Cardinals 2008 Offensive Forecast (not a spam message - from a fan)
Mac
The 2008-09 Arizona Cardinals season is upon us, I am once again
hopeful that I will not be the only person posting in this newsgroup;
outside of the spammer trolls of course - but all signs point to the
fact that we just don't have enough diehard fans to keep this group
filled with decent content through the season. However, a winning
season will bring a lot of bandwagon fans to the stable which I
welcome. For the first time in my memory we enter a football season
with the realistic prospect of being no less than a 9-7 football team,
never before have the Arizona Cardinals entered a season expect to be
a playoff contender and that includes our last playoff appearance in
the 1997 season. In years past average to below average coaches such
as Dave McGinnis, Denny Green, Buddy Ryan, Vince Tobin (the last coach
to bring us to the playoffs), and Joe Bugel have led us to believe
that our teams were better than they were unfortunately the truth was
that our teams were never that talented and to make matters worse the
aforementioned coaches were incompetent and unable to build a playoff
team. With Whisenhunt, Grimm, Haley, and Pendergast (ugh never thought
I'd mention his name) I think this is the best coaching staff that has
ever stepped foot in the Cardinals franchise and I don't think it's
close.
We go into the '08-'09 system with the best wide receiving core in
football and very very few people challenge that. Larry Fitzgerald and
Anquan Boldin are the best of the best and if they are healthy expect
nothing less than each of them having 100 receptions and close to two
double digits in touchdown receptions. We lost Bryant Johnson but the
realistic truth is that Johnson never lived up to his potential and
made some very costly errors in some big games during the Whisenhunt
and Denny Green era's. Johnson will most likely be replaced by Steve
Breaston and Early Doucet both of which are talented receivers who
will have no problem replicating the statistics that Johnson posted in
the 2008 season.
Our Quarterback situation is exactly what is was last season, Warner's
the starter and Leinart is the backup, well to a certain extent
because last season Leinart wound up getting injured. Going into this
season I think most of Cardinal Nation was hoping Leinart would
finally come into his own and win the starting job, that unfortunately
didn't happen as he struggled all preseason and in the end my personal
thought is that this offense is just too difficult for someone like
Leinart who would be a much better fit in the Denny Green styled west
coast offense. Leinart has been disappointing, and I am no huge fan of
Kurt Warner but lets remember he was one of the best QB's in the NFL
in the last five or six weeks of last season so I am not worried at
the position and also worth noting is the fact that Kurt Warner is
healthy this season. The Cardinals have way too many weapons for the
QB position to be of major concern after all the Cardinals won games
with Tim Rattay taking a certain amount of snaps last season and
speaking of, no knocking Brian St. Pierre but with the way Rattay
performed last season why is he a free agent and not our third string
QB?
Running Back: Edge is a year older but he hasn't shown many signs of
his age. He will once again rush for 1,000 yards and officially become
the best Cardinals running back in the Arizona era with three
consecutive thousand yard seasons. What is of more interest is the
preseasons of JJ Arrington and rookie Tim Hightower - these guys have
looked incredibly good this preseason and give a couple interesting
options coming out of our backfield. Last season Whisenhunt limited
the carries that Edge got, this season I expect the Cardnals to work
Edge very hard on first and second downs and I see Edge having a
1300-1400 yard rushing season, I don't think that is an unacceptable
projection because he has 1222 last season with fewer carries than I
expect him to this season.
Ben Patrick who we stole late in the draft last year is going to open
eyes at tight end this season and I expect Leonard Pope to have a good
season as well. Patrick can't block but the guy can catch and he
amazed me with his talent in limited time both last season and this
preseason. He is currently banged up but I expect him to be ready for
opening weekend and I expect him to win the TE position as the season
goes on. I am not taking anything away from Leonard Pope, but similar
to Bryant Johnson he hasn't reached his potential since being drafted
and has been a bit of a disappointment. Jerame Truman is a good
blocking tight end who will see time in those positions.
The Offensive Line. Last season offensive line coach Russ Grimm
showed two things: A. Why he is the best offensive line coach in the
NFL. B. Why the Steelers may have missed out on a great future head
coach. Grimm came in last season and took what was perceived as a
talentless offensive line and made them do a pretty nice job. By the
end of last season we have an offensive line we could be confident in.
This season a healthy and motivated Elton Brown is returning who
appears to be finally reaching the potential we knew he had when Denny
Green drafted him. Deuce Lutui is in his third season, he had a rough
season last year but all reports are that Grimm is pushing him and
motivating him. If our offensive line can simply be as good as it was
last season, we are a playoff team. You give me a healthy Boldin,
Fitzgerald, Warner, James, and the offensive line performing the way
it did last season and we are a playoff team.
There is my offensive breakdown.. I am going to do defense tonight or
tomorrow. . I am sure the trolls want to hear my season Cardinals win/
loss prediction... That is 10-6.
become...@hotmail.com
Good Analysis. (You made a tiny mistake. It was the 1998 season the
Cards made the playoffs and beat the Cowboys before getting killed by
the unstoppable offensive Vikings Machine of 1998.) Jake the Snake...
what a dissapointment...
The most interesting position this year as of last year was the QB
position. I have no confidence in Leinhart, I think he hasn't proven a
thing yet. He hasn't been impressive since the Bears beat the Cards on
Monday night (a game which Leinhart should of sealed). Now, Kurt
Warner hasn't been the same since the 2001 season Superbowl (The Pats
probably did cheat somehow to win it... but that's besides the
point). However, he played extremely well last year, he would have
brought the team to the playoffs had he started the Panthers game and
of course the biggest loss last year was the 49ers OT loss. That was
the back-breaker. Warner's due or die year is NOW, he thinks he still
has what it takes to make it to the Superbowl and become the star he
was when he played with the Rams.
I always liked the Cards, how could anyone not feel sorry for them.
They should get more fans out of pity than any other reason. A
franshise that can be so consistently bad for over 50 years is quite a
feat! The 2008 season will mark 10 years since their last playoff
appearance. Let's just hope that they rise to their talent and take
advantage of an apparent weak division and make the playoffs with 10
or 11 wins...
Look for the Cards playing the Patsies this year, I think that will be
an upset, alot like the Cards beating the Steelers last year except
the 2008 Pats will be worse than the 2007 Steelers.
Mac
Thanks for the heads up, I must have been been thinking about the
previous running back to rush for 1,000 yards in a Cardinals uniform
prior to Edge James which without looking, correct me if I am wrong,
would have been Adrian Murrell in 1997. I don't see Jake Plummer as
being overly disappointing, now that his career is all said and done I
wonder why he left football when he had a chance to continue to start
for playoff contending teams. Plummer was never on a talented football
in Arizona and the fact that he led the Cardinals to the playoffs in
1998 is one of the few memorable moments since this team moved to
Arizona.
> The most interesting position this year as of last year was the QB
> position. I have no confidence in Leinhart, I think he hasn't proven a
> thing yet. He hasn't been impressive since the Bears beat the Cards on
> Monday night (a game which Leinhart should of sealed). Now, Kurt
> Warner hasn't been the same since the 2001 season Superbowl (The Pats
> probably did cheat somehow to win it... but that's besides the
> point). However, he played extremely well last year, he would have
> brought the team to the playoffs had he started the Panthers game and
> of course the biggest loss last year was the 49ers OT loss. That was
> the back-breaker. Warner's due or die year is NOW, he thinks he still
> has what it takes to make it to the Superbowl and become the star he
> was when he played with the Rams.
After Matt Leinarts rookie season I was very excited for his future,
and in his rookie season I think he played better than both Jay Cutler
and Vince Young. However, that was in a different offense and it was
an injury or two ago. As I mentioned previously, I think Matt Leinart
would be the perfect Quarterback for a West Coast offense where you
are looking at a lot of short and mid-ranged passes and the once and a
while surprise you with the deep shot down the field, that was the
offense that Leinart appeared to be excelling in under Denny Green
with the help of then offensive coordinator and previous QB coach Mike
Kruzek -- who I liked a lot. Whisenhunt and Haley's offense is a
different beast and you need a strong arm and accurate precision to go
over the middle - I haven't seen this ability in Matt Leinart but it
is perfect for Kurt Warner who has shown throughout his career that he
has no problem doing it as long as you can buy him some time.
Getting back to Leinart, he hasn't shown me anything since Whisenhunt
has taken over, and to be honest with you, I think this could be the
end of Matt Leinart unless something drastically changes.. Lets be
honest, Kurt Warner is going to go down for a game or two; minimum if
lucky - and Leinart is going to get his chance, however based on what
I have seen from Leinart since Denny Green has been fired it's hard
for me to imagine Leinart being successful when replacing Warner and
that will lead to the drafting / signing of a new QB in the offseason
(I can't imagine them bringing Warner back for 2009). I've got my Matt
Leinart jersey sitting in the closet right next to my Jim McMahon and
Emmitt Smith Jerseys, and I was the happiest man in the land when we
drafted him, but I am not going to be confident when Warner goes down
and Leinart takes the field to lead this team... Having said all that,
I have watched Warner closely since he joined this team, I know he is
very capable of having one of those 3 INT - 2 fumble days which will
have me pulling my hair our and calling for Leinart to get in the game
haha.
> I always liked the Cards, how could anyone not feel sorry for them.
> They should get more fans out of pity than any other reason. A
> franshise that can be so consistently bad for over 50 years is quite a
> feat! The 2008 season will mark 10 years since their last playoff
> appearance. Let's just hope that they rise to their talent and take
> advantage of an apparent weak division and make the playoffs with 10
> or 11 wins...
>
> Look for the Cards playing the Patsies this year, I think that will be
> an upset, alot like the Cards beating the Steelers last year except
> the 2008 Pats will be worse than the 2007 Steelers.
The Bidwell's are the biggest problem with the Cardinals, for many
years they were cheaper than cheap and they brought on the shitty team
that the Cardinals have been. It appears they are turning slightly
knowing they need to put together a decent team to fill that nice new
stadium of theirs. I think every season I post on here saying we are
close to a playoff team and for the most part I think in the last 3-4
seasons we have been. Denny Green's tenure here was as bad as it gets,
he was his own worse enemy -- he went through offensive coordinators
like he does sausages and while that was happening he was having
musical chair competitions with the offensive line going as fair as
starting OL's in positions that they weren't used to playing in. He
had three seasons here and he couldn't build an offensive line. For
the first time in a long time I look up and down this team and I don't
see a hole and for the first time in many many years I see a competent
coaching staff who I trust.
I will be at that Patriots game wearing a Cardinals jersey in what
will probably be snowy weather and I also expect the Cardinals to
upset.. I agree the Pats will be bad this season the question is how
bad? Their defense hasn't been improved, in fact their secondary is so
bad that I see them letting up a lot of TD's in the air. Their rushing
game isn't great. Tom Brady is banged up. Randy Moss has the potential
of disappearing off the face of the planet at anytime. The biggest
thing the Patriots have going against them is this; last season the
AFC East was one of the worst divisions I have ever seen in my life -
think of this for a second... JP Losman was starting QB for the Bills,
Kellen Clemens was the starting QB of the Jets, and the Dolphins had a
rotation of bad QB's like John Beck - that's a listing of starting
QB's who people wont even remember four years from now. All three of
those teams have replaced those guys with talented, capable, and
proven (outside of edwards although edwards is proven to be better
than losman) QB's. I truly believe the AFC East is the most improved
division in football and expect the Pats to be around a 10-6 football
team.