Words Can't Describe

Scott Bordow of the East Valley Tribune posted an article that asks the important question. Just what is Green doing for the Cardinals.

Don't get me wrong. I want Dennis Green to come to Arizona a year before he actually made it. I still hold out hope that things will turn around. But Bordow correctly points out that two years in, we have yet to see the "improvements" translate into actual victories, and sadly, that's the point.

We suffered for years under Joe Bugel giving us the best losing team in football. It would sure be nice to not have to listen to friends and co-workers ridicule me for being stupid enough to follow the local team.

Man, What a (Great) Snoozer

There were points during the game yesterday when I wished I could just go to sleep. Certainly, the offense was encouraging me.

After the game, Denny mentioned that it was a great defensive matchup. Yes, that's it. Josh has Q running out to the flat, but he sees Lee open a few yards downfield. Result: interception.

And, yes, I was very impressed with the defense, but one of our group at the stadium asked, after the Titans scored a touchdown on their opening drive, what was wrong with the defense at the start of every game. Let's see...Giants first drive: TD; Rams first drive: TD; Seahawks first drive: TD; 49ers first drive: punt (their two touchdowns were on fumble recoveries); Panthers first drive: fumble; Titans first drive: TD.

So four of six games have started with the Cards digging themselves out of a hole. Yesterday was no exception.

Don't get me wrong. I'm happy they won, and I sure hope they do the same against the Cowboys, but 173 yards of total offense is just pathetic. Baltimore was held to six points by the Bears but still gained 15% more yardage than the Cardinals.

I am not a rash person, but I believed before the game, and also now, that Kurt Warner should be manning the offense. Here's hoping Texas Stadium wakes up the team.

Kill Me. Kill Me Now.

Going into halftime, I was encouraged. The Cards were up, but they had clearly shown themselves what adjustments they needed to make in order to shut down the Panthers in the second half. It was only going to get better.

Then came the litany of turnovers that made the game unwinnable, or at least unwinnable for Arizona.

With over three minutes left, the fans started leaving en masse after McCown threw the jump ball on 4th down that was intercepted by Carolina. I asked some of them why they were leaving with so much time and three time outs available. No one answered. I should never have asked. So now I get to hope for the 11-5 season. It's a good thing our division is so bad (though amazingly, not as bad as the NFC North).

Take a week off fellas. Come back and tear apart Tennessee.

Oh, Joy!

I watched the game at the new home of our company's owners. They built a home theater in the basement with a 100+ inch screen (front projection), and the view was unbelievable. Of course, I was watching with a normal assortment of Cardinals detractors who, like oh so many people, insist that Bill Bidwill is the reason for the team's troubles over the years. I believe that assessment to be too simplistic.

To blame him for the team's failures, one would necessarily need to credit him for their successes, such as the Air Coryell years in St. Louis, but for those in need of simple explanations, the reasoning is that when things go wrong, it's Bidwill's fault. When they go right, it's in spite of Bidwill. I suggested that if Bidwill was so wrong, how do you reconcile Oakland choosing a former Cardinal head coach for their own team only to see that head coach flounder in Oakland just as he did in Arizona? I also weighed in on the success of Daniel Snyder in Washington. He's no hoarder of money, but his teams have been rather pathetic as well (this appears to be a better year, but being 3-0 for Washington is more an issue of a freak comeback against Dallas, winning in overtime when Seattle should have put them away in regulation, and winning at home against a less than impressive Bears team).

In other words, Bidwill could have made different choices that could have improved his success, but week in and week out, he is never the one putting on the pads.

Indeed, when the 49ers got off to that 14-0 lead, I was dreading hearing the incessant reminders of how stupid I am to be a fan, but a funny thing happened on the way to the NFC West cellar. The team woke up. The defense reminded us of their potential. The offense showed off why they have Boldin and Fitzgerald. And McKown showed why he was worthy as the starter last year. Oh, what a joyful game to watch.

And now, the Panthers get to play a Monday nighter followed by a short week of practice and travel across country to face us. And I suspect that either Seattle or St. Louis will lose (since they're playing each other). Time to move into second place.

Go Cards!

Painful but True

In between my tears, I read this. He feels my pain.

My Faith is Shaken

How can they be this bad?

We all heard about Oliver Ross and how he would energize the offensive line, but between him and Davis, the main thing they energized was the market for flags. Surely they wore out the officials' pockets yesterday.

But that wasn't the worst of it. The Cards have given up touchdowns on the opening drives of each game this year. And not because the other team got lucky. The defense was decimated each time. Is this the same defense we saw last year? Clearly it isn't.

So what do you get when you combine a porous defense, an offense that seems incapable of scoring touchdowns and a whole pile of penalties? You get 0-3. Coming into this season, San Francisco was the consensus pick as worst team in football. Sunday night (boy, how happy is ESPN to have this game?), the 49ers will probably be heavy favorites.

Maybe I should learn to love hockey.

The End of Depression

I have dreaded this for some time. Another post after another disappointing performance. As I left Sun Devil Stadium, dazed as a result of the surreal end to an exciting final drive, I started visualizing the future.

Monday, I would come to work to hear my coworkers laugh at me for being a Cardinal fan. Then Brian would come in and find new ways to make fun of my devotion. I seriously considered calling in sick.

So here it is, Thursday, and life is not yet over. I enter yet another NFL weekend fully expecting the turnaround that I know is coming. Seattle is in for quite the surprise. And when Dallas and Tennessee also win, we'll get the humor of noting that all the teams in the NFC West are 1-2. So be it. Go Cards!

Okay, I Was Off a Little

So my 15-1 prediction did include the expected win over the Giants, so I guess I'll have to modify my prediction to 14-2.

Boy was that depressing. As halftime approached, I was giddy. With the Cards dominating in all phases of the game, victory was just a matter of not letting up their guard. Even after giving up a drive to start the second half, I rationalized it as being equivalent to the drive at the start of the game.

And when the team responded to the second score in the quarter with the Fitzgerald TD, I was calm again. Then the wheels came off. My only solace is knowing that only San Francisco managed to win among the teams in the division. The season now begins on 9/18.

Already Someone Who Agrees with Me

I bring you the Houston Chronicle and Norman Chad with his prediction for the 2005 season, "He (Kurt Warner) and his earthly Cardinals teammates are destined for Super Bowl 40 in Detroit."

Uh, Coach Slouch, for the record, I bought my ticket to win on 8/22/05, but I appreciate someone who agrees.

If they can do it, so can I

Since every sports pundit in the country has taken the time to inform us of how this season will end up, I have decided to do the same. So, on to my dubious, at best, predictions.

NFC West

It should come as no surprise to anyone who can read the name of my blog how I pick this division to end up. What may surprise some is that I think that this will be a surprisingly powerful division this year. While I respect the Rams offense, the overall balance in Seattle should provide them with a wild card entry into the post season.
Cardinals (15-1)
Seahawks (10-6)
Rams (8-8)
49ers (1-15)

NFC North

While I would love to see Favre wind down his career on a high note, I have little confidence in his team. The Vikings look tough, though I don't think a Mike Tice led team will ever be truly great.
Vikings (13-3)
Packers (6-10)
Lions (4-12)
Bears (3-13)

NFC South

Here is the other tough NFC division. While I like the Falcons, they sure have a rough schedule compared to the Panthers.
Panthers (12-4)
Falcons (10-6)
Buccaneers (8-8)
Saints (4-12)

NFC East

Yet another weak year for the East. I don't see Philadelphia being as dominant as last year, but with little competition in this division, they'll have a better record than they deserve.
Eagles (12-4)
Cowboys (9-7)
Giants (6-10)
Redskins (4-12)

AFC West

The AFC, once again, appears to be tougher than the NFC. As a result, teams that otherwise would have made it to the post season will be stopped due to the volume of quality in this conference. And the West will be the toughest division of them all.
Chiefs (14-2)
Chargers (10-6)
Raiders (7-9)
Broncos (7-9)

AFC North

This division will come back to earth after last year's stellar showing by Pittsburgh. I still expect greatness from them, but Ben could not have two consecutive lucky streaks.
Steelers (12-4)
Ravens (10-6)
Bengals (6-10)
Browns (5-11)

AFC South

And now for the obvious choice of the list: who will win this division?
Colts (14-2)
Jaguars (11-5)
Titans (8-8)
Texans (3-13)

AFC East

And now for the weakest division in football. Not only do I expect a weak showing from the defending champs, but the division around them will be awful. Expect a cake walk for the Patriots, at least until playoff games begin.
Patriots (11-5)
Jets (8-8)
Bills (3-13)
Dolphins (2-14)

As I've already stated before, I've already placed my bet on the Cardinals to win Super Bowl XL (over the Colts, in case you're curious). I look forward to seeing how stupid I was in very short order.

Enough of the Practice Games

So I forgot to bring my camera to work last Friday. I remembered my ticket. So when I picked up my father to go to the game, I borrowed his (also a 5 MP model, but with a bit less configuration ability). Curiously, while all of my photos have 0.07 fewer MP, his averaged 0.9 MB per photo while mine averaged 2.9 MB per photo. I have no idea why. But on to the meager photos.

First, we have an action shot (the only one that was even remotely usable).

But there came a point where I decided that the only people doing their jobs properly were the cheerleaders, so I got a fuzzy image of them.

Sure hope next week goes better.

Getting My $61.20 Worth

Last year, season tickets in the seat I have were $56.70 per game ($63 - 10%). This year they went up to $61.20 ($68 - 10%). Since preseason games were never that good to begin with, I always justified it as 8 games at full price and two preseason games at half price. So 8*63+31.5+31.5=$567 for the full season.

With the new pricing combined with a game in Mexico City, it is 7 games at the new, higher, full price and two preseason games at $37.40 each (or 55% of normal games). In other words, this year's preseason, on a relative cost basis, are 10% higher than last year's (not even accounting for the price hike that was also sent our way).

So adding to the disappointment of a significantly more expensive preseason, we get a Broncos team that does not intend to play their starters. We're paying to see a scrimmage of second teamers. Whoop-de-doo!

Easy to be a Fan Now

I realize that it's still just preseason, but they've looked so very good in their first team offense. I fully expect to watch a win on Friday simply because it means more to Dennis Green than it does to Mike Shanahan. As I understand it, Plummer and crew won't play more than a single series.

Still, It'll be nice to go to New York with a load of confidence at their backs. Go Cards!

But What About the Chiefs?

It occurred to me that in my rush to happily note my purchase of a ticket to win for the Cardinals in the Super Bowl that I haven't made any comments about their most recent encounter in Kansas City.

I didn't see all of it. Being away from home, I couldn't watch live (I was competing) and the hotels don't carry the NFL Network. So I watched when I got home and kind of wished that my Tivo would have failed to record it. As most fans know, the Cards won, but only because the second and third teams made up for the ineptitude of the first team. Up front blocking seemed to be the key, and there are plenty of reasons why, so I won't be too frustrated. That's why they play in preseason.

Vegas, Baby!

I shoot pool. Not very well, mind you, but I'm in a handicapped league, and our 9-Ball team made it to the national finals last weekend at the Riviera. We did well. Not great, but well enough. Of the 287 teams that qualified for the event (from among many thousands of teams), only 32 progressed farther than we did.

As long as I was in Vegas for the tournament, however, I decided to get in my bet for the Cardinals to win the Super Bowl. That's right, my $20 is down on the Cards to win (with a payoff of $1000 when they do). Go Cards!

New Uniforms, Old Frustration

A couple of pictures from last Saturday's game...


First, we have a picture of the opening kickoff. You'll note that the sun is still slightly out at this point. By the way, no matter what the people on ESPN say, I like the new uniforms. Note the sparse crowd even though it's the Cowboys. Hmmm.


And an action shot. But in this case, I was limited on the shots I could use. Since this was a night game and my ISO was not properly set, there was quite a bit of action that just turned out too blurry to use (this one is really not an exception to the rule). Note that this is the second team getting a very Cardinal-like one yard gain on a rushing play.

That Was a Beautiful Thing

It was great to go to a game surrounded by Cardinals fans for a change. The seat I have is not in a cheap section of the stadium, but since it is in the shaded portion (and has a back), the people who buy there tend to be loyal. That said, all too many of the seats just go unsold, and we regularly have visiting family of the opposing team. Maybe when the Eagles come to town, TO can serve his suspension in my section.

But I digress. This team looked fantastic on Saturday night. How many more days until 9/11 in New York (wonder what the halftime will be like)?

26.5 Hours and Counting

It's finally (almost) here. The opportunity to go to Sun Devil Stadium, with all the hope and expectation that attends a new football season.

How exciting to see my acquaintances over in Section 9, complete with the ability to glare at people who deign to bring beer into our section; the deep green of a carefully manicured, yet thoroughly unused football field ready for a new season; the view of millionaires getting ready to work themselves to exhaustion simply for my benefit (we don't thank the players enough).

For this season, my goal is to document the beauty that is football, and to be on the bleeding edge of the legion of Cardinals fans that will instantly sprout as so often happens when a team finds success.

Go Cards!

Hallelujah!

And I'm not even religious. With today's news, all the pieces are in place. It's time for the Cards to shock the NFL.

I was out today and drove by the stadium (my future cathedral). It was amazing to see so many workers standing on the roof doing their work. Ah, and now for Saturday to come.

Go Cards!

I'd Feel Better if Rolle Was Signed

But then that goes without saying.

As many people making blog entries do (I hate to call myself a "blogger" since I'm not that serious about it), I waste entirely too much time on the Internet. Today, I visited the ESPN site and looked at the SportsNation polls.

They had one about NFL jerseys. Which player would you buy? Would you buy Terrell Owens? How many do you own? I had to laugh when I got to the last question. "Are you wearing a jersey right now?" Yes, I'm wearing Rob Moore right now.

I love the scene in "Fletch" where Larry (Geena Davis) observes him and says, "Magic today?" He replies, "Yeah, Kareem's in the wash."

On any given day, for me, it will be one of Joyner, Hill, Williams (35), Plummer, Tillman, Moore, Smith (22), Boston, Wadsworth, Sanders. Notably, I tend to buy a player right before he leaves the team (true of all but Emmitt).