6-19-12: Arizona Cardinals Bird Droppings - Offseason Stuff

Time for todays links, including some thoughts on Kolb from Ron Jaworski's QB Countdown.

Jaws' QB Countdown: Kevin Kolb - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Ron Jaworski isn't among those assuming Seattle will get better quarterback play than Arizona during the 2012 NFL season. The ESPN analyst has listed the Cardinals' Kevin Kolb 25th, two spots above Seattle's Matt Flynn, in his rankings for projected starting quarterbacks. Neither Kolb nor Flynn has been named the starter. Both are the highest-paid quarterbacks on their rosters. Both appear to be favorites to win the job. Which one outplays the other stands as the No. 1 variable in projecting which team will fare better during the 2012 season. Jaworksi's thoughts on Kolb from his ongoing QB Countdown series, which aired over the weekend and will conclude July 10:

QBs in the clutch: Skelton and the West - NFC West Blog - ESPN
John Skelton was the Arizona Cardinals' quarterback of record for five game-winning drives in fourth quarters and OT last season. Kevin Kolb was the team's QB of record for one of them. That difference largely explains why Skelton is getting a chance to challenge Kolb for the starting job in 2012. dond0808, writing in the comments section of our Sunday item, requested fourth-quarter stats for NFC West quarterbacks from last season.

Unheralded Carter Cardinals' next star? - ArizonaSports.com
If you asked people which young player was going to breakout and become a star for the Arizona Cardinals, the names that would come up would be Patrick Peterson, Michael Floyd and Daryl Washington, among others. One name you likely wouldn't hear -- at least early in the conversation -- is David Carter. The defensive lineman was taken in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft out of UCLA, and had a solid season, tallying 16 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble in a reserve role. However, the guys at ProFootballFocus.com think Carter is much better than the stats would indicate, tabbing him as a "Secret Superstar" heading into 2012.

Word From the Birds Blog | For what it’s worth in June, defensive edition
OK, so I missed a year (darn the lockout!) but with the end of offseason work and with my time off finally arriving, it’s that time. The proper sendoff into that dead area prior to training camp is my educated guesstimate for the starting lineups come Sept. 9 when Seattle visits University of Phoenix Stadium. Defense today, offense tomorrow. We’ll see if these choices come to fruition, although there is a long, long way to go. A lot can change. So, as always, remember this is just an exhibition and not a competition, so please, no wagering:

Cards' Fitzgerald among Forbes highest-paid athletes - ArizonaSports.com
Heralded wideout Larry Fitzgerald has not only accrued on the field accolades being the franchise face of the Arizona Cardinals, but thanks to his salary and endorsements, also an enviable fortune. According to Forbes magazine, Fitzgerald placed No. 13 on the world's 100 highest-paid athletes list.

Arizona Sports News:

Aaron Hill's cycle leads Arizona Diamondbacks past Seattle Mariners
After a disappointing 2-4 road trip that included three shutouts and ended with a 21-inning scoreless skid, offensive changes for the Diamondbacks could have easily been required protocol when they returned to Chase Field to open a six-game homestand. But rather than resorting to an overhaul of the lineup, the Diamondbacks wanted to avoid a knee-jerk reaction to their struggles. Instead, they believed sticking with the formula they've been using would eventually deliver them the consistency they want. "Routine's make us all feel good no matter what we do," manager Kirk Gibson said. "If you break your routine, you take something away. So it's important that you don't get frustrated and interrupt your routine. "You develop your routine over time because it prepares you for whatever you're going to encounter." That idea proved valuable in the first meeting with the Seattle Mariners as the Diamondbacks busted out for a 7-1 win on Monday in front of 24,284. And it was the expected leaders that ignited the revitalized offense. Second baseman Aaron Hill went 4-for-4 in completing the first cycle of his career and fifth in franchise history. Right fielder Justin Upton, who remained the No. 3 hitter, chipped in a pair of RBIs. More importantly, the Diamondbacks snapped their scoreless streak with a three-run effort in the first inning. They finished with 11 hits.

Phoenix Mercury fall again, this time to previously winless Tulsa Shock
Rookie Riquna Williams scored 15 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter to lead Tulsa to an 87-75 victory against the Mercury on Sunday, giving the Shock their first win of the season.

NFL News:

NFL Shows Reporters 'Explosive, Compelling' Evidence From Saints Bounty Investigation - SBNation.com
The NFL delivered what might have been one of the final blows in the New Orleans Saints bounty saga on Monday afternoon. Following the appeal hearings for the four suspended players, the league brought a dozen reporters, including Peter King of Sports Illustrated and Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com, into a room at its New York headquarters and showed them the evidence the league uncovered in its investigation and decision to punish the players. Just how revealing was the evidence? King called it "explosive, compelling" in a tweet after seeing it.

Jonathan Vilma Ends Bounty Appeal; Attorney Calls It A 'Sham' - SBNation.com
Jonathan Vilma ended his appeal over his punishment in the New Orleans Saints bounty case just an hour after it began on Monday morning in New York. Vilma's attorney Peter Ginsberg cited the league's refusal to provide more evidence as the reason behind the decision to pull out of the process.

Joe Banner’s thoughts on DeSean Jackson extension come up for discussion | ProFootballTalk
The Sunday "notes" column is a standby of sports pages across the country and Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe writes one of the best of them. There are brief items on a variety of different topics from around the league, some of which give deeper background on things reported elsewhere and some of which break new information to the general public. It seemed that Bedard had done just that this Sunday when he wrote about Joe Banner’s reaction to the Eagles’ decision to give wide receiver DeSean Jackson a five-year, $47 million deal.

Tarps could be coming to Miami | ProFootballTalk
One way to avoid the problem of not being able to put butts in seats is to cover the seats with fabric. And that’s one of the possible strategies for Sun Life Stadium, where the powers-that-be have realized the place is too big.