Arizona Cardinals Question of the Week

by cgolden on Jul 4, 2008 11:00 AM MDT

ESPN recently did a coaches poll that yielded some not-so-surprising results. Most would agree that Rodney Harrison is considered a dirty player and the coaches, in this case, agreed. ESPN polled all 32 NFL head coaches on four different subjects (smartest offensive player, smartest defensive player, owner with the best reputation and dirtiest player) and for what it's worth only 18 coaches voted for a 'dirtiest player.' The results though, even with a small sample size, is pretty clear with 11 of 18 votes going against Patriots' safety, Rodney Harrison. Other receiving votes included Roy Williams (2) and Antonio Pierce, Hines Ward, Kevin Mawae and Olin Kreutz (each receiving one vote), and one coach said that he could think of a dirty player. So how is this Cardinal-related?

The article also mentions that safety Adrian Wilson leads the entire NFL in personal fouls since 2001. He's been flagged a total of 17 times since then with Harrison and defensive end Will Smith coming in second with 14. They also mentioned that Wilson leads the league in unnecessary roughness penalties since 2001 with 8. That immediately led to me pose this question to myself, have I ever watched Wilson play and though he was a 'dirty player?' For the life of me, I can't remember a play when I thought 'who that was dirty,' but my memory isn't the best in the world. The Baltimore game stands out in my recent memory, where a Wilson penalty set up the Ravens for the game winning field goal, but that was questionable at best and even the NFL.com recap mentions that.

So that finally brings me to the question: Adrian Wilson, dirty player or just an aggressive hard-hitting safety? On a discussion note, do the Cardinals have a 'dirty' player?

Poll

Is Adrian Wilson a dirty player?

Absolutley Not

17 votes

Yes and he needs to tone it down

4 votes

21 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 4 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

This really pisses me off!

That Ravens game was so BS. That was a perfectly clean hit. Last time I checked, this is football, and you should not get penalized because you hit people like an SOB!!! It wasn’t even helmet to helmet. Let the players play, and don’t penalize contact. They’re modern day gladiators and thats why they get paid ridiculous money to put themselves on the line. I did it, and I knew what I was getting into and so do these guys. I also know that none of them would trade it for the world either. Don’t get me wrong, cheap hits are crap and should be penalized to the fullest, but let the boys play their game!

by boogatt66 on Jul 4, 2008 1:41 PM MDT reply actions

A-dub

I wasn’t saying at all that he was dirty or that the hit was dirty (which is why I called it ‘questionable at best). I was just surprised that he would lead the league in such a category.

Revenge of the Birds

by cgolden on Jul 4, 2008 4:41 PM MDT up reply actions

I

I know you were’nt golden…
I was just expressing my disgust for that call! You have to be diplomatic as possible with presenting Cards news, but you know as much as I do that A-Dub just lays the hat on Mo-fo’s and we can’t hate him for it…
Now Docket is another story! I am just about sick of his selfish penalties and anyone who has ever played ball knows they can be avoided. Let alone the contract talks! I smell the next question of the week in the mix:-0

by boogatt66 on Jul 5, 2008 1:43 AM MDT reply actions 1 recs

Agree on Dockett

I would have to agree that Dockett strikes me as our “Dirty” Player on Defense.

And as far as AW goes, he hits players hard and ends plays, and that is exactly what he is paid to do as a safety. If hitting people hard and knocking them to the ground was considered dirty, Q would actually lead the list do to the fact that that type of play is not expected out of a WR like it should be of a safety.

by AJ BirdWatcher on Jul 7, 2008 5:28 PM MDT up reply actions