Aeneas Williams And Leonard Davis, My Second Favorite And Least Favorite Arizona Cardinals

by Jess Root on Jul 18, 2011 3:00 PM MDT in NFL Power Rankings

All that are left from my player favorites and player dislikes on the Arizona Cardinals are two for each list. Both of these players are likely near the top of almost every Arizona Cardinals fan rankings because they generate a lot of passion on both sides.

Aeneas Williams is my number two favorite and Leonard Davis is my number two least favorite.

While a teenager, Aeneas Williams was the Cardinals' best player. He was also one of he best corners in the game. He was talented, he was a genuinely good guy and God-fearing man and he had a cool name.

No one can deny how valuable he was to the team and how great a representative of the organization he was.

As for me, I vowed that I would name one of my then future children Aeneas. I loved his name. That never happened, as getting married means having to balance one's opinion with another's. That aside, he was a great player and I will consider it an injustice if he does not one day make it into the Hall of Fame.

"Bigg" Leonard Davis is a guy that Cardinals fans everywhere dislike. And to honest it was not all his fault. Because of the stubbornness of Dennis Green, he was stuck playing left tackle, a position he simply was not skilled enough to play.

However, one thing that just killed me was the fact he just could not manage to stay with the snap count. "False start, number 75, offense" was repeated far too many times. I could have forgiven him as a player had he not been penalized so much. But he never got better at it.

Plus, his becoming an All-Pro guard in Dallas made me dislike him more.

Fair? I don't know, but when you like or don't a like a player, it is not always for reasons that are fair.

Such is the case for me.

Stay tuned tomorrow when I explain my favorite and least favorite Arizona Cardinals.

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Comments

Our current #75 has that same problem

With naming one of your kids Aeneas, would it have been the first name or middle name?

Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Phoenix Suns/Chicago Bears fan [I have always lived in Arizona, dad is from Chicago].

by JoeCB1991 on Jul 18, 2011 3:19 PM MDT reply actions

Agreed...

substitute coach Whisenhunt/Grimm and Levi and Jess’s statement sums it up.

by Birdman2 on Jul 18, 2011 3:42 PM MDT up reply actions

I will never forget a game I was at at SDS against the Rams (I think)

The Rams scored with under 2 minutes left to take the lead. Kurt Warner proceeded to march the Cardinals right down the field. The Cardinals were gonna pull it out, everyone in the stadium could feel it. The Cardinals had the ball right around the Rams 10 with 8 or 9 seconds left when……..you guessed it. False start on Leonard Davis, 10 second runoff of the clock, Cards lose. Enough said.

by Redbird Nation #1 on Jul 18, 2011 5:29 PM MDT reply actions

Game was against the Niners, Guess which site I found it on?

Last paragraph

http://www.revengeofthebirds.com/2008/11/11/658771/arizona-cardinals-survive

by Redbird Nation #1 on Jul 18, 2011 5:33 PM MDT up reply actions

not sure that was kurt warner...

I think you were thinking of the rams game (i was there too), and then it happened again against the niners. I believe that it was a Josh McCown late game drive in 2003 or 4 and it was really really really hot that day. the 10 second runoff was a really crappy end to the game, and I walked to my car dripping in sweat and ripe with anger over how it ended. Warner never played for the Cards when they were at SDS. He may actually have been the opposing QB at the time come to think of it.

by Gildo on Jul 18, 2011 5:38 PM MDT up reply actions

Kurt Warner was the QB and it was against the Rams

I couldnt quite remember and the Revenge of the Birds link said it was against the Niners, which is why I changed it.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=250918022

by Redbird Nation #1 on Jul 18, 2011 6:46 PM MDT up reply actions

The Cards last year at SDS was Kurts 1st with the team

I dont ever remember Davis losing two games with a 10 second runoff, but if there was 1 team that could lose twice like that it would be the Cardinals. Just add it to the reasons he is not well liked in AZ

by Redbird Nation #1 on Jul 18, 2011 6:50 PM MDT up reply actions

I definitely love Williams too, he's gotta be on everyone's list of favorite Cards

As for Big Leonard though, I don’t really hate him or even dislike him all that much. I blame the entire staff and front office for not seeing that he was a piss poor tackle but had the ability to be a Pro Bowl guard. He certainly never lived up to his draft status so there’s certainly some reason not love the guy but it’s the team’s responsibility to put a guy in the best position for the team to suceed and in that sense, the staff failed him.

by Steamin' Beamin' on Jul 18, 2011 8:11 PM MDT reply actions