This season hasn't had much to celebrate, so lets be happy that the state of Arizona will host the Super Bowl in 2015.
Arizona Cardinals News:Super Bowl XLIX Coming To Arizona
NFL owners award 2015 game to area, University of Phoenix Stadium
Word From the Birds Blog - To pad or not to pad, that is the question
With the Cardinals just a couple of days removed from playing in Minnesota, coach Ken Whisenhunt said he wasn’t going to put them in pads for Tuesday’s practice. He was asked if he thought about a heavy-hitting practice, to send a message to his struggling team.
Word From the Birds Blog - Cards sign S Sean Considine, cut Graham
The Cardinals have added a safety to the roster, inking Sean Considine, formerly of the Eagles, Jaguars and the Panthers. To make room on the roster, the team released punter Ben Graham, not a surprise with Dave Zastudil still around and the team two weeks from a game. Considine was with the Panthers for a month earlier this season, and was with Carolina when they played the Cardinals in the opener. The former fourth-round pick has been in the league since 2005.
Re-Focused - Cardinals @ Vikings, Week 5 | ProFootballFocus.com
Arizona – Three Performances of Note
Cardinals focusing on third down, two-minute situations
Improving performance on third down and in two-minute situations are major points of emphasis for the Cardinals offense during practice this week. The Cardinals are ranked 23rd in the NFL in third-down conversion percentage (33.85 percent) and could have won three more games with a better two-minute offense.
Channeling Emotions
Whisenhunt doesn't see need to "rant and rave" with struggling team
Outside the huddle: Arizona Cardinals fullback Anthony Sherman
Each week, The Republic spotlights a Cardinals player for a series of on-the-spot, off-beat questions.
Super Bowl 2015: NFL selects Arizona
The National Football League announced this morning that Arizona will host Super Bowl XLIX in 2015. It will be the Phoenix area's third time to host the Super Bowl.
Cardinals' Ken Whisenhunt hiding his ire
After a 1-4 start, some Cardinals fans are looking for pitchforks, torches and MapQuest directions to the team's headquarters at 8701 S. Hardy Drive, in Tempe. They want someone's carcass, and it might as well be Ken Whisenhunt's, because the coach doesn't seem to share their outrage. At least that's the perception. Whisenhunt sees a way out of this horrific start, and that path doesn't include slapping a microphone and referring to the coronation of an opponent's backside. Whisenhunt has no desire to have one of his postgame news conferences become a Coors Light commercial. It's embarrassing, plus word is it doesn't pay all that that great. If you want to know if Whisenhunt is angry, you often have to ask him.
azcentral.com blogs - Kent Somers - Working on a Tuesday
The Cardinals held a rare Tuesday practice today thanks to the schedule which was adjusted for the bye. The players usually have Tuesday off, but with no game with this weekend, they had Monday off. There are practices today and Wednesday, then the players are off the rest of the week. The new CBA mandates players have at least four consecutive days off during the off week.
Arizona secondary giving up big plays at bad times - ArizonaSports.com
Statistically, the Arizona Cardinals don't have the worst secondary in the NFL. It just seems that way sometimes. Untimely big plays against a pair of young cornerbacks and a pair of veteran safeties make the Arizona defensive backs an easy target for criticism. When rookie cornerback Patrick Peterson is beaten on a play, it's there for all to see. ``It's easy to criticize a corner,'' Peterson said after the team practiced on Tuesday, ``but as a defense as a whole, we all have to make plays. We're all to blame, period.''
Cardinals need young players to keep improving - ArizonaSports.com
At 1-4, the Arizona Cardinals main goal is simple: improve. Some would argue it shouldn't be too hard, given that the team can't get any worse, but there are still 11 games left in the regular season and everyone would feel better if the team showed marked improvement over the season's final few months. One area of particular interest is the secondary, where the team is starting a pair of young corners in Patrick Peterson and A.J. Jefferson.
Beanie Wells feeling more comfortable in Cardinals offense - ArizonaSports.com
The Arizona Cardinals at 1-4 have gotten off to a disappointing start, but running back Beanie Wells is still having success this season. Wells has already scored six touchdowns and rushed for 381 yards at a 4.8 yards per carry.
Cardinals sign Considine, release Graham - ArizonaSports.com
The Arizona Cardinals made a couple of roster moves on Tuesday, signing free agent safety Sean Considine while releasing punter Ben Graham.
Yes, Cardinals can talk Super Bowl - NFC West Blog - ESPN
The Arizona Cardinals have an extra week to prepare for their next opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers. They have more than three years to prepare for an opportunity to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, which is returning to University of Phoenix Stadium following the 2014 season. The game is scheduled for February 2015.
Cardinals are almost -- but not yet -- done - ArizonaSports.com
The odds of the Arizona Cardinals reaching the playoffs after starting the season 1-4 are slim, to say the least. "Ninety-five percent of the teams that go 1-4 do not make the playoffs," Arizona Sports 620's Ron Wolfley said. Oops. Wolfley says it's not impossible for the Cardinals to turn things around and reach the postseason, and with 11 games left on the schedule that's technically true. That said, things look fairly bleak.
Earning Super Bowl XLIX helps Arizona shed SB 1070 stigma
At last, we can stop apologizing. The decision by NFL owners Tuesday to award the 2015 Super Bowl to Arizona was the first enthusiastic vote of support for our community from a sports organization since SB 1070 complicated the landscape. Bravo, NFL, you made the right decision.
NFL Power Rankings: NFC West focus - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Arizona Cardinals: They fell four spots to No. 29 on my ballot after losing 34-10 to the previously winless Minnesota Vikings. That performance followed three consecutive narrow defeats. Critical mistakes on offense, defense and special teams made this a complete collapse. The Cardinals play four of six on the road following their bye, with home games against Pittsburgh and St. Louis. The Vikings moved up three spots on my ballot following this game.
Arizona To Host Super Bowl, Uh, Forty-Five-Nine, Maybe - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
The NFL had planned to announce the location of Super Bowl XLIX (in other words, Super Bowl 49) in 2015. Well instead, via its Twitter account, the NFL awarded a different Super Bowl to the Cardinals.
NFC West Stock Watch - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Falling: Ken Whisenhunt, Cardinals head coach. This marks two weeks in a row for Whisenhunt on the "falling" list. His Cardinals are now 3-13 in their last 16 games. At 1-4, Arizona is two games worse than it was through five games last season, despite committing a five-year, $63 million contract to quarterback Kevin Kolb. It's tough to say Whisenhunt had his team ready to play against the Vikings.
Cards Daily - Bye Provides Chance to Refocus
The Cardinals have fallen short of their own expectations through the first five games of the season. The bye week gives players and coaches a chance to refocus on their goals.
Arizona Awarded 2015 Super Bowl
Reaction to Roger Goodell's announcement from Michael Bidwill, Ken Whisenhunt and Host Committee Chairman Mike Kennedy.
NFL News:
Where NFC West teams rank: Week 5 - NFC West Blog - ESPN
The standings and our eyeballs can tell us the San Francisco 49ers are the best team in the NFC West right now. Our weekly look at where division teams stand in various statistical categories drives home the point.
NFL Authorizes UK Games Through 2016 - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
NFL owners met in Houston on Tuesday and, after awarding Arizona the 2015 Super Bowl, talked about a number of topics, including playing more regular season games overseas. The league first played a game in London in 2007 and has followed suit every year since. That trend appears likely to continue as the NFL authorized continuing games in the UK through 2016.
NFL power rankings - Week 6
Here is an updated version of NFL Power Rankings as we get ready for Week 6. I'll update them every Tuesday throughout the season. Previous rankings in parenthesis:
Madden NFL 12 Week Five Upcoming Roster Update Discussion | pastapadre.com
The post-week five roster update for Madden NFL 12 is expected out on Friday. The big loss this time around will come to the Texans as Mario Williams is out for the year. His 91 overall rating and pass rush ability will be sorely missed on their defense.
LeBron James Wants To Play In The NFL During The NBA Lockout? - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
For better or worse, when LeBron James tweets, the rest of the world listens. So on Tuesday, when he reached out to ESPN's John Clayton asking about NFL free agency, he successfully laid the groundwork for all kinds of talk about whether he might play in the NFL.
The Bears, in one ugly stat | ProFootballTalk
The Chicago Bears had eight false starts on Monday night, which is more than 25 teams have committed all season.
Derrick Mason Traded To Texans - SBNation.com
The New York Jets traded wide receiver Derrick Mason to the Houston Texans.
Tim Tebow Officially Named Broncos Starting Quarterback - SBNation.com
For better or worse, it's official: Tim Tebow has replaced Kyle Orton as the new starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos. Word leaked this morning after John Fox informed the team, and the head coach confirmed the news with an announcement this afternoon to the media.
Vikings' Kluwe marches to his own tune - NFL - Yahoo! Sports
The boy who would become the coolest punter in the NFL was brilliant in a way no teacher could comprehend. And so unsure of what to do with the young Chris Kluwe in the back of the room, who understood everything already, they let him sit by himself and read. This was just as well. By the age of 6, he had devoured the entire "Chronicles of Narnia." By 9, he had skipped grades – twice. And as a teenager when he gave up the violin for sports, his father remembers the instructor weeping for the beautiful music Kluwe would never make again. His mother, a doctor driven by fabulous degrees and academic accomplishment, saw great things for her oldest son. She imagined a mind humming with all the dazzling thoughts of the truly gifted. She saw awards and achievement and a planet grateful for his brain. She was sure he would want these things too, which is why she now sighs into the phone. "He could have found a cure for cancer," Sandy Kluwe says, her voice rising then stopping abruptly with the tone of a mother resigned. "And he’s not," she adds.
Ex-Bear Tom Waddle condemns Meriweather’s "vicious" play | ProFootballTalk
Former Bears receiver Tom Waddle is lashing out at Bears safety Brandon Meriweather for a style of play that Waddle believes is dirty and designed to knock opposing receivers out.
Chargers sign Gerald Hayes, place Stephen Cooper on IR | ProFootballTalk
In late August, veteran Chargers linebacker Stephen Cooper suffered a torn biceps. Despite initial reports that he’d be placed on injured reserve, Cooper tried to play with the injury. And Cooper indeed played, appearing in all five games. But the Chargers have now placed him on injured reserve. The team announced the move. He has been replaced on the active roster by Gerald Hayes, an eight-year veteran who spent his entire career with the Cardinals.
Tim Tebow, Calvin Johnson And Five Reasons NFL Week 5 Was Awesome - SBNation.com
From Oakland's win for Al Davis to Tim Tebow, here's five reasons the fifth week of the 2011 NFL season was awesome.
Julio Jones Injury Will Cost Him Practice Time, Status For Week 6 Unknown - SBNation.com
Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones will miss practice on Wednesday with a hamstring injury. Falcons head coach Mike Smith told Sirius radio today that the team will rest Jones tomorrow, and then re-evaluate his status for practice on Thursday and Friday. His status for the Falcons' week 6 game against the Carolina Panthers is unknown at this time.
Jim Irsay Hears What You're Saying About The Colts And Andrew Luck - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
If there were any illusions about the Indianapolis Colts righting the ship before the end of the year, those probably disappeared with their loss to the Chiefs on Sunday. So it makes sense that Jim Irsay's now openly talking about what the Colts might do with the no. 1 pick.
Tarvaris Jackson Injury: Status Of Seahawks QB Is Unknown - SBNation.com
Will the Seattle Seahawks have Tarvaris Jackson available in Week 7? Right now, his status is uncertain after suffering an injury last weekend. Jackson went down with a high-grade pectoral strain near his throwing arm which means he'll have some time off during the Seahawks bye week.
Julius Peppers Injury: Sprained MCL Has Status Of Bears DE Uncertain - SBNation.com
Julius Peppers went down with an injury in the Chicago Bears Monday Night Football game against the Detroit Lions but later returned to finish the game. According to the Chicago Tribune, the injury he suffered was a sprained MCL.
Fare Thee Well, Booty Lounge - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
You may remember hearing about The Booty Lounge a few weeks ago, just about the same time the Detroit Police did.