Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
Under the BASK regime, Arizona Sports Radio's Mike Jurecki and all of the local newspaper writers and talk show hosts were locked out of the proverbial gate. This was particularly frustrating for Jurecki, as for years he was known as the "Cardinals' Insider."
Suddenly everyone including MJ were relegated to being "Cardinals' Outsiders."
As a result, the twitter world and radio shows were no longer a constant source of inside info and innuendo.
Recently, it appears that MJ has taken a highly pro-active approach.
First, he heavily promoted Steelers' OLC Mike Munchak as the next head coach, almost to the point of declaring Munchak's hiring as a fait accompli.
When fans like myself were showing great interest in Eagles' QBC John DeFilippo, MJ did just about everything he could to ignore DeFilippo as a candidate, even though it was public knowledge that the Cardinals met with DeFilippo in Philadelphia to discuss the HC opening.
When asked about DeFilippo, after first offering one of his patented "WHO?" rejoinders, MJ scoffed at the notion of JDF as a legitimate HC candidate and stated erroneously that DeFilippo had no experience as an OC and that the leap from QBC to HC was to precipitous to warrant serious consideration.
When informed by myself and a sports writer on Twitter that JDF actually did have a year of experience as an OC with the Browns in 2015, MJ didn't acknowledge that he has erred and countered by implying that being an OC for the Browns didn't count. And adding that JDF's offense in 2015 was 25th in total yards and 31st in scoring.
It wasn't until Mike Munchak withdrew his name from consideration that MJ started to look more closely at JDF, even at one point posting one of JDF's YouTube coaching videos on Twitter. Perhaps just in case, JDF was still heavily on the Cardinals' radar.
But, as it became clear that the Cardinals were honing in on Steve Wilks, MJ went back to tweeting comments like "DeFilppo was never a serious option."
Once Wilks was hired, next on MJ's agenda was to push for Mike McCoy for OC. MJ kept saying repeatedly that it would ideal for Wilks, a first time HC, to have a former HC on the staff whom he "could lean on" in tough times.
On the surface MJ's argument is sound---but seeing as Wilks was an assistant HC in Carolina for years under Ron Rivera and recognizing Wilks' take charge attitude following his hiring, Wilks doesn't seem like the kind of coach who needs a former HC to lean on.
When Wilks introduced McCoy as the new OC, there was little question as to who the alpha in the room was.
But, to give credit where credit is due, MJ was convinced all along that McCoy was the guy and sure enough he was.
Now that Alex Smith has been acquired by the Redskins, MJ's newest focus is on urging the Cardinals to sign 39 year old former Cardinal QB Josh McCown as the "mentor" to the QB the Cardinals are going to draft in April.
There has been no confirmation from the Cardinals that they are interested in McCown, but MJ reached out to McCown via twitter to ask if McCown was interested in ending his NFL career where it started 13 years ago. According to MJ, McCown is very interested in a return to Arizona. Bertrand Berry, MJ's co-host, agrees that McCown, who Berry thinks is still as athletic as ever, would be a great fit for the Cardinals.
Berry, who also was on the McCoy bandwagon was outspoken about not wanting Darrell Bevell as OC, calling Bevell "someone else's trash."
Then yesterday, MJ broke the news that the Cardinals are going to release RB Adrian Peterson. One has to wonder whether MJ, now that Steve Wilks is the HC, like in days of yore, has an informant inside the Cardinals' FO who tipped MJ off on this lead. Or---it's quite possible that MJ, who likes to call or tweet players and players' agents, got the info from Adrian Peterson or his agent.
In any event, MJ is doing his best to try to re-establish himself as the "Cardinals' Insider" to the point of playing matchmaker through conjuring up potential interest and promoting potential free agent signings.
One interesting tidbit is that in recent years Gambo seems to be getting the lead on Cardinals' info...and on a recent show when the speculation was that Mike MCoy wants to bring UFA QB Brock Osweiler with him, Gambo was effusive in his disdain for Osweiler and was so irate at the thought of an Osweiler signing that during an advertising break he made a phone call to ask if there was any truth to the rumor---and Gambo, upon his return to the air, said with 100% conviction that his source told him no way on Osweiler.
Now---one has wonder who Gambo's source is---but in reality, Steve Wilks and Mike McCoy haven't had much of a chance yet to sit down and discuss the QB free agent, trade and draft market, as Wilks' priority this week has been to finish hiring his staff and to start evaluation the current roster.
I must admit, as a Cardinals' fan thirsty for inside info, I have been drawn to MJ, Bickley, Somers, Urban and Gambo for years, and I appreciate being one of the first to know the latest news.
I just find it curious these days to see MJ in the role of matchmaker. MJ himself has admitted for years that he doesn't do much prep work for the draft---but this past week he said he watched the Senior Bowl with keen interest---and who knows---maybe this year MJ will be pushing his top prospects on the Cardinals' FO---the way he has been promoting his coaching and QB candidates in recent weeks.
Suddenly everyone including MJ were relegated to being "Cardinals' Outsiders."
As a result, the twitter world and radio shows were no longer a constant source of inside info and innuendo.
Recently, it appears that MJ has taken a highly pro-active approach.
First, he heavily promoted Steelers' OLC Mike Munchak as the next head coach, almost to the point of declaring Munchak's hiring as a fait accompli.
When fans like myself were showing great interest in Eagles' QBC John DeFilippo, MJ did just about everything he could to ignore DeFilippo as a candidate, even though it was public knowledge that the Cardinals met with DeFilippo in Philadelphia to discuss the HC opening.
When asked about DeFilippo, after first offering one of his patented "WHO?" rejoinders, MJ scoffed at the notion of JDF as a legitimate HC candidate and stated erroneously that DeFilippo had no experience as an OC and that the leap from QBC to HC was to precipitous to warrant serious consideration.
When informed by myself and a sports writer on Twitter that JDF actually did have a year of experience as an OC with the Browns in 2015, MJ didn't acknowledge that he has erred and countered by implying that being an OC for the Browns didn't count. And adding that JDF's offense in 2015 was 25th in total yards and 31st in scoring.
It wasn't until Mike Munchak withdrew his name from consideration that MJ started to look more closely at JDF, even at one point posting one of JDF's YouTube coaching videos on Twitter. Perhaps just in case, JDF was still heavily on the Cardinals' radar.
But, as it became clear that the Cardinals were honing in on Steve Wilks, MJ went back to tweeting comments like "DeFilppo was never a serious option."
Once Wilks was hired, next on MJ's agenda was to push for Mike McCoy for OC. MJ kept saying repeatedly that it would ideal for Wilks, a first time HC, to have a former HC on the staff whom he "could lean on" in tough times.
On the surface MJ's argument is sound---but seeing as Wilks was an assistant HC in Carolina for years under Ron Rivera and recognizing Wilks' take charge attitude following his hiring, Wilks doesn't seem like the kind of coach who needs a former HC to lean on.
When Wilks introduced McCoy as the new OC, there was little question as to who the alpha in the room was.
But, to give credit where credit is due, MJ was convinced all along that McCoy was the guy and sure enough he was.
Now that Alex Smith has been acquired by the Redskins, MJ's newest focus is on urging the Cardinals to sign 39 year old former Cardinal QB Josh McCown as the "mentor" to the QB the Cardinals are going to draft in April.
There has been no confirmation from the Cardinals that they are interested in McCown, but MJ reached out to McCown via twitter to ask if McCown was interested in ending his NFL career where it started 13 years ago. According to MJ, McCown is very interested in a return to Arizona. Bertrand Berry, MJ's co-host, agrees that McCown, who Berry thinks is still as athletic as ever, would be a great fit for the Cardinals.
Berry, who also was on the McCoy bandwagon was outspoken about not wanting Darrell Bevell as OC, calling Bevell "someone else's trash."
Then yesterday, MJ broke the news that the Cardinals are going to release RB Adrian Peterson. One has to wonder whether MJ, now that Steve Wilks is the HC, like in days of yore, has an informant inside the Cardinals' FO who tipped MJ off on this lead. Or---it's quite possible that MJ, who likes to call or tweet players and players' agents, got the info from Adrian Peterson or his agent.
In any event, MJ is doing his best to try to re-establish himself as the "Cardinals' Insider" to the point of playing matchmaker through conjuring up potential interest and promoting potential free agent signings.
One interesting tidbit is that in recent years Gambo seems to be getting the lead on Cardinals' info...and on a recent show when the speculation was that Mike MCoy wants to bring UFA QB Brock Osweiler with him, Gambo was effusive in his disdain for Osweiler and was so irate at the thought of an Osweiler signing that during an advertising break he made a phone call to ask if there was any truth to the rumor---and Gambo, upon his return to the air, said with 100% conviction that his source told him no way on Osweiler.
Now---one has wonder who Gambo's source is---but in reality, Steve Wilks and Mike McCoy haven't had much of a chance yet to sit down and discuss the QB free agent, trade and draft market, as Wilks' priority this week has been to finish hiring his staff and to start evaluation the current roster.
I must admit, as a Cardinals' fan thirsty for inside info, I have been drawn to MJ, Bickley, Somers, Urban and Gambo for years, and I appreciate being one of the first to know the latest news.
I just find it curious these days to see MJ in the role of matchmaker. MJ himself has admitted for years that he doesn't do much prep work for the draft---but this past week he said he watched the Senior Bowl with keen interest---and who knows---maybe this year MJ will be pushing his top prospects on the Cardinals' FO---the way he has been promoting his coaching and QB candidates in recent weeks.
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