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Anquan Boldin Traded To Baltimore


Anquan Boldin has been traded. For him, finally. For Arizona, I hope there’s some great talent sitting there in the middle rounds.

That, after, all is the price paid for Boldin.

Baltimore gave up their third and fourth rounders this year (pick 24 in the third, 25 in the fourth) for a chance to land the talented wideout who has been pining for a trade for years. Of course, that never affected his play, and he’s certainly one of the toughest receivers in the league. Baltimore is getting a good one.

The Cardinals also parted with their fifth-rounder in this year’s draft.

More on this later…

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Cardinals Free Agents and Kurt Warner Coming Back?


Karlos Dansby and Antrel Rolle may not be the biggest names headed into the wild blue yonder, but they’re getting plenty of buzz.

Not a lot to report here, but it looks as if Dansby will soon get an offer from Miami, and he fills a huge need for them at ILB. This could open up Miami to take Dez Bryant instead of Rolando McClain in the first round.

Rolle is apparently all set to meet with the New York Giants on Friday if he isn’t signed before then. The Giants have a big question mark at free safety with the status of Kenny Phillips unknown.

And finally, Kurt Warner might be coming back.

Before you cough up a “Favre,” he’s not doing it for the same reasons. He’s not looking for a quick Super Bowl contender to make one last run; he had that in Arizona. No, Kurt Warner has said he’ll play for one team and one team only if he does return. That team? The St. Louis Rams. Having him in the division in blue and gold would be weird. But it’s almost forgivable given that the Rams likely won’t be a serious threat next year.

Now, if he signs with the 49ers….

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With the 26th Pick in the 2010 NFL Draft the Arizona Cardinals Select…


Who's going to be on the other end of that headset now?

We’ve been mocking the moxie out of the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft with all of the team bloggers at Fanball.com for a couple of weeks now, and it’s been interesting.

You see, now matter how hard you try, it’s almost impossible to be totally impartial when compiling a mock draft all by your lonesome. Prospect X seems like such a good fit for Team A that you purposely drop him past Team B even though somewhere in your gut yesterday’s lunch is conspiring to tell you that you really know they’ll take him.

But when you’ve got 32 mini-GMs, all experts on their respective team’s needs, philosophies and histories, it flows a little more like the real McCoy. A few reaches (certainly I’ll be included in that category by more than a few once you read my pick), a few steals, some value picks and some motivated by dire need.

So when the 26th pick rolled around, I had a few solid options.

The first name that popped into my head? Ricky Sapp, an outside linebacker from Clemson. He’s got the crazy athleticism that Arizona covets, and after losing last year’s pick at rush linebacker, Cody Brown, to injury for the entirety of his rookie season there’s a certain savvy to this option. Plus, it’s not like we got a lot of help from this spot when it came to rushing the passer, even if the Cards managed to put up a lot of sacks. Allowing somewhere in the atmosphere of 400,000 points in two playoff games can’t happen again. Especially when Kurt Warner’s retirement has the vacuum power to leave this offense sucked clean of their former level of explosiveness.

Which leads me to my next point.

With the 26th pick in the 1st annual Fanball.com NFL Mock Draft, the Arizona Cardinals select Tim Tebow, Quarterback, University of Florida.

Hello? Anyone still here?

Screw it, I’ve talked to myself before. Wasn’t hoping to do it again, but maybe someone’s computer froze and they’re stuck looking at this for the next few minutes.

I know the knocks on Tim Tebow. I know his release was slow in college, I know he played in a spread system, I know he got some of his production from running the ball, and I know people love to say he only made one read at Florida.

Sorry, I don’t buy it. Because I also know that Tebow is one of the greatest college players of all time. I know he won on an unprecedented level. I know he’s a leader. I know he’s got titanium character and an iron will. I know you’re probably sick of those arguments from the pro-Tebow crowd, dwindling as it may be.

So, let’s try another approach. Tebow’s got no accuracy you say? Really seems odd when you realize that he never completed less than 64.4% of his passes over a season in four years of football. That’s what completion percentage measures — accuracy.

His arm isn’t strong enough? I don’t buy it. As a junior, on throws of over 15 yards (through the air), he completed more passes at a higher percentage for more touchdowns than the likely top pick, Sam Bradford. And before you tell me that his success was due to Percy Harvin taking a five yard slant for a 60 yard score, remember that in that same year only 42% of Florida’s receiving yards came after the catch while 60% of Bradford’s yardage was due to wideout YAC.

And you’ve got to be brimming to slap the “spread system” argument across my face, right? Alex Smith was a cinch example for a while but has looked a little better lately, and besides Tebow is not a slight-framed, weak-armed, small-handed guy. And please, I’d love for someone to tell me that comparing to Vince Young is a negative right now. Anyone? Oh right, no one’s here.

And finally, the pinnacle of ‘HaTebow’ propaganda — his release will never work at this level. Well, you’re entitled to your opinion, but don’t tell Aaron Rodgers or Phillip Rivers. Rodgers has a different release now than he did coming out of Cal. Admittedly, his changes weren’t as drastic as what Tebow’s trying to do, but his arm is stronger and more accurate after already proving that a mechanics makeover is at least possible. And Rivers’ side-armed sling was supposed to be a huge fault. After 62 TD passes over the last two seasons I think it’s safe to say that he can play a little ball.

Tebow’s working hard with great NFL minds to shorten the windmill, and when you look at his body of work, at how many times he has, believe it or not, completed passes and scored touchdowns against the greatest competition in college football it’s hard to believe he won’t fix his release if that what he damn well wants to do.

So why Arizona? Why not? The NFL quarterback whose demeanor most resembles Tebow’s just retired as the most successful passer in franchise history. Matt Leinart has inspired more confidence in Maxim publishers and the Solo cup company than he has in Cards’ fans. I’d love to see him step up and become what he was drafted to be, but at some point patience turns to puerility.

He’s got the hyper-athletic aura that led to the drafting of Calais Campbell and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and others, so he fits the general mold of Arizona draftees. And Ken Whisenhunt seems like the kind of guy who would revel in figuring out a way to fully utilize Tebow’s skills.

But maybe more than anything else, Arizona is a safe place for Tim. The offensive line will have to be bolstered at some point, but it’s not an awful group. And the skill players are the best in the league this side of New Orleans. Getting to ease into the league in a weak division while surrounded by Larry Fitzgerald, Steve Breaston, Early Doucet, Beanie Wells, and Tim Hightower sounds like a dream scenario for any quarterback. Benefiting from the knowledge passed down from Warner via Leinart would be invaluable as well. Tebow wouldn’t have to start right away, and when he does, you’d have a lightly-seasoned passer with all-world intangibles, scintillating production, and one heck of a left arm.

Sounds pretty good to me. Hope it sounded at all to anyone else.

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Fanball.com 2010 NFL Mock Draft




It’s getting to be that special time of the offseason. The Senior Bowl is in the books (so are the East-West Shrine Game and the Texas vs. the Nation Game, in case you didn’t notice…), the combine is less than two weeks away, and the NFL Draft anticipation is building like never before.

For the first time in it’s history, the NFL Draft be a three-day event, kicking off in primetime on a Friday night. It’s teetering on mainstream.

So, in the spirit of mock drafts everywhere, we’re joining in. Of course, this mock is unique in more ways than one. Instead of one man trying to do the job of 32 GMs, we’ve got 32 bloggers each representing a team. And who better to seal the fate of your favorite NFL Franchise than a blogger, right?

Be sure to check out Fanball.com’s 2010 NFL Mock Draft. The real draft is two months away. Ours is coming next week.

And, just to splash the pot, we’ll be running prospect profiles all week on DesertFlock taking a deeper look at the guys the Cards are sure to target come late April.

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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.

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Kurt Warner Officially Retires — HOF Next?



http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t280/tmel07/leinart.jpg

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…

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Kurt Warner Expected to Announce Retirement



http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff203/SpeedRacerX01/Warner-1.jpg

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…

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Cards @ Saints Karate Kid Preview


http://www.martialartstalent.com/uploads/editor/karate_kid_movie_still.jpg

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 »

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Cardinal @ Saints Preview


http://cdn.bleacherreport.com/images_root/images/photos/000/795/621/95680845.jpg.23391.0_feature.jpg?1263183486

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 »

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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?

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