I Am Done with the Cardinals Until...
I am done with the Cardinals until they get an offensive line. I have written many times about the sad, failing strategy of drafting high-profile position players (particularly wide receivers) but paying no attention to the offensive line. The Cardinals have one of the best receiving corps in the nation, have what looks to be a great young quarterback, has a top-notch running back, but did NOTHING over the winter to shore up what last year was a crappy O-line. This is despite being $10 million under the cap!
And you saw it last night. Commentators have criticized the coaches for getting too conservative in the second half of last night's debacle, and certainly that is true. But a good team with a back like Edgerin James should be able to close out a game in the fourth quarter by pounding the ball on the ground. And the Cardinals could not, with James averaging less than 1 yard per carry after the opening drive in the first quarter.
I give up. I am tired of getting suckered onto the bandwagon. Until the Bidwells crack open the wallet and focus some cap money on the O-line, I am back to rooting for the Broncos.
Update: Greg Easterbrook piles on:
When my two football-crazed boys got up early this morning I said,
"Guys, Arizona was ahead by 20 and had the ball on the last play of the
third quarter." Immediately both said, "And the Cardinals lost." Not
only did Arizona blow a late 20-point lead at home in front of a
national television audience; the Bears committed six turnovers and the Cards still managed to lose. Arizona held Chicago to nine first downs and was plus-four
in turnovers, yet managed to lose. In the closing seconds, Arizona had
last year's Pro Bowl kicker lined up for a 41-yarder to win, and
trigger what would surely have been wild civic celebration, and still
lost. What's a stronger expression than "pitiful"? We must now twist an
old line and proclaim: Whom the football gods would destroy, they first
make Arizona Cardinals.
