Beanie Wells Break Out Season
The one thing that drives me crazy, especially when talking about Beanie Wells is his history with injuries. This is football, not badminton, so if a guy gets hurt, don’t slap the caution sticker on him for life. Many players have recovered from injuries to bounce back and regain form…and Beanie is one of them.
This former Ohio State Buckeye really turned it on strong late last year, and had a solid role in the Cardinals playoff run, despite the lack of touches. Chris Wells averaged a very impressive 4.5 yards per carry for 793 yards and found the endzone 7 times in his rookie season.
This year, the Cardinals are a team in transition. Seeing players like Warner and Boldin leave may have people giving up on everything in the red uniform that isn’t named Fitzgerald, but while Arizona’s passing attack is changing gears, the running game is about to ref the engine, and burn rubber.
The Cardinals most underrated signing this off-season is Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca. This former Jet/Steelers has a resume of being apart of some of the best running teams over the last 10 years. The Cardinals were already fairly …Continue reading Chris Beanie Wells 2010 Break Out Fantasy Football Season
Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals-1.5
Before this article grabs Green Bay fans by the wrists and drags them into the depths of painful, realistic punishment, let’s adore the facts. Green Bay just beat the Arizona Cardinals. They did so handily, 33-7, and after winning seven of their last eight games, there really isn’t much to suggest a first round exit.
If you truly believe that, you’re either a naive Cheesehead from Wisconsin, or you simply don’t follow the NFL.
After seeing the Minnesota Vikings beat the New York Giants and end any chances of the Cardinals obtaining a first round bye, Arizona head coach Ken Wisenhunt “wizened up” (pun intended) and sat all of his offensive starters after less than a quarter of play.What transgressed was the Green Bay Packers (who left their starters in for nearly the entire game) demolishing the Cardinals. Add the soul-pounding victory by Green Bay with it’s other six victories out of it’s last eight games, and you’ve got a confident group of players and coaches on your hands.
But, really, are they that confident?
They’re going back to the same place they just played in less than a week. Only, this time they get the real deal. The Cardinals saw what the Packers are capable of. They saw their offense going to work, how their defense works in it’s 3-4, and what tendencies Mike McCarthy and co. …Continue reading Wild Card Preview:Packers-Cardinals
Cardinals: One Hit Wonders, or Threat to Repeat?-Mike Rodriguez
This year the Cardinals are projected to win 8.5 games, are 15/2 to win the NFC Championship game, and 15/1 to win the Super Bowl. Are these Vegas odds making your head spin? Well, to summarize, the odds that the Arizona Cardinals are going back to Super Bowl, or even the playoffs, are not good.
At first glance, the Cardinals chances seem great. Pro bowler Kurt Warner, despite his age of 37, is still arguably one of the top QB’s in the NFL. Safety Adrian Wilson leads a much underrated defensive unit that played great down the stretch last year. The Cards also have one of the most lethal receiving cores in the game. Locking up Anquan Boldin would make everyone feel a little better about the 2009 season, but the fact he wasn’t traded is a good sign. Larry Fitzgerald is an elite playmaker who needs Boldin in the line up to free up double (even triple) coverage.
The NFC West was a walking band-aid last year, and should not be considered as weak as many people think. With some of the improvements made this off-season, there is no way any one team will win the division with ease. The Seattle Seahawks grabbed Houshmandzadeh in free agency, helping a laughable receiving core get better quickly; key players Deion Brach and Matt Hasselbeck are both returning from injury. A fresh start with new coach Jim Mora could also 
be good for some of these seasoned Seattle veterans. Not since the 1992 season have the Seattle Seahawks had such a low win total. The shocking 4-12 season will be huge motivation to improve quickly and challenge for a playoff spot.
The Rams lost playmaker Torry Holt and veteran LT Orlando Pace, but look somewhat strong after bringing in the New York Giants Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to lead the pack. The Rams had an excellent draft and even made a few solid free agent signings.
The San Francisco 49ers, who were ghosts in free agency, came away laughing after Oakland passed on Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree at the NFL Draft in April. The only question now is who’s going to lead this young team? The right quarterback might have the 49ers finally pulling out of the repair shop with a serious muscle car.
The Cardinals didn’t get to the Super Bowl by default, they knocked off three strong offensive teams: Falcons, Panthers, and Eagles. With each playoff win the team grew more confidence, but an off-season of headaches may hurt the Cardinals 2009 season. Top teams always get picked apart in free agency, although losing as many starters as Arizona did hasn’t sat well with the loyal fan base, not to mention losing both their defensive and offensive coordinators Clancy Pendergast and Todd Haley.
Even with the additions of RB Beanie Wells and Safety Rashad Johnson in the draft, this team has the look of being dubbed a one hit wonder. Too many losses on defense and the shake up of the coaching staff will mean the offense will be forced to win games in a shoot out fashion. This is great news if you have fantasy players, but hard to rely on down the stretch of the NFL season. The Cardinals schedule isn’t easy, playing 4 out of 5 road games starting in the middle of November, while going up against many up and coming teams such as the Jaguars, Texans, Bears, and Packers. Gridiron Experts predicts anywhere between a 6 to 9 win season.
The Arizona Cardinals released running back Edgerrin James, cornerback Rod Hood, and linebacker Travis LaBoy on Tuesday. People saw Edge’s release coming for some time now, but Hood and LaBoy were key parts in the Cardinals playoff run. The 3 released players should free up enough extra cash to sign the untradeable Anquan Boldin to a new long term deal. While Edgerrin James may have to find a backup role type job, Hood and LaBoy should be in high demand.
Time heals all wounds Philadelphia. Right now there are thousands of Eagles fans looking for answers. Whether it’s blogs, message boards, or video clips, fans are trying to figure out what happened in a game that they were beaten twice in.
The Arizona Cardinals have proven themselves to be a team that can hurt you on any play. With a gun slinging veteran quarterback and a wide receiver that looks to threaten the record books, the Cardinals were able to dissect the Eagles defense on Sunday. With a typical slow start for Philly on the road, Kurt Warner was able to move the ball with ease hitting Fitzgerald for three scores. The game seemingly over at half time, the Eagles were able to rally back to take a one point lead in the fourth quarter. Momentum was definitely on the Eagles side, but a 7 minute drive that was capped off with a two point conversion killed any hope for the Eagles Super Bowl in Tampa.
While the Boo Birds have already thrown McNabb and Reid under the bus, picked them up, and shaved their beards with a rusty blade, we find it hard to blame anyone in what was just an impressive Arizona win. To come back from an 18 point deficit on the road is inspiring, but to see the way the Cardinals adjusted and then regained the lead to win is what championship teams do. Hopefully for Philly,Eagles president Joe Banner took note of all of the weapons that Kurt Warner had in his arsenal to make such a drive, including a go-to receiver, something Philadelphia desperately needs in the red zone. With 2 first round picks in April’s draft, the Eagles need to really think offense by using at least one of those picks on a running back. Brian Westbrook is getting up there in age, and while McNabb has proven he has a couple more years left, a predecessor to Westbrook should be top 
on the list.
As for all of those McNabb haters, if I was to tell you before the game started that Donovan McNabb was going to throw for 375 yards, 3 TD’s and pick up a couple first downs running on the ground…. would you not figure it would result in a win? Defenses win championships, and Jim Johnson was out-coached. Have you ever had a girlfriend that puts up with your shit long enough until she leaves your ass….then after she’s gone, you wished you had bought her flowers once in while? Well keep it up Boo Birds, because McNabb is about to lock himself in the bathroom with a tub of ice cream and bitch to his mother about you.
