'New' Cards won't change losing ways
John Gambadoro
Special for azcentral.com
Mar. 31, 2003
I hate having to burst your bubble, Cardinals fans. No, seriously, I don't like having to do this. Especially when everyone is feeling all warm and tingly inside. And trust me, I want to believe in this organization, but after seven years here I find it impossible to trust its judgment. So I believe I have an obligation to kind of curb your enthusiasm with a little reality check. So here goes. The Cardinals still stink.
Now I believe that many of you are smart enough to realize that and are not buying into the recent hype. But for the rest of you who now think the Cardinals have turned the corner, let's be completely honest with each other. What have they really done? They have added a below-average quarterback, an aging former superstar running back on the decline, and a safety whom nobody ever heard of before the Super Bowl. They also have brought in some backup/depth guys at linebacker and on the offensive line along with a pretty good fullback. But they are little if any better right now then they were last season. They still have not addressed their major two priorities, getting someone who can rush the passer and someone who can be a big-play receiver.
And let's make one thing clear while we are being completely honest. Not one of the seven players who signed with the Cardinals came here to win. Not one. Why? Because there is not one player in the NFL who would ever come here to win. Not one. They have come here for a payday and/or for a chance to play. But certainly not to win.
And that includes Emmitt Smith. Now I'm not against the Cardinals signing Smith and in fact realize that some positives may come out of it. Maybe he can change the perception of the organization and that would be a good thing. But I still believe the only thing that can completely change the way the Cardinals are perceived is by winning. I'm not sure Smith is here to win. He's here because this was the only place that was going to give him a starting job and because somehow the Cardinals forked over a ridiculous $7 million to $8 million over two years to a player who is soon to be 34 years old, past his prime and whose numbers have gone down for two straight seasons. I would imagine that everyone in the NFL is laughing at the red birds having signed Smith for that much money.
Sure, having Smith will sell tickets. It didn't take long for the Cardinals to try and capitalize on his signing. They took out a half-page ad in Sunday's Arizona Republic with a photo of Smith holding his No. 22 Cardinals jersey and an accompanying slogan: "Arizona Cardinals Season Tickets - Order Yours Today." (That wasn't a bad move because there are enough Cowboy fans in the Valley who will love to watch Smith play even if he doesn't have much left.)
And let's touch on that for a second. How much does Smith have left? He averaged a career-low 3.8 yards per carry last season and his 975 total rushing yards were his lowest total since his rookie season of 1990. He was a salary cap casualty in Dallas, where the Cowboys, who finished with the exact same 5-11 record as Arizona, are looking toward the future. And they don't see a 13-year veteran on the decline as part of their future. So why would Arizona? The Cardinals have an exciting third-year back in Marcel Shipp, who gained 834 yards in just 188 carries, which is 66 fewer than Smith had last season. Shipp also averaged a very solid 4.4 yards per carry and appeared on the verge of becoming a top back. The Cardinals have said they will continue to use Shipp but how much can he develop when Smith is the one getting the majority of the carries? And while Smith is the all-time leading rusher and future Hall of Famer and Shipp is right now a relative unknown, the question can be asked as to who is better right now.
But when you average just 37,354 fans per game and have had just 16 sellouts since coming to Arizona in 1988, you don't need to look much further as to why the Bidwills so desperately wanted Smith in the fold.
And with no other options Smith had no choice but to sign with Arizona. He has his three Super Bowl championships, and winning - although it would be nice - is not a main priority for Smith in the desert. He is here to get his carries and make more money. If Smith had been in his prime or if there were similar options out there for him there is no way in the world he would have come to Arizona, and he knows it.
Could this move backfire on Smith? There have been comparisons of Smith ending his career in Arizona to Tony Dorsett ending in Denver, Franco Harris ending in Seattle, O.J. Simpson ending in San Francisco and Thurman Thomas ending in Miami. I think a better comparison is not with a running back but with another fellow named Smith - Bruce Smith. The future Hall of Fame defensive end was beginning the tail end of his career when he left Buffalo to sign with the Washington Redskins in 2000. Smith has had three average seasons with the Redskins, with a combined 19 sacks in those three years, but has not made the impact expected when they signed him. He's a good guy to have around the locker room, but when Daniel Snyder signed him along with Mark Carrier and Deion Sanders and a whole slew of free agents in 2000 and 2001, he was expecting to make the playoffs and challenge for a Super Bowl. Bruce Smith is not the dominant player he once was, as is Emmitt Smith. I think the impacts will be similar. The only difference is that Washington is better than Arizona.
When a team struggles it is usually the prominent player who gets the blame (see Jake Plummer) over the ownership/management. So if the Cardinals get off to a bad start and Smith struggles, he very well could have the finger pointed at him. That is what happens to losing organizations.
Let's look at the other two supposed significant signings.
Jeff Blake in my opinion is a better quarterback then Plummer, but why is it that the former Cardinals signal caller was much more sought out in free agency? Around the NFL, Plummer is viewed as the better quarterback. I thought Plummer was a bad quarterback. Blake is OK. He's not great, not really even good. He's adequate. He probably won't make as many mistakes as Plummer did, which is a good thing. But again, he signed with Arizona because there was nowhere else for him to go. Baltimore didn't want him back at his price and Chicago wanted Kordell Stewart over him (as did Arizona but they got tired of waiting). So it basically was sign with the Cardinals or hope down the road that someone brings you in as a backup. So he signed here. Blake said all the right things when he signed but in reality he is viewed as a stop-gap quarterback. He's here until the Cardinals can find a young star for the position.
Dexter Jackson was originally going to Pittsburgh but a few more dollars up front convinced him to come to Arizona. He has had a combined seven interceptions in the last two years for Tampa Bay, and the word is the Bucs were not that upset to see him go. As bad as Kwamie Lassiter played following his breakout season of 2002 (when he had nine interceptions) his tackle total of 88 was 17 more than Jackson had last year. Jackson may very well have been a product of the great defensive system in Tampa Bay.
It is normal for fans at this time of year to get excited about their team. It is the nature of the fan to want to believe that his/her team has upgraded. It's called hope. And every year the Cardinals do something that makes the fans believe they are headed in the right direction. Last year the fans got excited when the team signed Duane Starks and Freddie Jones and then drafted defensive end Wendell Bryant. The year before it was adding veteran guard Pete Kendall and drafting Leonard Davis. The year before that it was drafting supposed franchise back Thomas Jones and signing Center Mike Gruttadauria. I see seven new players this year, none an impact player. So while many fans are getting excited and believing that the Cardinals have turned the corner. I've decided that I've seen this act before. So I'll believe it when I see it.