Somewhat positive Clayton Article"

[KingofCards]

Sorry if this has been posted:

"Easy schedule gives Cardinals hope

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
By John Clayton
ESPN.com


If schedule is everything, then maybe the Arizona Cardinals aren't baking in
a desert in a stadium with 40,000 empty seats and a roster starving for big
playmakers.

Sure, I've seen the injury report. The Cardinals lost a hustling defensive
end (Kyle Vanden Bosch) and a shutdown cornerback (Duane Starks) for the
season. I know that Jeff Blake got dinged with a concussion on the first
play of the Cardinals' exhibition finale. I know that the cornerback
position for the Cardinals is thin, particularly in an NFC West division
that carves up average cornerbacks.

But if schedule is everything, then maybe the Cardinals have hope. They have
the league's easiest schedule. They face winning teams only five times.
Their opponents' winning percentage is .443. Of all the lovable losers in
the NFL, could the Cardinals parlay the schedule formula to a possible
playoff appearance?

It's hard to go with the Bengals because they play 10 quality teams. The
Jaguars and Texans each play 12. The Lions have a shot because they play
seven quality teams, but if you've seen them, you know that they are a long
way from winning, and they lost halfback James Stewart and linebacker Brian
Williams Thursday night with busted-up shoulders.

As for the Dallas Cowboys, winning nine games in a schedule that has 11
quality opponents is pretty tough unless you believe Quincy Carter can take
Bill Parcells to the promised land.

All right, then let's ride these Cardinals for a second. They went 5-11 last
year. Their biggest downfall was division games. They went 1-5, and the
division got tougher this year because the Rams appear to be back at playoff
form and the Seahawks are serious challengers.

Outside the division, though, the Cardinals have a chance. They were 4-6 in
non-division games last year. They open in Detroit. That's a possible win.
In Week 3, they play one of their three non-division quality teams (the
Packers) at 1 p.m. Phoenix time in the 100-degree heat. If they can hide the
water and Gatorade, maybe the Cards can pull an upset.

The only other games against teams with winning records are on the road --
Nov. 9 in Pittsburgh and Nov. 16 in Cleveland. If the Browns are indeed
down, maybe the Cardinals can pull the upset there. Winning in Pittsburgh
will be tough, so let's call that a split. Going 2-1 against non-division
winning teams would be huge.

Even if the Cardinals can pull a 2-4 record in their division, they have the
longshot chance of going 8-2 in non-division games. A win over Detroit, a
hide-the-Gatorade home win over the Packers and a split against Pittsburgh
and Cleveland gives them a 3-1 start.

The rest of their non-division games are at home against Baltimore,
Cincinnati, Carolina and Minnesota. The other road games are at Dallas and
Chicago. The Cards beat the Cowboys and Bears in the preseason.

Maybe Emmitt Smith saw something when he left the Cowboys for the Cardinals.
Maybe he's a schedule watcher. A 10-6 Cardinals team? Oh, well, let's dream.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com."

 

[green machine]

How come none of this comes out until we go 4-0 in the preseason? We've had the easiest schedule in the league for awhile now, right?

adam

 

[CardsRep03]

Last time I checked, the Cardinals play the same teams as our division foes save a team or two. I know the Rams play the G-Men and the Buccaneers, for example. Other than that it is exactly the same.

 

[Ryanwb]

Clayton has always been a closet Cardinals fan.

 

[cardzfan]

Clayton is hedging his bets. If we break .500, he can say,"see, I told you so." It is refreshing to read something that is not the typical knock the Cards drivel.