Who's your most underappreciated player in Cardinal history

[Russ Smith]

Larry Allen who might be the best guard to ever play with a control mean streak said Eric Swann was the one player he feared and made it a point to tell his guys to not p!ss him off because he said when he was mad you could not block him

Yeah he was just a freak of nature, the combination of strength and athleticism was unreal. All his knee issues started with one dirty play against the Eagles, blanking on the name of the guy who went at his knee but it resulted in years of of give and take with us and the Eagles.

He was a HOF talent.

 

[Jetstream Green]

Yeah he was just a freak of nature, the combination of strength and athleticism was unreal. All his knee issues started with one dirty play against the Eagles, blanking on the name of the guy who went at his knee but it resulted in years of of give and take with us and the Eagles.

He was a HOF talent.

When he was in his short prime, he was the best Cardinal player ever on defense and just as good as Arron Donald if not better and that's not hyperbole

 

[Russ Smith]

When he was in his short prime, he was the best Cardinal player ever on defense and just as good as Arron Donald if not better and that is not hyperbole

Agreed. I remember one of the 49er lineman being asked about best players he went up against and he said the one that most people don't expect is Eric Swann, you talk to offensive linemen around the league and virtually everyone who played against him will tell you he was as strong as anybody in the NFL, but he was so quick and fast too that when he was healthy he was completely unblockable.

He always had a rep for being dirty and I guess he was but it was largely that first knee injury against the Eagles changed him, for the rest of his career he would go after people who tried to take him out low because was trying to protect the knees.

I found this clip, the story the guy tells is slightly different than i recall, I don't think the Cards were the only team who were aware of him we were just the ones that took him, I think he was going to be a first rounder pretty universally by the time the draft happened.

Watch the play where he picks off the screen and takes it to the house.

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[GuernseyCard]

Yeah he was just a freak of nature, the combination of strength and athleticism was unreal. All his knee issues started with one dirty play against the Eagles, blanking on the name of the guy who went at his knee but it resulted in years of of give and take with us and the Eagles.

He was a HOF talent.

THINK...?

Former NFL guard who does breakdowns on the NFL Network.

 

[Lomax to Green 84]

I was one of those fans that soured on Eric Swann and I really regret being like that. Eric was an absolute beast and easily the most under appreciated player I can remember.

 

[az jam]

Larry Centers, should be in the Ring of Honor.

 

[TRW]

Ottis Anderson, Charley Johnson, J.V. Cain.

 

[sr7706]

I can't believe nobody mentioned #81. The guy put everything he had on the field and the organization crapped on him. At the time in the NFL he has the fastest ever to 200,300,400,500 receptions. Worst move they ever made by not guaranteeing him a contract and they have been looking for a #2 WR since he left.

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[wa52lz]

A lot of good names here. I'll go with Jamir Miller, another guy we let walk going into that '99 season.

We really didn't let him walk. We offered him 2yrs- $6 million at the beginning of free agency, but he wanted to be a pass rusher which he wasn't in our defense. He found no takers and ended up signing a 1yr deal for $1.3 million that May w/ Cleveland

 

[SeattleCard]

Hightower... and I always loved Dansby

 

[Cheesebeef]

We really didn't let him walk. We offered him 2yrs- $6 million at the beginning of free agency, but he wanted to be a pass rusher which he wasn't in our defense. He found no takers and ended up signing a 1yr deal for $1.3 million that May w/ Cleveland

and then signed a 4 year 18 million dollar extension five months later.

https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/30/...-jamir-miller-agrees-to-4-year-extension.html

That 2 year 6 million dollar deal was a freaking joke.

 

[Phrazbit]

I can't believe nobody mentioned #81. The guy put everything he had on the field and the organization crapped on him. At the time in the NFL he has the fastest ever to 200,300,400,500 receptions. Worst move they ever made by not guaranteeing him a contract and they have been looking for a #2 WR since he left.

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I don't see how he was under appreciated. He was so hyped up by fans, honestly, even though he was good, I would lean towards him being overrated here. People for years acted as though he was a top 5 receiver in the league.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Larry Allen who might be the best guard to ever play with a control mean streak said Eric Swann was the one player he feared and made it a point to tell his guys to not p!ss him off because he said when he was mad you could not block him

Yeah he was just a freak of nature, the combination of strength and athleticism was unreal. All his knee issues started with one dirty play against the Eagles, blanking on the name of the guy who went at his knee but it resulted in years of of give and take with us and the Eagles.

He was a HOF talent.

When he was in his short prime, he was the best Cardinal player ever on defense and just as good as Arron Donald if not better and that's not hyperbole

I still judge all Interior defensive line against Eric Swann.

Aaron Donald is like the mini-Swann.

Swann was a prolific wifebeater. I knew his wife and there is a reason that his sons both have their stepfather's name and have no contact with him.

 

[Russ Smith]

THINK...?

Former NFL guard who does breakdowns on the NFL Network.

Baldinger broke his ankle and brags he did it on purpose, but I forget who originally took out his knee. It's one of those who do you cheer for stories, Swann said the Eagles were intentionally going for his legs and someone took out his knee, can't remember who. He publicly blamed the coach Kotite saying he had been told by Eagles players the coach told them to go after Swann's legs and he'd be easier to block. The Eagles say Swann was the dirty player(Baldinger said dirtiest ever and he injured Baldinger's knee). Being a Cards fan I remember Eric getting hurt by the Eagles first and then yeah I remember him going after Eagles players who went low. i think he punched one in the head for doing it IIRC.

He apparently used to live in Elk Grove in Sacramento. My girlfriends sister lived nearby him and they didn't even know it. her husband said he saw some open house/garage sale one day and there was a big pic of Swann there. He asked the woman at the sale and she said that's my ex Husband/Boyfriend or something like that. IF you google his name for Elk Grove CA there is indeed a 51 year old listed as having lived there, and before that in North Carolina(where eric was from) so probably the same guy. Doesn't live there now.

 

[wa52lz]

and then signed a 4 year 18 million dollar extension five months later.

https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/30/...-jamir-miller-agrees-to-4-year-extension.html

That 2 year 6 million dollar deal was a freaking joke.

How was it a joke if no other team made him an offer let alone signed him to anything close to that. Cleveland signed him in May. Yes Cleveland extended him the following fall, but no one was willing to give him anything close to what he wanted during free agency. He bet on himself and won, but Cards offered him the better deal then what he signed for during free agency. Cleveland gave him the extension becuase the were a expansion team flush with cash. Cleveland ended up paying him top five LB money, he definitely wasn't worth that in 99 and 2000. Had his one good year and 2001 and then got hurt.

May 3 1999 article...

"Yet as of Sunday only the Cardinals had offers on the table, and
Miller has rejected one, a two-year, $6 million contract. "It's
doubtful [that Miller will be back]," says club vice president
Bill Bidwill Jr.

Other potential suitors were concerned when Miller said that he
wanted to be among the top-paid players in the league at his
position. Also, some teams weren't thrilled when they heard that
Miller, a 6'5", 266-pound run stuffer with superb speed, wanted
to play for someone who would use him primarily as a pass rusher.

Miller also has two strikes against him under the league's
substance-abuse policy. In August 1995 he was suspended for four
games after a positive drug test. The suspension meant that he
had tested positive at least once before and that another
positive test would result in a one-year ban. But Miller says
that shouldn't be an issue, adding, "If I had continued on like
I [was], there's no way I'd still be in the league."

Miller visited the Bears and the Patriots, yet even after
neither team made an offer, he rejected the Cardinals' proposal.
He made news in early April when he fired his agent, Steve
Baker, and hired Leigh Steinberg. The Saints and the Titans have
shown tepid interest, and though Arizona remains in the picture,
Bidwill's comments notwithstanding"

https://www.si.com/vault/1999/05/03/260063/inside-the-nfl





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[slanidrac16]

I don't see how he was under appreciated. He was so hyped up by fans, honestly, even though he was good, I would lean towards him being overrated here. People for years acted as though he was a top 5 receiver in the league.

Boldin made me feel like a jilted lover.

 

[GatorAZ]

I don't see how he was under appreciated. He was so hyped up by fans, honestly, even though he was good, I would lean towards him being overrated here. People for years acted as though he was a top 5 receiver in the league.

The oral surgery office I used to go to weekly did his surgery after “The Hit”. His jersey is framed in the office, signed and wrote “Thanks getting me back on the field”. If his numbers weren’t under appreciated his toughness was.

I do wonder what his numbers would’ve looked like had we drafted a QB instead of Fitz though..

 

[sr7706]

I don't see how he was under appreciated. He was so hyped up by fans, honestly, even though he was good, I would lean towards him being overrated here. People for years acted as though he was a top 5 receiver in the league.

It's not that he was hyped up, it was his attitude, the way he carried himself, people who have been around football could appreciate and were drawn to the intensity he played with, thats why he was so popular. There was 0 reason not to offer him a contract extension. I know this pissed off many people because Q had some hardcore fans, myself included. He should have been a Cardinal for 10+ years.

 

[GuernseyCard]

It's not that he was hyped up, it was his attitude, the way he carried himself, people who have been around football could appreciate and were drawn to the intensity he played with, thats why he was so popular. There was 0 reason not to offer him a contract extension. I know this pissed off many people because Q had some hardcore fans, myself included. He should have been a Cardinal for 10+ years.

They made a contract offer, but by that point the relationship had soured and the word then was that he wanted Fitzgerald type money; no team could afford two of those contracts, if true.

 

[PACardsFan]

I still judge all Interior defensive line against Eric Swann.

Aaron Donald is like the mini-Swann.

Swann was a prolific wifebeater. I knew his wife and there is a reason that his sons both have their stepfather's name and have no contact with him.

Swann may have been a juicer, which led to his body breaking down. I also heard he was a wifebeater & the roids may have also contributed to that.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Swann may have been a juicer, which led to his body breaking down. I also heard he was a wifebeater & the roids may have also contributed to that.

Swann had cartilage issues. He was a big strong country boy.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Larry Centers, should be in the Ring of Honor.

This reminded me of Larry.

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[DevonCardsFan]

Easily Larry Centers

I may be biased because I played a few rounds of golf, pickup b-ball, & dominoes with him and Ronald Moore back in the day, but Larry was the heart and soul of some awful football teams. He was the original “LARRY, LARRY chant. Love that dude!

Easily Larry met him at work back in the day too, nice guy

Larry Centers

 

[Finito]

I can't believe nobody mentioned #81. The guy put everything he had on the field and the organization crapped on him. At the time in the NFL he has the fastest ever to 200,300,400,500 receptions. Worst move they ever made by not guaranteeing him a contract and they have been looking for a #2 WR since he left.

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he was insanely jealous of Fitz. He wanted to be the man

 

[SissyBoyFloyd]

Josh McCown