My 2 Cents on the Criticism

by Andrew602 on Sep 26, 2011 6:04 PM MDT

My enthusiasm for the Cardinals season has completely deflated. Most of us were excited for football to start when it did -- let alone Cardinals-football-- but now that the season is under way and the Cardinals have revealed their true colors, a gloomy cloud has formed over Arizona. It was originally thought that Kevin Kolbwould solve the offensive puzzle, and Ray Horton would finally push the defense to live up to their potential. Both of those changes have yet to take place.

Kolb's late-game interception yesterday didn't sit well with his critics, and until he wins a game with his arm, they're their to stay. Let's not forget that at this time last season, Derek Anderson was making his case for worst quarterback in the league. I think it's a bit premature to say Kolb is not the Cardinals answer at quarterback. While I do agree he has much work to do, I'll wait to make my judgement until the season is over. Oh, and for those that feel his lone touchdown pass was pure Larry Fitzgerald-skill -- Kurt Warner anyone?

2011 - Kevin Kolb 812 yards, 5 Tds, 3 Ints

2010 - Derek Anderson 580 yards, 3 Tds, 3 Ints

I've had a chance to scour through the comments and get the general sense that Ken Whisenhunt has been dubbed the culprit for the team's 1-2 start. Play calling hasn't been there -- I'll give you that. The offense gets too complicated for their own good. I for one, prefer a basic offensive attack. They need to target Larry Fitzgerald more, feed the ball to Beanie Wells, and run the hurry up offense. I think the hurry up is the best bet to counter the offensive tackle struggles.

As for Whisenhunt himself, I'm not sure what to make of the situation. I know just two seasons ago we all worshipped this man like he was a god. After all, any coach that could get them same ole Cardinalsto a Super Bowl was bound for legit praise. But as they say, the honeymoon is over, and in his fifth season many fans feel Whisenhunt has worn out his welcome in Arizona -- but is that really fair? .

Kurt Warner left the Cardinals in a piss-poor situation at quarterback when he retired and Bill Davis ran the defense into the ground last year. This season is far from over and we can't determine how bad these two losses really are. Just like a draft can't be truly graded until 2-3 years later, wins and losses can't be until the Super Bowl champion is crowned. For all we know, the Redskins could win the NFC East, and while the Seahawks have done little in their same 1-2 start, they also came back to win the West last season after a slow start.

Don't get me wrong -- I loved Kurt Warner and he'll go down as one of my all-time favorites -- but he was not the lone reason for the Cardinals success for two years. He had two seasons before Whisenhunt arrived and couldn't beat out Matt Leinart while possessing an unfortunate ability to fumble the ball at the worst time. It wasn't until the Cardinals hired Whiz that Warner turned the corner and became the Cardinal we'll all remember him as. Even then, he'd have his infamous fumble or a five interception performance. I could also make the case that Larry Fitzgerald played out of his mind during the 2008 playoffs and that he is the sole reason for Warner's postseason success(see what I did there?). At the end of the day this is a team sport and both the players and coaches are responsible for the outcome -- good or bad. If I had more time, I'd tell you that I do feel Whiz needs to improve certain aspects of his coaching and his play calling. Right now however, I felt the need to come to his defense. Many of you are starting to sound like the angry mob with pitchforks and torches marching to Whisenhunt's home ready to overthrow the coach.

As for the Todd Haley cries -- is there really a garuntee that Haley was the reason for the Cardinals success? Or was it the aforementioned Warner/Fitzgerald connection? We can never be certain but I will say that the "offensive mastermind" has his Chiefs off to a 0-3 start, averaging a whopping 9 points per game. I don't know... I guess I'm not ready to welcome Haley back with open arms at this point.

As I look ahead, the only optimism I can muster out at this point is the return to University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals certainly need a home crowd to feed off of after two very disappointing losses. The Giants will be a difficult test, but the Cardinals are due for their "surprising win of the year" that we've grown accustomed to.

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.

Tweet Comment 33 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

the simple explanation for our poor play

THE OFFENSIVE LINE!

Forget that Kolb is scrambling too much and not being clutch, with good line play that will transcend into good quarterback play.

Which will also transcend into scoring drives. Which transcends into a rested and healthy defensive.

Throw everything else out the window. The line play is what is killing the Arizona Cardinals.

And that isn’t something that can be turned around overnight. But a firing of Grimm could do nothing but improve it’s play if you ask me.

by fansincejakenrob on Sep 26, 2011 6:13 PM MDT reply actions

Line play in the second half was terrible.

I concur. Solve that problem and Kolb will look heroic. We still need improved pass rush too. Don’t let the stats in this game fool you. Seattle has an awful offensive line.

by hadrarius on Sep 27, 2011 5:50 PM MDT up reply actions

no it isnt

do u expect opposing teams to never get pressure on us? every team has breakdowns in protection, its up to the QB to get the ball out of his hands.
kevin kolb and jay feely are the biggest reasons why we lost the seattle game.
And to u guys that are calling for grimm to be fired….why? look what he has to work with. He has a underachieving 1st round pick LT, an ok LG in colledge, an undrafted player at C, a 6th round pick at RG, and a 7th round pick at RT. There’s no talent there! Grimm has taken this crappy bunch and made them into a serviceable, mid-tier offensive line. He’s a freakin miracle worker!
If u guys dont like the offensive line (personally i see nothing wrong with the o-line), maybe u should be mad at the GM and coach for not drafting lineman.

by forget on Sep 27, 2011 11:22 PM MDT up reply actions

Look at what Shanahan did with the Redskins line

by Jesse Reynolds on Sep 28, 2011 12:12 AM MDT up reply actions

the redskins have nothing more than a mid-tier offensive line as well.

whats your point? have the redskins been any better at running the ball the last couple of season even with shanahan’s zone blocking scheme? not at all. The redskins even have two first round picks playing at the tackle spots. So u could argue they have more talent, yet their o-line is on the same level as the cardinals.

by forget on Sep 28, 2011 2:11 AM MDT up reply actions

are you serious?

You see nothing wrong with this line? How?

You mentioned what the issue is, a lack of talent. That lack of talent isn’t the player’s fault, it’s a systematic failure. Grimm is at the top of that system as he’s been the line coach, running game coordinator, whatever else. Your suggestion that “u should be mad at the GM and coach…” is lacking, Grimm is a part of that. He’s not some helpless peon just trying to work with what he’s been given.

As has been mentioned multiple times, Whiz isn’t getting fired. But Grimm has not made this line better. Again, there is a total lack of talent that is the fault of one of these people: GM, Whiz, Grimm. Guess which one would go first.

by KDean75 on Sep 28, 2011 7:16 AM MDT up reply actions

they're a mid-tier o-line

There’s nothing wrong with them.

And just so u know, ypc has gone up since grimm has been here. And so far this season, pass pro has been fine. Kolb is causing most of the pressure on himself.

My question to u is: why should we fire any of them? They are responsible for the only success this team has had in the last decade. They are one of only a couple of groups who can say, “we won with the cardinals franchise!”

by forget on Sep 28, 2011 9:52 AM MDT via mobile up reply actions

2010- Cards total yards 31st, last in rushing yards with 1388 yards. League avg- 1831.5 yds.
2009- Cards total yards 14th, 28th in rushing yards with 1494 yards. League avg- 1866.8 yds.
2008- Cards total yards 4th, last in rushing yards with 1178 yards. League avg- 1855.3 yds.
2007- Cards total yards 12th, 29th in rushing yards with 1440 yards. League avg- 1774 yds.

Just saying that the YPC has gone up is not telling the whole story. this is a really poor rushing team per the coaching staff. Whiz wants to be Pittsburgh West and being a balanced team. But not only do they not have the players for it, i.e. lineman, but they’ve only been successful when throwing the ball.

by KDean75 on Sep 28, 2011 11:14 AM MDT up reply actions

YPC is all that matters!

If a team rushes for 100 yards on 30 carries, and another team rushes for 80 yards on 20 carries, wouldnt u rather be the second team? Saying YPC is not as important as total yards is like believing that FG % in basketball is not as important as points….cmon man!

Beanie is averaging 5.7 ypc carry…..5.7! what more do u want?

by forget on Sep 28, 2011 12:34 PM MDT up reply actions

did i say that?

No, i did not. I said it’s not telling the whole story.

You want to use mixed sport comparisons, small sample size for Beanie’s yards per carry. He keeps up for the whole year, fantastic, awesome. But let’s give it more than 32 carries.

I want the o line to give the QB more than 2 seconds of time.

by KDean75 on Sep 28, 2011 12:50 PM MDT up reply actions

haha ok, but u were surely implying that total rushing yards is a significant factor in evaluating the o-line.

I don’t need any comparisons (even though they work) to prove my point. Look at the YPC before grimm got there, and then after.
You are saying wait until beanie has more carries, right? But u can’t argue that so far, the o-line has performed well in the run game. So why are you calling out grimm, u have nothing to complain about yet! haha

And as for your comment about pass pro…watch the games again, the o-line has held up fine. Kolb causes most of the pressure he’s under. He needs to a) stay in the pocket longer, and b) get rid of the football. Even if he throws it away, that’s better than him taking a sack. Kolb consistantly has 3+ seconds to get rid of the ball, that’s the amount of time most QBs have

by forget on Sep 28, 2011 1:50 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions

wow

I’ve responded to you in a non-a’hole manner and not tried to insult you.
Perhaps you could do me the same courtesy.

by KDean75 on Sep 28, 2011 2:49 PM MDT up reply actions

i didnt try to insult u at all.

I’m sorry I offended you.

by forget on Sep 28, 2011 3:12 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions

I have to agree

Feely and Kolb deserve most of the blame.

by INSOMAN1ATIC on Sep 28, 2011 6:49 PM MDT up reply actions

I've calmed down (Again)

And after the usual post-game panicking, I realized that we’re still only 1-2. The season’s just beginning.

But we can’t keep saying that. I’m tired of making excuses for this team. They need to step up and play to their potential. The Offense needs to control the ball better, and the Defense needs to stay consistent.

If we can win against the Giants, it’ll be huge, and it could be the season changer. But I’m hoping we at least score one TD against them…

Joe Saunders: "They played a really good game, so hats off to us"

by Skii on Sep 26, 2011 7:41 PM MDT reply actions

Agree...

especially with your last sentence and I’m really tired of hearing the same line of crap from whiz after every game. Quit talking about it and do something about it, now, not next year. I’m projecting we start 2-6 at best and I have taken off my rose colored glasses.

by Birdman2 on Sep 27, 2011 12:52 PM MDT up reply actions

keep in mind

We are coming off of 3 solid seasons, and this is only our second bad season. We’re probably in a position where we will be bad for a little bit.

Also keep in mind we lost kurt warner. Its hard to replace a QB like that, it takes most teams a few years to recover from losing someone like warner.

by forget on Sep 28, 2011 9:56 AM MDT via mobile up reply actions

I've said all along that we should not expect greatness right away

New defense, new QB learning a whole new offense. Also a ton of new players and rookies who had very little time to learn the playbook because of the lockout.

After the bye week the Cardinals will start to show some improvement. The Cardinals can still win the West, but we will see ugly play along the way because of the lockout.

We won’t see the true potential of this team until next season.

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

Leading the NFL in swagtangibles

by JoeCB1991 on Sep 26, 2011 7:46 PM MDT reply actions

It's still very frustrating to lose against a struggling re-building Seattle

by CanadianCard on Sep 26, 2011 7:54 PM MDT up reply actions 1 recs

I agree

Still, they are playing at home and this is still a team that needs to fix up a lot of issues. We have known that since the lockout ended.

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

Leading the NFL in swagtangibles

by JoeCB1991 on Sep 26, 2011 8:23 PM MDT up reply actions

Agreed

Tired of playing at the other teams level. It’s time for us to play at a good level consistency.

by Jesse Reynolds on Sep 26, 2011 8:23 PM MDT up reply actions

Only time will tell

Thinking of the Kolb trade is unsettling for me at this moment, but trying to stay positive here, what if Beanie ends up like McFadden. Then we would have the ideal tackles to run a power running offense.

by INSOMAN1ATIC on Sep 26, 2011 9:40 PM MDT reply actions

Imagine next year with Beanie and Ryan Williams

Man, that’s gonna be an awesome duo.

by CanadianCard on Sep 26, 2011 10:47 PM MDT up reply actions

THAT PISSES ME OFF....

I have always hated imagine next year or wait until next year. God damn cardinals fans. I was at Sun Devil Stadium for 5 years. Saw the win vs San Diego in 1998, Saw Playoff win vs Atl. Expect greatness right now. Stop with next year. if your going to look to next year shut up and we will see you next year. If you want to make something constructive that isnt some wet dream for next year and that applys to how we can improve this team this year to get to where we want to be then please feel free to leave it. WE ARE THREE GAMES INTO THE SEASON THERE IS STILL HOPE FOR THIS YEAR!!!!!!!

*On a side note Canadian Card this was in no way a personal attack on you. You 99% of the time make great comments and have excellent insight into the game on all of your posts. I have been a Cards fan sence moving here in 1995 (super bowl 30 LOL) and I feel the mentality of fans needs to change because I have heard next year far too long in this state.

by cschiemann on Sep 27, 2011 8:24 AM MDT up reply actions 3 recs

I rec'd this not a flag. How do I change that ?

by D4 on Sep 27, 2011 6:30 PM MDT up reply actions 1 recs

IF THATS HOW THEY SEE THINGS, WELL.........

First of all, I agree wholeheartedly that it’s waaaaaayyyyy too early to give up on the season. I’m hoping it can still be salvaged with an 8-8 season. But I understand how these last two losses has struck a chord in many fans! Truthfully, aside from the two good Warner n Haley years, what else has the franchise done since they’ve been in the desert? Wait until next year is the norm for a lot of fans and it takes a helluva lot more than two winning seasons to change this thought process.
The rebuild still needs one or two more decent off seasons, then they will be ready to fight for a deep playoff run. Most fans understood this even after the Kolb aquisition. I also believe that Whiz is part of the problem. His lack of commitment to building a respectable offense line and his loyalty to Grim must be addressed! In my opinion neither will be around when the Bigred has their next playoff run.

by lifelongcardfan on Sep 27, 2011 7:53 PM MDT up reply actions

idk

this team is just not good. kolb is just not good.

by forget on Sep 27, 2011 11:12 PM MDT up reply actions

when I said "next year"

I in no way meant that I’m giving up on the team this year. Just talking about a very improved Beanie playing alongside a great prospect like Williams.

by CanadianCard on Sep 28, 2011 4:43 PM MDT up reply actions

A new fast Willie Parker

and a stronger faster version of the Bus….Not too draw any comparison’s to our favorite team around here.

by INSOMAN1ATIC on Sep 27, 2011 6:44 PM MDT up reply actions

Haley

I was one of the fans who wanted Haley back. His sense of play calling is superb but he needs the right personnel. I think that once this year is through the Chiefs will be looking at the number 1 pick and Haley will be sacked. AZ (if this happens) should try and grab him. He calls a somewhat balanced game and incorporated Fitz as the go to receiver in 95% of his calls. Having Wells as his Running back would make him tremendously happy seeing as he didn’t have one in his time with AZ. But for now let’s focus on this season and hope we’ll be in the top 10 teams.

by Alex Mann on Sep 27, 2011 4:15 PM MDT reply actions

No thanks to Haley

by Jesse Reynolds on Sep 27, 2011 9:29 PM MDT up reply actions 3 recs

Haley's not that good

We had a lot of things going well for us in ’08 and Haley benefited the most by our run. He was only OC for 2 years and Whiz was the main play caller for most of ’07. Guy achieved too much too quickly and his ego exploded. Way too abrasive for our young talent.

by cardinalbrown on Sep 29, 2011 12:49 AM MDT up reply actions

I'd take Todd Haley back absolutely

his play calling was IMO a big part of this teams ascension to the superbowl. He used the talent we had creatively to keep defensive coordinators on their toes. He may not pan out as a head coach but he sure as hell can be a great o-coordinator as well as wr coach.

by CardsDefense on Sep 29, 2011 9:26 AM MDT up reply actions