at home against Chicago and Washington followed by a road finale in Denver. Okay, it's possible, but it sure ain't likely.

As to yesterday's dismal performance by the Red Birds, well, that game got out of hand early and just stayed that way. We all certainly understood that the Seahawks would be hard to beat in Seattle, but I still held out hope.

You know, it occurs to me that I really don't want to even think about the game. Bring on the Saints.

There IS Joy in Mudville!

It's been quite the wet weekend in the Phoenix area, so mud is on my mind. Similarly, I'm now watching a Cardinal team that is way better than people realize.

Yesterday, the Cleveland Browns came into town with everyone believing that the Cardinals would get whipped. Why, people were shocked to see that Arizona was a one point favorite and thanking Vegas for offering free money.

We know different.

Think about it. Last week, if Neil Rackers makes a 32 yard field goal, this team is 7-5, not 6-6 now. In week 1, if Eric Green just knocks that ball out of the end zone as well, this team is 8-4. And in a bigger stretch, if Rackers hits that 51 yard field goal at the end of the Washington game, this team could be 9-3! But they keep finding ways of flying under the radar.

The Browns were purported to have an awesome offense. Four turnovers can really slow down an offense, but even when they weren't turning the ball over, Arizona's defense did a fine job of holding the line. Braylon Edwards had a big game (good thing, too, because I have him on my fantasy team), but Kellen Winslow, who had been averaging 5.6 catches and 79.5 yards per game was held to three catches for 35 yards.

But Rod Hood's two interceptions (one for a touchdown), were the crowning achievement. When the game starts out with a 14-0 lead, you know things are going well (don't talk to me about the Bears being who we thought they were).

Bonus Time: If the season ended today, the Cardinals would be in the playoffs!

Okay, I'm Ready to Talk Now

Last Sunday was painful. For the first time, well, in as long as I can remember, the Cardinals were double digit favorites to win, but they didn't.

You know, people will blame Rackers for missing the late field goal, and they would be right. People might blame Barr for a poor punt that resulted in a 49ers score, and they would be right. They might blame Warner for not getting rid of the ball when his receiver was not open, and they would be right. Or maybe they will blame Whisenhunt for not getting a run off with six seconds left in the game, and they would be right.

But people probably are not blaming the special teams coverage that allowed a long return or the secondary (Rolle) that tried to make a special play but ended up allowing a special play. The fact is that this was yet another game where a whole collection of things gone wrong each could have made the difference, but they just didn't happen.

So be it.

Now, Cleveland comes to town with a very powerful offense to test this injury riddled defense. Heck, Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow Jr are on my fantasy team, but I still expect a victory for the home team. Why? Because I do.

Let's face it. The Cardinals are saddled with deep injuries on defense, two of them to Pro Bowlers (as Cardinals, no less), so Cleveland should be scoring early and often. Meanwhile, Q is at reduced capacity as is Warner, so any betting man would be stupid to back the Cardinals.

Just look for the word STUPID stenciled on my forehead Sunday.

I Think We Won Yesterday

I remember watching the game. It was heaven! Even when Cincinnati got on the board first with that beautiful pass, I didn't panic. Hey, the Cardinals haven't broken out to early leads as a rule.

Then, everything fell into place. I especially enjoyed the announcers pointing out that Cincinnati was preventing plays of 20 or more yards right before Warner throws a 44 yard touchdown pass to Boldin.

Just as surprising was the presence of Eric Green. I was under the impression that he would be missing in action, but his presence helped make the difference on a day when a good secondary was vital.

But the kicker was Rolle. He was everywhere, and Palmer just didn't seem to be able to keep track of him.

That said, I watched SportsCenter this morning, and by the end of the broadcast, I learned nothing about the game. Zilch. Zip. At the end Kenny Mayne made a quip about the Seahawks winning and division winners not being pictured, but apparently the Cardinal game didn't even rate that much of a mention. Nope, it was too important to devote around 20 minutes to a 56-10 blowout in the night game. It was more important to show all of the excitement in the Oakland/Minnesota game. And the Giants/Lions game may not have been able to boast an NFL record setting performance, but they did score 26 total points in the game.

Still biding my time. Maybe ESPN will deign to cover the game in Seattle next month.

Some Fear. Not too much, but some.

The Cardinals have been very good this year at home. In four contests, the team is 3-1 having beaten Seattle, Pittsburgh and Detroit, all teams with winning records. The one loss is an anomoly only in that Leinart had been put on IR earlier in the week, and Warner was injured on the second drive requiring Tim Rattay, who had been with the team less than a week, to lead the offense. In other words, it really doesn't count.

But on the road, the team is 1-4 with that only win coming against a hampered Rams team. True, slight changes in single plays against San Francisco and Washington would turn that around to 3-2 (and a bad call on an Adrian Wilson hit would have sent the Baltimore game into overtime), but the bottom line is that the team performs less impressively on the road.

Into this, we have a trip to play Cincinnati. The Bengals are having a rough year. Their offense is as potent as ever, but the defense has been suspect. This plays to an occasional strength for the Cardinals in that Arizona's offense has also been playing generally well. Unfortunately, the real difference maker for the team has been their defense, and the team is hampered right now. A cornerback (Green) down, a safety (Wilson) down, a lineman (Berry) down...if (when?) this defense steps up Sunday, you'll have a real tale of performance.

It's time for the Cards to thoroughly demoralize a team. Go Cards!