10-19-10: Arizona Cardinals Bird Droppings

Another day, another batch of links....

I do have a question though. Why was Chris Johnson still in that game last night, even though the Titans were up by 20 on that last drive, and why did they decide to let him go for it on 4th and 5 when he finally decided to break a big run and get his touchdown? Yeah, that last drive got him over 100 yards, but he did NOTHING before that drive, it seemed like on almost every play where he carried the ball he was getting nailed behind the line of scrimmage. What he did was just pathetic stat padding to me. I don't play Fantasy Football so I don't care about that, but one little drive where you actually get some yards doesn't hide that fact that for over 3 and a half quarters he looked horrible.

Rant over...

The Wild (And Wide-Open) West
The Cardinals took the weekend off. The rest of the NFC West didn’t. Unfortunately.

Former Cardinals linebacker Ali Highsmith faces drug charge
Former NFL linebacker Arlington "Ali" Highsmith is facing a drug charge after Baton Rouge police said they found two pounds of marijuana in his refrigerator.

Arizona Cardinals eager to take on Seattle Seahawks
Ken Whisenhunt has no regrets about keeping the promise he made to his team last week and giving the Cardinals most of the week off. After all, they did what he asked them to do and beat the New Orleans Saints. With that, the Cardinals were able to enjoy a mostly football-free off week.

KTAR.com - Cardinals ready for the noise in Seattle
The fans at Qwest Field go are known as the "12th man" and the Arizona Cardinals, preparing for their game in Seattle against the Seahawks, are aware they will have to deal with the crowd noise.

Joe Posnanski " Posts NFL Coaches as Players "
3. Ken Whisenhunt (Arizona): He was a sturdy NFL tight end for the Atlanta Falcons — he started from 1986 through ’88 and caught 53 passes over those three years.

Whisenhunt On Returning To Practice

The Cowboys Almost Make You Feel Sorry For Them
To half of your Deadspin editors they're divisional rivals, and to the other half they're "those mother******* Cowboys," so there's no hidden sympathies here. But should we laugh at Wade Phillips's constant befuddlement and Jerry Jones's impotent rage? Or feel pity?

NFL may start suspending players for helmet-to-helmet hits - NFL - SI.com
Aiming for the head or leading with the helmet to deliver a blow could soon cost NFL players game time as well as money.

Rodney Harrison's comments resonate with the league office | ProFootballTalk.com
After Sunday's parade of helmet-to-helmet hits put the issue back on the league's front burner, former Chargers and Patriots safety Rodney Harrison, who now appears on NBC's Football Night in America, sent a message that resonated strongly with the league office. ESPN's Chris Mortensen explained during Monday Night Countdown that Harrison's explanation regarding fines meaning nothing to him but suspensions meaning everything caught the league's attention. Per Mort, Commissioner Roger Goodell said "we've got to do something about this, we've got to listen to this, we've got to take these guys off the field."

Phoenix Coyotes' Shane Doan suspended 3 games
Coyotes captain Shane Doan was suspended for three games by the NHL on Monday for his hit on the Ducks' Dan Sexton during the third period of Sunday's 3-2 loss at Anaheim. No penalty was assessed by on-ice officials. Doan will forfeit more than $73,000 in salary as a result of delivering what was deemed an illegal check to Sexton's head.

Jeff Fisher: ESPN asked coaches to take timeouts late on Monday night | ProFootballTalk.com
One of the biggest reasons why a weak Monday Night Football game can out-rate game three of the ALCS in New York: Fantasy football.

NFC West The Worst Division Ever? Might Be Time To Rethink That - Desert Dirt - SB Nation Arizona
The Worst Division Ever? Might Be Time To Rethink That. A re-visitation of the new and improved NFC West.

The Concussion Problem: The Asterisk Next To NFL's Skyrocketing Ratings - SBNation.com
The National Football League is the most popular sport in American history.*

We know this anecdotally and statistically. What does the majority of America do on Sundays? From my experience, they watch football. The ratings bare this out. This week, a terrible Monday Night Football game outdrew a New York Yankees playoff game. But the league's greatest asset is also its achilles' heel.

Video: Hard hits debate - NFL Nation Blog - ESPN
Stuart Scott, Matt Millen, Steve Young and Trent Dilfer debate the NFL's reported decision to suspend players for "devastating hits."

Titans vs. Jaguars - Recap - October 18, 2010 - NFL - Football - SI.com
Tennessee's Vince Young watched from the sideline. Jacksonville's David Garrard was in the locker room. Both starting quarterbacks were knocked out of Monday night's game, turning things over to veteran Kerry Collins and recently signed Trent Edwards.