"I Was Wrong" -- James Conner Version

[Chris_Sanders]

MNF straight stroking Najee Harris at his 2.5 yards per touch

 

[Chris_Sanders]

He broke 4 tackles to get 4 yards

Also don't run into the defense

 

[GatorAZ]

Nobody cares if you thought Conner was washed. It’s just the Internet.

Best wishes to your family.

 

[Krangodnzr]

MNF straight stroking Najee Harris at his 2.5 yards per touch

Najee Harris is the most overrated sub 4 yard per carry RB ever

 

[Krangodnzr]

You can’t really hold kyler against the darkside. Historically cheese and I have been considered darkside royalty and we’ve been big kyler proponents. Heck, my kyler support predates your’s!

I was pro-Kyler from nearly the moment the rumors came out the Cardinals were looking at him. I went and watched all the Kyler films I could find because I wanted to see how bad of a mistake the Cardinals were making....and I walked away thinking they HAD TO draft him, because he looked better than Rosen ever did and if you have the #1 overall, you want a true difference maker.

Imagine an alternate universe where the Cardinals went with Bosa. I very much doubt the team would be remotely close to 8-1 right now.

 

[Krangodnzr]

I used to be a Koolaider. I'm not "throwing negative stuff against the wall." We have been a bad team to watch for four years, and it was getting exhausted. I'm not going to jump up and down and proclaim greatness every year, because it really ruins the season. Trust me, it's a lot more fun to walk into this season and embrace the success now that it's happening than it is to set high expectations and have them crushed.

But I'd really challenge for anyone to go back and find anything I was completely wrong about from an individual player take outside of Conner and maybe Kyler (who is having legit durability concerns now. Sure, we just snagged a win with McCoy, but does anyone have confidence about going through this season with Kyler missing games or dealing with a leg injury?).

LOL still hedging your bets on Kyler.

I think if the Cardinals needed wins, he would have probably played yesterday. I mean....they need wins, but they aren't desperate for them.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Lol. I actually predicted a rosier win-loss spread than you did preseason.

I mean...I predicted a spread of 7-11. 7 wins, losing season. 8 wins, losing season. 9 wins, winning season. 10 wins, winning season. 11 wins, winning season. So I clearly thought the team was more likely to have a winning season than (60% more likely) than a losing one. 7 wins was a season with significant injuries.

I just didn't think every damn move this team made was going to work out. That's not really reasonable, and the highly unlikely scenario appears to be playing out in front of us. Right now, it wouldn't be totally unreasonable to think the Cardinals could win 14 games.

But your defense of crimson isn’t a defense at all bc his point was essentially that darksiders generally look like clowns. I don’t recall any darksider ever coming on the board and doing the same to the humpers during the 27 of 33 seasons during which the cardinals did not have a winning record.

I get what he is saying to some extent. Some of the darksiders just seem to pan nearly every move and if you at all make a comment that involves any projection they call you on it, even though they are pretty much doing the same thing.

Also, though the darksiders may have picked apart individual signings I didn’t see a whole lot of prognostications of doom. I don’t recall (I may be wrong) anyone saying anything close to 3 wins. I think most expected .500ish - which is right around where you called it (7-11 wins if I recall correctly).

My general view of what many of the darksiders were saying was around 6 wins. I think I saw that a few times and I legitimately questioned their judgement of this team, because I saw a lot of good players added to an 8 win team. And you have to consider that I thought the Niners were poop and that I thought we would see a bit of regression from the Seahawks as well.

 

[Solar7]

LOL still hedging your bets on Kyler.

I think if the Cardinals needed wins, he would have probably played yesterday. I mean....they need wins, but they aren't desperate for them.

Is it really hedging my bets when an injury to Kyler last season completely derailed our success, in a pretty similar spot of the season? I can't recall if it was you specifically, but many said "Kyler doesn't take hits," and we're staring down a QB who doesn't have the kind of Russell Wilson durability many promised.

He is undoubtedly talented. The NFL plays 18 weeks now, and through the playoffs, will his style endure?

I want him to be our QB. I'm prepared to sign him to the inevitable extension this offseason. It wouldn't shock me to see him miss weeks 10 and 11 getting healthy with an eye towards the bye.

 

[daves]

Also, though the darksiders may have picked apart individual signings I didn’t see a whole lot of prognostications of doom. I don’t recall (I may be wrong) anyone saying anything close to 3 wins. I think most expected .500ish - which is right around where you called it (7-11 wins if I recall correctly).

Well according to this poll, after preseason, 60% of the members of the board predicted a losing season.
Cardnots predicted < 5 wins.
Lots of hilariously bad takes in that thread!

...dave

 

[BulldogCard]

I mean...I predicted a spread of 7-11. 7 wins, losing season. 8 wins, losing season. 9 wins, winning season. 10 wins, winning season. 11 wins, winning season. So I clearly thought the team was more likely to have a winning season than (60% more likely) than a losing one. 7 wins was a season with significant injuries.

I just didn't think every damn move this team made was going to work out. That's not really reasonable, and the highly unlikely scenario appears to be playing out in front of us. Right now, it wouldn't be totally unreasonable to think the Cardinals could win 14 games.

I get what he is saying to some extent. Some of the darksiders just seem to pan nearly every move and if you at all make a comment that involves any projection they call you on it, even though they are pretty much doing the same thing.

My general view of what many of the darksiders were saying was around 6 wins. I think I saw that a few times and I legitimately questioned their judgement of this team, because I saw a lot of good players added to an 8 win team. And you have to consider that I thought the Niners were poop and that I thought we would see a bit of regression from the Seahawks as well.

Stuff can be analyzed to death. This, that isn't sustainable, etc. Maybe the Cards are just playing good football. The coaching staff doing well. You're not down to a 3rd center and backups on the Oline and win without a good roster, staff. They say our 3rd down rates, 4th down aren't sustainable. But all they keep doing is winning. No SB winning team ever had a season where the ball didn't bounce their way a few times.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Well according to this poll, after preseason, 60% of the members of the board predicted a losing season.
Cardnots predicted < 5 wins.
Lots of hilariously bad takes in that thread!

...dave

Its a bit of revisionism to act like most didn't think we were going to have a winning season.

Too many negative Nancy's. I've explained why I thought winning season and I thought the idea that the Cardinals would have a losing season didn't make sense to me.

The Cardinals aren't going to have a losing season every year, and it feels like unless its a certainty, Darksiders rarely go out on a limb.

 

[cardncubfan]

You had to be a koolaider if you thought:
Murphy was going to blossom
Alford would actually contribute
Simmons would come if age
Watt would stay healthy
Thompson would blossom
Conner would be this good
Kingsbury would come of age
Green would bounce back
Kyler would blossom
And there’s more.

Miraculously most of everything mention above has happened! Good for us!

 

[Stout]

Its a bit of revisionism to act like most didn't think we were going to have a winning season.

Too many negative Nancy's. I've explained why I thought winning season and I thought the idea that the Cardinals would have a losing season didn't make sense to me.

The Cardinals aren't going to have a losing season every year, and it feels like unless its a certainty, Darksiders rarely go out on a limb.

I won't argue that point. I will argue that healthy pessimism with this team is perfectly normal and more than understandable.

 

[Krangodnzr]

I won't argue that point. I will argue that healthy pessimism with this team is perfectly normal and more than understandable.

I don't disagree at all, and this board would SUCK if it was all puppy dog tails and lolly pops.

I've gone to a bunch of other boards and I think we have a healthy mix of optimism and pessimism. This offseason I think some of our fan base was poisoned by the end of last season, and they were viewing everything through that lens. I saw things a bit differently: I think the end of last year was a combination of not having enough good players, Murray's injury limiting him, and Murray's struggles throwing the football.

When I saw the moves Keim was making and the justification of the signings, I thought there was a good chance the Cardinals were going to have a good season. JJ Watt added toughness and leadership. James Conner added a tough runner that the offense desperately. AJ Green just had to be better than Fitzgerald. The draft class looked promising and complimented the overall roster.

So this was a year that I thought the Darkside were WAY off base. 9/10 times you guys would be right, but I felt this year there was a little bit of negative bias clouding peoples views. I know those of us that thought this year was going to be good and those who didn't are equally happy.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I was pro-Kyler from nearly the moment the rumors came out the Cardinals were looking at him. I went and watched all the Kyler films I could find because I wanted to see how bad of a mistake the Cardinals were making....and I walked away thinking they HAD TO draft him, because he looked better than Rosen ever did and if you have the #1 overall, you want a true difference maker.

Imagine an alternate universe where the Cardinals went with Bosa. I very much doubt the team would be remotely close to 8-1 right now.

You came out on ASFN originally against kyler and quickly recognized your error. I’ll give you that. But kyler wasn’t a darksider-humper split.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I mean...I predicted a spread of 7-11. 7 wins, losing season. 8 wins, losing season. 9 wins, winning season. 10 wins, winning season. 11 wins, winning season. So I clearly thought the team was more likely to have a winning season than (60% more likely) than a losing one. 7 wins was a season with significant injuries.

I just didn't think every damn move this team made was going to work out. That's not really reasonable, and the highly unlikely scenario appears to be playing out in front of us. Right now, it wouldn't be totally unreasonable to think the Cardinals could win 14 games.

I get what he is saying to some extent. Some of the darksiders just seem to pan nearly every move and if you at all make a comment that involves any projection they call you on it, even though they are pretty much doing the same thing.

My general view of what many of the darksiders were saying was around 6 wins. I think I saw that a few times and I legitimately questioned their judgement of this team, because I saw a lot of good players added to an 8 win team. And you have to consider that I thought the Niners were poop and that I thought we would see a bit of regression from the Seahawks as well.

You keep saying the “significant injuries” line, but I saw no such qualifier in your posts.

Doesn’t matter, as I said earlier, seemed the most common refrain on ASFN was 7-11 wins across all types of posters. All of us are likely going to be under. And we’ll all be happy to be so.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Well according to this poll, after preseason, 60% of the members of the board predicted a losing season.
Cardnots predicted < 5 wins.
Lots of hilariously bad takes in that thread!

...dave

I was just reading the actual posts.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Its a bit of revisionism to act like most didn't think we were going to have a winning season.

Too many negative Nancy's. I've explained why I thought winning season and I thought the idea that the Cardinals would have a losing season didn't make sense to me.

The Cardinals aren't going to have a losing season every year, and it feels like unless its a certainty, Darksiders rarely go out on a limb.

What is “going out on a limb?” It’s taking a chance, right? So what’s more realistic, going with probability or taking a chance? Hence why darksiders consider themselves more realists than humpers.

 

[Krangodnzr]

What is “going out on a limb?” It’s taking a chance, right? So what’s more realistic, going with probability or taking a chance? Hence why darksiders consider themselves more realists than humpers.

Right. It's taking no courage to be wrong.

And boy are the darksiders epically wrong now.

 

[Krangodnzr]

You keep saying the “significant injuries” line, but I saw no such qualifier in your posts.

Doesn’t matter, as I said earlier, seemed the most common refrain on ASFN was 7-11 wins across all types of posters. All of us are likely going to be under. And we’ll all be happy to be so.

I only gave out the range.

I think it's perfectly reasonable to assume that a range of 7-11 wins would include significant injuries on the bottom end of the spectrum.

Either way, my range of wins included a 60% of a winning season. Yours was close to mine, so I feel our view was pretty close.

 

[Krangodnzr]

You came out on ASFN originally against kyler and quickly recognized your error. I’ll give you that. But kyler wasn’t a darksider-humper split.

Yeah I think there were equal numbers on both sides of the debate.

I just couldn't stomach the concept of more Rosen when Rosen was historically bad.

I think a lesson in fandom that we all have learned is that you always side with taking the position of the greatest impact. I've seen enough of Nick Bosa to know his impact on the Niners is 1/10th of what the Cardinals get from Murray.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Right. It's taking no courage to be wrong.

And boy are the darksiders epically wrong now.

See that’s just it, when talking football I’d rather be realistic than courageous. But that’s just me. Sometimes realists get it wrong in either direction. Those touting being internet chat board “courageous” (and let’s be honest, wtf does that really mean in the big scheme of things?) tend to be wrong a whole lot more - particularly with historically bad teams. So that means a LOT more let downs rather than experiencing meeting expectations. Maybe the “courageous” lean bipolar and enjoy the wild emotional swings more?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I only gave out the range.

I think it's perfectly reasonable to assume that a range of 7-11 wins would include significant injuries on the bottom end of the spectrum.

Either way, my range of wins included a 60% of a winning season. Yours was close to mine, so I feel our view was pretty close.

Ironically, as much as I defend the darksiders I think many of my macro (team) and micro (individual players) perspectives have been close to yours.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Yeah I think there were equal numbers on both sides of the debate.

I just couldn't stomach the concept of more Rosen when Rosen was historically bad.

I think a lesson in fandom that we all have learned is that you always side with taking the position of the greatest impact. I've seen enough of Nick Bosa to know his impact on the Niners is 1/10th of what the Cardinals get from Murray.

For me it was always about QB. You have a great one it’s the impactful position in almost any sport. You gotta maximize that position when the opportunity presents itself. And I was a huge proponent of The Rosen One when we drafted him. But reading a mid season sports illustrated (I think) article about murray had me thinking “what if we end up with #1? Do we take him????” I was more than ready to move in from Rosen by seasons end.

 

[Krangodnzr]

See that’s just it, when talking football I’d rather be realistic than courageous. But that’s just me. Sometimes realists get it wrong in either direction.

Right, but here's the thing: The Cardinals were an 8-8 football team, and led by a young coach and young QB. They added quite a bit to roster. It was pretty damn UNREALISTIC to assume that they would be significantly worse like some suggested. Our range was correct based on historical evidence of having a young ascending QB with a team that was around .500 and added significant talent to the team. It was pessimistic, not realistic, to think otherwise.

And the proof is in the pudding that it was not realism.

Those touting being internet chat board “courageous” (and let’s be honest, wtf does that really mean in the big scheme of things?) tend to be wrong a whole lot more - particularly with historically bad teams.

It's not physical courage, it's more academic courage. Just going off of the idea that the Cardinals are usually not good, so they won't be good is the cowards way of being afraid to be wrong.

So that means a LOT more let downs rather than experiencing meeting expectations. Maybe the “courageous” lean bipolar and enjoy the wild emotional swings more?

I'm rarely crazy off on the Cardinals record, because I usually try to not get too optimistic or too pessimistic. Recently, the only season that I was way off was the 2018 season because I thought that Wilks wasn't going to be a total trainwreck.

I've learned with this team you have to have guarded optimism if you have any, so I'm not as anti-darksider as you may think I am, but when I see what could be a good-great season, I'm more than willing to go out on a limb and say so. I don't see that often from darksiders.