AZ Cardinals: contenders or pretenders?
craig44
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they started out on fire, and are 3-3 in their last 6 games. they lost to a very compromised Rams team last night.
are they the real deal?
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
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I still say they are a contender.
They lost to the Packers and Rams really, the Panther game they had Colt Mcoy at QB so that really dont count.
The Rams are good, actually great WHEN they play well. They are just inconsistent and you can’t count on consistency, and Green Bay is a top tier team.
AZ is solid
they will probably be the 1-2 seed and lose prior to the NFC Championship game. they "peaked" very early and were fortunate to come through the Kyler Murray injury as well as they did. now, it seems everyone else has caught up to them.
I think they said on the telecast last night that with the loss, it dropped AZ to the 3rd seed. of course, there is still a month left so that probably will change.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
The success of the Cardinals is directly tied to Kyler Murray’s health. He is, as Reggie Jackson put it, the straw that stirs the drink. They have a pretty good defense but he is the one that makes that team dynamic. That 3-3 mark bookends his injury and it’s not like the Rams are a slouch team.
I still see Tampa Bay as the best team in the NFC, then the Packers, Rams and Cardinals as a very close 2-3-4 and in no particular order, either.
The AFC is a bit more open but I predicted a TB-KC SuperBowl and nothing I’ve seen from the field has swayed me from sticking with it. I can give a massive amount of credit to the Patriots but I’m concerned about their ability to beat great teams. Their defense has been excellent but the offense still has a lot to prove before the playoffs (for me) before I can install them as the favorite. While I greatly admired the victory over the Bills, it was a coaching victory that did nothing for the development of the rookie QB against what would have been a pretty solid test for him. Perhaps Bellichek can scheme around the inexperience all the way to the SuperBowl but I would think somewhere along the way Jones will need to step up and make some plays. He’s certainly looked capable this year but there’s some more ‘seeing is believing’ that is needed, too.
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........
Kyler Murray has impressed, out-performed, and succeeded at every level. I think he is legitimate. I don't know how well they will fare, however, in the playoffs. QB and Coach, both inexperienced, does not equal the best road map, but there is only one way to get experience, so...
I have to say that if I were an AZ fan, Murray as a long-term QB would concern me. Now, I have not watched every game he has ever started, but I have seen 8 or 10. I have noticed a couple of things about him specifically that would concern me. they both point directly to his size.
The games i have seen him play, he is an effort thrower. He seems to lack natural arm strength. this is probably due to his small stature. He can get the ball out when he needs to, but it is at 100% effort. he does not have the easy fastball of a Rodgers, Mahomes or Allen. this tells me that as he ages, and the arm strength he has decreases, he will start to look more and more like Drew Brees from the last few seasons. I have felt the same about diminutive red sox players, Pedroia and Mookie Betts. both 100% effort guys that have to work so much harder to generate the same torque and power that average or large players can more easily produce.
He goes down easy. Like easy easy. when he is in the pocket and the rush is coming and he cant escape, he offers little resistance or ability to stand in and deliver a ball under pressure. bigger QBs like Rothlesburger, Allen, even Manning and Favre were able to stand in under pressure and stay upright and deliver. Kyler has a more difficult time seeing over the line when pressure seals the ends and he cant escape. I actually saw him leave his feet to deliver the ball.
the problem is, when you are 5'8" you cant teach 6'4". i know they list him as 5'10", but no way. he is really tiny. there is a reason little guys dont go on to have long productive careers.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Drew Brees disagrees with you.
I don’t, but I also think there’s a lot of teams right now deciding that a new QB every four to five years is better (and not coincidentally, cheaper) than trying to build around one $50 million player, as a general rule.
The last 20 years the teams that won the Super Bowl had a QB on a rookie deal or a QB who decided to take less money, with little (to no?) exception.
That’s hard to ignore.
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I agree Brees was small. probably the best small QB, but Murray is tiny. quite a bit smaller than Drew.
there is a draft day photo with Murray standing next to the 5'9" Marquese Brown, and he is shorter.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
The Cardinals are contenders, but if they don't get the home field advantage throughout the play-offs, they might not survive. The pundits have been saying that Tampa Bay, with the easier schedule with New Orleans and two games with the Carolina Pussy Cats, could end up with the best NFC record. That scenario got a boost last night with the Cardinal’s loss, but Tampa has trouble with New Orleans. It’s like the Patriots and Dauphins in the old days. The Dauphins also gave the Pats fits, especially in Miami.
If the Cardinals have to play Tampa Bay in Tampa during the play-offs, I don’t like their chances. If they force the game to Arizona, the homefield advantage might do it for them.
This is a postgame shot from earlier this year. Rodgers is listed at 6'2". Murray has the foreground perspective in his favor, but I don't know, 5'10" seems at least plausible based on this. 🤷
Or Rodgers is lying again...
…it’s like he was told to go ‘full heel’ Vince McMahon, looks, attitude and all!
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he measured 5-10 1/8 at the combine
regardless of how tall anyone thinks he is, his height obviously hasn't hindered him because he's numero uno in completion percentage at 71.6%
that said, he didn't have the greatest of games last night and i'll be the first to admit that. almost 450 running and throwing combined, but that figure is comprised of a lot of empty calories. but hey, sometimes you just have to tip your cap to the opposition -- Aaron Donald & Co. got after him and forced some ill-advised throws
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
It was a good game. Murray made a couple of fantastic desperation passes and I thought the Cardinals receivers looked really good. Staffords strong point is the long bomb. Kupp is MVP material. OBJ is fitting into the system now and that spells trouble for the opposition. The Rams were down 6 starters, 7 counting Woods. OBJ made a play in the 4th quarter that had everyone except The Lovely Mrs. Hydrant confused. She knows the game and says that OBJ is the key........Did anybody catch that play by OBJ? Say what you want, but he's not dumb. It was amazing!...... Never saw that before!!!!!! Probably never will again! SMART!
i love watching Kupp fire hydrant. probably the most polished receiver in the league
and OBJ did look good out there.........perhaps he has finally found the right fit
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
,.....
Which play are you referring to?
askin for a friend
Which play are you referring to?
askin for a friend
swing pass in the flats and he got swamped by 3-4 defenders. I don't think it was "smart" since I've watched OBJ avoid contact many, many times, he was fortunate to have "forward progress" called prior to running out-of-bounds so the clock kept running.
to the Cardinals, they are where they are today in part because of their 3rd place finish in 2020 which means they play all the other 3rd place Teams.
O.K., I could be wrong about this. When the play happened, I said, "What the hell is he doing?" The announcers of the game were just as confused as me until they got an explanation about what happened...... of course, The Lovely Mrs. Hydrant explained it all to me immediately. She likes football...... So.....here's what happened as best as I recall.....late in the 4th quarter the Rams were up 30-20. The Rams were running out the clock. OBJ caught a short pass on the sideline. He ran BACKWARDS a few steps. WHY? Well, if he was tackled inbounds or if he stepped out of bounds the game clock would have stopped..... BUT.....I guess(?) that there is a rule that if a receiver makes a catch at that point in the game, and instead of making foward progress or going out of bounds.....i.e., the receiver intentionally runs for negative yardage....the game clock does not stop. After that play, the game clock did not stop. So.....OBJ.....ran 20+ seconds off the clock. I was confused. But I guess it was brilliant! The Lovely Mrs. Hydrant explained it to me and then she said, "Now do you get it?". Could be wrong.....
Just ran it by you-know-who.......she said something about the ball was caught behind the line of scrimmage. I don't know. But it WAS interesting. A rule technicality of some sort.....and OBJ did run backwards on purpose.
You shouldn’t use Arod’s height as a measuring stick when he’s likely wearing his girlfriend’s high heeled hippy boots.
Eric
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Had nothing to do with being caught behind the line of scrimmage. Basically, they give you forward progress. In this case, OBJ's forward progress was inbounds even though he went out of bounds. So the clock kept running. Brilliant play by him.
Thanks, Tabe! The whole thing has been messing with my mind since last night. Couldn't figure it out but I thought it was a smart play.....THANKS!
Kupp is ALWAYS open and he can catch everything. MVP material is right. The Rams would be a disaster without him.
They're 7-0 on the road and 3-3 at home. Maybe losing last night was the best thing that could happen to them!
standing next to melissa stark who is 5'4" she responded to questions by saying she was not wearing 6 inch heels
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Standing next to the 5'9" Hollywood Brown.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I am pretty sure that guy is not 5'10 1/8" tall. I watched doug flutie and barry sanders play. Murray definitely looks smaller than those guys did. I mean, just watching him on the field, he looks tiny.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Dont get me wrong, I like watching Kyler. very entertaining QB. I just think that given his size, he will not be a 12 or 15 year starter.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
AZ loses to the Lions. started on fire, now 3-4 in their last 7.
pretenders.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Yep I’m off that bandwagon.
Frauds
Yep......best part.....Goff is still playing for the Rams.
Ditto for Brady and Tampa. They are toast too.
Plenty of time before the playoffs to right the ship.
There doesn’t seem to be a stand out team this year; should make for a fun playoffs.
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they are looking pretty terrible as well
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
in the NFC, it is almost a certainty that a Team at .500 or with a losing record could get into the playoffs.
in the AFC, almost one-third of the Teams have identical 8-6 records.
that means that the one-seed and someone else will have bye weeks like Tampa Bay did last season when they played the Redskins. whoever gets that match will have an easier road to the Championship game. right now the best Teams in the NFL look like the Cowboys, the Packers and the Chiefs, but each of them has flaws.
I see no clear cut favorite at this point.
The Cowboys will not get past the first round in any playoff situation this season.
Heard this stat last night, there are currently 24 teams with 6 or more wins and that is the most in history by Week 15. NFL parity is at an all time high right now.
Eric
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Only 6 teams in the NFC playing above .500. And 3 of them are in the NFC West. Phoenix, L.A., and S.F........wow!
There will be some good teams in the AFC that won't make it into the playoffs this year. 12 of the 16 are .500 or better.
Eric
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Looking for the disagree button. Cowboys get to the Super Bowl where they lose to the Browns.
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Ralph
Overreaction. They won 4 straight before New Orleans and scored 30+ in all of them. They looked bad last night but also were missing a ton of guys. And still only gave up 9 on defense.
i've watched almost every AZ game this season, so i'd like to think i have a pretty good feel for that team. if you read my synopsis of the game two weeks ago against the Rams, then you know that i detected ominous signs. that game was monstrous -- not only were the Cards nursing the #1 seed in the NFC, but they were going up against their closest divisional foe in a primetime game. on the first play from scrimmage, they were flagged for holding (it was declined because they still gave up a sack). next play, false start. all i needed was two plays to know that Arizona was mentally unprepared and didn't fully grasp the gravity of the situation. sure enough, the gaffes lasted throughout the entire game and they lost.
then we have yesterday's debacle. when i checked my phone to see what the final score was i almost fainted. i immediately went to the lowlights and the first play i saw was Kyler standing in a clean pocket for about 10 seconds, then throwing a pass to the sideline that was picked and almost taken to the house. i had seen enough of that bullshit and closed my browser.
a little later i thought to myself, "why am i so surprised?" i mean, let's think about this logically. if they can't get up for a game against the Rams when they have everything to play for, then who on earth is supposed to believe that they'll get up for arguably the worst team in the league?
mind you, they hadn't lost a single road game prior to yesterday. an undefeated team away from home that spots the Bishop Sycamore Lions a 17-0 lead at half is a fireable offense. if this collapse continues and the Cards flame the exact same way they did last season, then Kingsbury's head needs to roll and his forehead needs to be branded with a capital L for future prospective employers to see. being totally prepared, giving it your all and coming up short is nothing to be ashamed of. but pulling the stunts the Cardinals have the past couple of weeks is a completely different ball of wax -- it's inexcusable, it's unforgivable, and it's vomit-inducing.
ok that was cathartic. Happy Holidays all!
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
yes, probably an overreaction, but man did they play badly.
I really dont get the Bucs problem with the Saints. they just dont seem that good to me. I mean, Hill is the QB.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
They have a defensive line that can generate a pass rush without blitzing. Near as I can tell, that is the most effective defense against Brady during his career. Blitzing him is a mistake - he’s certainly proven that time and time again - but if you can get there with the front four you can negate some of his ability to pick apart the defense.
Losing Godwin and Evans in the first half and then Fournette in the second half meant Tom lost his three top receivers in one game; that’s probably too much too overcome, even for Brady.
With a week to get on the same page with new receivers this week and a returning Antonio Brown, I imagine the Bucs are right back on track by this time next week…
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Ralph just because your shy about giving out “LOL”’s doesn’t mean I am lol.
I’m adding these because your a good guy 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I think you talked me down off the ledge. they sure looked bad, but you posted some convincing reasons why
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
All I know is after last years late collapse the Cardinals fans are getting antsy.
"I spent 50% of my money on alcohol, women, and gambling. The other half I wasted.
If Kyler is listed at 5’10” I should have listed my height at 6’3” on my online dating profile. I always thought my height was the one thing holding me back from dating Super Models.
"I spent 50% of my money on alcohol, women, and gambling. The other half I wasted.
They only gave up 9 points so I’m not too concerned about a bad offensive game. And if LeVeon Bell has anything left, Brady will get it out of him, I’m sure.
Teams that can rush the passer for pocket collapses, pressures, hurries, hits and sacks - without blitzing - have always had the best chance to beat Brady. And not too many teams can…
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