Are we overestimating the talent on this roster?

[ShadowGBQ]

Gentlemen,
Thank you for the kind and welcoming word. Didn't expect that at all, or even good spelling and grammar, given the recent atmosphere 'round these parts.

Joe,
Your first point is correct legalistically; no team is ever *100* percent healthy or *never* gets a bad call. But set your "ha gotcha" mojo aside for a moment. Do you really not understand what I mean? What would happen to the Colts if Payton Manning, his backup, Bob Sanders and his backup, both starting WR's and 4 or 5 other pro bowl candidates sustained serious injuries? Would they finish at or near .500? Perhaps worse? The Cardinals were decimated and played very good football to be in contention.

I have seen a lot of football games and I can objectively tell you that the officiating is biased against the Cardinals. If you want solid examples and want proof, take a week off your job sometime and we'll sit down in a room full of game films.

Also, the schedule was numerically favorable last year but that doesn't make it an easy schedule. The 49'ers hold a grudge on us left over from the Dennis Green days and played well beyond their normal effort in both games. Cardinals had to play the Steelers and Ravens early in the year, played a rejuvenated Cleveland team at the very worst possible time.

How do you know this year's schedule will be one of the hardest? It's an 8-8 schedule. You must be assuming that a bunch of teams on it will have greatly improved years. If that was so simple to predict, the NFL would give out schedules to 8-8 teams based on the Sporting News projections of who will finish in the middle of each division.

There will be a couple of bad teams nobody expected to be bad, and some really tough games that looked easy on the schedule. Just the way it goes. Schedules are impossible to know about until the year gets going.

Last year I found out our second string couldn't make the playoffs. Now I would like to find out if our starters can beat some teams. If it turns out they can, I'll be right in here using lots of exclaimation points and words like "pathetic" along with everyone else.

 

[HookemCards]

Gentlemen,
Thank you for the kind and welcoming word. Didn't expect that at all, or even good spelling and grammar, given the recent atmosphere 'round these parts.

Joe,
Your first point is correct legalistically; no team is ever *100* percent healthy or *never* gets a bad call. But set your "ha gotcha" mojo aside for a moment. Do you really not understand what I mean? What would happen to the Colts if Payton Manning, his backup, Bob Sanders and his backup, both starting WR's and 4 or 5 other pro bowl candidates sustained serious injuries? Would they finish at or near .500? Perhaps worse? The Cardinals were decimated and played very good football to be in contention.

I have seen a lot of football games and I can objectively tell you that the officiating is biased against the Cardinals. If you want solid examples and want proof, take a week off your job sometime and we'll sit down in a room full of game films.

Also, the schedule was numerically favorable last year but that doesn't make it an easy schedule. The 49'ers hold a grudge on us left over from the Dennis Green days and played well beyond their normal effort in both games. Cardinals had to play the Steelers and Ravens early in the year, played a rejuvenated Cleveland team at the very worst possible time.

How do you know this year's schedule will be one of the hardest? It's an 8-8 schedule. You must be assuming that a bunch of teams on it will have greatly improved years. If that was so simple to predict, the NFL would give out schedules to 8-8 teams based on the Sporting News projections of who will finish in the middle of each division.

There will be a couple of bad teams nobody expected to be bad, and some really tough games that looked easy on the schedule. Just the way it goes. Schedules are impossible to know about until the year gets going.

Last year I found out our second string couldn't make the playoffs. Now I would like to find out if our starters can beat some teams. If it turns out they can, I'll be right in here using lots of exclaimation points and words like "pathetic" along with everyone else.

Only two games next year will be a result of an "8-8" record. We will play all 4 teams from the AFC East, all 4 teams from the NFC East, and then two "8-8" teams Minnesota and Carolina.

 

[Duckjake]

Then you will be waiting a very long time to be able to properly judge this team let alone any team in the league.

Interesting item of note. We actually won more games without Boldin and Wilson then we did with them last year. Also our Schedule turned out to be the 3rd easiest schedule in the league last year. Will be one of the hardest this coming season. We have to be healthy just to get back to 8-8 with that schedule. Have to get better or maybe I should say smarter as a team to go past that .500 mark next year regardless of injuries.

I'm encouraged by the fact that the Cards beat Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Seattle at home last year. At least they've shown that they can beat winning teams at the PUP. A real step forward from previous seasons. Now they need to move on to beating the better teams on the road.

 

[40yearfan]

Only two games next year will be a result of an "8-8" record. We will play all 4 teams from the AFC East, all 4 teams from the NFC East, and then two "8-8" teams Minnesota and Carolina.

The AFC East had one team with a winning record (Patriots) and the NFC East has the Giants and Cowboys. Other than those 3 teams, I don't see a problem. We beat the Steelers and the Browns last year and we always play the Cowboys tough.

 

[joeshmo]

I have seen a lot of football games and I can objectively tell you that the officiating is biased against the Cardinals. If you want solid examples and want proof, take a week off your job sometime and we'll sit down in a room full of game films.

If it turns out they can, I'll be right in here using lots of exclaimation points and words like "pathetic" along with everyone else.

Considering you sit down and go over every officiating call one by one I highly doubt that the second part will be true because you will once again find calls to nit pick about in the Cards favor, every team can. Not to mention calls do go our ways and we even won one game on a call in our favor this year. Every fan in the league can use the officiating excuse if they sit down and study each call throughout a season considering this is a human officiated sport and there will be more then one error against each team in every game. Also being slightly bad in penalties over the season can maybe mean the officials are a little biased but being the worst penalized team this year and having the worst penalized season in over 10 years isnt a bias against the Cards it would have to be a conspiracy, but it wasnt we just didnt play smart football. Were officials also biased against the Packers and the Giants, they had just as many penalties as we did tied for 1st place in the league?

Also, the schedule was numerically favorable last year but that doesn't make it an easy schedule. The 49'ers hold a grudge on us left over from the Dennis Green days and played well beyond their normal effort in both games.

You must be in politics if you can spin us lossing to the 49ers twice, a team that stinks. Playing above their abilities says nothing, we lost to a bad team twice any way you want to slice it. They didnt play above their normal efforts we let them play above their normal efforts. Using the same logic we played above our abilities to beat Pitt considering our coaches hated them and the team was promised some days off if they win. Was that any less of a win?

How do you know this year's schedule will be one of the hardest? It's an 8-8 schedule. You must be assuming that a bunch of teams on it will have greatly improved years. If that was so simple to predict, the NFL would give out schedules to 8-8 teams based on the Sporting News projections of who will finish in the middle of each division.

Considering we play the NFC East and the AFC east next year it will without a doubt be a much harder schedule, our road games are absolutly killer and we ahve to travel cross country to each one. We do not travel cross country well at all. And then we get to have the Cowboys and Giants at home to help matters. It doesnt take any predicitions to tell that will be a much harder schedule.

 

[joeshmo]

The AFC East had one team with a winning record (Patriots) and the NFC East has the Giants and Cowboys. Other than those 3 teams, I don't see a problem. We beat the Steelers and the Browns last year and we always play the Cowboys tough.

NFC east the best division in the NFC with all of them going 8-8 or better. That is a problem for any team to have to have on their schedule.

 

[40yearfan]

NFC east the best division in the NFC with all of them going 8-8 or better. That is a problem for any team to have to have on their schedule.

We lost to the Redskins by 2 points and the Eagles aren't exactly an elite team anymore. If we play up to our potential, they should certainly be easier than the Steelers, Seahawks and Browns were last year.

 

[joeshmo]

We lost to the Redskins by 2 points and the Eagles aren't exactly an elite team anymore. If we play up to our potential, they should certainly be easier than the Steelers, Seahawks and Browns were last year.

If we play up to our potential we can be 16-0. But thats a lot of ifs and if the other teams dont play to their potential.

Also think you arent giving enough credit to the Eagles. There defense is always going to be elite with their players and one of the best coordinators in the league.

 

[40yearfan]

If we play up to our potential we can be 16-0. But thats a lot of ifs and if the other teams dont play to their potential.

Also think you arent giving enough credit to the Eagles. There defense is always going to be elite with their players and one of the best coordinators in the league.

Maybe, but they don't have Fitz.

 

[SuperSpck]

I think that it took overtime to beat the Falcons and it took two games to get swept by the 49ers.

I think the Rams can sweep the team next year.

I think the Cardinals can win a playoff game next year.

The level between teams is so incredibly razor thin that 1-15 teams turn around and go to the playoffs and teams that haven't lost a regular season game can lose in a Superbowl.

I think I'm done looking at schedules and trying to decide how strong or weak they may be and just concern myself with the game THAT week.

 

[DaisyCutter]

I think that it took overtime to beat the Falcons and it took two games to get swept by the 49ers.

I think the Rams can sweep the team next year.

I think the Cardinals can win a playoff game next year.

The level between teams is so incredibly razor thin that 1-15 teams turn around and go to the playoffs and teams that haven't lost a regular season game can lose in a Superbowl.

I think I'm done looking at schedules and trying to decide how strong or weak they may be and just concern myself with the game THAT week.

I'd agree with this, if the Seahawks didn't seem to make the playoffs every season, and the Pats and Colts make the playoffs for four or five years in a row. Or the Redskins have made the playoffs two out of the last three years.

It's not random chance. These teams have to be doing something that this organization isn't doing. I think the Cards are in a better position to win this year than they have been since I became a fan of the team (better than in 1997, when they had the easiest schedule in the history of the NFL and still needed a string of miracles to get the Wild Card), but it's hard to say that they're positioned for continuing success like other teams with better organizations have been.

 

[SuperSpck]

It's not random chance. These teams have to be doing something that this organization isn't doing. I think the Cards are in a better position to win this year than they have been since I became a fan of the team (better than in 1997, when they had the easiest schedule in the history of the NFL and still needed a string of miracles to get the Wild Card), but it's hard to say that they're positioned for continuing success like other teams with better organizations have been.

Never said random. I said thin. I used razor as a modifier to give you the idea of how thin I think thin is.

None of my examples are flights of fancy. Other organizations do it better but the opportunity to do has to do with roster, coaching, and a little luck (and of course luck is where preparation and opportunity meet).

 

[Stout]

Did you get that from a Jeopardy answer? I watched that episode too.

Yep.