The Future — Blogging the Mocks

It’s that strange time of year again. And this go-round… it’s even stranger.

Not only are 30 of the NFL’s clubs sitting at home wondering about what could have been. Not only is there a lull in football-related action for every non-Manning disciple or Who Dat.

But this year we saw a Pro Bowl without any Arizona receivers suiting up. Kurt Warner is planning his next shot down the golf course, not the gridiron. And Matt Leinart has an outside shot at playing for Pete Carrol again. Of course, that’ a whole other story.

But what is going on right now, in the seedy underbelly of the football world, is mock draft fever. NFL Draft sites around the web are buzzing like Whitney Houston on a Tuesday morning with predictions, scouting reports, and too many opinions to count. So why don’t we start with just a few. Here’s what five of the top NFL Draft sites around are saying about which player the Cards should target with the 26th pick:

WalterFootball.com (Walt)

Arizona Cardinals:  Jerry Hughes, OLB/DE, TCU

Arizona compiled 43 sacks on the year, but only a few came from the rush linebackers. The leader in that department was Bert Berry, a 35-year-old free agent who had six sacks. After that, 33-year-old Clark Haggans notched five sacks, followed by Chike Okeafor’s 4.5. Okeafor, 34, is also a free agent.

The Cardinals spent a second-round pick on Cody Brown last year, but he hasn’t played a single down in the NFL because of a wrist injury.

Clearly, rush linebacker is a dire need for Arizona this offseason – and this was evident before the Cardinals couldn’t put any pressure on Drew Brees in their playoff loss.

This may seem a bit low for someone as talented as Jerry Hughes, but teams are much more hesitant to take rush linebackers now because the conversion is so unpredictable. Just look at last year’s results – no one in the top 15 selections took a rush linebacker. The Chargers (No. 16), Broncos (18) and Packers (26) went with one, but only Green Bay’s selection (Clay Matthews) has panned out thus far.

It wasn’t just last year; in 2008, the Jets were burnt by Gholston. They were the only team to gamble on a rush linebacker in the first round. I think some of these 3-4 guys will take a tumble come April.

WalterFootball.com (Matt)

Charles Brown, OT, USC

The Cardinals are upset because it just isn’t the right point to draft a quarterback to replace Kurt Warner (since Matt Leinart looks anemic) so they have to continue to build on offense and be prepared for Warner leaving the team. It would make sense to draft a franchise left tackle, and this team might have to take a gamble on Brown who reportedly isn’t 300 pounds.

NFLDraftDog.com

Mike Iupati, OG, Idaho

Iupati is a mammoth (6′ 5″ 330 lbs) road grader.

DraftAce.com

Bruce Campbell, OT, Maryland

Kurt Warner’s quick release and incredible pocket awareness have masked the Cardinals offensive line issues for the past few years. But with Leinart under center those weaknesses will quickly be exposed. Left tackle Mike Gandy is an unrestricted free agent and right tackle Levi Brown has been a liability in pass protection. Campbell isn’t a polished product, but he’s incredibly athletic and has the raw skills necessary to be an excellent pass blocker in the NFL.

FootballsFuture.com

Anthony Davis, OT, Rutgers

Whether the QB is Kurt Warner or Matt Leinart next year, you have to protect them. The offense has the ability to be one of the leagues most explosive and adding talent to the line will only make it better.

It looks like protecting the next quarterback (even if it is Matt Leinart) is considered priority one.  Jeremy Bridges really stepped up this year, and I could see the Cards focusing on grabbing an elite tight end (like Jermaine Gresham or Aaron Hernandez) or even an edge rusher in the first round.  But this franchise has shown a strong affinity for physical freaks (Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Calais Campbell say hello).  That said, a guy with the size and athleticism of Anthony Davis makes some sense.  Hopefully he’s not the second coming of Leonard Davis.

But I still like getting someone like Jerry Hughes here.  Cody Brown missed the entire season, and while the Cards got some good pressure this season, a guy like Hughes might bring some pressure from the linebacker corps in the hybrid D.  That would be a welcome surprise.

Kurt Warner Officially Retires — HOF Next?

Here, Matt, this is all you have to do to live up to Kurt Warner's legacy.

Kurt Warner officially ended his brilliant career today.

“It’s been an amazing ride,” he said. “I don’t think I could have dreamt it would have played out like it has, but I’ve been humbled every day that I woke up the last 12 years and amazed that God would choose to use me to do what he’s given me the opportunity to do.”

His career was written off after two Super Bowl appearances with the St. Louis Rams when he was relegated to backup duty behind Eli Manning in New York. Warner arrived in Arizona in 2005, and after seemingly damning injuries, he eventually changed the culture of one of the NFL’s historic stragglers. The stunning run through the 2009 playoffs into Super Bowl XLII will never be forgotten, and it’ll be rivaled only by his record-setting performance in a thrilling win over Green Bay earlier this month. For 12 years, he was inspiration to all that watched him.

But now that Arizona is Matt Leinart’s hot tub (for now), what’s next for the greatest quarterback to ever wear a Cardinals’ helmet?

Possibly the Hall of Fame. He’s a first ballot guy in a perfect world, but only time will tell. There may not have been a better postseason passer in the history of the league.

So, as we wait and wonder about what the future holds for a team that may lose not only Warner, but also Anquan Boldin, let’s take a look at Kurt’s Case for the Hall of Fame:

• 2nd in  Career Passing Yards Per Game – 260.4 yards/game
• Highest Completion Percentage in a Single Regular Season Game – 92.3%
• Most Passing Yards in a Super Bowl – 414 yards vs. Tennessee Titans
• 2nd Most Passing Yards in a Super Bowl – 377 yards vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
• 3rd Most Passing Yards in a Super Bowl – 365 yards vs. New England Patriots
• Only QB to pass for 400+ yards in the Super Bowl
• Most Career Passing Yards in the Super Bowl – 1,156
• Most Passing Yards in a Single Postseason – 1,147 (2009).
• Most Touchdown Passes in a Single Postseason – 11 (2009, tied w/Joe Montana)
• Highest Career Playoff Completion Percentage – 66.5%
• 2nd Highest Career Playoff Passer Rating – 104.6
• Highest Rate of Games w/300+ Yards Passing – 45.2%
• Most Yards Passing in the first two games of a season – 827 (2000)
• Most Consecutive Games w/300+ Yards Passing – 6 (tied w/ Steve Young and Rich Gannon)
• Most Career Games with a perfect Passer Rating (regular season only) – 3 (tied w/Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger)
• Only NFL Quarterback to Throw 40 Touchdowns and Win a Super Bowl in the Same Season (1999).
• Only Quarterback to Throw for Over 14,000 yards with Two Different Teams (St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals)
• One of Only Two players in NFL history to throw 100 touchdown passes with two different teams (St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals)
• Fastest Player to Pass for 10,000 yards – 36 games
• Tied for Fastest Player to Pass for 30,000 yards – 114 games (Dan Marino)
• One of only Two Players with Four Consecutive Games with a Passer Rating Over 120 (Johnny Unitas)
• Highest Average Passing Yards per Game on Monday Night Football – 329.4
• One of Only Two Players to  Throw Five Touchdown Passes in Two Different Playoff Games. (Daryle Lamonica)
• One of Only Two Quarterback to Start a Super Bowl With Two Different Teams (St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals)
• One of Only Three Quarterbacks to Win a Conference Championship with Two Different teams (St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals)
• Third in Career Passer Rating – 93.7
• Four-Time Pro-Bowler (1999, 2000, 2001, 2008)
• Two-Time NFL MVP (1999, 2001)
• Super Bowl XXXIV MVP
• NFL Man of the Year (2008)
• And One Hell of a Model American

Yeah, he’s got a shot…

Kurt Warner Expected to Announce Retirement

Thank you, Kurt.

NFL Network is reporting that Kurt Warner is expected to announce his retirement at a press conference this Friday.

I don’t even know what to say. Thanks seems pretty lacking. And “don’t you dare do that” is pretty futile. So I’ll go with thanks.

Thanks for being one of the greatest playoff quarterbacks of all time (second all-time in postseason QB rating to Bart Starr).

Thanks for being a class act. No matter what.

Thanks for standing as a positive, inspiring, and strong beacon of what pro athletes can do with their fame.

Thanks for turning one of the worst franchises around into a Super Bowl contender.

Thanks for playing hurt, for playing well, and for playing with a passion that won’t soon be rivaled in any sport.

Thanks for epitomizing the role of a quarterback — a fighter, a winner, and above all else a leader.

Thanks for everything, Kurt.

And if you happen to skip this press conference and pull a Brett Favre, I’ll thank you for that too.

More on this to come as it unfolds. This is a huge blow to the Cardinals, and people have already begun to tout the San Francisco 49ers as the new kings of the NFC West, but we couldn’t have asked for anything more from you. Except, maybe, one more season…

Cards @ Saints Karate Kid Preview

Find that balance, Daniel son. It's the only way to win.

Okay, it’s almost game time. T-minus 2 hours 45 minutes.

And in my scramble to find any sort of pregame info on TV this morning, I came across a classic. An absolute, unparalleled, cinematic masterpiece. Karate Kid.

Some might think this mere coincidence, just a random occurrence. There’s no special reason that VH1 is one channel below NFL Network on my TV. Not so. It’s a damn allegory. Read the rest of this entry »

Cardinal @ Saints Preview

It’s getting the billing.  If you thought last week’s Cards-Pack game was entertaining, then hold on to your Mike Martzs(?).  This is going to get offensive.

It’s the two most exciting aerial attacks in the NFL going head-to-head for a berth in the NFC Championship game.  It’s Arizona’s red-hot offense coming off of a 51 point field day against a top-five pass defense taking on a rested, healthy, and fated New Orleans team.

Drew Brees vs. Kurt Warner

Darren Sharper vs. Larry Fitzgerald

Sean Payton vs. Ken Whisenhunt

Call it what you want, but in the end, it’ll come down to the individual matchups.  So here’s a position-by-position breakdown of Saturday’s divisional playoff game.  Defense wins championships my ass. Read the rest of this entry »

Holy Michael Adams — Cardinals Beat Packers in OT

Sonofa... Please no more heart attack threats for an aging hero.

I saw the power rankings all week.

The experts said Green Bay was the best team in the playoffs. They seemed to think that Arizona was the worst.

No one told Michael Adams.

Okay, so maybe someone told him. And it’s entirely possible that he bought into that opinion for the entirety of the second half. But a short memory might have been Adams’ biggest weapon on a third-down play that will go down as one of the greatest ever in Cardinals’ postseason history.

Picked on for seemingly every second of the third and fourth quarters, Adams had enough. Third down, five to go, the game swooning toward the Packers offense, Adams blitzed and managed to knock the ball free on Aaron Rodgers’ second attempt to throw what likely would have been a chain-mover. I mean, it wasn’t like the Arizona defense had shown up since about 10 minutes to go in the first half.

But that didn’t matter.

Pay attention, because we’re moving fast here. There’s celebrating to get to before a date with an offense only slightly better than Green Bay’s. And an actual defense.

1. Kurt Warner is the player of the game going 29/33 for 379 yards and five TDs. That’s a 154.1 QB rating. He consistently did just enough to keep Arizona’s dwindling lead one step ahead of Green Bay’s.

2. The play of the game is a cinch. It’s Michael Adam’s sack and forced fumble followed by Karlos Dansby’s 17 yard fumble return for the sealing score. For a guy who had been beaten like a bongo at Matthew McCoughnahey’s (I don’t care if I spelled that correctly) house, this was the ultimate example of never giving up and making a clutch play.

3. The NFL needs to fix overtime. After a game like that, there should have been no advantage given to a team because a grown man wearing a prison uniform dropped some change on the field in a certain way.

4. I hope our defense sleeps in hyperbaric chambers. If Green Bay can do that offensively after a few halftime adjustments, then New Orleans might reach 100 points. Especially considering their defense actually faces the right way and wears their shoes on the correct feet.

5. Lost in all the mayhem of pass right, pass left, pass wherethehellever, was the fact that Beanie Wells looked awesome on the ground. His 42 yard TD was a career best and 91 yards on 14 carries is a good sign. If the Cardinals ever find themselves in a situation where running the clock out is an option, we might actually be able to do it.

6. We won. That’s it. Round one goes to the Cardinals. As the only home underdog in the entire Wildcard Round, the Cardinals took it personally and came out on fire. As it turns out, that early push may have saved us. Okay, screw may have. It did save us. But in the end, it’s game over. Big weekend for underdogs, especially the kind that have been here before.

Deja vu anyone?

Anquan Boldin Out for Wildcard Game

Anquan Boldin isn’t going to play today. At least not on the field. He’s been ruled inactive for the rematch with Green Bay. Let’s all hope that Charles Woodson is really more injured than he’s letting on. This is a tough break for the Cards, obviously, but Steve Breaston and Early Doucet have stepped up before. And there is good news here.  Calais Campbell and Antonio Rodgers-Cromartie will play.  So will Antrel Rolle.

But, after looking at the recent outcomes of the wildcard games already played, this could be a strange silver lining. So far the old adage of “running the ball in January gets you wins” has proven true. With Boldin out, we could see more of Tim Hightower and Chris Wells. If the Cardinals decide to line up and attack a Packers’ defense that should be sitting on its heels early on, they could keep the dangerous Aaron Rodgers off the field just long enough to earn an upset victory.

The motivation should be there after a 33-7 slapping last week and the fact that the Cardinals are the only home underdog in the first round. But, either way, Boldin’s absence will have an effect on the outcome of this game. In other new, the sky is blue. Water is wet, and there are too many CSI’s on TV.

The Boldin report, per ESPN:

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin is inactive for Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers due to a knee injury.

ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter first reported Boldin was unlikely to play in the game.

He has a knee and ankle injury, but his knee is bothering him considerably more.

Boldin was hurt in this past Sunday’s 33-7 loss to the Packers. Although coach Ken Whisenhunt pulled most of his starters early, he left Boldin in the game in the third quarter to help struggling backup quarterback Matt Leinart.

Boldin missed a game earlier this season with a right high ankle sprain, although he complained at the time that he was healthy enough to play.

Playoffs? How about Revenge?

It's all part of the plan. Right, Joker?

Everyone saw what happened last weekend.

Everyone saw the Green Bay Packers exploit the Cardinals to the tune of a 33-7 woodshedding.

Everyone saw firsthand just how powerful the Packers might be.

And I mean everyone. That includes Ken Whisenhunt. That could be huge. Read the rest of this entry »

Anquan Boldin, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie Injured in Loss

In a lopsided effort to protect our players, Ken Whisenhut pulled Kurt Warner early.

Seemed like a good idea.  The Cardinals were locked into playing a home game this weekend after Minnesota’s dismantling of the team formerly known as the New York Giants.  The offense really doesn’t go without him, so he’s going to be crucial in the postseason.  And, really, he’s old.  He needs rest.

But it didn’t exactly work out that way.

Anquan Boldin, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and Calais Campbell all left the game with injuries.  Of course, not all seem to be serious.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Boldin has only a sore ankle and knee and should be fine for the Green Bay game, Part Deux.

Calais Campbell fractured his thumb, however, and ARC’s knee injury certainly looked awkward, but he was adamant about returning saying there was “no doubt” he’d play next week.

Let’s hope Warner plays a little longer.

Tags: Ankle, Anquan Boldin, Antonio Rodgers-Cromartie, Arizona Cardinals, Calais Campbell, Hurt, Injured, Injury, Knee, Leinart, Thumb, Warner

St. Louis @ Arizona Preview — December 27th

It’s already been a crazy day in the NFL. Even if Tampa Bay and Kansas City end up losing their contests to playoff teams New Orleans and Cincinnati, the fact that they’re tied with time ticking away in the fourth quarter is enough of an omen for me.

If Arizona isn’t careful today, they might get a late surprise from the Rams, a Christmas come late for St. Louis if you will.

So here’s the gameplan, Cards, don’t overlook anyone. Don’t have that letdown game that followed huge wins over New York and Minnesota.

No, beating Detroit wasn’t a huge win, but it was a road victory that proved tougher to come by than expected, and it should have Arizona well-prepared to face a similar team from a talent standpoint. Of course the gameplan today won’t mirror last week’s. There are no Calvin Johnsons on the Rams’ roster. And Matt Stafford, young as he is, isn’t quite as hapless as Kyle Boller or Keith Null.

So here it is, plain and simple. Stop Steven Jackson. At all costs. Don’t let him keep Kurt Warner and co. off the field. If it takes eight in the box, do it. If it takes nine, do that too. Heck, I’d almost be willing to put 10 in there. This is a dismal passing attack. And I’m not suggesting ignoring it completely, but come on. Who is Boller going to devastate? Null? Even his name suggests the lack of oomph provided by the aerial attack that left St. Louis when Warner became a New York Giant.

This is a winnable game if there ever was one. The scheduling gods smiled on Arizona this season, giving them easy laughers against Detroit and St. Louis near the end of the season. Now is not the time to slack off. Especially with Green Bay coming to town next week.

Arizona is guaranteed at least the fourth seed by virtue of winning the NFC West, but that’s not all they’re playing for today. Win out, and with some help from the Vikings and Eagles, this could be the a higher-seeded team. Of course, if any team can win with a lower seed, it’s the Cards. But does anyone really want to go through that postseason gauntlet again? Didn’t think so.

Winning today makes 11-5 possible. Sure, Green Bay has been a tough out all year, but they haven’t been the same away from home. The season finale is a push. It’s anyone’s game to win, and considering the cold-weather Pack will be traveling to the desert, nearly the full distance of the country, it’s safe to say the Cards would have the edge in that one.

But it’s all about taking care of St. Louis first. So, here are six ways to beat the Rams

1.  Protect Kurt Warner.  Pretty simple, and should be easy with Leonard Little out and the ineptitude of the Rams’ pass rush.

2.  Run Beanie Wells.  He went over 100 yards for the first time in his career last week, and that momentum should carry over.  This defense has a run stopper in James Laurinaitis, but they are totally vulnerable to being worked and worn out.

3.  Get Q the ball.  He’s been playing like a man possessed with hopes of a trade all season.  Let him make some plays today.  Trust me, he knows his chances to impress other teams are running out.

4.  Stop Steven Jackson.  Enough said.

5.  Blitz late.  Delayed blitzes have worked well against St. Louis’ lazy O line all season.  But I don’t mean just delaying it after the snap.  I mean shut down Steven Jackson early on, build a lead, then tee off on whichever clunker QB is standing targeted behind the line.

6.  Build a homefield advantage.  The Cards will get at least one playoff game at home this postseason, so why not show a little flash today.  Get the fans involved and finally turn this place into an advantage.  It’ll help in weeks to come.