Oh Happy Day

What a day to be a Cardinals fan!

Sure, there was some early fear when Pittsburgh jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but that was such a brief period, it hardly rates mentioning.

I've been a fan of this team ever since they moved to Arizona. Never, during that period, have I spent virtually an entire game on my feet. The crowd was charged from start to finish, and they were personally responsible for three false starts by the Steelers.

This is a Steelers team that was favored by 6 points over the Cardinals (heck, the Cards have not yet been favored this year: will a visit to St. Louis fix that?). The only people who expected this result are the Arizona fans who have seen just how good this team is.

And quarterback controversy? What quarterback controversy? Yes, the team appeared to be more productive under Warner, but the plays called for him were designed to stretch the field more. Both of them looked good.

This team has been 2-2 before, but they didn't look this good getting there. Bring on the Rams!

Bring 'Em On

I like the phrase, even though our president used it a bit irresponsibly a few years back (happy to see that he acknowledged this error, but as they say in "The Family Guy", I digest).

Over at ESPN, Chris Mortensen is picking the Cardinals. No one else is. In their Pigskin Pickem game, only two teams are picked less than Arizona (Denver, who plays in Indianapolis and Kansas City, who plays in San Diego). And in their Eliminator Challenge, Pittsburgh is the sixth most popular choice (Arizona is 4th least popular). Few are expecting a Cardinals victory.

I'm expecting one.

But then again, I'm delusional.

Still, this is a team with some of the most potent offensive weapons in the NFL. It's a team that passed at will (while Warner was in there) against Baltimore...not a defensive pushover. This is a team that is well balanced on both offense and defense (just need to lock down those special teams), and I like our chances.

Meanwhile, of course, Pittsburgh has been doing better in every category: scoring, offense, defense, wins.

Yes, we'll win.

Maybe I'll just place my bets on another game.

This is how conspiracy theories start.

I have an otherwise intelligent friend who believes that on 9/11/01, the US government fired a missile into the Pentagon and used a black airplane coordinated with explosive charges to bring down the World Trade Center. He's mistaken. And, by the way, for the legions of you who agree with my friend, post as many comments as you like. I can't seem to convince him of his temporary lunacy: I doubt I'll be able to convince you.

But maybe there's something to this conspiracy thing. In the first half of yesterday's game against the Ravens, the team was severely lackluster. Then Kurt Warner came in to save the day.

It was amazing. After spotting Baltimore a 23-6 lead, Kurt leads the team to 17 unanswered points. This game is headed into overtime. All the Cardinals need to do is prevent the Ravens from scoring in the final minute. They go into a prevent. After all, Baltimore has only limited opportunity to stop the clock. By keeping play in the middle of the field, things should go well.

Then the yellow hankie comes out. Adrian Wilson gets called for a hard hit that was completely legal. His shoulder hits the shoulder of Todd Heap very solidly. Curiously, the official sees him leading with his forearm to the opponents head. Replays clearly show that a) it was not the forearm and b) it was not the head. Merry Christmas, Baltimore. Have another 15 yards.

Games should never come down to a single play. When the game can hinge on whether or not an official blows a call, then your team has not won convincingly enough. Still, this single blown call was the difference between two teams playing for superiority and one team being handed three points.

I'm bitter. Still, it's only one game, and the Cardinals schedule still retains plenty of opportunity for improvement, but I wish a bad call had not overshadowed such brilliant performances by Kurt Warner and Anquan Boldin.

On to next week...

Respect!

I visited the blog of a Ravens fan today. I'll assume for the moment that he just doesn't know the correct spelling of the names of the quarterback or the senior receiver of our top two, but Rex, there is no "h" in Leinart and there is no "u" in Boldin. Now back to anticipating the matchup with Steve McHair and Ray Leuis.

Is It Too Much to Hope For?

So for the second year in a row, the Cards have started off the season with a 1-1 record. They also did it in 1993, 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2002. I look forward to the year when they duplicate the 1991 effort and start off with a couple of wins. What's more interesting about 1991 is that it was the last time the Cardinals had a winning record after three games.

Sunday is a big test, and America expects the team to fail.

This team has good rushing, a scary pass potential and an overachieving defense, but still only the Bills (playing the Patriots) and the 49ers (playing the Steelers) are considered longer shots to win than the Cardinals. Really?

Fine.

I've had this argument with others who constantly point out that the Cardinals will not get picked to win until they prove themselves on the field. My position is that if you aren't willing to predict a win until the game is over, then you're an awful predictor.

The Cardinals will win this game, and for all of the people who have completely ignored the team, we'll all hear about how surprising this team is. It's only a surprise because you weren't looking.

Go Cards!

Don't Talk to Me When I'm Out of Town!

Okay, so I play pool for fun. I'm good, but I'm not great. Thankfully, handicapped leagues exist just for people like me (hoorah for APA). Last weekend, I attended the Southwest Challenge 9-Ball tournament in Las Vegas. My team did okay, winning three rounds but losing two. We finished in a 16 way tie for 17th place among a field of 118 teams.

Why is this important? Because it caused me to miss a home game of my beloved Cardinals for the first time since Larry Centers leapfrogged a Dallas defender on Monday night in the game that found its way into "Jerry Maguire."

So I'm on the road between Wickenburg and Surprise when my phone rings (4:21 PM local time). A friend asks, "How about those Cards!" I try to keep him from telling me any more saying I don't want to hear about the game (TiVo would tell me later), but he responds with, "Why? They won!"

So, for me, watching the game was somewhat anticlimactic. Sure, it went down to the final seconds, but I never had any fear. Even when Seattle took a 20-17 lead, I knew I had nothing to worry about. I guess it serves me right for missing the game.

The offense made me much happier, but I was disappointed with how well they were held back in the 3rd quarter. To watch the game, it should never have been so close. Still, a win is a win, and I'm quite pleased that the team is 1-1 after two games. I always have optimism about my team, but I'm still not brimming with confidence. I look forward to that changing next week.

Blank Slate

Yes, just a reference to a mediocre (but fun) movie with Dana Carvey, but quite appropriate to my outlook on the Seahawks this week.

I have to remember that the defense was quite good on Monday night, and that offense just wasn't the offense I've seen even over the preseason, so Sunday has to go better.

I watched much of the Seattle/Tampa Bay matchup, all the while hoping that the Bucs would pull out the game. And frankly, it wasn't settled until late. Seattle is not the same team that went to the Super Bowl. That combined with the home opener frenzy the Cardinals should provide will, I hope, mean getting a game in the win column for the good guys.

Yes, that's the ticket. I'll set aside the rose colored glasses some other day.

I Just Don't Want to Talk About It...

...but of course I will.

I've been a Cardinals fan ever since this team moved to Arizona. Growing up in Dallas, Texas, I couldn't help but be a Cowboys fan as a child, and when we moved to Arizona in 1980, I had eight more years of rooting for the team I grew up with. But when the Cardinals moved to town in 1988, I knew I had to support the home team.

This will now be my 20th year of hoping for the best and always getting stabbed in the heart.

I need to be less defeatist. I need to have hope.

It isn't just that they lost, but how they lost. We all had our doubts about the defense going into the season but they stepped up! The Cardinals held the 49ers to 194 yards of total offense. For now, that makes Arizona the #2 defense in the NFL (behind Denver).

What I didn't expect was the anemic offense. This is a team with three, count 'em three, great wide receivers. But Boldin had 4 catches for 22 yards, Fitzgerald 3 for 20, Johnson 1 for 12. I'm pleased that the running game looked better, but Edge was still only good for 92 yards.

What disgusts me most is what I expect from those around me. The Phoenix area is a poor supporter of sports teams. No matter what the team, if they're having a rough spot, many so-called fans simply help to pile on. And for a football team that's had 18 rough spots out of a possible 19, it's tough to endure.

Still, the game was quite winnable, even very late. And is it just the first game of the season. I'm sure I could accumulate a list of the teams that lost their first game only to excel for the remainder of the season.

I can hope.

It's Here! It's Here!

Yes, the 2007 season is finally ready to start, and as has been true of me for 20 years now, I expect the Cardinals to have a perfect season. My eternal optimism reminds me of an old joke about a novice chess player.

But I truly have reason to be optimistic. The team has a new coach that everyone seems to be getting behind. The draft went well, and hey, we even cemented the defensive line with Oakland's third round draft pick.

This year, the Cardinals get to close the initial weekend of action with the late Monday night game against San Francisco. A few years back, when Arizona showed a little promise, they Cardinals proved to be the only team that could lose to the 49ers during a year when San Francisco went 2-14. But for the last couple of years, the Cardinals have owned the 49ers. I like our chances. That said, gamblers don't like our chances making San Francisco a three point favorite. And Arizona is 40-1 longshot for the Super Bowl.

Won't they be surprised when we win all our games!

Preseason vs. the Texans

So the live football is upon us again! Oh, what a feeling to walk into the stadium and know that a new year has begun full of promise.

I had family visiting from out of town, so my caravan to the stadium carried a total of 11 fans, all destined for Section 111.

As to the action on the field, I was happy. So the defense looked porous. Clancy says it's because he's holding back. But the offense looked sharp, and the team did some good scoring. Next week is the bigger test, what with it being San Diego and 3rd week of the preseason. I'm ready for new action.

Extra for John: Ricky looked good on kickoffs but had a bad punt in there. He's clearly got an NFL future, but he is not likely to make this year's Cardinals squad.

Why Am I Uneasy?

So another season is upon us. My tickets arrived on Thursday, and I'm certainly ready for the season to begin, but my annual expectation of perfection just has not yet arrived. Or maybe it has, and I just don't feel it today. I don't know.

The tickets are in a nice book again, but this year's edition has smaller tickets with no embossing, no gift for all season ticket holders. It's clearly a cost savings measure, but it would have been nice to see the team at least maintain the standards of last year, given that the team on the field certainly did not impress.

My brother is coming for a visit in two weeks that will coincide with the first preseason home game. To make it an event, I bought 7 additional tickets on Stubhub (ripoff artists, but I'll be back) for my brother, his wife, my mother, my daughter, my nephew, my daughter's boyfriend and another of my daughter's friends.

So another season is upon us. Let's see how I feel about this after the Raiders game.

Three Months Again

It's the off season, so not much has happened in my football viewing life. The team has its new coach, the draft has gone by, but I just don't have quite the same feeling I used to have at this time of the year. Maybe I've just become more dead to the annual buildup of emotion related to the team.

I have made a purchase for my home, however. I added a pool table with the team logo on the cloth. If you're a casual player but a big football fan, this is a great addition. The image is dyed into a white, non-elastic cloth (the image includes the red background). But if you're a serious pool player, you'll find the cloth a bit fast for normal play.

Three Months Later...An Update

So, I haven't made a post in quite a while, but issues abound in the Cardinals universe.

Issue 1: New coaching: I like the hire (who doesn't?). Don't get me wrong, when they hired Dennis Green, I was at the front of the cheering section. Even now, I'm not convinced that Denny was so bad so much as he just had an unbelievable run of bad luck. That said, Whisenhunt excites me, so I'm ready for the new year.

Issue 2: Free agency: I wish I could say that I'm up on all the moves, but this year's crop of players just isn't as exciting as past years have been. Or maybe I'm just lethargic because I've spent the last month moving. In any event, this year won't be the same as last year, and a single signing so far of a Cowboys center I've never heard of isn't anything to write home about.

Issue 3: Ticket prices: Wow, did they ever go up! In 2005, I paid $61.20 per game (plus half the parking fee of $5 per game for a total of $63.70 per game) for tickets on the 30 yard line on the shaded side of the field. In 2006, that number went to $79.25, a 24% increase. And in 2007, the number jumps to $87.00, a 10% increase for a total two year jump of 36.6%. Just a couple of years ago, the average ticket price hovered around $40. Next year that average will be nearly $74. That's a lot of price hiking. And while I don't expect the team to take a hit for it this year, I'd be willing to bet that the season ticket base is not a sellout in 2008 without something drastic happening.

Arizona still has me, but at these prices, I'm suddenly considering getting into the scalping business for a game or two.

A Little Down Time

With the season over (at least for us), I find myself thinking about this site a bit less often. Still, I get the great stories even when they go 6-10.

Recently, my brother paid me a visit. On Christmas Eve, we found ourselves at my house watching the Cardinals play the 49ers. It was a good game, and I cheered regularly. My brother, meanwhile, even though he isn't even a San Francisco fan, thought I was cheering extra because I knew he had picked the 49ers to win. I couldn't seem to make him understand that I would be cheering that loudly even if I was alone in the house. Oh, well.

So for the rest of his visit, he was a bit flustered which helped me beat him more than he beat me at pool (even though he is better than I am). As an aside, I'm quite the pool fan and play in local leagues. But the web site of the league operator leaves a bit to be desired, so I created a website named www.myarizonabilliards.com just so I could create a forum for pool players in Arizona. It won't be limited to APA discussions, but that's where my expertise is. We'll see what happens.

Yeah, Baby, We're Number...well...27

But we're climbing!

Sunday was a beautiful day. It started with the trip to the stadium. Traffic was rather light, so I assumed that the place would be emptier than usual, but as it turns out, people are just not rushing to be there at kickoff.

Their loss.

And, in fact, people who didn't show up for the first 2 1/4 minutes of the game missed out on some of its most exciting action. There is something amazing about seeing your team start the game by stuffing the vaunted opponent with a three and out followed by an amazing punt return and a 54 yard touchdown pass.

Don't get me wrong, we've seen the Cards jump out to big leads several times this year only to watch the lead disappear in time for the final clock tick, but a funny thing happened on the way to the typical Cardinals game: the defense held.

This was a wonderful game. Yes, the Seahawks took the lead with just over 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, but the Cards just came back and retook the lead never to relinquish it again.

So now the team is 4-9 with a chance to actually take 2nd place in the division. To do that, they'd have to catch St. Louis who gets Oakland, Washington and Minnesota (but we'd only have to hope for one of them to beat St. Louis thanks to tiebreakers) to close out the season, but simply beating San Francisco is enough for the Cards to pass them on the board.

Make it to 2nd place, and the Cards could get a home game next year against Minnesota instead of Detroit as well as an away game against the Giants instead of Washington. This is what they're playing for.

Go Cards!

First Things First

What a game that was! The Cards took the opening kickoff and proceeded to wipe out half the first quarter with a suffocating drive that seemed to demoralize the team, even if only a little at first. And for the first time this year, they took a game opening lead and never looked back. What a joy. You know, even with knowing that the team will not make the postseason yet again, this was a very satisfying win.

That said, it is now time to finally say that the Cardinals are officially eliminated from postseason eligibility. Curiously, had Denver held out against Seattle last night, the Cards could have remained eligible until the 16th (or even longer). Time to look forward to ensuring that Seattle gets only a Wild Card game at home this postseason.

Believe it or not, Arizona can still make the playoffs.

Earlier this week, my Google Alerts notified me that there was a post in a blog indicating the the Cardinals had been eliminated. I added a comment that the author was mistaken. While Arizona will obviously miss this year, they are still not mathematically eliminated (yet). He replied with his own comment that it was I who was mistaken because the Cards would be eliminated on the third tiebreaker since the first two tiebreakers would be even. I tried to add a second comment to point out that he had miscalculated, but mysteriously, that comment never made it to the web site. Curiously, he appears to have posted his erroneous comment to two different blog locations, but the other blog appears to be a replica of the first, text-wise (except there are no comments from me).

So here's how it breaks down. The Cardinals are officially eliminated from wild card contention because in order to be considered, they would have to win out, and they would be tied with a number of teams for that final spot. Since their record in the NFC would be 5-7, the Cardinals would be worse in tiebreakers than one of the required contenders, the Giants, Eagles or Vikings.

But, believe it or not, the Cardinals could still win the NFC west. Here's how:

Current standings:
...............Overall..Division..NFC
Team.............W L......W L.....W L
Seattle..........7-4......3-1.....6-3
San Francisco....5-6......2-2.....4-4
St. Louis........5-6......2-3.....4-4
Arizona..........2-9......1-2.....2-7

In this most bizzare scenario, Seattle goes on a five game losing streak to finish 7-9 with a 3-3 record in the division (adding losses to Arizona and San Francisco).

San Francisco wins only one or two of its final five games: the one against Seattle and and any other against a team that is not Arizona finishing no better than 7-9 but losing the first tiebreaker to Arizona on head to head as well as having a 3-3 division record (adding a win against Seattle and a loss to Arizona).

St. Louis also wins no more than two games (neither being the Arizona game) to finish no better than 7-9 and finishing with a 2-4 record in the division (adding a loss to Arizona along the way).

Finally, Arizona goes on an improbable five game winning streak to finish 7-9. Along the way they add divisional wins over St. Louis, Seattle and San Francisco to bring their divisional record to 4-2.

If the best record in the division is 7-9 and Arizona has a 7-9 record, the first tiebreaker won't matter since no team has beaten all of the other divisional opponents to eliminate the head to head tiebreaker, but with the best divisional record of 4-2, Arizona would win the second tiebreaker.

Of course, Arizona has not yet shown an ability to win on the road, so this is all moot, but you still cannot say that Arizona is officially eliminated yet.

Gloom, Despair and Agony on Me

So the Detroit game ended in a win. We're not the worst team in football. We're the second worst team.

It could be worse. We could be eliminated already from playoff consideration, but we aren't. All we have to do is hope the Seahawks lose their remaining games, the 49ers win only against the Seahawks, the Rams lose out and the Cardinals win out. In other words, we can't be eliminated until December!

Hey, maybe Pete Carroll can be the answer. The LA Times says it's possible. Isn't it? I'm going to cry now.

And it just keeps getting worse

My reception yesterday was not very good. I have the high definition Tivo for DirecTV that receives local channels over the air. Yesterday, for some reason, the Fox affiliate signal was not coming in very well. As a result, whole chunks of the game were lost. I'm so happy that happened.

After so promising a performance on Monday night, the team that played Oakland on Sunday looked like the worst team in football. The defense didn't look awful (as usual), but the offense couldn't run or pass which means a big let down on the scoreboard. People are calling for Dennis Green's head, and no one (including me) is arguing against it. It's just hard to believe how unbelievably bad this team is performing.

Maybe I could switch to hockey. How are the Coyotes doing? Woo hoo! They're doing better (2-6, not 1-6). Please let me stop liking football.

I Love to See My Name in Print

The NFL has some complicated rules for broadcasting home games to the local crowd. Indeed, they have predictable, but not always obvious rules every week.

The games that occur on Thursday, Saturday, Sunday night and Monday are considered national games and never have other games on at the same time, so as long as the game is not blacked out locally, everyone receives the game.

On Sunday afternoons, there are as few as 11 games or as many as 14 games being broadcast. Fox carries the games where the visiting team is from the NFC while CBS carries those where the visitors are from the AFC. On each Sunday, one of those networks has the doubleheader game of the week. Typically, both show a game in the early slot (1PM Eastern) while only one shows a late game. If the city has a local team playing at home, each network gets only one game (with the exceptions explained below).

Next is the blackout rule which requires that normal seating (not including loge or box seating) be sold out 72 hours prior to kickoff to lift a blackout of any station broadcasting within 50 miles of the stadium. At their discretion, of course, the NFL has the right to lift a blackout anyway. If the blackout is lifted, either due to sellout or by gift from the home office, it is added as a third game being broadcast. That said, the other network is not allowed to show a game in the local area while the home team's game is being broadcast.

Since those rules were implemented, and prior to this year, there were 13 weekends where every game was broadcast in their local markets. In 2002 and 2005, it happened four times each year. This year, the NFL is 7 of 7. That's right, every game has been sold out every week. Remember, of course, that the Cardinals alone were responsible for eight weeks per year of avoiding that record, but there were also at least five other weeks each year that we weren't the cause.

Noting this anomoly, Tim Lemke of the Washington Post wrote an article giving particular focus to the Phoenix market. Finding himself at this blog, he very kindly asked a few questions about the team and the impact of local broadcasts. As you've already noted from the title, he quoted me a couple of times in the article which you can find here. Enjoy the read!