What We Know About the 2009 Cardinals at the Half Way Point

by Bezekira on Nov 9, 2009 10:32 AM MST Comment 28 comments

Here are some random thoughts about the 5-3 Arizona Cardinals:

The Cardinals are the best team in the NFC West and it's not exactly a slim margin. They're the only team with a winning record and the only team that's scored more points than they've allowed. Most importantly though, they're the only team that doesn't have questions at the most important position on the field (QB), but more on that in a bit.
While the Cardinals aren't an elite team, that doesn't mean that they season is doomed for failure. Elite teams put forth a consistent winning effort week in and week out despite the quality of their opponent, but at best we're only talking about three or four teams in this league. The Cardinals are one of the "muddled middle" that's capable of beating or losing to just about anyone. Consistency is the goal but for now we're winning more often than not and getting into the post season is the first step.
Kurt Warner is still the same quarterback that he's been for the past decade or so. He's going to have his "dud" games and if his history is any indication, he'll have another four or five turnover game before the season ends. The good news is that he'll also have a handful of games where's he virtually unstoppable. Best in the league? Not even close but he's the best chance that this team has of returning to the promised land and I wouldn't bet against him in a gun fight.
The Cardinals won't ever be mistaken for the Jets or Titans but our league worst rushing attack is improving. The duo of Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells are leading that improvement and it's more than just their 149 yard performance against the Bears. Through the first five games Beanie and Timmy accounted for 292 yards (at 3.4 ypc) but in the past three games they've racked up 311 yards (at 5.0 ypc). The Cards don't have to lead the league in rushing but any success they have on the ground takes pressure off of KW and the passing game.
The defense isn't great but more often than not, it's going to be good enough. They are a better defense when they're playing with a lead and they're going to have their mental lapses that lead to big plays but overall this is an above average defese. With this offense, most of the time, that's going to be good enough to win.

For now that's all. The Cardinals hold a two game lead in the division (if you don't count the tie-breaker with the 49ers) and they've got two very winnable in the upcoming weeks (Hawks and Rams). The West is ours to lose and in a couple weeks we should be talking about playoff positioning.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Revenge of the Birds' (ROTB) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of ROTB's editors.

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They are definitely moving in the right direction to be an "elite" team.

Their problem is that they are a young team still trying to learn how to win consistently. Once they get the consistency down, they should be among the best in the league.

The running game has been impressive the past few weeks. They played extremely well against the Bears, and probably would have gotten over 100 yards rushing against Carolina if it was not for us getting so far behind. This unit is definitely moving in the right direction.

by Pyromnc on Nov 9, 2009 10:45 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

We have the 2nd-oldest defense in the league

And no rookies starting at any position…

by tw3kr on Nov 15, 2009 7:26 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I see 3 "elite" teams in the league right now

Colts, Saints, and Vikings…… Steelers are borderline elite…. Broncos and Bengals are looking pretty good. Cards are a great team that could come close to being elite if they could be consistent.

They gotta win against the Hawks and Rams to be taken seriously

by CardsDefense on Nov 9, 2009 10:48 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

+1

What? I didn't break it, I was just testing its durability, and then I placed it in the woods becuase it's made out of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
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by Andrew602 on Nov 9, 2009 11:28 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

They have to start winning at home to be taken seriously

We all leave footprints in the sands of time, just watch out for the discarded fish hooks!

by Hawkwind on Nov 10, 2009 4:58 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree

but last year we said the same thing about their road performances. Here’s to being in the NFC West, and to getting hot at the right time again.

by Long Beach on Nov 10, 2009 5:09 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

+1

What? I didn't break it, I was just testing its durability, and then I placed it in the woods becuase it's made out of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Nov 11, 2009 8:06 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Cards are top 10 at best right now.

Nobody will take this team seriously until they can establish some consistency. Sense a trend here?

What? I didn't break it, I was just testing its durability, and then I placed it in the woods becuase it's made out of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Nov 9, 2009 11:28 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

very true but are there 10 teams in this league that have "constistently" played well?

Obviously the Saints and Colts are “elite” and a legit case could be made for the Vikings but that might be it.
- The Steelers lost to the Bears
- The Bengals lost the Texans
- The Broncos got blasted by the Ravens
- The Cowboys haven’t lost to any terrible but they lost the Giants and had to go to OT with the Chiefs
- The Patriots lost to the Jets

And believe it or not, that list includes every team in the league with two losses or less. If you open it up to three loss teams, here’s what you’re looking at….

- The Chargers have lost to the Ravens, Steelers and Broncos
- The Eagles have lost to New Orleans, Oakland and Dallas
- The Falcons have lost to New England, New Orleans and Dallas
- And we’ve obviously lost to the Niners, Colts and Panthers

Granted maybe our two losses to the Niners and Panthers stick out as the worst losses of any of these four (with the obvious exception of Oakland) but you can still see the “muddled middle” is exactly that.

Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

by Bezekira on Nov 9, 2009 12:27 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

True

The 49ers have to be the best 3-5 team in the league. They can hang with anybody

What? I didn't break it, I was just testing its durability, and then I placed it in the woods becuase it's made out of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Nov 9, 2009 3:19 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

The Texans missed going to overtime with the Colts by a blown field goal

Which, by my measurement, makes the Bengals look even better, particularly after sweeping the Steelers. Just saying — losing to the Texans isn’t inexcusable.

by tw3kr on Nov 15, 2009 7:28 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Convincing wins are a must as well

I’m talking double digit margins of victory over the Hawks and Rams. I need to see them dominate lesser opponents before considering them elite.

by ajotanelsona on Nov 9, 2009 11:34 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

I see

the Cards making a statement at home this weekend against the Seahawks. The potential on this team is certainly there, and the talent this team has on offense and defense can get them back to the Super Bowl. Consider that our offense hasn’t yet gotten in a rythm this year, while some of the other top teams are starting to struggle on offense now that teams have some film and can game plan better. What happens when our Offense starts to click? We have a top 10 defense, but haven’t had the consistency on offense yet. With the balance we showed on Sunday in Chicago, I think we can expect the field to start opening up for some big plays. Running the ball is a must, and if this offense startes to get moving, there isn’t a team in the league the Cardinals can’t beat.

by robloosli on Nov 9, 2009 1:14 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

Offensive line and Warner

Agree with most of this analysis, but comment about Warner “not even close” to the best is wrong. If you agree that he is the same as he has been for the last ten years, and I do, then consider his record in playoff games compared to Peyton Manning. They are both outstanding, but Warner has the overall edge and was brilliant again last year. Here’s the question: how well would Manning or anybody else do with the offensive line Warner is working with. You rarely see Manning harrassed like Warner and if he were you would see turnovers. Warner handles it well because he knows what he is doing and has an incredibly quick release. I’m not saying he is the best, but he’s pretty darn close.

by BPaul on Nov 9, 2009 9:12 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

Warner will always get overlooked because of his age and occassional terrible game

Which Peyton rarely has.

What? I didn't break it, I was just testing its durability, and then I placed it in the woods becuase it's made out of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Nov 10, 2009 8:25 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Most good quarterbacks will get overlooked when you have...

Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Ben Roethlisberger (even though I do not think he is that good) in this league. Too bad because Warner should be mentioned right there with them.

by Pyromnc on Nov 10, 2009 8:34 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

Big Ben is the most overrated Quarterback in the NFL.

He is good, but he isn’t top 5 like everyone is saying.

Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.

No band-wagoner fans allowed, pick a team and stick with em, throughout the good and the bad.

by JoeCB1991 on Nov 10, 2009 10:26 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Everyone that calls him top 5

has 8 qbs in the top 5.

I understand the argumant that Ben does have 2 SB rings which is more than all other top 5 qbs except Brady, but if you were starting an expansion team and could pick any QB you wanted to build the team around I put him somewhere around 8-11th.

by Drullin'OverDaCards on Nov 10, 2009 10:57 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

I think those two Superbowls can be attributed more to their defense than Big Ben.

by Pyromnc on Nov 10, 2009 11:03 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

TOP 5

It all depends on your parameters for top 5’s.

I think if you’re talking about guys who you’d start your franchise with, then he’d be in my top 5, but if you’re talking about a guy to finish this season or win one game, then he’s probably more in the 6-10 range, IMO.

Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

by Bezekira on Nov 10, 2009 11:09 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs