ok lets talk football

[CtCardinals78]

maybe it's the six beers but something got me thinking about the Cards tonight.The Cards made excellent choices in their coaching staff this year. I was hoping for Whiz and we got him. As an extra bonus Grimm came with him. So in my alcohol indued haze i got thinking about the 2007 season which i can't wait for here we go.

#1 I am really starting to come around on Levi Brown. He is going to be the best olineman in this draft.

#2 Branch is either boom or bust and I hate to say it but I am leaning towards bust

#3 Ben Patrick is going to shock a lot of people and rip it up in the NFL think Ben Coats

#4 This is going to be the last year the Cards disappoint. Sorry to say it but I am really thinking 6-10 or 7-9(I'd be happy with 8-8)call it a pre disposition to failure but i am just not feeling well about this year.

#5 The Cards will be the feel good story in 2008.
I hope I am worng about Branch and 6-10 but we'll see.

 

[Skkorpion]

6-10 would be an improvement on last year and if the level of play gets better toward the end of the year, under a 1st time coach and a new system, I'll be encouraged.

 

[cardsfanmd]

6-10 against this?

49ers
Seattle
Ravens
Pittsburgh
Rams
Panthers
Redskins
Tampa
Detroit
Cincinatti
49ers
Browns
Seahawks
New Orleans
Falcons
Rams

The teams in bold should be beaten. With this schedule, 6-10 will not cut it.

 

[Duckjake]

Hopefully the Cards will do better than they did under Green when the only team they beat with a winning record during his three years was Seattle.

 

[PACardsFan]

6-10 against this?

49ers
Seattle
Ravens
Pittsburgh
Rams
Panthers
Redskins
Tampa
Detroit
Cincinatti
49ers
Browns
Seahawks
New Orleans
Falcons
Rams

The teams in bold should be beaten. With this schedule, 6-10 will not cut it.

I have to agree with my son.. WOW, that's a first. How many stinking years are we going to be happy with 6-10. This team played well towards the end of last year & that's normally a precursor for the following year. The absolute worst record I will accept is 8-8. Areas that I see dramatic improvement in:

1. Leinart will improve to the point that unless he gets hurt, he will be a pro-bowler THIS YEAR. With a year under his belt & a significantly better OL, he will be a joy to watch for the next 10 years.

2. The OL under Grimm will be nasty, physical & will dictate. It will start this year & only get better. My Steeler buddies are seething that the Steelers let him go elsewhere. Brown will be a very productive player & almost everyone on the line will look better than anything we've see since the days of Dierdorf, Dobler, Banks, McMillian, Young, Finney, etc, etc. It won't happen overnight, but by mid-season, teams will hate palying against this unit.

3. The Defense will have significantly more depth than it has ever had. With depth, Pendergast will be able to do the things that got him this job in the 1st place. He's a sharp, up & coming coach, who will be a HC inside of 3-4 years. Branch will NOT be a bust. The Cardinals understand that he is not a 4 down player, nor is ANYONE that size. Colleges don't have the ability to rest these guys enough plays, so they do get tired & look like they are taking plays off. This guy is a prototypical run-stuffer, who also has the ability to put pressure on the QB. Our secondary will a hard-hitting, nasty group that will have WR's hearing footsteps. The Secondary & Linebacker coaching is a HUGE, HUGE upgrade from previous years.

4. Our Special Teams play will be among the best in the league & Rackers will revert back to 2005.

5. We will not beat ourselves with stupid penalties at the most critical times. That's where Whiz comes into play. He will bring discipline to a team that sorely needs it. My biggest gripe in hiring Green was that he lacked the ability to do that. Whiz is a great hire & we will no longer be outcoached on gameday.

There is NO way in hell this team goes 6-10, unless we have just a ton of injuries, which in the NFL, is possible. That's why it's so imperative that teams build depth, something that Whiz understands big time.

 

[Pariah]

There is NO way in hell this team goes 6-10,

This sounds really familiar.

I don't think there's anything wrong with predicting a 6-10 season. The Cardinals have made fools of those who predict 10-6 seasons based on hope--and make no mistake: Right now this team has proven NOTHING. Wiz has proven NOTHING. All we have is hope that they can put the pieces together.

 

[PACardsFan]

This sounds really familiar.

I don't think there's anything wrong with predicting a 6-10 season. The Cardinals have made fools of those who predict 10-6 seasons based on hope--and make no mistake: Right now this team has proven NOTHING. Wiz has proven NOTHING. All we have is hope that they can put the pieces together.

You're correct in that as a HC, Whiz has proven nothing. But success breeds success & Whiz has proven to be successful at the levels leading up to earning his current gig. I didn't predict 10-6 either, but I will be disappointed tremendously if we go 6-10. The difference between the two is HUGE. This organization & the fans that support it have to stop thinking 6-10. It just CANNOT be uttered or accepted. If you visualize 6-10, it will become a reality. I live in Steeler country & the Steeler faithful are hugely disapointed that they lost out on Whiz & Grimm. These guys are WINNERS & bring an attitude that this organization & fan base has yet to experience in the Valley of the Sun. I'm sorry, but I refuse to consider 6-10 & neither should anyone else. That nonsense needs to stop NOW!

 

[CtCardinals78]

I agree with all of you. We shouldn't go 6-10 and I hope I am very wrong. But I just got a feeling. SF is 100x better than they were last year. I do not think we sweep them this year. We won't sweep Seattle possibly STL.
49ers L
Seattle L
Ravens L
Pittsburgh W
Rams W
Panthers L
Redskins W
Tampa W
Detroit W
Cincinatti L
49ers W
Browns W
Seahawks L
New Orleans L
Falcons L
Rams L
Ok maybe not 6-10 but 7-9 seems very likely. 2008 is this teams breakout year.

 

[Pariah]

I will be disappointed tremendously if we go 6-10.

I'll be dissapointed, too. But, unfortunately as Cardinals fans we're very familiar with bitter disappointment.

That nonsense needs to stop NOW!

Unfortunately, it's not nonsense. It's reality.

Prove it to me on the field and in the win/loss column, and then it'll be nonsense to predict a losing season. Until that point, the Cardinals haven't earned my unflagging optimism. They've disappointed me too many times in the past when they seemed to have turned a corner.

 

[ajcardfan]

I'll be unhappy with anything that's not a winning record. Too many guys are turning around teams in one year for me to be happy with another crap season.

On the other hand, I'm concerned about the apparent major shifts in defense and the offensive line. That sort of stuff generally means you are going to have struggles. Whisenhunt and Grimm had better be as good as their reputations or we will have a bad year.

 

[Cardinals.Ken]

11-5!

You must be registered for see images

 

[Scot1]

Repeating (apologies) the idea of another of my posts, I think we ought to try to separate hope and trust. I have high hopes, with some good reason. Over and over, many of us have carped that the Cards' biggest problem was the OL. That's been addressed, finally, in a pretty major way. The second weakest spot, CB, was addressed, so that if one guy (say, Rolle) is a flop, we aren't totally dead, and we even got a little LB help, with the possibility that moving our DEs in the 3-4 will give even more help. The coaches may be better--no trustworthy info on this, but they seem to have drafted as well as Green seemed to.... We have good new reasons to hope. At least we can reasonably hope that the really boneheaded plays and coaching decisions will be avoided.

That doesn't mean we should trust these changes. Nothing is proven, and we've heard the same optimistic reports from training camp repeatedly. I would hesitate to bet ten cents on the team, and for sure not any money I'd miss. But I would be satisfied with 9-7, and philosophical about 7-9 or 8-8. I hope for 10-6 or better; I trust we'll do at least a tad better than last year, or 6-10. I think (hope) we can split the West, which, with CtCards' list but not blowing both Seattle games, makes us 8-8, a significant improvement.

 

[Redheart]

Considering new coaching and a new OL group; I think we should expect to lose some games early that we should expect, on paper, to win.

The good new is that we should also reverse that late in the season.

8-8.

Cheers!

 

[cardsfanmd]

I agree with all of you. We shouldn't go 6-10 and I hope I am very wrong. But I just got a feeling. SF is 100x better than they were last year. I do not think we sweep them this year. We won't sweep Seattle possibly STL.
49ers L
Seattle L
Ravens L
Pittsburgh W
Rams W
Panthers L
Redskins W
Tampa W
Detroit W
Cincinatti L
49ers W
Browns W
Seahawks L
New Orleans L
Falcons L
Rams L
Ok maybe not 6-10 but 7-9 seems very likely. 2008 is this teams breakout year.

That cannot happen. If we open up the season 0-3, we might as well just pack it in and forfeit the remainder of the year. I am sorry, but you guys have just become way too accustomed to the Cards mediocrity. If you are content with saying that we will go 6-10 before the season even starts then why watch it at all?

This team is entirely too talented to lose a home game to Seattle, San Francisco or Carolina, or to lose period to the Lions, Browns, Bucs, Rams, Redskins or Falcons. I will bet 100 ASFN bucks to anyone that wants to that we will spank Seattle at home.

Honestly, I dont see how the 49ers are 100Xs better. Yes, Pat Willis is a stud and Banta-Cain is an upgrade. Personally, I have not seen enough of Nate Clements to comment on him, but I know that the rest of their secondary is average at best and Clements cant cover Boldin and Fitz at the same time. Darrell Jackson is a streaky player with very suspect hands who will certainly get hurt atleast once this year. I doubt Staley has much if any positive impact on the offense this year.

We wouldn't be doing anything special by going 13-3. That would give us losses to Baltimore, New Orleans and Cincinatti, which I think is a very winnable game. Any less that 9-10 wins this year would be a big disappointment in my eyes.

 

[Skkorpion]

I'll be unhappy with anything that's not a winning record. Too many guys are turning around teams in one year for me to be happy with another crap season.

On the other hand, I'm concerned about the apparent major shifts in defense and the offensive line. That sort of stuff generally means you are going to have struggles. Whisenhunt and Grimm had better be as good as their reputations or we will have a bad year.

If you look at the one year turn-arounds, virtually every one was accomplished with a veteran, stable quarterback. (Yeah, somebody will find an exception)

Some coaches, like Walsh, Parcells and Dungy have a good history of turning out young coordinators ready for the next step up. Cowher has been the opposite. I doubt Whisenhunt is ready but might learn quickly. aj and I share the same concerns here.

 

[Skkorpion]

You are the voice of reason Scot1.

 

[Chainthroer]

I might be drinking too much Kool-aid, but the Card fan from York, PA, sums up my thoughts. If we win only six games, it'll be a major disappointment. It might take a while for us to gel under the new offensive system, but by the last half of the season we should see consistent dominance by the Cards.

 

[artp]

I might be drinking too much Kool-aid, but the Card fan from York, PA, sums up my thoughts. If we win only six games, it'll be a major disappointment. It might take a while for us to gel under the new offensive system, but by the last half of the season we should see consistent dominance by the Cards.

I will not accept 6-10. I understand new HC, new system, new players, etc. But, I also see good players who are coming in to their prime. Most drafted under Denny Green. JJ Arrington, A Rolle, E Green, D Dockett, G Watson, and others can still improve and contribute. I still think one, or more, of them can become stars. I think the new coaching staff will help. The Draft and FA was good, but this season depends on the still unproven draft picks of Denny Green.

 

[CtCardinals78]

That cannot happen. If we open up the season 0-3, we might as well just pack it in and forfeit the remainder of the year. I am sorry, but you guys have just become way too accustomed to the Cards mediocrity. If you are content with saying that we will go 6-10 before the season even starts then why watch it at all?

Cardfan there is a good chance this team opens up 0-3. The SF game will be very very tough. They still remember last year when we scheduled them for our homeopener because we thought it would be a cupcake win. At SF on MNF is a very scary opener IMO. Hopefully we will win the SEA(SEA has owned us the last few years) game but SEA should be healthy. There is little hope this team goes to BAL and beats the Ravens at home. Starting 0-3 is very plausible. If that happens how they respond will determine the season, while I agree anything short of 9-10 wins is a disapppointment 7-9 is a real possiblity.

BTW I don't think SF is 100x better than us but they are 100x better than last year and they were in contention up until the last month or so. They are much better at receiver, corner, and LB. SF and AZ should be the powerhouses of the NFC West for a while after this season.

 

[cardsfanmd]

Cardfan there is a good chance this team opens up 0-3. The SF game will be very very tough. They still remember last year when we scheduled them for our homeopener because we thought it would be a cupcake win. At SF on MNF is a very scary opener IMO. Hopefully we will win the SEA(SEA has owned us the last few years) game but SEA should be healthy. There is little hope this team goes to BAL and beats the Ravens at home. Starting 0-3 is very plausible. If that happens how they respond will determine the season, while I agree anything short of 9-10 wins is a disapppointment 7-9 is a real possiblity.

BTW I don't think SF is 100x better than us but they are 100x better than last year and they were in contention up until the last month or so. They are much better at receiver, corner, and LB. SF and AZ should be the powerhouses of the NFC West for a while after this season.

I understand the SF game will be tough. Who cares what they remember from last year though (it was a cupcake win). I have already explained my position on their improvements from last year. IMO the players that will help the most are Willis and Vernon Davis. please dont forget that they lost Norv Turner. That is a big blow to Alex Smith's improvement process. Davis is who will cause us the most problems. From a talent standpoint, we are still far superior to them. Everyone was in contention in our division last year because the division sucked. The Rams were still in contention also, but I dont hear people talking about how scary they are. I think many are underestimating what good coaching can and should do for us. This staff is good.

Seattle didn't own us at all last year. We split the two games with them.

Living in Baltimore and being a season ticket holder I recognize the big advantage they have at home, but few outside of Baltimore really seem to grasp some of the things that will inevitably plague the Ravens this year. Odgen is a shell of what he was last year and had to be begged not to retire. Tony Pashos and Edwin Mulitalo are also gone. Ben Grubbs will fill in for Mulitalo w/ no problem, but they are in a far worse situation than we are in the tackle department. Their recievers (w/ the exception of Heap) are subpar for this league and if they are unable to establish a good ground game they will be in big trouble. They have relied on their D to keep them in games for as long as the organization has existed, but the D is not what it has been for the last ten years. Ray Lewis is getting up there in years and has been plagued by injuries the last three seasons. Samari Rolle is becoming an eyesore and is no longer more than a decent nickel back. Ed Reed is having to stay back in coverage to protect him more and more. Losing Adalius Thomas will hurt, make no bones about it. Dont get me wrong, this will be a very tough game, but it is winnable.

In the end I do understand what you are saying, and knowing the Cards it isn't just possible that they start 0-3, its likely. My point is that if we do, the season is over to me because they will have proven that there hasn't been much change and we are still not ready to complete for the playoffs. I am no longer content watching games in week 10 that mean nothing anymore because we are already out of contention.

 

[Scot1]

You are the voice of reason Scot1.

This I will hang on to, for posts that may not sound so reasonable.

 

[az1965]

I have to agree with my son.. WOW, that's a first. How many stinking years are we going to be happy with 6-10. This team played well towards the end of last year & that's normally a precursor for the following year. The absolute worst record I will accept is 8-8. Areas that I see dramatic improvement in:

1. Leinart will improve to the point that unless he gets hurt, he will be a pro-bowler THIS YEAR. With a year under his belt & a significantly better OL, he will be a joy to watch for the next 10 years.

2. The OL under Grimm will be nasty, physical & will dictate. It will start this year & only get better. My Steeler buddies are seething that the Steelers let him go elsewhere. Brown will be a very productive player & almost everyone on the line will look better than anything we've see since the days of Dierdorf, Dobler, Banks, McMillian, Young, Finney, etc, etc. It won't happen overnight, but by mid-season, teams will hate palying against this unit.

3. The Defense will have significantly more depth than it has ever had. With depth, Pendergast will be able to do the things that got him this job in the 1st place. He's a sharp, up & coming coach, who will be a HC inside of 3-4 years. Branch will NOT be a bust. The Cardinals understand that he is not a 4 down player, nor is ANYONE that size. Colleges don't have the ability to rest these guys enough plays, so they do get tired & look like they are taking plays off. This guy is a prototypical run-stuffer, who also has the ability to put pressure on the QB. Our secondary will a hard-hitting, nasty group that will have WR's hearing footsteps. The Secondary & Linebacker coaching is a HUGE, HUGE upgrade from previous years.

4. Our Special Teams play will be among the best in the league & Rackers will revert back to 2005.

5. We will not beat ourselves with stupid penalties at the most critical times. That's where Whiz comes into play. He will bring discipline to a team that sorely needs it. My biggest gripe in hiring Green was that he lacked the ability to do that. Whiz is a great hire & we will no longer be outcoached on gameday.

There is NO way in hell this team goes 6-10, unless we have just a ton of injuries, which in the NFL, is possible. That's why it's so imperative that teams build depth, something that Whiz understands big time.

Six pack of koolaid!!!!

 

[PACardsFan]

Six pack of koolaid!!!!

To go along with the six pack of Miller Lite I drank before posting!!!!! Hell, I've been a Cardinal fan for 44 years. I deserve a little koolaid time in May.

 

[cardsfanmd]

To go along with the six pack of Miller Lite I drank before posting!!!!! Hell, I've been a Cardinal fan for 44 years. I deserve a little koolaid time in May.

I thought I told you that Coor's Loght is better.