AP (December 27, 2021, 7:23 AM EDT)

#CancelCards Committee Petitions NFL to Void Arizona Cardinals’ Playoff Qualifications

An indignant, newly formed Committee of Arizona Cardinals media members and fans called #CancelCards have forwarded a petition with an estimated 245,000 signatures to Roger Goodell to demand that the 10-5 Arizona Cardinals be immediately voided of their recent clinching of one of the seven playoffs spots in the NFC.

The Associated Press reached out to the spokesperson of the #CancelCards committee who agreed to answer our questions about the petition on the condition that he remain anonymous.

Here is a transcript of the discussion:

• Q: How and why did your committee come to this decision?
• A: Everybody knows that the Cardinals backed into their playoff spot and that they don’t deserve it.
• Q: But, how can you say that a 10-5 NFL team backed into the playoff spot when there are two weeks of games remaining on the schedule?
• A: Because everybody knows that the Cardinals won’t win another game and their 7-0 start was a fluke and at this point all anyone needs to know is the Cardinals lost to the pitiful 2-12-1 Detroit Lions team. The Cardinals right now couldn’t even beat Cincinnati, not the 9-6 Bengals mind you, but the 13-0 Bearcats.
• Q: Well, what about the 2008 NFC Champion Cardinals, the only Cardinals team to make the Super Bowl? That team won only 2 of its last 6 games and suffered blowout losses to the Eagles (48-20), Vikings (35-14) and Patriots (47-7) —- which prompted NBC color commentator Cris Collinsworth to call the Cardinals “the worst playoff team in the history of the NFL” —- but that team got red hot at the right time and avenged their blowout loss to the Eagles by beating them 32-25 in the NFC Championship game, before losing in the final minutes of Super Bowl XLIII to the Pittsburgh Steelers by the score of 27-23.
• A: Yeah, well that team had a qualified NFL head coach in Ken Whisenhunt and two future Hall of Famers in Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald. This year’s Cardinals have an unqualified loser as a college coach as their head coach, a highly overrated, disturbingly diminutive, abject failure as a leader at quarterback and a team that Larry Fitzgerald wanted absolutely no part of.
• Q: But, how do you account for the fact that the Cardinals are 4-1 in the NFC West which is tied with the AFC West for the best winning percentage (both +8 above .500)? Wouldn’t going 4-1 in the toughest division in the NFL and having the NFL’s top road record at 7-1, with 5 of those road wins over 2020 playoff teams be ample proof that the Cardinals are a qualified playoff team?
• A: No. The Cardinals need to blow this whole thing up. The last three weeks, they got dominated by Matthew Stafford, Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, outscoring the Cardinals 82-51. Stick a fork in theses Cardinals. They are done. Everybody knows it. We don’t want to have suffer through another shameful, embarrassing loss, which is as certain to happen in the playoffs as death and taxes. Thus, if Goodell will honor our plea by invoking the mercy rule, then the Cardinals will be able to fire Kingsbury on Black Monday, as it should be. It will give the organization a head start on interviewing new head coach candidates and in calling around the league to try to find suitable value in trades for Kyler Murray, Isaiah Simmons, Zaven Collins and Andy Isabella.
• Q: What about the Cardinals’ GM, Steve Keim?
• A: What about him?
• Q: Should he be fired too?
• A: It’s a moot point. Keim and owner Michael Bidwill are joined at the hip. To quote Will Ferrell, “It ain’t gonna happen, Holmes.”
• Q: Is there anything else you would like to add?
• A: Yes, sign up at #CancelCards to sign your name on a petition that already has over 245,000 signatures on it. At this point, all we want to do is focus on the Phoenix Suns, the only legitimate winner in town.