Revenge of the Birds: All Posts by Jesse Reynolds

NFL preseason power rankings: Arizona Cardinals listed 29th by Mile High Report

2013-05-10T16:00:21Z

Recently the Denver Broncos sister site Mile High Report did a breakdown of their power rankings and had the Cardinals listed as the 29^th worst team in the NFL, just above the Oakland Raiders and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The author of the article, Tim Lynch, had this to say:

(The Cardinals) suddenly find themselves in a powerhouse division with, I think, three true playoff contenders heading into next season and you know what? Someone has to lose football games so that can happen. The Cardinals will be a better team this year, but will end up getting buzz-sawed by their division rivals.

From the outside looking in you can see why Lynch would believe this. The Cardinals were downright awful on offense and had two very memorable loses last season. The blowout in Seattle Seahawks and letting the Atlanta Falcons win despite generating five turnovers against them was downright embarrassing. The horrendous quarterback play, the absence of a run game and the general ineptitude of the franchise with the QB situation last season just added to the historical views casual football fans hold towards the Cardinals.

But it’s not your same old Cardinals. Fans know that the team has much more talent than last year’s record indicated. Despite the misgivings most fans have with former head coach Ken Whisenhunt and GM Rod Graves, the team did well under them in accruing talent at skill positions. The team just needed a GM and head coach that wouldn’t be afraid to draft an offensive lineman. In the first round. With their first pick. You know because the signings of Alan Faneca, Daryn Colledge and Adam Snyder were all such great successes…

With a younger team, a healthy and revamped offensive line, a fresh pack of running backs, Larry Fitzgerald out wide and Carson Palmer slinging the rock, the offense of the Cardinals looks poised to have their best season since 2008. And if the defense doesn’t regress, this team will win more games than they lose.

And we all may not be epic homers for believing it. Reading the articles comments from Bronco fans validates many Cardinal fans opinions of the team. Several Bronco fans believe that the author ranked the Cardinals too low. The fans recognized that the Cardinals are a better team than nationally recognized. Maybe it’s the clean air, or the good beer, or both, whatever it is these guys know what’s up!

In the gauntlet that is the NFC West, the Cardinals are getting no respect. That’s fair too, we all know that you only get respect by earning it and as a fan I’m good with that. I don’t mind being the "worst" team to ever make playoffs, it turned out relatively well for Cardinals fans last time.

Arizona Cardinals 2013 Draft Hightlight Reels

2013-04-30T19:00:08Z

Jonathon Cooper:

This first reel isn't actually a highlight reel, it is a breakdown of UNC's offense versus Virginia Tech's defense. It is 10 minutes long and lets you see Cooper play an entire game. One thing that pops out is his pass blocking.

Jonathan Cooper vs Virginia Tech (2012) (via Aaron Aloysius)

Kevin Minter:

This is solid highlight reel of Minter. It shows several things about Minter. The thing I noticed is that he is tenacious tackler and will chase down ball carriers.

Keving Minters Ultimate Highlights (2013) (via Aaron Aloysius)

Tyrann Mathieu:

I know I've been particularly hard on Mathieu, but dang is this kid a ball hawk. A magnet for big plays. In just a small highlight reel you can see why he was the first player in LSU's history to be a defensive Heisman candidate. If he keeps his head on straight he could be a disruptive force the Cardinals.

Tyrann Mathieu Highlights (via PrimeTimeJessie)

Alex Okafor:

Okafor plays left defensive end in Texas's 4-3 defense and just bullies tackles for sacks and strips.

Alex Okafor 2012 Senior Highlights (via godzillatron24)

Earl Warford:

Sadly, I couldn't find highlights for him. If someone days, please post in the comments so I can edit it in! The best I found was two plays in the video link below.

Evans, Watford Named AFCA All-Americans (via CAAFootball)

Stepfan Taylor:

Man, this guy is elusive and fast!

Ultimate Stepfan Taylor Highlights | HD (via TheFootballman175)

Ryan Swope:

This is a highlight film of Ryan Swopes junior and senior years. This kid runs great routes and dang is he fast!

#25 WR Ryan Swope Texas A&M JR & SR Season Ultimate Highlights (via Hydr0Carb0n)

Andre Ellington:

Ellington is a very elusive runner. Just a heads up, the music in this song is Not Safe For Work!

Ultimate Andre Ellington Highlights (NFL Draft 2013 - 187th Pick // Arizona Cardinals) (via TheVikingsworld2011)

DC Jefferson:

This isn't a highlight reel as I couldn't find one that wasn't him playing QB in high school. This is video is more like an MTV Cribs/getting-to-know you video.

Hometown visit with DC Jefferson (via RFootballShow)

Carson Palmer's Take On The Cardinals

2013-04-05T22:00:08Z

Carson Palmer was interviewed recently on the Doug and Wolf Show and was asked several questions about the team and was very optimistic about being the starting QB for the Cardinals.

When asked why he was happy to apart of the Cardinals he responded that it was the best opportunity for him. He mentioned that there were several other opportunities available to him but that when the Cardinals approached him he thought that it was a "hands down no-brainer." Of the reasons why he indicated that he had a very good knowledge of Arizona and that the Cardinals offered the best deal because of the coaching staff, the players drafted and the players acquired in free agency.

Palmer was than asked about his thoughts on Bruce Arians. Palmer gave high-praise and seemed enthusiastic to work with him. Palmer said that he wants to work in Arian's offense because Arians "wants to score; he wants to put the ball up and down the field. He wants to score a point per minute of possession." Palmer than went on to talk about playing against Arian's offense when Arian was in Pittsburgh and relishing the idea of being able to step into this throws and move the ball up and down the field and let the play makers on the outside make plays.

When asked about the receiving core Palmer talked exclusively about working with Larry Fitzgerald. He called Fitzgerald "as professional as they come" and that Fitzgerald created a trickle down effect that makes "average receivers really good and good receivers great."

Palmer was even more knowledgeable about the Cardinals offensive line than most of the main stream media. When asked about the line he indicated that he wasn't concerned because he realized last year was an anomaly as normally most teams don't lose as many players to injury as the Cardinals did on the offensive line. Palmer stated that believed the coaching they would receive from the staff will get everyone better their position.

Finally Palmer was asked to describe himself and besides repeating that he knew him time in the league was limited, that he also had a dog that didn't listen to him which begs the question, if a man can't get the respect of his own dog how will he ever be able to get the respect of men? Palmer has been a solid QB in his career and it seems by his tone and excitement that the Cardinals are presenting him the best opportunity he has had as a professional. Hopefully Palmer experiences a renaissance and makes the Cardinals competitive in the toughest conference in football.

2013 NFL Draft: Should the Arizona Cardinals make a first round trade?

2013-03-29T14:00:10Z

The Arizona Cardinals have signed 11 free agent signing thus far in the new Bruce Arians era. None of those signings were blue-chip players, as all of them are middle to low-tier free agents. One can hope that they have only been signed to bolster the roster. The Cardinals still need to find play makers and right now the only avenue for that to happen is the 2013 NFL draft.

With only six draft picks, it will be hard for the Cardinals to draft multiple playmakers as history has shown that most teams barely find difference maker every year from their entire draft. With only six draft picks the Cardinals could try several tactics though to add to chances, the first of which would be trading up.

Why would the Cardinals trade up with the seventh pick? They won't, but they might trade to get back into the first round to grab a QB that they like. Waiting until Day 2 could be a mistake as it will give teams a lot more time to formulate their round 2 plans. QB needy teams will likely make a run on QBs in the second round. The Cardinals could trade back into the first round, avoid the chaos of the 2nd day, and get the guy they like.

The Cardinals have a strong core of young players and a mid-strength roster. A new tackle or pass rusher with your first pick and a QB with your second pick address two huge needs for the team. But it's risky in that if those picks miss you have basically voided the years draft.

The Cardinals could look to trade down. If the Cardinals aren't sold on anyone they may be willing to trade to a team looking to leap-frog another team. Depending on the trade, it could put the Cardinals into a strong position with more picks in the first two days. They can than grab players in all the positions of need and feel confident in the numbers game.

Or the Cardinals could draft BPA. If you were the Cardinals, what would be your game plan?

The ROTB community sure has grown.

2013-03-16T07:36:44Z

Hey fellow Cardinal fans!

I've been a member of ROTB for almost four years now and have watched this blog grow from a fledgling community to the modern and very well run community that it is today.

I first started following the Cardinals online in 2009 regularly stopping by the Cardinals official website and lurking the forum. I didn't comment often on their forum because most of the discussions and topics turned into "Brodowns." Looking for an alternative I discovered ROTB. I became a regular immediately because the people here wrote intelligibly, acted civil and really believed in the team.

Lately this blog has seen a new spike of growth. The articles written by the staff are all getting tons of comments and the conversations and debates they have been generating are awesome. However the increased amount of new opinions have lead some debates turning into arguments. Arguments leave people angry and angry people tend to say silly things which can create a hostile environment for other users.

So for the community if you post on ROTB please only do so to add to the discussion. If you disagree with someone, excellent! I encourage you to mentally joust with other members and passionately debate your beliefs. But do so sportingly like gentleman. There is no need to personally attack someone just because you don't like what they think. Insulting someone will not change their mind.

No matter where you stand in your personal fandom, it's an exciting time to be a Cardinal fan. We're all on the same side here.

Hey fellow Cardinal fans!

I've been a member of ROTB for almost four years now and have watched this blog grow from a fledgling community to the modern and very well run community that it is today.

No matter where you stand in your personal fandom, it's an exciting time to be a Cardinal fan. We're all on the same side here.

Come discuss the 2013 NFL free agency Day 2

2013-03-13T13:00:13Z

We already had a crazy Day 1 in free agency. What will happen in Day 2?

Will the Arizona Cardinals sign someone? Will the Dolphins sign someone else? Who will be the next big name to find a home?

Talk about it, comment about it and post links to rumors you here. Who is winning and losing the offseason? Does it even matter yet?

This is the free agent open thread.

Only 7 starting QBs in the NFL are not first round picks

2013-03-06T17:07:11Z

I was reading an article on WalterFootball.com (Here, second article) and saw a break down of starting QBs in the NFL and only 7 QBs are non-first round draft picks. Of those, Tom Brady and Drew Brees are future Hall of Famers, two are in our conference and look to be future stars. Schuab, Dalton and Romo round out the last three.

In my mind it seems that unless you find a diamond in the rough, the chances of finding a starting QB out of the first round is very low.

Im not a fan of this years QB class but this has given me perspective that a gamble here may be worth it. Thoughts?

In my mind it seems that unless you find a diamond in the rough, the chances of finding a starting QB out of the first round is very low.

Im not a fan of this years QB class but this has given me perspective that a gamble here may be worth it. Thoughts?

Anyone else nervous about the draft?

2013-02-21T03:06:35Z

I know a lot of people were not a fan of Whisenhunt. Even with that I believe that most fans agree that under Whisenhunt the Cardinals drafted very well. Were they perfect? No, the QB selections, not selecting offensive lineman and failing to find a pass rusher hurt the team. However I think the Cards hit on more draft picks than they missed under Whiz.

Arians is the new guy and I'm not sure of how he will draft. I want to believe he will have the Steeler mentality of selecting players with the future in mind, that he won't chase need and will look to build a dynasty. However, he could get all whimsical on us start selecting some random players. That would make me a sad panda.

One thing I have always been able to pride myself on is that the Cardinals draft well. Wilson, Boldin, Fitzgerald, Dockett, Campbell, Washington, Peterson, and other hits like Breaston, LSH, Massie, Dansby, Roberts and so on.

Do you believe Arians will draft well? I'm nervous, but optimistic.