Parallels to the 1997 season.

[ajcardfan]

Look at the first few games of that season:

Aug. 31 At Cincinnati L 21–24 53,644

Cards lead 21-3 going into the 4th qrtr. With less than 2 mins to go Larry Centers has the game-clinching yardage for a first down but fumbles. Cincy, of course, scores a TD.

Sept. 7 Dallas (OT) W 25–22 70,060

Crazy win.

Sept. 14 At Wash. (OT) L 13–19 78,270

Cards lead most of the game. McElroy fumbles in OT at midfield, but replays show it's a bad call. Crappy Redskin QB heaves a TD to Westbrook.

Sept. 21 Open Date

Sept. 28 At Tampa Bay L 18–19 53,804

Cards lead this game for 3 and 1/2 qrtrs. Future Card Karl Williams burns Aeneas for a TD for the go ahead score. The Cards get two FG attempts after that, but miss both.


Oct. 5 Minnesota L 19–20 43,987

What I would call the worst loss of all, until tonight. Cards lead the entire game and are up 19-10 late. Have a 1st and goal at the one. Three runs lose two yards. Butler misses a TWENTY yard FG. Vikings score a TD on a long pass. They onside kick, but we recover and wind up punting dow to the 10 with about 30 seconds left. They hit a 60 yard pass play to their TE!!! and kick a FG to win!


Oct. 12 N.Y. Giants L 13–27 36,943

Stoney Case gets the start.


Oct. 19 At Phila. (OT) L 10–13 66,860

Case starts, but rookie Jake Plummer comes in the 4th quarter and leads an 80 yard drive to force OT. We get jobbed on a ridiculous grounding call on a pass that literally lands at Centers feet. Philly gets a big pass and scores.



Eerie, isn't it? So, we've been through a similar series of gut punches before. Both times resulted in a rookie QB getting the reins. Of course, the rest of that season had a bunch more close losses and we were only 4-12. But, next season, we went to the playoffs because we believed in that rookie QB.

Now, I have to think that, overall, Plummer can't carry Leinart's jock as a QB. And, this team now has better overall talent and depth than the 97, 98 squad. Remember, the worst part of that team was the oline, and it's strength were the WRs, just like now.

What does it all mean? I don't know, but it made me feel a little bit better to think that we've been through something similar and good times were just around the corner.

 

[CardLogic]

Nice post, aj... a little eerie though, but good post.

 

[D-Dogg]

Interesting....

 

[Russ Smith]

I was thinking the same thing last night this team is literally so close and we're going to turn the corner.

 

[phillycard]

aj, that Bengals game is the one I was talking about in my post. That is the last time I cried over a L. This one hurts 50 times worse. Imagine that.

 

[Osbern61]

I was thinking of the '97 season after last weeks loss. I remember being optimistic about the Cards back then, and thinking we were close to making a turnaround but looking back I can't figure out why. Lelend McElroy? Kent Graham? We have so much more talent now its not even close.

 

[Derm]

thanks for the great post....

 

[Jasper]

Three of our 5 losses this season were by a combined total of 6 points.

week 3 = 2 points
week 5 = 3 points
week 6 = 1 point

The other two losses we were blown out.

 

[RedViper]

Oct. 5 Minnesota L 19–20 43,987

What I would call the worst loss of all, until tonight. Cards lead the entire game and are up 19-10 late. Have a 1st and goal at the one. Three runs lose two yards. Butler misses a TWENTY yard FG. Vikings score a TD on a long pass. They onside kick, but we recover and wind up punting dow to the 10 with about 30 seconds left. They hit a 60 yard pass play to their TE!!! and kick a FG to win!

I always think about this game when I consider what this team is going through now and how it probably feels for Dennis Green. This was a game where they set up a play where one of the Minnesota recievers twice got a blindside hit on our safety. It seemed dirty as hell although I guess it was all legal and fair and square. Anyway, it was a loss where at the end you walk away saying "that couldn't have just happened, there's got to be some mistake" Exactly like our losses here have been. And I think about this game and wonder if somehow Green's karma has come back around so he gets to be the ninny holding the clipboard on the Cards sidelines as we collapse in the most astonishing and unthinkable ways. If there is such a thing as karma, Greens has definitely come back around on him.

As for the 97 parallel, it will be interesting to see if we fold completely up as that team did, or if we rise up and start wailing on some folks. I like our chances with a guy like Leinart at the controls much better than with a cold fish like Graham. But we shall see.

 

[ajcardfan]

As for the 97 parallel, it will be interesting to see if we fold completely up as that team did, or if we rise up and start wailing on some folks. I like our chances with a guy like Leinart at the controls much better than with a cold fish like Graham. But we shall see.

Remember that Plummer started every game after the first six. His first start, against the Titans, he had SIX turnovers. Not exactly what we've seen from Leinart. The last game of that season though, he led two TD drives in the last five minutes to beat Atlanta and that seemed to carry over to next season.

This team is better than that '97 team. We'll be much more respectable if the defense stays hungry. Big "if", I know.

 

[CardLogic]

Last night's loss was tough, excruciating even, but what a fun game to be at...


at least until the 4th quarter.


But this game showed the upside of what this Cardinals team can become. I am very optomistic that they are going to get going in the right direction, and soon.

 

[ajcardfan]

Last night's loss was tough, excruciating even, but what a fun game to be at...

Absolute blast of a game. Right up until the Rackers miss. But, the intensity of the crowd, the sheer joy on some of those plays we made...that was cool. It's why I keep going back even when we lose.