Warner Still Questionable for Sundays Game

Kurt Warner of the Cardinals went through another full practice on Friday, but the Arizona quarterback was still listed as questionable for the game on Sunday at Tennessee.  Kurt was able to practice all week after he sustained a concussion in last Sunday’s game which they won against St. Louis with a score of 21-13.  He passed all the mental tests required last Tuesday.  Warner and Ken Whisenhunt the Cardinals coach have said that they plan to be careful since they are dealing with a head injury.

Warner said that he did not want to give false hopes for anyone to say he was OK, but obviously he is still optimistic.  Adding to the concussion, he is suffering tightness in his neck but said it was on Friday morning and that he felt a lot more comfortable than the entire week.  Warner played starter for Arizona for 41 consecutive games. Matt Leinart will start if he does not play.  Kicker Neil Rackers is also listed as questionable with a sore groin.

Cardinals Cream Of The Crop Once Again

Kurt Warner is back in shape with a MVP precision on his throwing.  Larry Fitzgerals was also dominating again with his catching everything in his neighborhood.  The defense was great, putting the Arizona Cardinals back on top of the mild NFC West after the start of the season mediocrity.  To see if the defending conference champions are back to elite shape comes next.  Warner said they are beginning to keep building and they are still peaking.  Before Seattle could react, Warner already had Arizona to a 17-0 lead.

He ended up to complete 32 of 41 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday’s victory 27-3.  Warner tied the NFL record for making the fastest to throw for 30,000 yards in a career. And Fitzgerald tied his own career high record of 13 receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown.  And Darnell Docket a defensive tackle said, the Cardinals crushed the third and fourth stringers of the Seahawks’ offensive line injury.

Cardinals O-line Looks to Regain Super Bowl Form

When the running game goes nowhere and the quarterback is knocked around like a piñata, the offensive line gets the blame. Left guard Reggie Wells, the chief of Arizona’s front line, has been around long enough to discern that. The Cardinals had last weekend off to ponder what has gone wrong for a team with such high expectations after last year’s surprise run to the Super Bowl. It’s the same offensive line, to a man, that started all 20 games last season and, in the playoffs, protected Kurt Warner superbly and even opened some holes for the running game.

Arizona ranks 31st out of 32 teams in rushing at 60.7 yards ever game, 3.2 ypc. Warner, meanwhile, has been sacked seven times, four times in the team’s most recent game, a 31-10 loss at home to Indianapolis. The other three came in the team’s other loss, 20-16 in the season opener, also at home, against San Francisco. In between, Warner was hardly touched in his NFL record 24-for-26 performance in Arizona’s 31-17 win at Jacksonville.

Colts D Makes Big Turnaround in Last 2 Weeks

Colts defensive end Robert Mathis is enjoying again. He’s smiling, joking, taking pride in his big game against Seattle and the recent improvement he and his teammates have made. It’s a stark contrast to two weeks ago when an exhausted Mathis had to answer questions about Indianapolis’ defensive debacle at Miami—and that was a win for the Colts. Mathis didn’t hide then, and he’s not hiding now.

Over the past two weeks, the Colts have put quarterbacks Kurt Warner and Seneca Wallace under tremendous duress. They limited Arizona and Seattle to a combined 73 yards rushing and only 27 points—14 coming in the last three minutes of Sunday’s 34-17 victory over the Seahawks. The brand new Indy defense is using blitz packages to help Mathis and Dwight Freeney draw more one-on-one blocking matchups, a jam for opponents that appears as one-sided on tape as it does in the stat books. Freeney and Mathis already have five sacks between them, nearly half of their combined total from last season when Mathis finished with 11 1/2, Freeney had 10 1/2 and both went to the Pro Bowl. They’ve enforced four fumbles and when they’re not catching quarterbacks they’re still forcing them into pitiable decisions, hurried throws or inaccurate passes.

Colts Power Past Cardinals

In his first game in Arizona, Peyton Manning threw four touchdown passes, three in the second quarter, as he powered the Indianapolis Colts past Kurt Warner and the turnover-prone Arizona Cardinals 31-10. Manning and Warner are two of the most prolific NFL quarterbacks in NFL history. The only difference was that the Colts’ offensive line gave Manning all the time he needed to carve up the Cardinals while Warner was under extreme pressure all night long.

For the 18th time, Manning had four touchdowns in a game, moving him past Johnny Unitas into third on the NFL career list, only trailing Dan Marino’s 21 and Brett Favre’s 20. Manning also reached 300 yards passing for the third time in three games this season, giving him 50 for his illustrious career. Manning started slowly but ate the Cardinals for breakfast, lunch and dinner with a show of precision in the second quarter. He threw 20 yards to Reggie Wayne for the first TD, 10 yards to Dallas Clark for the second and a clever 53 yards to Pierre Garcon as the Colts took a 21-3 halftime lead and they were well under way in powering past the Cardinals.

Cardinals at Crossroads

Their quarterback would be going for free agency in a few days with their ace running back soon to be released from his contract. And that is just the tip of the iceberg as the Arizona Cardinals head into the free agency market with issues at hand.
Kurt Warner, the quarterback that led them to their Super Bowl trip has given indications that he will test the free agent market services. Edgerrin James is relying on an agreement for his release that was stated when the offense changed and he was benched midway through the 2008 season. Then there’s Anquan Boldin, who together with Larry Fitzgerald and Kurt Warner made offense easier. He wants out of his current contract and is seeking a new one. His agent has already sent emails to NFL teams offering the services of Boldin.
Even the other Cardinals are getting in on the situation. Fitzgerald offered to restructure his deal to make cap room to retain Boldin. These are all matters that need to be addressed primarily by Cardinals General Manager Rod Graves and they need to address it soon enough to become competitive by the time the season opens.

Cardinals Salary Cap

There will always be tough decisions when it comes to a football team, and the Arizona Cardinals are facing a lot right now. It truly was a great ‘08 season for them, as they have reached the Superbowl for the first time and almost won it as well. Now that it’s all over, they are facing a lot of problems, and it would be difficult to return based on their circumstances right now.

For one, they have lost both their defensive coordinator and offensive coordinator. Pendergast may have not been much of a loss, but Todd Haley was an important component of the team’s success. Anquan Boldin is sure that he wants to leave the team, and Kurt Warner is on the fence whether he’d retire or not.

It’s not all bad news for the Cardinals as they still have a lot of cap space. Since it’s defense they need, they’d have enough to sign Julius Peppers since he is clear that he does not want to return to the Panthers. They could also sign defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth of the Titans, and keep Warner as well.

It will be exciting to see how the team will develop this season.

Why Have You Forsaken me?

It has been a big question so far whether or not Kurt Warner would continue to play football. He’s been aching to retire for quite a while now, and every little thing could push him to do so.

The Cardinals had a great ‘08 season. For the first time in history, they have reached to Superbow but the problem is that it might take a long time for them to return. One of the most important pieces that made them so successful was offensive coordinator Todd Haley. Now, he was hired by the Kansas Chiefs as their new head coach.

As a quarterback, it’s important that you get along with the offensive coordinator you are working with. Especially if you’re a veteran like Warner, it would be difficult to adjust your game according to someone else’s style. Warner says that he wouldn’t want to take a step back and that if ever he retires, the departure of Haley wouldn’t be the main reason, but surely a big factor in his decision.

Hopefully all goes well for the Cardinals because as of now, it seems as though they are slowly losing their personell, in spite of having the most cap room in the NFC.

Weary Warner

The Cardinals had a great season and for the first time, they were able to reach the Superbowl. They got so close to the win if it weren’t for a few mistakes. The question now is if they will be able to retain or even improve on last seasons performance? Well so far the future of the Arizona Cardinals seem to be cloudy, since Anquan Boldin says that there only is a slim chance that he will stay with the Cardinals when his contract expires in two years. Another problem is if Kurt Warner would keep on playing or would decide to finally retire.

Superbowl 43 was very emotional for the veteran quarterback, and now he just isn’t sure if he still wants to play or not. At the start of the ‘08 season, he said that he would be playing for another 2 years, but it seems as if he is having second thoughts. Hopefully for the Cardinals, he decides to stay for a while so that they have a good chance of returning to the Superbowl and probably win this time. It’s really difficult to find a quarterback as great as him.

The Blitz-Buster

Upon hearing the name of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the first thing that goes into the mind of football enthusiasts are their defense. This is thanks to defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau and his mega blitzing defense. It was evident that in the Superbowl, it was working until a few minor mishaps.

In the same football mental plane of Manning and Brady, Kurt Warner is one of the few quarterbacks in the history of the NFL that can break the blitz with ease. He just knows how it works whether he studied it carefully, or just simply has a natural affinity towards breaking through the blitz.

During the first half of Superbowl 43, the Steelers were able to limit Kurt Warner to 135 passing yard. This was because LeBeau would rush only four on passing plays, so that 7 defenders would remain in coverage. For some reason, LeBeau would start to use a lot of 5 man rushes. This is what spelled disaster for the Steelers defense. When Warner saw the 5 man rushes, in his mind was probably “big mistake”, and would eventually knit pick the defense and would end up with 222 more yards.

Amazing Game, Amazing Plays

Superbowls are readily expected to be spectacular and exciting events. This is the reason why so many viewers tune in to the Superbowl every year. Even those who don’t follow the Superbowl religiously make sure that they make time in their busy schedules to watch it. Especially with what technology can offer nowadays, everyone always have options so that they won’t miss it. Superbowl 43 was no exception and it once again delivered the goods.

The first epic play that fans were able to witness was the 100 yard return of James Harrison. It was with this play that he proved that nobody can stop the Silverback. He intercepted the pass by Warner, and dashed through 2 defenders to get the touchdown.

Another amazing feat was the 4th quarter explotion of Larry Fitzgerald. Offensive coordinator Haley found the right adjustment to counter the blitzing defense of the Steelers, and Fitzgerald instantly got 2 touchdowns in the 4th quarter.

Last but not the least, was the great catch that Santonio Holmes had to get the Steelers the lead, and the win as well. It was MVP worthy, and true enough, he earned the Superbowl MVP award.

Hello, Hall of Fame

The Superbowl is a great way for athletes to prove to people that they are worthy of being inducted to the Hall of Fame. This was true for a few people in the Superbowl, and they all didn’t disappoint as the game progressed.

Kurt Warner has been a great player and has been able to prove his worth during the course of his career. In spite of already winning a Superbowl, a lot of people have still been doubtful that he is Hall of Fame worthy. The chances that it was going to be his last season were high, but he became a started for the Arizona Cardinals, and brought this problematic team all the way to the Superbowl. During the Superbowl, he was able to pass 377 yards and get 3 touchdowns. Even though the Cardinals lost, he was able to secure his spot in the Hall of Fame, and gave a good slap on the face of his doubters.

Another QB that has secured a seat is Ben Roethlisberger. This is already his 2nd Superbowl championship, and he still isn’t even in his prime. At the age of 26, he’s still considered to be a great playing waiting to bloom, yet he has already accomplished so much.

So Near, Yet So Far

The last season was sort of a fairtytale story for both the Arizona Cardinals and Kurt Warner. The Cardinals have been known to be one of the more chaotic franchises in the NFL, and it has always failed to deliver the goods until recently. In a great run, they were able to get upsets during the playoffs, and was even able to reach the Superbowl for the first time in franchise history. For Kurt Warner, it was his chance to prove that he is Hall of Fame Worthy.

He started out the season as a back up for Matt Leinart. For reasons that are good to Warner, he became the starter and would be able to lead the Cardinals to the Superbowl. It has been 10 years since his last Superbowl trip, and it was with the St. Louis Rams that he was able to gain his first ever Superbowl championship.

Last Sunday, he had the chance to get another ring but several things were just beyond his control. One of them was the lack of defense that the Cardinals showed during the last run of the Steelers. They played intense defense throughout the game, but seemed to fail to do so when it mattered the most. The other, was the phenomenal catch of Santonio Holmes. Regardless of the outcome, he still proved that he has the guns to be a great quarterback.

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