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But how good are the Cardinals, really? The Dallas win came on the front end of an implosion by the ‘Boys, and the Cardinals have otherwise beaten the 49ers twice, the Bills, the Rams, and the Seahawks. A 31-10 win over the Dolphins came in Week 2, long before Miami emerged from an 0-2 hole to win six of eight.
And let’s not forget the shredding the Cards suffered in New York, against the Jets.
We won’t have to wait any longer to determine whether the Cards’ wins translate to something more than being the best of four bad teams. In a four-day stretch beginning Sunday, Arizona will get two opportunities to show that it’s far more than that.
For starters, the Cardinals host the Giants, a juggernaut with an overall calendar-year record of 12-1. The defending Super Bowl champs return to the field on which they won it all in February; and if Arizona can spoil the encore performance, then the Cardinals will prove they’re legitimate contenders to do something other than merely host the NFL’s title game.
On Thanksgiving night, the Cardinals travel to Philadelphia for a game against the increasingly desperate Eagles. It’ll be Philly’s first appearance before the home fans in the wake of “tie-gate,” and the entire franchise will likely look to make a statement.
As a result, the Cardinals can make an even bigger statement by driving a stake into the Eagles’ playoff hopes.
So, yeah, it’s really that simple. Two wins will more than legitimize the Cardinals. Two losses will prompt most league observers to dismiss their dream season, which most likely will be capped by hosting a postseason game for the first time in 61 years, as the product of a record fattened up by a bunch of intradivision turkeys.
The key figure in both games will be quarterback Kurt Warner. He’s enjoying a late-career surge nearly as unlikely as his unexpected arrival on the NFL scene nine years ago. And the whispers have grown into presumptions regarding Warner’s candidacy for his third MVP award, which could clinch eventual enshrinement in Canton.
It’s fitting, then, that Warner’s opportunity to demonstrate that his rags-to-riches-to-rags story has nudged back to the riches category by beating the team that kicked him to the curb in favor of a hot-shot first-round draft pick. Though no one (even Warner) expected him to be anything more than a one-year starter for the Giants after Eli Manning arrived, Warner at least expected to get that one year at the helm, and he wasn’t happy when it didn’t happen.
In other words, it’ll be very easy for Warner to get himself riled up for the game.
While Warner never has played for the Eagles, his demise in St. Louis arguably was cemented via a 10-3 loss in Philly from December 2002. In that game, during which Warner suffered eight sacks and coughed up three turnovers, he looked like anything but the three-step maestro of the Greatest Show on Turf. Six years later, Warner is still trying to fully shed the image of hot-shot-turned-old-man in three short hours.
But has Warner really changed, or is he simply in the right place at the right time? His wideouts (Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Steve Breaston) are even better than the guys to whom he threw passes in St. Louis.
So could it be that, like the 1998 Vikings, anyone with a decent arm could make that offense go?
Ten years ago, it was Randall Cunningham who became an MVP candidate after being on the depth chart when Minnesota starter Brad Johnson broke a leg. In Warner’s case, dissatisfaction with the development and maturity of Matt Leinart opened the door, and Warner has made the most of the opportunity.
Along the way, he somehow has avoided the injuries and (except in the Jets game) the turnovers that marred his career in St. Louis. His ability to continue to get the job done and stay healthy for the next two games will directly impact whether anyone takes the Cardinals seriously down the stretch.
The short-term future of the franchise is riding on it. If the Cardinals really are for real, they’ll likely find a way to keep Warner around for a few more seasons. It might even get Boldin a Fitzgerald-style contract, if the Cards finally realize that their ability to excel is tied directly to having one of the toughest receivers in the game lining up across from one of the most physically talented.
If these Cardinals can’t compete with the like of the Giants at home or the Eagles in Philly, then the ongoing effort to find the right nucleus could prompt the team to bring in a new quarterback for 2009, and to trade Boldin to the highest bidder.
Next week at this time, we’ll know a lot more about which track the Cardinals will be on.
Mike Florio writes and edits ProFootballTalk.com and is a regular contributor to Sporting News.
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The Arizona Cardinals have generated plenty of positive buzz this season. They captured the league’s attention last month with a thrilling foot-and-pinkie-breaking overtime upset of the Dallas Cowboys. Since then, the Cardinals have continued to roll up wins (but for a game they should have won in Carolina), and through 10 contests they’ve built a five-game lead in the talent-challenged NFC West.But how good are the Cardinals, really? The Dallas win came on the front end of an implosion by the ‘Boys, and the Cardinals have otherwise beaten the 49ers twice, the Bills, the Rams, and the Seahawks. A 31-10 win over the Dolphins came in Week 2, long before Miami emerged from an 0-2 hole to win six of eight.
And let’s not forget the shredding the Cards suffered in New York, against the Jets.
We won’t have to wait any longer to determine whether the Cards’ wins translate to something more than being the best of four bad teams. In a four-day stretch beginning Sunday, Arizona will get two opportunities to show that it’s far more than that.
You must be registered for see images
For starters, the Cardinals host the Giants, a juggernaut with an overall calendar-year record of 12-1. The defending Super Bowl champs return to the field on which they won it all in February; and if Arizona can spoil the encore performance, then the Cardinals will prove they’re legitimate contenders to do something other than merely host the NFL’s title game.
On Thanksgiving night, the Cardinals travel to Philadelphia for a game against the increasingly desperate Eagles. It’ll be Philly’s first appearance before the home fans in the wake of “tie-gate,” and the entire franchise will likely look to make a statement.
As a result, the Cardinals can make an even bigger statement by driving a stake into the Eagles’ playoff hopes.
So, yeah, it’s really that simple. Two wins will more than legitimize the Cardinals. Two losses will prompt most league observers to dismiss their dream season, which most likely will be capped by hosting a postseason game for the first time in 61 years, as the product of a record fattened up by a bunch of intradivision turkeys.
The key figure in both games will be quarterback Kurt Warner. He’s enjoying a late-career surge nearly as unlikely as his unexpected arrival on the NFL scene nine years ago. And the whispers have grown into presumptions regarding Warner’s candidacy for his third MVP award, which could clinch eventual enshrinement in Canton.
It’s fitting, then, that Warner’s opportunity to demonstrate that his rags-to-riches-to-rags story has nudged back to the riches category by beating the team that kicked him to the curb in favor of a hot-shot first-round draft pick. Though no one (even Warner) expected him to be anything more than a one-year starter for the Giants after Eli Manning arrived, Warner at least expected to get that one year at the helm, and he wasn’t happy when it didn’t happen.
In other words, it’ll be very easy for Warner to get himself riled up for the game.
While Warner never has played for the Eagles, his demise in St. Louis arguably was cemented via a 10-3 loss in Philly from December 2002. In that game, during which Warner suffered eight sacks and coughed up three turnovers, he looked like anything but the three-step maestro of the Greatest Show on Turf. Six years later, Warner is still trying to fully shed the image of hot-shot-turned-old-man in three short hours.
But has Warner really changed, or is he simply in the right place at the right time? His wideouts (Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Steve Breaston) are even better than the guys to whom he threw passes in St. Louis.
So could it be that, like the 1998 Vikings, anyone with a decent arm could make that offense go?
Ten years ago, it was Randall Cunningham who became an MVP candidate after being on the depth chart when Minnesota starter Brad Johnson broke a leg. In Warner’s case, dissatisfaction with the development and maturity of Matt Leinart opened the door, and Warner has made the most of the opportunity.
Along the way, he somehow has avoided the injuries and (except in the Jets game) the turnovers that marred his career in St. Louis. His ability to continue to get the job done and stay healthy for the next two games will directly impact whether anyone takes the Cardinals seriously down the stretch.
The short-term future of the franchise is riding on it. If the Cardinals really are for real, they’ll likely find a way to keep Warner around for a few more seasons. It might even get Boldin a Fitzgerald-style contract, if the Cards finally realize that their ability to excel is tied directly to having one of the toughest receivers in the game lining up across from one of the most physically talented.
If these Cardinals can’t compete with the like of the Giants at home or the Eagles in Philly, then the ongoing effort to find the right nucleus could prompt the team to bring in a new quarterback for 2009, and to trade Boldin to the highest bidder.
Next week at this time, we’ll know a lot more about which track the Cardinals will be on.
Mike Florio writes and edits ProFootballTalk.com and is a regular contributor to Sporting News.
