azdad1978
Championship!!!!
John Gambadoro
Special for azcentral.com
Mar. 14, 2005 09:50 AM
In the 17 years the Cardinals have spent in Arizona, they have never had a franchise quarterback. Plain and simple, they have failed to lure a dominant player at the most important position on the field since they arrived in the desert in 1988.
What a shame. Because no matter how good a team's defense is, having a great signal caller who can manage a game is still key to winning in the NFL.
How organizations get that player differ from team to team. But the majority of dominant teams in the NFL have drafted and developed their quarterbacks. Of the 12-playoff teams from this past season, nine went the route of drafting their quarterbacks. The Patriots (Tom Brady), Jets (Chad Pennington), Steelers (Ben Roethlisberger), Chargers (Drew Brees) and Colts (Peyton Manning) in the AFC used the draft to solidify the quarterback spot. The Broncos' Jake Plummer was the only AFC playoff quarterback to not be drafted by his team. In the NFC the Eagles (Donovan McNabb), Falcons (Michael Vick), Packers (Brett Favre) and Vikings (Daunte Culpepper) all drafted their starter while Seattle's Matt Hasselback and the Rams' Marc Bulger were obtained via trade and free agency.
Which leads us to the Cardinals' signing of two-time MVP Kurt Warner, whom the Cardinals inked to a one-year contract in hopes that he'll regain his status as one of the league's premier quarterbacks. For various reasons, including injury and lack of performance, Warner has struggled the last three seasons, throwing for a combined 10 touchdown passes with 16 interceptions. A far cry from the 98 touchdown passes he had thrown the previous three seasons.
Which is why he was available. The reality of the NFL is, great quarterbacks don't become available via free agency. A team with a solid quarterback keeps that player. Great ones are hard to find and teams have almost always locked up a quarterback who has proven himself in the league. So the likes of Manning, Brees and Vick sign deals to remain where they are and never get to the open market. And with teams' ability to slap a franchise tag on top players, even a quarterback who wants to test the market may not be able to.
That's why only quarterbacks who are on the downside of their careers, who are aging or ineffective, hit the open market. Teams like Arizona get to choose from these slim pickings: Warner, Jeff Garcia, Brad Johnson and Jay Fiedler. And they hope to catch lightning in a bottle. Hope that a change of scenery will work. Hope that their new acquisition will somehow find his fountain of youth and party like it's 1999. The truth is, you can put the names of the free-agent quarterbacks in a hat, choose one, and that player will most likely do the same job as any of the others. Is Warner at this point in his career a better option than Garcia? Or Johnson? Maybe, but more than likely, they are all average quarterbacks who may help a team improve a little but not take it over the top.
Unless Warner is the exception to the rule, the Cardinals will still be searching for their quarterback of the future. The have passed on Byron Leftwich and Roethlisberger in each of the past two drafts. And they will be passing on quarterbacks next month. Somewhere in the future they are going to have to spend a first-round pick on a quarterback and play the game the way most successful teams do.
For now Warner will have to do. The Cardinals were not wrong in signing him. Their quarterback situation was unsettled. Unfortunately for the redbirds, they still don't know what they have in Josh McCown, who started 13 games last season. McCown neither solidified his status as the quarterback of the future nor warranted being shipped out of town. He may end up being a good quarterback. But the Cardinals need to win now. They are heading into a new stadium in 2006 and need to justify the huge ticket price increase that you can bet will be coming.
Denny Green's first year is over and with it goes the leniency given to a first-year coach from the fans and media. Green was in no position to leave McCown with the job and he hopes that his initial thoughts on McCown were right. So in comes Warner. A big name who has a whole lot of excuses for his past struggles, from bad snaps by the center to lack of timing with the receivers that forced him to hold on to the ball too long and getting sacked. Warner shrugs off suggestions that a concussion has affected his timing and decision-making and that a hand injury affected the way he holds onto the ball. He is confident that he can again be among the elite quarterbacks.
Just what is Warner getting himself into in Arizona? A team that finally seems to be moving in the right direction under Green, but one whose past has been a graveyard for quarterbacks. The names seem endless. The organization has tried Neil Lomax, Gary Hogeboom, Chris Chandler, Timm Rosenbach, Steve Buerlein, Dave Krieg, Boomer Esiason, Dave Brown, Jake Plummer, Jeff Blake and Josh McCown. None of them have had success.
The bigger question is, what is expected of Warner? While his best days appear to be behind him he could have enough left to help Green take the next step. With the additions of Warner, Oliver Ross, Robert Griffith and Chike Okeafor, the Cardinals have upgraded four positions. If the team has a successful draft and somehow finds a top-tier running back, it could go from a 6-10 season to an eight or nine-win season and possibly earn a playoff berth. Warner came to Arizona because it is here that he has the best chance to start. McCown's lack of experience and success makes it a certainty that Warner will start.
So while Warner will likely never again throw for 40 touchdown passes in a season, he may not need to in order to justify his signing. If he cuts down on his fumbles and takes fewer sacks, he could help Arizona be competitive. And with wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, he will have much better talent to throw to than his last stint in New York with the Giants.
Warner could land an extended stay if he does what Green expects of him. But more than likely he is just keeping the seat warm until Arizona realizes the best way to land a franchise quarterback is to draft one.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cheapseats/gambo/0314rant.html
Special for azcentral.com
Mar. 14, 2005 09:50 AM
In the 17 years the Cardinals have spent in Arizona, they have never had a franchise quarterback. Plain and simple, they have failed to lure a dominant player at the most important position on the field since they arrived in the desert in 1988.
What a shame. Because no matter how good a team's defense is, having a great signal caller who can manage a game is still key to winning in the NFL.
How organizations get that player differ from team to team. But the majority of dominant teams in the NFL have drafted and developed their quarterbacks. Of the 12-playoff teams from this past season, nine went the route of drafting their quarterbacks. The Patriots (Tom Brady), Jets (Chad Pennington), Steelers (Ben Roethlisberger), Chargers (Drew Brees) and Colts (Peyton Manning) in the AFC used the draft to solidify the quarterback spot. The Broncos' Jake Plummer was the only AFC playoff quarterback to not be drafted by his team. In the NFC the Eagles (Donovan McNabb), Falcons (Michael Vick), Packers (Brett Favre) and Vikings (Daunte Culpepper) all drafted their starter while Seattle's Matt Hasselback and the Rams' Marc Bulger were obtained via trade and free agency.
Which leads us to the Cardinals' signing of two-time MVP Kurt Warner, whom the Cardinals inked to a one-year contract in hopes that he'll regain his status as one of the league's premier quarterbacks. For various reasons, including injury and lack of performance, Warner has struggled the last three seasons, throwing for a combined 10 touchdown passes with 16 interceptions. A far cry from the 98 touchdown passes he had thrown the previous three seasons.
Which is why he was available. The reality of the NFL is, great quarterbacks don't become available via free agency. A team with a solid quarterback keeps that player. Great ones are hard to find and teams have almost always locked up a quarterback who has proven himself in the league. So the likes of Manning, Brees and Vick sign deals to remain where they are and never get to the open market. And with teams' ability to slap a franchise tag on top players, even a quarterback who wants to test the market may not be able to.
That's why only quarterbacks who are on the downside of their careers, who are aging or ineffective, hit the open market. Teams like Arizona get to choose from these slim pickings: Warner, Jeff Garcia, Brad Johnson and Jay Fiedler. And they hope to catch lightning in a bottle. Hope that a change of scenery will work. Hope that their new acquisition will somehow find his fountain of youth and party like it's 1999. The truth is, you can put the names of the free-agent quarterbacks in a hat, choose one, and that player will most likely do the same job as any of the others. Is Warner at this point in his career a better option than Garcia? Or Johnson? Maybe, but more than likely, they are all average quarterbacks who may help a team improve a little but not take it over the top.
Unless Warner is the exception to the rule, the Cardinals will still be searching for their quarterback of the future. The have passed on Byron Leftwich and Roethlisberger in each of the past two drafts. And they will be passing on quarterbacks next month. Somewhere in the future they are going to have to spend a first-round pick on a quarterback and play the game the way most successful teams do.
For now Warner will have to do. The Cardinals were not wrong in signing him. Their quarterback situation was unsettled. Unfortunately for the redbirds, they still don't know what they have in Josh McCown, who started 13 games last season. McCown neither solidified his status as the quarterback of the future nor warranted being shipped out of town. He may end up being a good quarterback. But the Cardinals need to win now. They are heading into a new stadium in 2006 and need to justify the huge ticket price increase that you can bet will be coming.
Denny Green's first year is over and with it goes the leniency given to a first-year coach from the fans and media. Green was in no position to leave McCown with the job and he hopes that his initial thoughts on McCown were right. So in comes Warner. A big name who has a whole lot of excuses for his past struggles, from bad snaps by the center to lack of timing with the receivers that forced him to hold on to the ball too long and getting sacked. Warner shrugs off suggestions that a concussion has affected his timing and decision-making and that a hand injury affected the way he holds onto the ball. He is confident that he can again be among the elite quarterbacks.
Just what is Warner getting himself into in Arizona? A team that finally seems to be moving in the right direction under Green, but one whose past has been a graveyard for quarterbacks. The names seem endless. The organization has tried Neil Lomax, Gary Hogeboom, Chris Chandler, Timm Rosenbach, Steve Buerlein, Dave Krieg, Boomer Esiason, Dave Brown, Jake Plummer, Jeff Blake and Josh McCown. None of them have had success.
The bigger question is, what is expected of Warner? While his best days appear to be behind him he could have enough left to help Green take the next step. With the additions of Warner, Oliver Ross, Robert Griffith and Chike Okeafor, the Cardinals have upgraded four positions. If the team has a successful draft and somehow finds a top-tier running back, it could go from a 6-10 season to an eight or nine-win season and possibly earn a playoff berth. Warner came to Arizona because it is here that he has the best chance to start. McCown's lack of experience and success makes it a certainty that Warner will start.
So while Warner will likely never again throw for 40 touchdown passes in a season, he may not need to in order to justify his signing. If he cuts down on his fumbles and takes fewer sacks, he could help Arizona be competitive. And with wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, he will have much better talent to throw to than his last stint in New York with the Giants.
Warner could land an extended stay if he does what Green expects of him. But more than likely he is just keeping the seat warm until Arizona realizes the best way to land a franchise quarterback is to draft one.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cheapseats/gambo/0314rant.html
.
Job well done.
