Adam Best and the rabid football fans at Fan-Sided Blogs will weigh in with the perspective from the bleachers, couches and sports bars after each week's games.
"Raising Arizona" -- same title, two entirely different productions.
Roughly 20 years ago, the Coen Brothers produced a comedy about a screw-up family who kidnapped a baby in Arizona. The movie is now a cult classic, and its directors went on to win film's biggest prize -- the Oscar. Year after year we've heard about the new Coen Brother's flick, and year after year we finagle a seat to the show.
Roughly 20 years ago, the Bidwill family unintentionally produced a comedy about a screw-up family who kidnapped a team in Arizona. Their Arizona Cardinals have been anything but classic since, and haven't even sniffed football's biggest prize -- the Lombardi Trophy. Year after year we've heard about how the Cardinals are everybody's sleeper team, and year after year we roll our eyes at the ridiculousness of those prognostications.
But just when everybody finally stopped dubbing the Cards their "sleeper," Ken Whisenhunt's team is now on its way to winning its first divisional crown since 1975. Or, since it's election day today, back when Gerald Ford was President.
Cardinals fans have to be jacked about their sudden reversal of fortune. For the longest time, watching their Big Red has been "Intolerable Cruelty." The Cards' box scores? "Burn After Reading." Matt Leinart, their quarterback of the future, has been "The Man Who Wasn't There." Fortunately, Kurt Warner has been there to remind us not to get too carried away with this "No Country For Old Men" B.S.
I mean, what's up with you, Kurt? You've gone from fumbling like it's 2004 to partying like it's 1999 again. Your Birds lead the league in points scored with 234. Who saw that coming? Sure, the 37-year-old ex-supermarket checker now has star wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald bagging his groceries, but his 104.9 quarterback rating is still sick. Warner continued his stellar season when he returned to the Lou and torched his former team, the St. Louis Rams, for 342 yards and two touchdowns without committing a turnover. During a game where Dick Vermeil -- the coach who discovered Warner a decade ago -- was honored, it was fitting that his former QB turned in a vintage performance.
No player was a bigger part of that performance than Boldin. Broken sinus, broken schminus -- dude hasn't lost his nose for the ball. You know you are on fire when six receptions for 85 yards and a TD disgusts your fantasy owners (my old man was dissatisfied). Option No. 1-B, Fitzgerald, also continued to dominate, racking up six catches of his own and 81 yards.
The regularly scheduled 'Quan, Fitz and Warner program was somewhat interrupted, however, by rookie running back Tim Hightower's coming-out party. Seriously, I haven't seen a Hightower kick ass like that since Bubba Smith back in "Police Academy." With his 109 yards rushing, bruising style and bouncing dreads, he looked more like Steven Jackson than Steven Jackson Sunday. Hightower broke the rushing yardage century mark for the Cards for the first time since Edgerrin James did so back in Week 1, likely pushing Edge off the ledge in the process. Looks like "No Country for Old Men" still applies in certain instances.
The Big Red defense also stepped up. Adrian Wilson was his usual disruptive self, racking up six tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. Antrel Rolle had a huge 40-yard pick-six early in the game. Other than an early 80-yard bomb to some guy named Derek Stanley -- doesn't he sound like some kid who works for the Geek Squad? -- and a garbage-time TD to Torry Holt, the Cards' D got the best of Bulger, Jackson and the rest of the Rams' offense all Sunday long.
The Cardinals still committed a host of Cardinal sins, though. They got stuffed on the goal line trying to convert a QB sneak on 4th-and-1, were penalized 10 times and got power drilled deep by that Stanley TD. Nonetheless, if the Wiz behind the curtain can help his team shore up some of those problem areas, the Birds look poised for a strong finish. Five of their final eight games take place in the desert dome, and half of those contests are against struggling NFC West rivals. It only took two decades, but it finally looks like the Bidwells will soon be raising a divisional championship banner in Arizona. Suddenly, their black comedy has morphed into the NFL feel-good comedy of the year.
"Raising Arizona" -- same title, two entirely different productions.
Roughly 20 years ago, the Coen Brothers produced a comedy about a screw-up family who kidnapped a baby in Arizona. The movie is now a cult classic, and its directors went on to win film's biggest prize -- the Oscar. Year after year we've heard about the new Coen Brother's flick, and year after year we finagle a seat to the show.
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Roughly 20 years ago, the Bidwill family unintentionally produced a comedy about a screw-up family who kidnapped a team in Arizona. Their Arizona Cardinals have been anything but classic since, and haven't even sniffed football's biggest prize -- the Lombardi Trophy. Year after year we've heard about how the Cardinals are everybody's sleeper team, and year after year we roll our eyes at the ridiculousness of those prognostications.
But just when everybody finally stopped dubbing the Cards their "sleeper," Ken Whisenhunt's team is now on its way to winning its first divisional crown since 1975. Or, since it's election day today, back when Gerald Ford was President.
Cardinals fans have to be jacked about their sudden reversal of fortune. For the longest time, watching their Big Red has been "Intolerable Cruelty." The Cards' box scores? "Burn After Reading." Matt Leinart, their quarterback of the future, has been "The Man Who Wasn't There." Fortunately, Kurt Warner has been there to remind us not to get too carried away with this "No Country For Old Men" B.S.
I mean, what's up with you, Kurt? You've gone from fumbling like it's 2004 to partying like it's 1999 again. Your Birds lead the league in points scored with 234. Who saw that coming? Sure, the 37-year-old ex-supermarket checker now has star wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald bagging his groceries, but his 104.9 quarterback rating is still sick. Warner continued his stellar season when he returned to the Lou and torched his former team, the St. Louis Rams, for 342 yards and two touchdowns without committing a turnover. During a game where Dick Vermeil -- the coach who discovered Warner a decade ago -- was honored, it was fitting that his former QB turned in a vintage performance.
No player was a bigger part of that performance than Boldin. Broken sinus, broken schminus -- dude hasn't lost his nose for the ball. You know you are on fire when six receptions for 85 yards and a TD disgusts your fantasy owners (my old man was dissatisfied). Option No. 1-B, Fitzgerald, also continued to dominate, racking up six catches of his own and 81 yards.
The regularly scheduled 'Quan, Fitz and Warner program was somewhat interrupted, however, by rookie running back Tim Hightower's coming-out party. Seriously, I haven't seen a Hightower kick ass like that since Bubba Smith back in "Police Academy." With his 109 yards rushing, bruising style and bouncing dreads, he looked more like Steven Jackson than Steven Jackson Sunday. Hightower broke the rushing yardage century mark for the Cards for the first time since Edgerrin James did so back in Week 1, likely pushing Edge off the ledge in the process. Looks like "No Country for Old Men" still applies in certain instances.
The Big Red defense also stepped up. Adrian Wilson was his usual disruptive self, racking up six tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. Antrel Rolle had a huge 40-yard pick-six early in the game. Other than an early 80-yard bomb to some guy named Derek Stanley -- doesn't he sound like some kid who works for the Geek Squad? -- and a garbage-time TD to Torry Holt, the Cards' D got the best of Bulger, Jackson and the rest of the Rams' offense all Sunday long.
The Cardinals still committed a host of Cardinal sins, though. They got stuffed on the goal line trying to convert a QB sneak on 4th-and-1, were penalized 10 times and got power drilled deep by that Stanley TD. Nonetheless, if the Wiz behind the curtain can help his team shore up some of those problem areas, the Birds look poised for a strong finish. Five of their final eight games take place in the desert dome, and half of those contests are against struggling NFC West rivals. It only took two decades, but it finally looks like the Bidwells will soon be raising a divisional championship banner in Arizona. Suddenly, their black comedy has morphed into the NFL feel-good comedy of the year.