Jake Plummer was one win from the Super Bowl

[conraddobler]

Trestman has always kept his mouth shut about his time here but you used to hear comments that made it clear Trestman just really had problems with Jake's lack of work ethic. It finally came out in an article Mortenson wrote a few years ago, I think after the signing of Jake in Denver. He said that Trestman had become so frustrated with Jake because he continually made the same mistakes and was uncoachable, that Trestman actually advised the Cards to expose Jake in the franchise draft one year(either Cleveland or Houston forget which) and that's why Trestman got fired. He basically told them we're paying the guy a ton of money, we're not getting production or effort to improve, the best way to get out of his contract is the franchise draft.

Not saying Trestman was right but it kind of explains just how different they were. Here's a guy who in his last job was coaching Steve young at the peak of his career, and now he's coaching a guy who can't grasp the offense and who apparently didn't put in nearly enough effort to learn the offense. Not surprised it didn't work. Trestman seems to be a guy who can only be effective when he has experienced guys around him, like in Oakland, where he can concentrate on schemes and not have to worry about teaching the players what to do. Olson seemed to be much better at that IMHO.

Trestman wasn't right, and should have been fired because it was an idiotic idea.

When a player makes what Jake does you can either can the player or can the coach, it's easier to can the coach.

He was frustrated he couldn't coach him and that's understandable but as Denver has shown he can be coached.

In a nutshell what happend was that an out of date organization that lacked leadership and quality at all levels found a gem and catered to the exact weaknesses of the player just out desperation and hope. This wasn't Trestman's fault but it put him in a spot to do something stupid like he suggested.

Jake was talented enough to get by with tons of mistakes that any decent organization or coach would have roasted him for, here he got worshiped in spite of them and thus his demise was inevitable.

In Denver he gets quality coaching, has quality players around him and he's held accountable for his mistakes.

P.S.

As much as I hate Denver, having Jake in the Super Bowl down by 10 with less than 10 minutes to play and seeing him unleased to be the schoolyard Jake to save the team and the game would be really fun to watch. Don't get to see that Jake much anymore.

 

[Russ Smith]

Trestman wasn't right, and should have been fired because it was an idiotic idea.

When a player makes what Jake does you can either can the player or can the coach, it's easier to can the coach.

He was frustrated he couldn't coach him and that's understandable but as Denver has shown he can be coached.

In a nutshell what happend was that an out of date organization that lacked leadership and quality at all levels found a gem and catered to the exact weaknesses of the player just out desperation and hope. This wasn't Trestman's fault but it put him in a spot to do something stupid like he suggested.

Jake was talented enough to get by with tons of mistakes that any decent organization or coach would have roasted him for, here he got worshiped in spite of them and thus his demise was inevitable.

In Denver he gets quality coaching, has quality players around him and he's held accountable for his mistakes.

P.S.

As much as I hate Denver, having Jake in the Super Bowl down by 10 with less than 10 minutes to play and seeing him unleased to be the schoolyard Jake to save the team and the game would be really fun to watch. Don't get to see that Jake much anymore.

I guess it depends who we would have replaced Jake with. The caproom would have helped but bakc then we never spent to the cap so how much is debatable.

I agree, saying I can't coach the guy, let's put him in the expansion draft is giving up. I suspect he was going to be canned anyways, the WCO had failed miserably here. He was probably asked what he felt should happen and instead of saying lets' abandon the WCO, he suggested getting rid of Plummer.

 

[Duckjake]

You're kidding right? In saying that Jake "gave us" the best season in 50 years? #1, the NFL schedule-makers "gave" us that season by handing out the easiest schedule in NFL history, followed by the defense. The offense in 1997/8 stank.

Against San Diego the Cardinal defense gave up a TD in the 4th quarter on 3rd and forever. Metcalf made a big return and Jake did his best Kurt Russell imitation to get the team in position for the winning FG. Just like he did 3 other times that season.

That team was so bad it wouldn't have won 3 games- even with the easiest schedule in NFL history- without Plummer's 7 game winning rallies.

 

[Russ Smith]

Against San Diego the Cardinal defense gave up a TD in the 4th quarter on 3rd and forever. Metcalf made a big return and Jake did his best Kurt Russell imitation to get the team in position for the winning FG. Just like he did 3 other times that season.

That team was so bad it wouldn't have won 3 games- even with the easiest schedule in NFL history- without Plummer's 7 game winning rallies.

sorry but that's just completely revisionist history.

The Cards were 3rd in the NFL in turnovers forced that season, the only reason we didn't win 10 or 11 games is Jake turned the ball over so much. I think there were 4 or 5 defensive TD's scored against us that year either returning picks or fumbles by Jake.

Just in games I can remember he single handedly lost to Seattle(2 picks returned for TD's by Springs), single handedly lost to the Raiders(pick for a TD by Woodson, not seeing Larry Centers completely uncovered for a TD on the last drive where we ran out of time trying to kick a FG to tie). There were other games but I can't recall specifics and can't be bothered to try and look them up.

Those games were exciting as hell but we only averaged 20 PPG and much of that was because of all the turnovers. Look at the San Diego game, they started Whelihan at QB, Kwamie had what 4 int's, and we still barely won and you want to blame the defense?

 

[Redheart]

sorry but that's just completely revisionist history....

Russ, have you considered a 12-step Jake Plummer program?

Please man, let it go!

 

[joeshmo]

Russ, have you considered a 12-step Jake Plummer program?

Please man, let it go!

Russ can say the same about the Jake Defenders.

Keep up the good fight Russ.

 

[jstadvl]

Bottom line

is, it all doesn't mean a thing! Not what anyone on here thinks of Plummer.
Not what you think of him as a SunDevil, Cardinal, or Donkie!
It doesn't matter what you want to attribute his play to,now vs. then.
It doesn't matter if you don't LIKE him.
The point is, for all the trash talking everyone wants to do about him, on here, he IS one win away from a Super Bowl and 2 away from a ring.
I for one am very happy for him. For the most part, while he was here, he was a class act. For the most part.
Too many people said he'd never make it in Denver, on this board. Guess what? He made it.

 

[kerouac9]

is, it all doesn't mean a thing! Not what anyone on here thinks of Plummer.
Not what you think of him as a SunDevil, Cardinal, or Donkie!
It doesn't matter what you want to attribute his play to,now vs. then.
It doesn't matter if you don't LIKE him.
The point is, for all the trash talking everyone wants to do about him, on here, he IS one win away from a Super Bowl and 2 away from a ring.
I for one am very happy for him. For the most part, while he was here, he was a class act. For the most part.
Too many people said he'd never make it in Denver, on this board. Guess what? He made it.

I guess all Denver had to do to make Jake Plummer a winner was turn him into Dave Brown. Nice going.

 

[Russ Smith]

Russ, have you considered a 12-step Jake Plummer program?

Please man, let it go!

Hey I like Duckjake but his claim was flat wrong, he essentially said Jake "won" 6 games for us in '97 that we would have otherwise lost.

That's like saying if you hold someone's head under water until they gasp for a breath and then pull them up, that you saved their life.

 

[CardShark]

http://archive.profootballweekly.co...atures_1998/seasonreview_cardinals_020399.asp
1998 season in review
Team-by-team reports
As published in print Feb. 3
Arizona Cardinals
1998 record: 9-7
Team leaders: RUSHING — Adrian Murrell, 1,042 yards on 274 carries. 3.8 avg., 8 TD’s.
PASSING — Jake Plummer, 324-547 attempts for 3,737 yards, 17 TD’s, 20 interceptions, 75.0 rating.

RECEIVING — Frank Sanders, 89 receptions for 1,145 yards, 12.9 avg., 3 TD’s.

SCORING — Joe Nedney, 69 points on 30 PAT’s and 13 FG’s.

KICKOFF RETURNS — Eric Metcalf, 57 for 1,218 yards, 21.4 avg., 0 TD’s.

PUNT RETURNS — Eric Metcalf, 43 for 295 yards, 6.9 avg., 0 TD’s.

PUNTING — Scott Player, 81 for 41.7 avg., 35.9 net, 6 TB, 12 inside 20, 1 blk., 67L.

INTERCEPTIONS — Kwamie Lassiter, 8 for 80 yards, 10.0 avg., 0 TD’s.

SACKS — Simeon Rice, 10.

Overview: By reaching the playoffs for the first time since 1982, and then winning a playoff game for the first time since 1947, the Cardinals exceeded most expectations. While this team showed it should be considered a franchise on the rise, it wasn’t always easy. They earned the nickname "Cardiac Cardinals" because eight of their 16 regular-season games were decided by three points or less, with seven of those ending in favor of Arizona. However, until the playoffs, when they beat archrival Dallas, the Cardinals had not defeated a team with a winning record. Overall, though, with a young team that has now tasted success, the Cardinals are looking forward to more good fortune in seasons to come. Said QB Jake Plummer after the season-ending loss in Minnesota: "We can look back in a few weeks, and then we’ll reflect on how we put together a pretty good season against some pretty high odds. We finished it out, made the playoffs and did some good stuff."

Turning point: After losing in Week 14 to the Giants, the Cardinals fell to 6-7. They basically needed to win the last three games to qualify for a postseason berth. Arizona went to Philadelphia and beat the Eagles 20-17 in overtime to get back to .500. The final two weeks of the regular season, the Cardinals beat the Saints 19-17 and then beat the Chargers 16-13 to wrap up a wild-card berth.

Offensive MVP: Plummer got off to a shaky start but settled down and showed improvement over his rookie season. In his first seven games of the season, Plummer threw 11 interceptions and just six TD passes. But in the Week Nine game vs. the Lions, Plummer seemed to have his own turning point. From that game on, he threw just nine interceptions and 11 TD passes. Plummer is clearly the leader of the offense, and head coach Vince Tobin believes that his young quarterback will only get better.

defensive MVP: OLB Jamir Miller led the team in tackles despite playing basically with one hand for much of the season. (He dislocated his wrist in Week Three.)

Biggest surprise: The offensive line was an area of severe weakness in 1997 — when the Cardinals allowed 78 sacks and averaged just 78.4 rushing yards per game. But the line really seemed better this time around, improving as the season wore on. In 1998, the Cardinals allowed 50 sacks and improved their rushing yards per game to 101.7.

Biggest disappointment: Eric Swann. He was expected to return to the lineup a few weeks after having a midseason knee surgery, but, instead, he opted to have another surgery done, which ended his season. There was some controversy over the whole thing, with the Cardinals wanting him to postpone the second surgery so he could play out the year. After Swann left the lineup, the rushing defense really suffered.

Rookie recap: The Cardinals believe this could be their best draft in team history. Firstly, after dropping down one spot in the first round to No. 3, they were able to get DE Andre Wadsworth, in addition to some veteran players and the Chargers’ first-round pick in 1999. Wadsworth was a starter at left end all season. Second-round pick Corey Chavous was a starter by the end of the year and showed good potential. OT Anthony Clement, also a second-rounder, was hurt most of the season, but the Cardinals still like his potential. RB Michael Pittman was a good special-teamer. They also hit on a seventh-round pick, S Pat Tillman, who started for about half the season.

Free-agent/trade review: The Cardinals traded for RB Adrian Murrell, who was largely responsible for improving Arizona’s running game. They signed RB Mario Bates, a solid goalline runner who scored six touchdowns. WR-RS Eric Metcalf and LB Patrick Sapp were the veterans they got from San Diego. Metcalf was a disappointment overall, but Sapp improved greatly as a Cardinal, compared to how he played while in San Diego.

Results: Pointspread Shown Refers to Arizona.
Date Opponent Spread Score
Sept. 6 At Dallas (+5.5) 10-38
Sept. 13 At Seattle (+7.5) 14-33
Sept. 20 Philadelphia (-5) 17-3
Sept. 27 At St. Louis (+3) 20-17
Oct. 4 Oakland (-2.5) 20-23
Oct. 11 Chicago (-3) 20-7
Oct. 18 At New York Giants (+2) 7-34
Nov. 1 At Detroit (+6.5) 17-15
Nov. 8 Washington (-5) 29-27
Nov. 15 Dallas (+3.5) 28-35
Nov. 22 At Washington (+1) 45-42
Nov. 29 At Kansas City (+3.5) 24-34
Dec. 6 New York Giants (-5) 19-23
Dec. 13 At Philadelphia (-3) 20-17*
Dec. 20 New Orleans (-3.5) 19-17
Dec. 27 San Diego (-7) 16-13
Postseason
Jan. 2 At Dallas (+7.5) 20-7
Jan. 10 At Minnesota (+16.5) 21-41
* Overtime

 

[Duckjake]

sorry but that's just completely revisionist history.

The Cards were 3rd in the NFL in turnovers forced that season, the only reason we didn't win 10 or 11 games is Jake turned the ball over so much. I think there were 4 or 5 defensive TD's scored against us that year either returning picks or fumbles by Jake.

Just in games I can remember he single handedly lost to Seattle(2 picks returned for TD's by Springs), single handedly lost to the Raiders(pick for a TD by Woodson, not seeing Larry Centers completely uncovered for a TD on the last drive where we ran out of time trying to kick a FG to tie). There were other games but I can't recall specifics and can't be bothered to try and look them up.

Those games were exciting as hell but we only averaged 20 PPG and much of that was because of all the turnovers. Look at the San Diego game, they started Whelihan at QB, Kwamie had what 4 int's, and we still barely won and you want to blame the defense?

With the playoffs on the line, at home before a packed house, on 3rd and forever the defense, in typical Cardinal fashion, gave up a TD pass to San Diego to tie the game. Only Metcalf's return and Jake's heroics saved the season for the Cards.

The defense ranked in the bottom 10 just like always. But SEVEN times the Cards came from behind to win and eventually make the playoffs. Regardless of how they got behind they came back and won the games, advanced to the postseason, and won in the first round. Something no other Cardinal team has been able to do in almost 60 years. And Jake Plummer was the QB.

No matter how you spin it McGinnis' defenses were awful. Every year. And most of Jake's mistakes while in Arizona were a result of his trying to cover up for those horrible defenses.

I'll never forget how everyone was hailing Jake's departure and spouting off about how all the Cards needed was a QB who didn't turn the ball over. And the next season the Cards, with their caretaker QB, went 4-12 and finished dead last in the NFL in points scored.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Jake being a class act is about the biggest case of revisionist history I have heard yet and there's been literally hundreds of examples of it on this thread. Slacking off in the offseason, saying he "doesn't give a rat's ass about the fans," the Club Rio incident, leaving his fiancee of many years at the altar for a cheerleader, flipping off the Bronco fans...Yeah, that Jake Plummer is a real choir boy.

 

[Russ Smith]

With the playoffs on the line, at home before a packed house, on 3rd and forever the defense, in typical Cardinal fashion, gave up a TD pass to San Diego to tie the game. Only Metcalf's return and Jake's heroics saved the season for the Cards.

The defense ranked in the bottom 10 just like always. But SEVEN times the Cards came from behind to win and eventually make the playoffs. Regardless of how they got behind they came back and won the games, advanced to the postseason, and won in the first round. Something no other Cardinal team has been able to do in almost 60 years. And Jake Plummer was the QB.

No matter how you spin it McGinnis' defenses were awful. Every year. And most of Jake's mistakes while in Arizona were a result of his trying to cover up for those horrible defenses.

.

We were 25th in points allowed but again you have to remember how many of the TD's the defense allowed were caused by Jake. He threw 4 INTs for TD's that year alone and I'm pretty sure he had a fumble returned for a TD. That's 35 points right there. In the 456 yard game against Dallas, Deion picked him and hobbled on one leg to the 2 yard line. I think they scored on the next play. THere were plays like that all year. It's been years but I actually sat down once and figured out how many of the TD's given up that year were directly tied to turnovers by Jake, I don't recall the exact number but it was in the area of 70.

The reason the defense gave up 378 points was in large part because the offense kept turning it over and giving teams short fields to work with.

I'm not saying McGinnis was a good coach at all but only 2 teams in the entire NFL forced more turnovers than us that year. When an NFL team forces that many turnovers they're supposed to win a lot more than 9 games, IIRC we didn't beat a single team with a winning record that year until the win over Dallas in the playoffs.

I enjoyed that season as much as anybody but the fact is you put Lomax in his prime on that team and we win 12-13 games with that schedule and all the turnovers the defense forced. Beuerlein in his Card days, 11 wins easily.
Saying Jake was personally responsible for 6 wins that year is just comically wrong.

 

[Duckjake]

Jake being a class act is about the biggest case of revisionist history I have heard yet and there's been literally hundreds of examples of it on this thread. Slacking off in the offseason, saying he "doesn't give a rat's ass about the fans," the Club Rio incident, leaving his fiancee of many years at the altar for a cheerleader, flipping off the Bronco fans...Yeah, that Jake Plummer is a real choir boy.

Someone said that Plummer was a "class act"?

Of course I don't care if a guy, messes with girls at Club Rio, trashes his wife's car, cuts his hand answering a telephone, gets falsely accused of drug possession, or misses the rest of the season because of a roughhousing at home injury as long as the Cardinals win.

But then I was always a big Hunter Thompson fan.

 

[Duckjake]

We were 25th in points allowed but again you have to remember how many of the TD's the defense allowed were caused by Jake. He threw 4 INTs for TD's that year alone and I'm pretty sure he had a fumble returned for a TD. That's 35 points right there. In the 456 yard game against Dallas, Deion picked him and hobbled on one leg to the 2 yard line. I think they scored on the next play. THere were plays like that all year. It's been years but I actually sat down once and figured out how many of the TD's given up that year were directly tied to turnovers by Jake, I don't recall the exact number but it was in the area of 70.

The reason the defense gave up 378 points was in large part because the offense kept turning it over and giving teams short fields to work with.

I'm not saying McGinnis was a good coach at all but only 2 teams in the entire NFL forced more turnovers than us that year. When an NFL team forces that many turnovers they're supposed to win a lot more than 9 games, IIRC we didn't beat a single team with a winning record that year until the win over Dallas in the playoffs.

I enjoyed that season as much as anybody but the fact is you put Lomax in his prime on that team and we win 12-13 games with that schedule and all the turnovers the defense forced. Beuerlein in his Card days, 11 wins easily.
Saying Jake was personally responsible for 6 wins that year is just comically wrong.

I have to disagree because both Lomax and Buerlein had their opportunities and didn't get it done. Buerlein was QB on teams that had defenses ranked 7th and 4th in points allowed. Jake was horrible through 3 quarters but he was magic with the game on the line.

I guess the best comparison would be that Jake was like that volunteer fireman who set fires so he could be a hero putting them out.

 

[Russ Smith]

I'll never forget how everyone was hailing Jake's departure and spouting off about how all the Cards needed was a QB who didn't turn the ball over. And the next season the Cards, with their caretaker QB, went 4-12 and finished dead last in the NFL in points scored.

Yep, and the year before we won 5 games and finished 29th in scoring, then went into the next year with a lame duck coach, a first year OC, 2 rookie Wr's and Bryan Gilmore and Larry Foster at WR.

The interesting thing is even that year we scored more points than the 2000 Cardinals did, and won more games, 4 to 3. My memory is a little shaky you'll have to remind who was the starting QB in 2000 responsible for that ridiculous season.

 

[Russ Smith]

I have to disagree because both Lomax and Buerlein had their opportunities and didn't get it done. Buerlein was QB on teams that had defenses ranked 7th and 4th in points allowed. Jake was horrible through 3 quarters but he was magic with the game on the line.

I guess the best comparison would be that Jake was like that volunteer fireman who set fires so he could be a hero putting them out.

Lomax took the team to an 8-7-1 and 9-7 record in St. Louis, he just never had the luxury of playing the weakest schedule any playoff team in NFL history ever played(was true in '98 don't know if it's still true). The highest the defense ranked in points allowed in Lomax' career was 12th, and that was the strike year in 82 when we only played 9 official games. Next best was 17th and we went 9-7 that year, we were 4th in scoring that year we didn't make the playoffs because of the defense, and O'Donoghue.

Only 2 QB's in St Louis or Arizona Cardinal history have ever had 2 or more years of .500 or better seasons, Hart with 3, and Lomax with 2.

Beuerlein's 2nd year was the year Buddy blew up the entire offense, cut the WR's, and Beuerlein only played 9 games that year.

The year before was one of the weirdest seasons in NFL history, the team was 9th in scoring, 7th in points allowed, and won only 7 games. We scored 57 more points than we allowed and yet managed to have a losing record. We lost 8 games that year by a td or less. That's why so many longtime Card fans like me still wish Bidwill had given Bugel one more year, it was clear that team was on the verge of being good. But he fired Bugel, hired Buddy and Buddy blew it all to smithereens.

 

[Duckjake]

Yep, and the year before we won 5 games and finished 29th in scoring, then went into the next year with a lame duck coach, a first year OC, 2 rookie Wr's and Bryan Gilmore and Larry Foster at WR.

The interesting thing is even that year we scored more points than the 2000 Cardinals did, and won more games, 4 to 3. My memory is a little shaky you'll have to remind who was the starting QB in 2000 responsible for that ridiculous season.

Wasn't 2000 the year we had a lame duck coach and Lester "Duckjake" Holmes, Matt Joyce and Chris Dishman manning the interior of the Oline?

The problem in making comparisons of Cardinal seasons is that they were 5-11and in the bottom half of the NFL in both offense and defense almost every year. I remember at one point in Jake's tenure with the Cards, either 1999 or 2000, his W-L record as QB of the Cards was exactly the same as the Cards W-L record in the same # of games before he became the starter.

BTW: I still can't believe that the Bidwill's, witnessing the horrible results of the last 9 games of the 2000 season, 1-8 and outscored 233-89, retained McGinnis as head coach. But hey, couldn't risk getting egg on their faces with another Fassel.

 

[Russ Smith]

Wasn't 2000 the year we had a lame duck coach and Lester "Duckjake" Holmes and James Dexter on the right side of the Oline?

The problem in making comparisons of Cardinal seasons is that they were 5-11and in the bottom half of the NFL in both offense and defense almost every year. I remember at one point in Jake's tenure with the Cards, either 1999 or 2000, his W-L record as QB of the Cards was exactly the same as the Cards W-L record in the same # of games before he became the starter.

BTW: I still can't believe that the Bidwill's, witnessing the horrible results of the last 9 games of the 2000 season, 1-8 and outscored 233-89, retained McGinnis as head coach. But hey, couldn't risk getting egg on their faces with another Fassel.

Totally agree, hiring McGinnis as an interim made some sense but giving him the job the next year was just complete insanity. The defense quit on the team, he coached the defense, let's make him head coach?

The 2000 season was the worst Cardinal team in history in my opinion. It's staggering what happened, we lost by 41, 25, 24, 26 and 34 points in games that year. Outscored by 233 points, only 2 of our losses that year were by a TD or less. And they hired Mac based on that 1-8 finish you mentioned.

 

[Duckjake]

Totally agree, hiring McGinnis as an interim made some sense but giving him the job the next year was just complete insanity. The defense quit on the team, he coached the defense, let's make him head coach?

The 2000 season was the worst Cardinal team in history in my opinion. It's staggering what happened, we lost by 41, 25, 24, 26 and 34 points in games that year. Outscored by 233 points, only 2 of our losses that year were by a TD or less. And they hired Mac based on that 1-8 finish you mentioned.

Even the 1999 team which suffered through Plummer's 9 Td 24 INT season was better.

The only good thing that came out of that 2000 season was that it allowed the Cards to draft Leonard Davis the next spring.

 

[Russ Smith]

Even the 1999 team which suffered through Plummer's 9 Td 24 INT season was better.

The only good thing that came out of that 2000 season was that it allowed the Cards to draft Leonard Davis the next spring.

In hindsight we should have picked LT but at the time nobody had any idea he'd turn out this good.

That's the curse for a Cardinal fan, even in our worst season ever, we not only don't get the first pick, we get the 2nd pick in a draft that has no clear cut 2nd pick.

One of these years we're going to go 0-16 and still pick 4th.

 

[Duckjake]

In hindsight we should have picked LT but at the time nobody had any idea he'd turn out this good.

That's the curse for a Cardinal fan, even in our worst season ever, we not only don't get the first pick, we get the 2nd pick in a draft that has no clear cut 2nd pick.

One of these years we're going to go 0-16 and still pick 4th.

How about 1997 when the Cards won their last game against Atlanta and missed out on the chance to draft Ryan Leaf?

 

[Zeno]

How about 1997 when the Cards won their last game against Atlanta and missed out on the chance to draft Ryan Leaf?

You mean Peyton Manning, had we lost we would have picked first, we picked second traded away that pick to San Diego.

 

[kerouac9]

Before last season started, the guys at FootballOutsiders.com had a kind of stat yearbook for the history of the site, or something. Each team had like 15 pages of statistical history.

They had a special section for the Cardinals' 1997 playoff team, about how they were the biggest outliers that they had ever encountered, ever, and that the main reason was because of the ridiculously easy schedule that the NFL gave them. Maybe CardShark will post that article. It basically said that Arizona was one of the worst 10 teams in the NFL in both offensive and defensive Value Over Average, but somehow made the playoffs.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

The 2000 season was the worst Cardinal team in history in my opinion. It's staggering what happened, we lost by 41, 25, 24, 26 and 34 points in games that year. Outscored by 233 points, only 2 of our losses that year were by a TD or less.

I don't know Russ, the 2003 Cardinals gave them a run for their money by getting outscored by 217 points and losing by 38 (2 times), 36, 24, and 25. I wonder if we could go back and find out which team had the tougher schedule.

It's these types of numbers that illustrate how much of a complete joke Dave McGinnis was. The freaking Chicago Bears prematurely leaking the announcement for that infamous press conference could have been one of the worst moments in Cardinals team history.