Blake, Gramatica... the list will grow

[Scott MS]

It has begun, the McGinnis loyalty era has ended. This is only the beginning and there will be a lot of new faces in Cardinal red next year. Green is parting the 'Red Sea' and doesn't care what anyone thinks of it.

It's nice to know that fat guy was right. He wasn't the greatest coach, but he stocked the team with talent. Yeah, Troy Hambrick never worked out, but we had some good ones.

 

[azsouthendzone]

It's nice to know that fat guy was right. He wasn't the greatest coach, but he stocked the team with talent. Yeah, Troy Hambrick never worked out, but we had some good ones.

Hambrick wasn't any worse than what we have now.

 

[Cardinals.Ken]

Hambrick wasn't any worse than what we have now.

True...but he was no Travis Prentice!

 

[NJCardFan]

It's nice to know that fat guy was right. He wasn't the greatest coach, but he stocked the team with talent. Yeah, Troy Hambrick never worked out, but we had some good ones.

And it's no coincidence that once Whiz purged the team of what Green brought in, we're where we are now. Green's 2004 draft is one of the best this team has ever had. Fitz, Dansby, Dockett, and Smith contributed greatly to this team. 3 of those players are now gone and Fitz could very well be as well. But the 2008 team that went to the Super Bowl was stocked with players Green brought in including Warner, Edge, Arrington, not to mention he's the only coach to get any kind of production out of the Matt Leeneert. I also want to laugh at this comment from 6 years ago:

If a second-round pick is going to sit 4th on your depth chart and will be battling a one-time Undrafted Free Agent (Wakefield) for a roster spot come training camp, he's a bust.

Over 19 starts in three years(!), KVB has 48 tackles, 4 sacks, and 1 pass defensed. He got a better contract as a rookie than Anquan. He's not a solid stater (a solid starter will do something special once in a while). He was getting manhandled in camp by a 6th round rookie out of Clarion.

So, he can't get to the quarterback, he doesn't make tackles, he can't stay on the field, and he now has two creaky knees (and no, reconstructed knees do not come back stronger; just ask Terrell Davis about that). This guy is a loser. You know what people that "produce big during preseason" are called? 6th round picks. Valuable players don't generally play enough during the preseason on "produce big."

To KVB:

I feel bad for Martin. I think that Graves wanted his "find" (Rackers) to have a job without competition. Hopefully, we won't have to win many games on a last-second FG in the future, because I'm not sure you can depend on ol' Neil to do that. Also, it was probably a good idea to have a fluent Spanish speaker on your roster for P.R. purposes until you have to let him go. Oh, well. Another high Mac draft pick down the tubes.

Holy crap this is funny. Touting Bill Gramatica like we cut a pro bowl kicker. Rackers wasn't perfect but he could kick circles around Billy G who was so bad he couldn't make it in the Arena league. And, of course, in 2005 Rackers had the greatest season a kicker could ever have. As for KVB, I guess he wasn't a loser after all being a 3 time pro bowler with Tennessee. But it's funny how backward you got this.

 

[Mulli]

K9 was right about KVB. He did nothing for the Cards. He was also right about Rackers and not depending on him to win games with last second kicks.

See Chiefs and Bears games in 2006.

 

[NJCardFan]

K9 was right about KVB. He did nothing for the Cards. He was also right about Rackers and not depending on him to win games with last second kicks.

See Chiefs and Bears games in 2006.

Was he right about Rackers in 2005 when he kicked 40 field goals? And was Gramatica's record better? Oh wait, he was out of football after he was cut. I'm not saying Rackers was the most clutch kicker in the game but he was Morton Anderson compared to Billy G. And it's comical you're hanging the Chiefs and Bears losses on him. Like he was the one that blew those leads. As for KVB, OK, he did nothing for this team but it's obvious he wasn't given a chance. He just became a pro bowler somewhere else. This team has a history of impatience with players only to see them leave and be productive somewhere else. Christ, the Thomas Jones we had became an entirely different player when he left here and he's still better than anything we have now even at this stage in his career. How sad is that?

I would also like to chuckle at the original post about Jeff Blake. Like that was a big loss.

 

[Mulli]

4 sacks in 19 starts? That sounds like a chance to me. I am thinking the Cards brought in Bertrand Berry shortly after this, so KVB was not that big of loss really.

K9's point about Whackers was about last second FG's. But that discussion has been played out on here enough.

I don't think k9 was really praising Billy G as you describe it.


In both of those games Whackers missed last second FG's, correct? That is all I said. You added the point about hanging the games on him. Where you got that I do not know.

 

[D-Dogg]

And it's comical you're hanging the Chiefs and Bears losses on him. Like he was the one that blew those leads.

SQUARELY on him. Both times the Matt Leenart drove the team for game winning FGs (and not long tough ones) and both times Rackers choked with the game on the line. One of the worst losses in Cardinal memory, that Bears game. Rackers missed it right in front of me.

I also think that was the beginning of the end for the Leenart...culminating in the next season when he got his shoulder driven through the ground. His confidence was gone after failing to win games that he won in the past at the foot of his kicker, and then he got scared of being hurt.

 

[earthsci]

SQUARELY on him. Both times the Matt Leenart drove the team for game winning FGs (and not long tough ones) and both times Rackers choked with the game on the line. One of the worst losses in Cardinal memory, that Bears game. Rackers missed it right in front of me.

I also think that was the beginning of the end for the Leenart...culminating in the next season when he got his shoulder driven through the ground. His confidence was gone after failing to win games that he won in the past at the foot of his kicker, and then he got scared of being hurt.

At least the Leenart has a good kicker where he's at now.

 

[D-Dogg]

At least the Leenart has a good kicker where he's at now.

LOL.

I bet he seethes at him when he's on the sidelines.

 

[NJCardFan]

SQUARELY on him. Both times the Matt Leenart drove the team for game winning FGs (and not long tough ones) and both times Rackers choked with the game on the line. One of the worst losses in Cardinal memory, that Bears game. Rackers missed it right in front of me.

I also think that was the beginning of the end for the Leenart...culminating in the next season when he got his shoulder driven through the ground. His confidence was gone after failing to win games that he won in the past at the foot of his kicker, and then he got scared of being hurt.

Gotcha. Rackers gave up a 20-10 lead against KC as well as 2 fumbles for a TD and a punt return for a TD in the Bears game. Thanks for clearing that up for me. Didn't realize he did all that to have both of those games put squarely on his shoulders.

 

[Mulli]

Gotcha. Rackers gave up a 20-10 lead against KC as well as 2 fumbles for a TD and a punt return for a TD in the Bears game. Thanks for clearing that up for me. Didn't realize he did all that to have both of those games put squarely on his shoulders.

We understand completely if you blocked out Racker's missed kicks in those games.

 

[D-Dogg]

Gotcha. Rackers gave up a 20-10 lead against KC as well as 2 fumbles for a TD and a punt return for a TD in the Bears game. Thanks for clearing that up for me. Didn't realize he did all that to have both of those games put squarely on his shoulders.

Absolutely. DESPITE the mistakes, the team put the guy in position to do his effing job.

The team made mistakes, was able to overcome it and put themselves in position to win, leaning on their kicker who set records and blather.

He choked. Twice. In a row. At least against KC it was a 51 yarder, so that's a tougher kick. 41 yards against the bears on MNF though...that's on him.

The difference? All those plays you mention were the result of better play by someone else. Hester kicked our ass. Matt was sacked and stripped for TD. Edge was stripped for TD. LJ ran for a billion yards until Rolle almost yanked his head off. That's somebody besting you, and that happens.

Rackers kick wasn't blocked. The holds were fine. Nobody tackled him. It was him, the ball, and the goalposts...that's his job. He failed. HUGE difference in not bringing down Devin Hester and missing a 41 yard FG. Hester beat you in the first case. You beat yourself in the second case.

 

[Mulli]

I will never admit that Edge's forward progress wasn't stopped.

 

[Shane]

I will never admit that Edge's forward progress wasn't stopped.

Did the whistle blow?

 

[Mulli]

Did the whistle blow?

 

[Shane]

I couldn't tell being in section 424 upper level ROW FREAKING 25 or something like that.. lol

 

[Mulli]

I couldn't tell being in section 424 upper level ROW FREAKING 25 or something like that.. lol

Watching on TV, it looked like the whistle was late.

 

[D-Dogg]

I will never admit that Edge's forward progress wasn't stopped.

AGREED! They let that go waiting for the ball to come out. It was so terrible.

Did the whistle blow?

No, it didn't. It should have. He was piled up on, Urlacher just ripping at the ball without mercy...Edge at standstill. No whistle.

Watching on TV, it looked like the whistle was late.

It was. Whistled dead after the TD was scored. Very late.

 

[NJCardFan]

Absolutely. DESPITE the mistakes, the team put the guy in position to do his effing job.

The team made mistakes, was able to overcome it and put themselves in position to win, leaning on their kicker who set records and blather.

He choked. Twice. In a row. At least against KC it was a 51 yarder, so that's a tougher kick. 41 yards against the bears on MNF though...that's on him.

The difference? All those plays you mention were the result of better play by someone else. Hester kicked our ass. Matt was sacked and stripped for TD. Edge was stripped for TD. LJ ran for a billion yards until Rolle almost yanked his head off. That's somebody besting you, and that happens.

Rackers kick wasn't blocked. The holds were fine. Nobody tackled him. It was him, the ball, and the goalposts...that's his job. He failed. HUGE difference in not bringing down Devin Hester and missing a 41 yard FG. Hester beat you in the first case. You beat yourself in the second case.

And Not-So-Automatica would have made those kicks? Did Rackers contribute to those losses? Yes but don't sit there and tell me that those losses are completely his fault.

 

[Duckjake]

And Not-So-Automatica would have made those kicks? Did Rackers contribute to those losses? Yes but don't sit there and tell me that those losses are completely his fault.

Chris Jacke would have made them.

 

[Duckjake]

AGREED! They let that go waiting for the ball to come out. It was so terrible.

This is something that has become much more prevalent, or at least more noticeable, in recent NFL games. Late whistles. It just seems like forward progress being stopped was called more quickly in the past. Now guys are in a scrum that is not moving long enough for the offensive linemen to come and crash into it pushing it forward.

An announcer in a game last weekend even commented on how the defense was doing a good job of holding the runner up so they could try and strip the ball. If the runner is being held up then his forward progress is stopped, right?

As a side thought: I've seen several instances of offensive linemen pulling runners forward. I always thought that was not allowed by the rules. Was that changed?

 

[D-Dogg]

And Not-So-Automatica would have made those kicks? Did Rackers contribute to those losses? Yes but don't sit there and tell me that those losses are completely his fault.

I don't care if someone else would or wouldn't have made them. Rackers was the guy there, and he failed miserably. Quite defeating, especially after the season he had the year before as our *sigh* leading scorer.

He's surely not 100% to blame, nobody is. It's a team game and every play makes a difference. But he takes the lion's share of the blame, IMO, because his job is solely to kick FGs, he made several others in the games as well. Nobody interferes with his results but him, and when the games were on the line he choked. Hard. Despite the ragged play, the team rallied to put the game in his capable hands, and he did not deliver. 100% at fault? Of course not. But if he did his job as expected, he makes a 41 yard FG, the bears are defeated, we lose the Denny rant and the future of the franchise might have been different.

With that said...good on ya, Rackers. He also holds a lot of the credit we made it to the Super Bowl with those two misses. The Bears game was the beginning of the end of the Denny era...

 

[NJCardFan]

I don't care if someone else would or wouldn't have made them. Rackers was the guy there, and he failed miserably. Quite defeating, especially after the season he had the year before as our *sigh* leading scorer.

He's surely not 100% to blame, nobody is. It's a team game and every play makes a difference. But he takes the lion's share of the blame, IMO, because his job is solely to kick FGs, he made several others in the games as well. Nobody interferes with his results but him, and when the games were on the line he choked. Hard. Despite the ragged play, the team rallied to put the game in his capable hands, and he did not deliver. 100% at fault? Of course not. But if he did his job as expected, he makes a 41 yard FG, the bears are defeated, we lose the Denny rant and the future of the franchise might have been different.

With that said...good on ya, Rackers. He also holds a lot of the credit we made it to the Super Bowl with those two misses. The Bears game was the beginning of the end of the Denny era...

Again, how does he take the lions share of the blame? He also made FG's in both those games. He made 3 in the Bears game alone. In that game, Green gets the lions share of the blame for shutting the offense down and coaching not to lose instead of to win. He had a chance to squash the Bears bt chose to sit on the ball and pound Edge into the line time and again even though we moved the ball well in the 1st quarter. Especially after the 4th quarter fumble recovery that lead to a 3 and out and Hester's punt return so, no, Rackers does not get the lions share of the blame. Not even close.

 

[Mulli]

Again, how does he take the lions share of the blame? He also made FG's in both those games. He made 3 in the Bears game alone. In that game, Green gets the lions share of the blame for shutting the offense down and coaching not to lose instead of to win. He had a chance to squash the Bears bt chose to sit on the ball and pound Edge into the line time and again even though we moved the ball well in the 1st quarter. Especially after the 4th quarter fumble recovery that lead to a 3 and out and Hester's punt return so, no, Rackers does not get the lions share of the blame. Not even close.

41 yard FG, game on the line, you have to make it. Otherwise, game is on you.

Just like when the Cards had 3 players covering S. Holmes in the end zone in the Super Bowl. If you don't keep him from scoring, it is on you.

Or when you fail to sack Ben R., you just can't miss the chance to put game away.


Yes, others share blame, but as a FG kicker you have to make the big kicks to win games.