Enough with title talk
Bob Young
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 8, 2005 12:00 AM
We don't want to throw a damper on this Kurt Warner acquisition the Cardinals made, because it's a big one.
We don't know whether Warner is the long-term answer at quarterback, and evidently the Cardinals don't either or they would have signed him for more than one year.
But Warner seems to be a glass-half-full kind of guy, which means he's just like us.
We must admit, however, that we chuckled when we saw the quote in the official news release from Warner that said:
"We are very impressed with the direction the organization is headed in and couldn't be more excited to be a part of it."
He went on to say he'd like "nothing more than to end my career by helping the Cardinals win a championship."
Ahem, we're pretty sure we've heard this before.
2004: Defensive end Bertrand Berry signs as a free agent and tells a story about how he played for a team called the Cardinals in Pee-Wee football.
"My first time around with the Cardinals, I won a Super Bowl, so hopefully history can repeat itself," he said.
He made the Pro Bowl, but the Cardinals weren't even in the playoffs his first season, finishing with a 6-10 record.
2003: Emmitt Smith signed as a free agent and declared: "I think you absolutely have to believe the organization is headed in the right direction, and the Bidwills are putting their best foot forward in acquiring some players."
Smith put both feet into retirement after winning a total of 10 games in his two seasons.
2002: Defensive back Duane Starks signs and says: "I was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens when they weren't as good. They spent some money, and we ended up winning the Super Bowl two years ago.
"The same thing can happen here."
Not before Starks was shipped to New England, however.
Of course, not all of the free agents who have signed with the Cardinals claimed they came because they saw a bright future.
2001: Pete Kendall admitted: "I don't want to be cute and say that economics weren't the driving factor for me in free agency."
No wonder Kendall was sent packing. He's too honest.
Face of the Cards?
We were surprised that Cardinals coach Dennis Green wasn't available to talk to the local media Sunday about signing Warner - especially when he made time for a couple of national talk radio programs.
Green is the face of the organization. Warner is a high-profile free agent, who plays the most visible position in football.
And last time we checked, there was a $370 million stadium going up in Glendale, of which $266.6 million reportedly is being picked up by taxpayers.
Many of them are Cardinals fans, or at least casual followers of the team, who voted for funding of the stadium project.
Some of them might like to know what Green is thinking, and we figure for $266.6 million, that's not a lot to ask.
The team did include a statement from him in the official news release, but that doesn't offer an opportunity to ask questions about Josh McCown's status, or what other options were available, or why it's only a one-year deal or how come Green thinks Warner fumbles so doggone much.
Now, if Green was out practicing for his bass fishing tournament and unavailable to everybody, we'd be OK with that.
We know mastering those Texas and Carolina rigs can be tricky.
But if he's going to talk, his first priority ought to be addressing the folks who are paying the bills for that stadium and purchasing the tickets to watch a team with a sorry history.
The conduit for those fans is the local media, not buddies on national talk radio programs.
Either that, or ESPN Radio can pony up the $266.6 million, we'll get our money back and they can call it ESPN Stadium.
Get a clue Bob. Maybe if you and the rest of the so-called sports reporters in Arizona treated the Cadinals and Dennis Green with a little respect, they'd talk to you more often.
Also, I can't believe you live in Arizona and don't know that the stadium is being paid for by hotel and rental car taxes. What a dork. No reasearch, just lambast the Cards. What this town needs is a REAL sports writer. You certainly don't fill that bill.
Bob Young
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 8, 2005 12:00 AM
We don't want to throw a damper on this Kurt Warner acquisition the Cardinals made, because it's a big one.
We don't know whether Warner is the long-term answer at quarterback, and evidently the Cardinals don't either or they would have signed him for more than one year.
But Warner seems to be a glass-half-full kind of guy, which means he's just like us.
We must admit, however, that we chuckled when we saw the quote in the official news release from Warner that said:
"We are very impressed with the direction the organization is headed in and couldn't be more excited to be a part of it."
He went on to say he'd like "nothing more than to end my career by helping the Cardinals win a championship."
Ahem, we're pretty sure we've heard this before.
2004: Defensive end Bertrand Berry signs as a free agent and tells a story about how he played for a team called the Cardinals in Pee-Wee football.
"My first time around with the Cardinals, I won a Super Bowl, so hopefully history can repeat itself," he said.
He made the Pro Bowl, but the Cardinals weren't even in the playoffs his first season, finishing with a 6-10 record.
2003: Emmitt Smith signed as a free agent and declared: "I think you absolutely have to believe the organization is headed in the right direction, and the Bidwills are putting their best foot forward in acquiring some players."
Smith put both feet into retirement after winning a total of 10 games in his two seasons.
2002: Defensive back Duane Starks signs and says: "I was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens when they weren't as good. They spent some money, and we ended up winning the Super Bowl two years ago.
"The same thing can happen here."
Not before Starks was shipped to New England, however.
Of course, not all of the free agents who have signed with the Cardinals claimed they came because they saw a bright future.
2001: Pete Kendall admitted: "I don't want to be cute and say that economics weren't the driving factor for me in free agency."
No wonder Kendall was sent packing. He's too honest.
Face of the Cards?
We were surprised that Cardinals coach Dennis Green wasn't available to talk to the local media Sunday about signing Warner - especially when he made time for a couple of national talk radio programs.
Green is the face of the organization. Warner is a high-profile free agent, who plays the most visible position in football.
And last time we checked, there was a $370 million stadium going up in Glendale, of which $266.6 million reportedly is being picked up by taxpayers.
Many of them are Cardinals fans, or at least casual followers of the team, who voted for funding of the stadium project.
Some of them might like to know what Green is thinking, and we figure for $266.6 million, that's not a lot to ask.
The team did include a statement from him in the official news release, but that doesn't offer an opportunity to ask questions about Josh McCown's status, or what other options were available, or why it's only a one-year deal or how come Green thinks Warner fumbles so doggone much.
Now, if Green was out practicing for his bass fishing tournament and unavailable to everybody, we'd be OK with that.
We know mastering those Texas and Carolina rigs can be tricky.
But if he's going to talk, his first priority ought to be addressing the folks who are paying the bills for that stadium and purchasing the tickets to watch a team with a sorry history.
The conduit for those fans is the local media, not buddies on national talk radio programs.
Either that, or ESPN Radio can pony up the $266.6 million, we'll get our money back and they can call it ESPN Stadium.
Get a clue Bob. Maybe if you and the rest of the so-called sports reporters in Arizona treated the Cadinals and Dennis Green with a little respect, they'd talk to you more often.
Also, I can't believe you live in Arizona and don't know that the stadium is being paid for by hotel and rental car taxes. What a dork. No reasearch, just lambast the Cards. What this town needs is a REAL sports writer. You certainly don't fill that bill.
