2nd place in the NFC West

[JasonKGME]

Jees, even after a 1-8 start, there is still a pretty good chance for us to take 2nd place in our division:

SF is currently 5-8
@ Seattle - Likely loss
Vs Arizona - If we beat them that gives us 2-0 record versus them in the division which means we hold all tie breakers.
@Denver - Toss up game, depends on how Cutler is doing, I am sure Denver will be out of the playoff hunt by this game, so going to give the win to SF.
SF Ends up 6-10

St. Louis currently 5-8
@Oakland - In Oakland, they are still a bad team giving this to the Rams
Vs Washington - It's at home giving them the win here.
@Minnesota - Very possible that Minnesota is still pushing for a playoff berth in this game, so going with a Loss here.
St. Louis ends up 7-9

Arizona currently 4-9
Vs. Denver - With our high going on, at home, new QB in Cutler, is a 3-game win streak in the cards?
@ SF - Beat em once, can beat em again.
@ SD - depends on where SD is in the standings, if they have allready locked up home field advantage then should be able to beat thier 2nd stringers, if not then loss.
AZ could end up 7-9, which places us above SF by record, and we hold the tie Breaker vs St. Louis because we split out games vs them, but our division record would be 4-2, vs St. Louis 2-4.

 

[Pariah]

If we finish 7-9, I can't complain. That's where I thought we'd be before the season started.

It'd be a shame if that WAS our final record, though, for the way we lost the games to CHI, KC and STL were heartbreaking.

 

[devilfan02]

Who cares, it's the worst division in the NFL and we are officially eliminated from the playoffs. Not sure why 2nd place in the NFC West is any consolation at this point

 

[JasonKGME]

Who cares, it's the worst division in the NFL and we are officially eliminated from the playoffs. Not sure why 2nd place in the NFC West is any consolation at this point

More attractive to free agents?

Which team would you rather go to a 5-11 team finishing last in thier division, or a 7-9 team who took 2nd in thier division and looked great during the 2nd half of the season?

 

[az1965]

Anything that helps save the face from this disasterous season matters. 2nd place will be awesome after a 1-8 start, but it is unlikely.

 

[Wild Card]

Which team would you rather go to a 5-11 team finishing last in thier division, or a 7-9 team who took 2nd in thier division and looked great during the 2nd half of the season?

Jason:

It's a minor point, but two of the intraconference games that the Cardinals play next year will be determined by this year's standings. (This season, those games were two losses, Atlanta 32-10 and Dallas 27-10.) Let's compare the current 2nd-place and 4th-place teams in the other NFC divisions:

2nd--Atlanta, Minnesota, NY Giants/Philadelphia
4th--Tampa Bay, Detroit, Washington

I know which teams I'd choose to play in the other three divisions. If you'd rather see the Bucs and Lions on next year's schedule than the Falcons and Eagles, last place in the NFC West doesn't look so bad.

6-10 could get it done. I'll go with the scenario you posted to open the thread, except I'll give the 49ers the win in SF, completing the Cards' split with the NFC West. Rams and Niners both finish at 7-9, leaving us the #4 spot. And an O.K. story to tell free agents, with a 5-3 second half. Best of all, six wins probably isn't enough to save Green's job.

Just lose, baby.

WC

 

[Pariah]

Yeah, let's keep losing for future considerations. That makes sense.

Win now and winning later will take care of itself.

 

[ajcardfan]

Jason:

It's a minor point, but two of the intraconference games that the Cardinals play next year will be determined by this year's standings. (This season, those games were two losses, Atlanta 32-10 and Dallas 27-10.) Let's compare the current 2nd-place and 4th-place teams in the other NFC divisions:

2nd--Atlanta, Minnesota, NY Giants/Philadelphia
4th--Tampa Bay, Detroit, Washington

I know which teams I'd choose to play in the other three divisions. If you'd rather see the Bucs and Lions on next year's schedule than the Falcons and Eagles, last place in the NFC West doesn't look so bad.

6-10 could get it done. I'll go with the scenario you posted to open the thread, except I'll give the 49ers the win in SF, completing the Cards' split with the NFC West. Rams and Niners both finish at 7-9, leaving us the #4 spot. And an O.K. story to tell free agents, with a 5-3 second half. Best of all, six wins probably isn't enough to save Green's job.

Just lose, baby.

WC

We play the NFC South next year as part of the normal schedule rotation.

So, our finish will determine who we play in the NFC East (on the road) and NFC north (at home).

If we're as good as we hope to be next year, we should be fine either way.

 

[Billy Flynt]

Considering how close we were to beating STL, KC, and CHI we all have reason to be angry over our record but consider these franchises:

CAR: (6-7) more than one expert had them in the SB. despite being rather healthy all year long they will need to win out and get some help to even sniff the playoffs

STL: (5-8) Obviously a team on the decline. Yes Bulger threw for more than 350 yards on the Bears but that was all in the 4th Q. 2 of 5 OL are total headcases! They may very well end up in the basement of the West.

HOU: (4-9) It may take years to recover from the debacle of not choosing Reggie Bush. Williams is a solid DE, maybe even an All-Pro someday but he's no Reggie Bush. They will be taking a long look at "franchise" QB Carr this offseason

WAS (4-9) Highest paid staff, a half dozen high priced FAs, no first round draft picks in the last ten years... okay the last one is exaggerated.... still, no team does less with more

CLE (4-9) Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou wins, Romeo... Once called the best coodinator to never get the HC call - he has struggled with poor front office performance - they actually may be a few moves away from turning the corner - with a good offseason they could contend next year

TB (3-10) There's more problems with this team than young QBs - an aging defense, aging receivers and poor OL - Gruden deserves better - if he gets the boot it would be hard not to boot Denny to get Chucky

OAK (2-11) No direction. When Randy Moss is your most committed player, it is time to start the bus (by the way how in the hell did we lose to these guys)

DET (2-11) If you or I was as horrible at our jobs as Matt Millen is at his... wow! At least their receiving corps has been bolstered by Josh McCown.

 

[seesred]

Free agents will want to come here for many reasons.

QB with a future
Rb over 10,000 yards
Pro bowl Wide outs
A line that is coming together with piece or two
A new stadium that was voted best playing field in the NFL
Weather
Weather
Weather

And believe it or not Green that will show a stability here. Promises kept.
Last but not least as other teams will have more money so will we . Cash wise we should be able to compete.

GBR
40

 

[Lloydian]

On the home game front, we'll be playing a team from the NFC North, so we're talking Minnesota instead of Detroit. On the road, we'll play a team from the NFC East , so we're talking New York or Philadelphia instead of Washington.

We're already guaranteed to have home games against Atlanta, Carolina, Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

Source: http://www.johnnyroadtrip.com/schedules/nfl_future_nfcw.htm

 

[RedStorm]

Who cares, it's the worst division in the NFL and we are officially eliminated from the playoffs. Not sure why 2nd place in the NFC West is any consolation at this point

Because it is better than last place. At this point, you must look for the positives.

Come the end of the season, a through, well thought out evaluation must take place and then decisions made.

But for now...2nd place sure beats the heck out of 3rd or 4th.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

2nd Place is the First Loser.

 

[AzCards21]

2nd Place is the First Loser.

But if that's the best we can do, I want it.

 

[RedStorm]

2nd Place is the First Loser.

Again, better than being the 2nd or 3rd loser.

I think we should at LEAST be happy that we are starting to see some progress. Is it enough. Absolutely not. Should we stop here. No. But, it is much better than last year.

In my expectations, we are about a year behind. We should have been challenging for the division. Maybe next year will be our year. At least we have progress in the right direction. And, just in case any of you have forgotten...I am one of the original darksiders. So, I am in no way blinded by any light nor do I drink the koolaide. (anyone here remember the Howdy Doody Puppet....aka Rod Graves....)

 

[jrjbritt]

this would be awesome.. I am happy seeing the improvement over the last 3-4 games and I think this team is really starting to gell.. If we could finish the season with 3 more wins.... I think I blow an anyersum from celerbating.. I have always believed that Coach Green should finish out his contract and now that we all want him fired its going to cost us either way.. fire him and pay him or bring him back and give an extention.. either way this team has done improved leaps and bounds since green has taken over and like AW siad " were still a young team learning"..

go CARDS and Coach GREEN