Arizona Cardinals

Courtesy DarnellDockett90.com

The new kick returner we picked up makes Seabiscuit (Dan Sheldon) look like a giant.

JJ Moses listed at 5'6" 175 (probably 5'5')

Dan Sheldon listed at 5'11" 175 (probably 5'8")

Well let's hear it for the Cards organization. They promise some type of vacation packages for Mexico to watch our beloved Cardinals play a "home" game in the filthy city of Mexico City. All summer we season ticket holders wait and wait for the mailing or information of some sort for the package deal. What do we get? an email sent to us saying they are offering tickets in a lower portion of the stadium, and we have 5 days to decide or they become available to everyone. No hotel, no air, no transportation. Oh by the way, they inform us that we can call America West airlines for some information on their flights. huh? What gives?

Here is my speculation. Are they trying to distance themselves because they know of the dangers and security risks? Let's say you go there, your brother gets kidnapped, and you are on the travel package that the Cardinals put together - do you blame the Cardinals or the NFL? - or are the Cadinals just worried about bad pub. If that is the worry, then they should have never agreed to go there in the first place. I can see the worry, but if they offered some type of quick turn-around package, say for instance, fly in Sunday before the game, include transportation to hotel and to stadium and back. Then back to airport on Monday - done deal. Heck I would even consider flying right into the city, go right to the game, then catch a flight right after back to Phoenix - non-stop party, unless they lose.

From the AZCardinals website: "The Arizona Cardinals Football Club today announced that the team has released the following six players: linebacker Isaiah Ekejiuba, cornerback Rhett Nelson, safety Ifeanyi Ohalete, tackle Alan Reuber, defensive tackle Keith Wright, and defensive end Peppi Zellner.

In addition, the team also has placed center Bill Conaty (arm), defensive tackle Kenny King (wrist) and running back J.R. Redmond (shoulder) on injured reserve.

Today’s moves put the Cardinals below the 65-man roster limit, which all clubs are required to reach by tomorrow afternoon. The Cardinals currently have 69 players on their roster, including five NFL Europe League exemptions."

The big surprise here is Ohalete. He played well last year and has played well in pre-season, but Coach Green will go with youth. Ernest Shazor is an interesting prospect that could make the 53 - man roster. Adrian Mayes surprises me that he has made the cut. He will end up on the practice squad.

Peppi Zellner is another surprise. Green picked him up last year off of waivers and he played decent most of the year. Calvin Pace has clearly outplayed him this year, I guess this gives Antonio Smith a shot to make the team.

What really hurts is that we put JR Redmond on the IR list for a dislocated shoulder. I guess Green feels he cannot tie up a roster spot for 6-8 weeks, which also includes Gerald Hayes being out that long, but they are holding his spot on the roster. JR Redmond hurts because of his ability to be a true returner for us. Also, he just about occupied 3 positions; Kick returner, punt returner, and third down back. Are we really going to rely on Seabiscuit (Dan Sheldon) to return punts? - he has been terrible so far.

I liked what I saw of Kenny King whenever he played, but unfortunately, he is officially a bust. He missed 2 1/2 years of his 3 on the team. Real similiar to Kyle Vandenbosch.

Turn your tv on this Thursday night. ASU Sundevils get a warm-up game against Temple. I am hoping to see 4-5 touchdowns in the air against a weak Temple pass defense. This tune-up game preludes the showdown in Lousiana Sept 10 when ASU upset's no 5 LSU.

Go Devils!

This Friday marks the final game of pre-season. The only two unbeaten teams in the pre-season are the Cardinals and the Broncos - interesting. The starters do not ususally play much the final game, but I want to see Jake Plummer again. I hope we see the starting offensive line in the whole game to give them practice - with Josh McKown getting plenty of reps since he did not play against Oakland. I also would like to see Shipp start and re-claim the starting job from Arrington. Come on Green - open up the competition!

It also looks like Damian Anderson may have secured a spot on the roster. We will find out more after more cuts are made by Tuesday, but I think he has shown enough toughness to make the team.

As you may recall, Pete Kendall our pro-bowl caliber lineman / center from the previous years was cut last year on the eve of training camp. Green cut Kendall because Kendall was one of two players who complained about too much hitting during the OTA's. Green sent Kendall a message and cut him as he was ready to load his car for training camp.

Coach Green then started 4th round Alex Stepanovich - rookie - in his place. He had a big learning curve, but eventually became solid as he played every snap last year. Well this year he breaks his hand. Then his back-up, Nick Lecky, also drafted last year sprains an ankle. In comes Conaty, a 5 year vet but mostly a back-up, recently with the Bills. He is named the starter, but manages to get hurt in practice. Now for the Raiders game, they start Adam Haayer (who?). Adam has never played center before in the NFL, but there he is, snapping balls.

Reggie Wells our starting left guard has been practicing at center as well. The latest scuttle is that Stepanovich might play guard with a cast on and make all the line calls, then Wells will snap the ball. Weird, but maybe it will work. In the mean time - this truely is the curse of Pete Kendall.

A very mixed emotion game. The redbirds are definately not ready for prime-time, but I have not been more excited for a season than I have this year. Let's start with the good stuff:

• Antrel Rolle - stud, led the team in tackles, was talking trash to Randy Moss (how cool is that), and is starting to prove to be the best corner for AZ since Aneaus Williams
• Both DE's Okeaker, and Berry. And Calvin Pace for that matter. These guys have too much speed and caused all kinds of trouble for Kerry Collins - I love seeing the forced fumbles. Season tickets are worth buying just to see these guys on the field together.
• Boldin is still our best player - go buy his jersey!
• Marcel Ship averaged over 8 yards per carry again - give him the ball!
• JJ Arrington started to find something of a rythm (slowly)
  
• Our linebackers are strong - starting too like Eric Johnson - not just because of the interception
• I like that we struck for the end zone right away after Berry recovered the fumble. Golliday was wide open and easily walked into the end zone because the Raiders were not expecting us to strike fast.
  

Now the not so good:

• The offensive line, even with all the new faces, has got to find a way to get it together. The failed 2-pt conversion and 2 other plays did not work for the same reason - no one blocked the Raider's right DE. Why would Leonard Davis and Reggie Wells both block the same guy and allow the DE to come in untouched? Is this Davis' fault because he was lost? or was someone else supposed to pick him up and the line calls were missed? I don't know, but they have one more week to fix it.
• Oliver Ross had a so-so outing. I saw him get worked on one play where the Cardinals were on the 3-yard line and third down we went for the end-zone. His man just pushed Ross into Kurt and Kurt had to throw it away.
• The Raider touchdown had nothing to do with Randy Moss, it was that our entire team fell for the play action - they bit hard and Moss just slipped through for 6 points
• Scott Player has been terrible this pre-season - I hope he shakes the slump
• John Navarre has not been very good, even for a 3rd string QB
• Need to establish the running game - even if it is boring and we lose the game big time for the pre-season, but I think we should just line up and run to fiigure this thing out. In the real season, we have to do what it takes to win, but for now - practice running
  

The game Friday against the Raiders should determine a few yet undecided positions. The #4 runningback is between James Jacskon and Damian Anderson. I think coaches want Jackson to get it, but he has not shown anything to say that he bleongs. I think Anderson is the better runner and will get the roster spot.
Another interesting battle is 4th safety position. Quentin Harris from Syracuse is considered to have it locked up - but Adrian Mayes and Ernest Shazor (the head case from Michigan) has made it interesting. Shazor will be on the practice squad, but would probably get snatched by another team. Here is a brief histroy why I called Shazor a head case. He is 6-4 out of Michigan and many folks had him projected to go as high as the second round. For some reason, he was not drafted and the Cardinals quickly picked him up as an undrafted rookie free-agent. He could not get over this and instead of reponding with a chip on his shoulder and proving the football world wrong, he went into a shell. He did not report to camp initially and could not come to grips with it. The Cardinals decided not to give up on him and were willing to give him as much time as he needed. He finally has been practicing and had an interception in the KC game. I think if Dennis Green does not think he will make the team, they may IR him to keep him from going elsewhere.

Other positions to decide. Number 4 wide receiver. Most likely will be Lee, but he is very inconsistent. I think the number 5 wide receiver is not currently on our roster. I sure wish we had the 4 and 5 receivers of previous years, Kevin Kasper and Nate Poole.

Also - why does Green name certain starters without them proving themsleves? Such as JJ Arrington and Elton Brown. - Is this just to swell Coach Green's head because he wanted to show how great a drafter he is?

The 2nd pre-season game was disturbing. The O-line could not block and pick-up the blitz. This is especially disturbing because they said they knew before the game that KC was going to blitz alot. Scary!

I'm glad to see Josh McKown looked good.

Marcell Ship should be our starting back - period.

Antrell Rolle had another good game - I'm starting to like this kid.

Latest news:
Josh Scobey cut Monday, Troy Hambrick cut, Lawrence Hamilton

Sep. 11		@ Giants	4:15pm
Sep. 18		vs Rams	1:05pm
Sep. 25		@ Seahawks	1:05pm
Oct. 02		vs 49ers (in Mexico)	7:30pm
Oct. 09		vs Panthers	1:15pm
Oct. 16		vs Open Date	1:00pm
Oct. 23		vs Titans	1:15pm
Oct. 30		@ Cowboys	12:00pm
Nov. 06		vs Seahawks	2:05pm
Nov. 13		@ Lions	1:00pm
Nov. 20		@ Rams	12:00pm
Nov. 27		vs Jaguars	2:05pm
Dec. 04		@ 49ers	1:05pm
Dec. 11		vs Redskins	2:05pm
Dec. 18		@ Texans	12:00pm
Dec. 24		vs Eagles	2:05pm
Jan. 01		@ Colts	1:00pm
* All times are local to site

I have never been one to make pre-season predictions for all the teams - ususally can pick two or three surprises - but I will write all my pre-season projections down so I can be held accoountable. A general rule for the NFL -if you were a good team last year, you will suck this year and vice - versa.
AFC
AFC West - I would not be surprised if any of these teams win the division. On paper, Kansas City has improved the defense, so I will trust that. Denver has not done anything to improve (all of Cleveland's rejected d-line), San Diego said all's well here and Oakland made big strides in offense.
1. Kansas City - improved broken defense, keep an eye on Preist's back-up
2. San Diego - did not change anything in offseason - real test about last year
3. Denver - Maybe Rice will help Jake
4. Oakland - Defense has too many holes

AFC East
Tough division once a again. Jets are always the wild card
1. NY Jets -I know this is crazy, but I figure, but Pats might screw it up this year
2. New England - lost 2 coordinaters and Teddy Bruschi
3. Buffalo alot of folks have them last - it depends on essentally the rookie QB Lossman
4. Miami - could end up 3rd over Buffalo, but most likely next year will make a run

AFC North
After years of the weakest division, this may be the strongest division in football.
1. Pittsburgh - always on top, but can they advance in playoffs?
2. Cincinnati - wow - new attitude and bothJohnsons are for real
3. Baltimore - new wide receiver should help Boller, Heap needs to stay healthy
4. Cleveland - unfortunatley - a much improved team in a much improved division, another early round draft pick

AFC South
I do not pay much attention to this division, but here goes.
1. Indianapolis - Best out there for regular season, can do it if Pat's miss the playoffs
2. Houston - have improved every year
3. Jacksonville - too much runningback questions, but could make a run
4. Tennesee - on the downslide (can't win in powder blue)

NFC
NFC West
1. Arizona - by far the best defense in the division -could carry them until offense clicks
2. Seattle - can do it, but also capable of losing 10 games
3. St. Louis - just do not see anything out of them, but offense makes it fun
4. San Francisco - 2 more years

NFC East
1. Philadelphia - but only by default
2. NY Giants - Manning is looking good, new receiver in Buress
3. Dallas - QB turnstyle is not helping, but I like everything they have done and could win division
4. Washington - nope (takes a miracle)

NFC North
1. Minnesota -Spent alot of money on defense and should pay off, will the loss of Moss be too much?
2. Detroit - This is the time for Harrington - short leash for him otherwise Chicago will be ahaead of them
3. Chicago - Who is going throw the ball? - I hope the rookie RB cathes on quick
4. Green Bay - might still be ok only because of Favre, but I see a season below 500


NFC South
1. Atlanta - Very inconsistent team, but if Vick is healthy - they will win division, otherwise, I do not like this team and if they finish 3rd, it would not surprise me
2. Carolina - Great coach, alot of grit, I like this team but some bad luck will happen
3.Tampa Bay - They seem to be just kind of there, but if "Cadillac" bursts through, look for this team to get over the hump and make a run
4.New Orleans - Way too inconsistent, I don't like the QB, has quit on the team before

I will do playoff predictions later.

I am going to have to change what I said earlier about the backs. The local media sang praises about James Jackson - I certaintly did not see it Saturday night. I now re-arrange the depth chart:
JJ Arrington
Marcel Shipp
Damian Anderson
JR Redmond - (awesome on special teams)
Josh Scobey
James Jackson

I watched the game last night and certaintly liked what I saw. I am not ready to proclaim them NFC champs, but a much improved team and a team that should be lot more fun to watch. I could write forever - but I will highlight the players that stood out - good and bad.
Kurt Warner looked cool, had great stats - but mostly because his receivers were awesome. But that is required, and sometimes you need to throw behind to avoid the interception. Once or twice Kurt had more time than he anticipated and hurried the throw. Probably a response to his criticsim of years past of holding on too long - he overcompensted. If healthy, though, he should have a good year.
The O-line- did outstanding. Kurt had all kinds of time. Nick Lecky (back-up center) played most of the game and did quite well.
JJ Arrington - so -so - a lot of dancing around instead of hitting the hole hard. But he picked up the blitz very well and was not afraid to block.
Fitzgerald was amazing - his touchdown was something for NFL films.
Bryant Johnson will have a big year.
JR Redmond was outstanding on kick return and punt return. I will do a sepetate post for his play.
Darnell Dockett - wow - this guy will be holding out next year for a bigger contract - if he keeps it up - he will be in the pro bowl - what a stud.
Bert Berry - picked up where he left off last year.
The whole d- line was great.
Backup end Calvin Pace was awesome as well. Our back-up d-line is quite good and would have been huge starters for us 2 years ago - consisting of all veterans Calvin Pace, Ross Kolodziej, Kenny King and Peppi Zellner.
Antrell Rolle was a big surprise - hard, physical tackler and had a big pass deflection in the end zone that required some serious athleticism.
Our other 3 corners did excellent as well - what I thought might have been a weakness in the offseason, now may be a strength.
Adrain Wilson picked up where he left off from last year.

Bad -
Seabiscuit - (Dan Sheldon) - cut, this week!
Charles Lee - big goof - maybe give one more chance
The running game with the exception of Damian Anderson was pathetic.
McKown looked frightened back there.
John Navarre as big as he is - still getting balls batted down at line?

Our beloved Anquan broke his nose - (nice going rookie safety) - he finished the play and broke our star's nose! At least Anquan will be able to play, but I'm sure he will miss a lot of camp and his play will hindered. He will not be able to work on timing with Kurt.

#43 Is Eric Green

There are a ton of runnbacks on this roster. This is how I see it breaking down.
#28 JJ Arington - Will become starter - despite any "perceived" competition
#31 Marcel Shipp - doesn't seem to be in Green's favor - but I think should be #2 - should make team but I would not be surprised if he is one of the final cuts of camp
#36 JR Redmond - should make the team for special teams - a viable #3 back on roster
#?? James Jackson - decent runner - should make the team probably our #2
#22 - Troy Hambrick - (nice Number) - overwight again, will not make the team, nice going Hambrick!
#32 - Larry Croom - I like him alot, most likely will not make the team unless a string of injuries occur, will be on practice squad -
#20 Damian Anderson - good story, tough kid, but will not make the team
#33 Josh Scobey - had a special teams role, but not a very intuitive runner - will be cut
#45 Roger Robinson - who? kid from NAU - is this a courtesy to the University? cut

Depends on special teams roles - but most likely will keep 4 backs with one or two fullbacks

I was able to watch camp on Wednesday Aug 3rd. The offense really improved. All the reports I read that the offense was behind the defense (Typical early in camp), but I watched an offense that had the ability to move the ball. JJ Arington looked good (he took a huge hit from LB Huff - made the crowd squinch), Larry Croom looked good - but still won't make the team, but I like the kid. Josh McCown looked really good, Kurt looked ok as well. Kurt's passes were softer, but got there. He completed a nice touchdown pass to Bryant Johnson. Johnson caught everything that came to him.