2010 Arizona Cardinals' Playoffs: Anquan Boldin's Time To Shine

by Undrafteds on Dec 30, 2009 9:58 PM MST

Just 21 minutes into his first ever playoff appearance, Anquan Boldin injured his hamstring on a 71-yard touchdown catch and was gimpy for the rest of the playoffs and the Cardinals' first Super Bowl appearance last season.

Meanwhile, a more healthy Larry Fitzgerald flourished—by dropping jaws and shattering records.

Although Q is well respected throughout the organization for being a team player and a hard worker—and you know that he was happy for Fitz—at the same time it is fair to assume that behind the facade their still may be a smidgen of jealousy about how the postseason went down.

This is Boldin's team after all.

He was the heart and soul of the offense before Fitzgerald, Kurt Warner, and Ken Whisenhunt arrived, and most will argue that he still is.

He was the one that along with Adrian Wilson, dominated opponents on a weekly basis before Arizona was a good team. They laid the bricks of the foundation on which the Cardinals' current success is built.

He was the one that was the original Pro Bowl record breaking wide receiver for the Cardinals.

He was the only one to record 217 receiving yards in his first NFL game. And that was literally just the beginning.

Then there is this whole contract bit. You know how Fitz is making a lot more money than Boldin despite not catching as many balls for as many yards bit?

Which is why I feel the 2010 postseason will be his time to shine.

In the past seven games, Q has regained his #1 receiver status in the stat column. Although both have been productive, Fitzgerald has 38 catches for 443 yards to Boldin's 46 for 582.

He has been more in sync with what Kurt Warner wants to do as of late. In the Rams game in particular, it was apparent Warner and Fitzgerald were not mentally connecting on several throws. Boldin caught eight of his ten targets while Fitz grabbed just five of his ten.

A week before against the Lions, Boldin scored the winning touchdown.

Q is heating up at the right time. He has some unfinished business to attend to in the postseason, starting with staying healthy.

If he can do that, it is not a stretch to imagine him snaring passes with one hand, rumbling over defenders and leading this very talented Cardinals team back to the Super Bowl—where he could be named MVP.

You can read some of my other work inlcuding this story, here.

Poll

Which is more likely to happen in the postseason?

Q gets injured and is limited

24 votes

Q dominates and breaks Fitzgerald's records

24 votes

Q leads the team to their first ever Super Bowl win and wins MVP

131 votes

a healthy Q is shut down by opposing defense(s)

33 votes

212 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

The homer in me picked the third option

But there should be one that says Q has a productive post season, but nowhere near Fitzgerald’s in 2008. No disrespect to Boldin, but nobody will break Fitz’s records for a long time.

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 Dec 31, 2009 1:51 AM MST reply actions

That is exactly what I would have liked to have voted for to.

by don f on Dec 31, 2009 4:51 AM MST up reply actions

+1

by Pyromnc on Dec 31, 2009 6:13 AM MST up reply actions

optimism

I am wearing rose colored glasses Andrew.

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by Undrafteds on Dec 31, 2009 7:39 AM MST up reply actions

Gawds, "most likely" to happen? Based on reality or pure orgasmic fantasy?

Injury is more likely to happen because it happened already last year.

Q isn’t likely to break Fitz’s records as a slot receiver. Playoff teams are playoff teams for a reason and Q might catch a zillion 5-yard dumps but he isn’t going to be breaking any big YACs against quality opponents.

MVP of the Super Bowl is the next most likely after the injury scenario. I can see Q having a superhuman game pending the results of his first few catches. If he crushes a couple DBs and makes a few LBs dump out of their jocks, then his mouth will take over and mind-blast the opposition into even more mistakes. This of course would be the preferable scenario.

Q can get shut down for a half but rarely a whole game, especially if he’s at full strength and the QB is sharp. Q made McCown look pretty good for a couple of years.

Don't waste time or Time will waste you.

by Hawkwind on Dec 31, 2009 6:37 AM MST reply actions

reality

well Hawk, I meant reality, but also it is implied to have fun with it ;)

with all due respect, Boldin has more catches for more yards in having played 3 more career games

Q 599 for 7,653 in 97 games
Fitz 537 for 7,231 in 94 games

so I don’t know where the yards analogy comes from?

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by Undrafteds on Dec 31, 2009 7:49 AM MST up reply actions

May I ask how you got these stats?

If you count playoffs the stats are:
Fitz - 95 games, 550 catches, 7596 yards, and 65 touchdowns
Q -— 97 games, 597 catches, 7672 yards, and 45 touchdowns

If you don’t count playoffs the stats are:
Fitz— 91 games, 520 catches, 7050 yards, and 58 touchdowns
Q—— 94 games, 583 catches, 7482 yards, and 44 touchdowns

Regardless if the stats are off a bit I get your point. Q and Fitz’s stats have been pretty close. The only real difference between the two has been the fact that Fitz has been much better in touchdown situations.

by Pyromnc on Dec 31, 2009 8:59 AM MST up reply actions

Stupid thing crossed out the stats...

If you count playoffs the stats are:
Fitz — 95 games, 550 catches, 7596 yards, and 65 touchdowns
Q -— 97 games, 597 catches, 7672 yards, and 45 touchdowns

If you don’t count playoffs the stats are:
Fitz— 91 games, 520 catches, 7050 yards, and 58 touchdowns
Q—— 94 games, 583 catches, 7482 yards, and 44 touchdowns

by Pyromnc on Dec 31, 2009 9:00 AM MST up reply actions

regular season stats, without coffee

Pyro, I started with stats I had in my article on Boldin (linked in this one) from earlier this season. It is possible those stats were off. Assuming they were right, I added 14 games for Boldin (he missed one game) and 15 for Fitz. Then obviously added the receptions and yards accordingly. I left TDs out, because I wanted to focus on yards and YPC.

If there is a math error somewhere I apologize, I had just woken up and was calculating off of one sip of coffee hahahaha.

But yes, my point was only that Boldin gains as much yardage as Fitz if not more so. I was discounting last year’s playoffs b/c Boldin was playing hurt.

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by Undrafteds on Dec 31, 2009 9:44 AM MST up reply actions

Pyro, you are correct, my stats were wrong, yours are right

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/stats?playerId=4512

Q—— 94 games, 583 catches, 7482 yards
Fitz— 91 games, 520 catches, 7050 yard

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/stats?playerId=5528

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by Undrafteds on Dec 31, 2009 9:55 AM MST up reply actions

It's cool

Was just making sure. I’ve definitely had those moments where I was off as well.

by Pyromnc on Dec 31, 2009 9:59 AM MST up reply actions

cheers

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by Undrafteds on Dec 31, 2009 12:22 PM MST up reply actions

Post-season

Fitz: 22 catches 380 yards
Q: 14 catches 190 yards

That’s throwing out the Carolina game. If you’d like to point out Q was hurt then you’ve confirmed what is most likely to be the scenario out of the four you’ve proposed.

Quote me all the regular season stats you’d like but they’re effectively worthless in the post-season. Ask Dan Marino.

Don't waste time or Time will waste you.

by Hawkwind on Dec 31, 2009 9:03 AM MST up reply actions

+1

Fitz was clutch in the postseason. Looking forward to seeing it again this year.

by Pyromnc on Dec 31, 2009 9:11 AM MST up reply actions

One postseason to go on and...

Hawk, you said “Q might catch a zillion 5-yard dumps but he isn’t going to be breaking any big YACs against quality opponents”

I am saying, just b/c Fitzgerald was the wonder boy last season, doesn’t mean that Boldin isn’t capable of being that this postseason. Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought you were insinuating that Boldin isn’t primed for as much yardage as Fitz b/c of the routes he runs and playing slot. What I am trying to point out is that Boldin based on his career stats vs Fitz actually is just as primed to have big yardage in the postseason.

Also, being hurt last postseason does not in any way confirm that he will be hurt this postseason.

Cheers

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by Undrafteds on Dec 31, 2009 9:50 AM MST up reply actions

Fitz gets thrown more deep balls. Q catches more in the middle. The odds are simply Fitz will end up with more big plays. Q does have the ability to turn a short gain into a big one (which Fitz does not) which is why he is such a bad-ass but then again why he’s prone to coming up lame. Once again, the injury scenario is most likely.

Don't waste time or Time will waste you.

by Hawkwind on Dec 31, 2009 9:56 AM MST up reply actions

more big plays vs first downs ;) or something

Fitz has 13.6 career YPC with a career long of 78 yards and 357 FD’s
Q has 12.8 career YPC with a career long of 79 yards and 360 FD’s

I don’t think there is anything conclusive to suggest Boldin isn’t just as likely to explode in the playoffs as Q.

To me, this is like comparing DeAngelo Williams to Jonathan Stewart, and saying DeAngelo has more big play ability. They are both great players, all four actually, and all four are just as capable of big yards, big games, long gains, TDs, everything.

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by Undrafteds on Dec 31, 2009 10:02 AM MST up reply actions

meant to say...

Boldin isn’t just as likely to explode in the playoffs as Fitz

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by Undrafteds on Dec 31, 2009 10:03 AM MST up reply actions

need more coffee

I am not sure I am making any sense. but I hope you can all figure out what I mean despite my typing deficiencies!

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by Undrafteds on Dec 31, 2009 10:07 AM MST up reply actions

I'm just being a cantakerous old fart since I have to go out this snow storm...

If Boldin “explodes” in this year’s post-season I’ll be whooping and screaming like a fool. I just don’t see it being any more likely than Breaston, Doucet, Fitzgerald, or Urban. Hey, I did leave Morey off the list. ::smirk:: Fitz had the perfect post-season last year and I seriously doubt that will be repeated by any Cardinal this year. I see a lot of Wells and Hightower in our playoff future.

Don't waste time or Time will waste you.

by Hawkwind on Dec 31, 2009 10:37 AM MST up reply actions

fair enough

who knows what will actually happen stats wise, and we can all agree we don’t really give a crap about the stats as long as the Cards are playing well and advancing.

I have had as much Kool-Aid as the next guy, but I really do like our chances to win it all this season. Everyone is on the Philly bandwagon, but if you look at who they’ve beaten on their 6-game winning streak, and the scores, they haven’t been dominating. Only one team in their last six is a playoff potential team, and that team—the Broncos, probably won’t get in either. So why is everyone and their brother touting the Eagles? The Cardinals are scarier IMO.

The race is wide open, and I’ll take the John Lott trained Cardinals athletes against any other teams’

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by Undrafteds on Dec 31, 2009 12:27 PM MST up reply actions

Then again, what happened last year in the playoffs doesn’t mean squat for this year either.

Throw out the Bears game and the two WRs’ stats are nearly identical this year (85/952 vs. 81/986, Fitz/Q respectively). Anquan has had better games since returning in six out of seven games in both catches and yards. For the season Q has more catches than Fitz in 8 of 14 games and more yards in nine games. Still, the yardage is pretty close. If anything it suggests that Fitz has more “big play ability” (duh) and that injuries slow Anquan down (double duh). So what does this mean?

The most likely scenario is that each receiver has 80-110 yards a game with Fitz getting the TDs and Q getting the first downs. I’ll take that all through the playoffs with Timmy and Beanie combining for 120 yards as that is the formula for success.

Being that this wasn’t an option I still have to stick with the injury scenario. Give me more likely choices, Undrafteds.

Don't waste time or Time will waste you.

by Hawkwind on Dec 31, 2009 9:51 AM MST up reply actions

Hawk and Andrew....feel free to add more choices to the poll...

It was more for fun than anything, but I don’t mind if you edit the poll, go for it….

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by Undrafteds on Dec 31, 2009 10:05 AM MST up reply actions

A minor contribution to the discussion

While I’m not a “stats” guy under normal circumstances and usually go by what I “see” on the tape here are some numbers I feel are pertinent. Pro Football Focus.com has the offensive snaps for the various position players. Fitz has 889 offensive snaps, Boldin 682 snaps, and Breaston 582. Boldin is getting it “done” with a significantly less amout of time on the field.

Keep up your stellar work Undrafteds. Simply OUTSTANDING.

by Cardsfan81 on Jan 1, 2010 9:03 AM MST up reply actions

CF81

Appreciate it :)

Thats a nice stat you have there

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by Undrafteds on Jan 1, 2010 9:11 AM MST up reply actions

lmao

Someone spiked their Wheaties this morning. I too found my self reading this list and not finding a plausable option.

If both are healthy neither will break any records outside of maybe a post season receiving yards team record. That would be cool.

by badmatty53 on Dec 31, 2009 11:32 AM MST up reply actions

all I ask...

is that if Boldin explodes, you come back and give me props :) If I am wrong, I can admit that. I do it all the time, so it comes rather easily to me LOL

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by Undrafteds on Dec 31, 2009 12:31 PM MST up reply actions

Bob Szwerski approves this post

who is more likely to win, 1 Q against the Packers? But, the game is played in a hurricane named Q?

by KDean75 on Dec 31, 2009 7:14 AM MST reply actions

Don't waste time or Time will waste you.

by Hawkwind on Dec 31, 2009 7:33 AM MST up reply actions

Anquan

isn’t that how he’s referred to in this?

by KDean75 on Dec 31, 2009 7:48 AM MST up reply actions

joke fail

on my part. oh well. probably just pissed that I’m at work for half a day.

by KDean75 on Dec 31, 2009 7:51 AM MST up reply actions

Q or Fitz

I love Q. Meanest WR in the league. No WR dishes out punishment like he does. I hope he has an amazing postseason.
Really, all I care about is the W and I don’t think we have to worry a second about either of them performing in the post season. I am more worried about Warner.

They are who we thought they were!

by Jesse Reynolds on Dec 31, 2009 11:45 AM MST reply actions

+1 except the bit about Warner

I am worried about Warner staying healthy, but if he is, he always shows up in postseason ball

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by Undrafteds on Dec 31, 2009 12:29 PM MST up reply actions

+1 Mentally

You know he’ll be fine.

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 Dec 31, 2009 4:37 PM MST up reply actions