CardShark

The time has come. Football is about to officially begin. We have what appears to be a highly talented team. We've drawn what appears to be a mediocre opponent. Just when I should be riding the wave of euphoria of seeing the Cards launch what should be their best team since moving to Arizona, my emotions are kept in check by the reminiscent taste of past expectations being bitterly shattered. Just last year, when we opened the season against the Giants. I thought we would be a highly competitive team and we were for the first half. Then I watched in agony as the team fell apart in the second half. Little did I know that that game would be a harbinger for the remainder of the season. How about the year before when we should have and were dominating the 49er's in San Francisco only to watch them overcome a 16 point deficit in the final minutes of the game. I want to be able to say with great confidence to my friends that the Cards are going to dominate this weekend as they should, yet that feeling is there. Be careful what you say because those are the very words you are going to choke on if the Cards choke. I have every confidence that the Cards will turn into a playoff caliber team. I just can't be sure they are going to respond on cue.

Are there fans of any other NFL team that can know how it feels? I don't think so.

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slanidrac16

The past is the past Card Shark. Nothing that happened yesterday (except injuries) will have any effect on this Season
We have more reasons to be optimistic this year than any year since the Cards moved to Arizona.
We have the best runner in red since Ottis Anderson
We have the best QB ( and back up) since Neil Lomax.
We have the best wr tandem perhaps in Cardinal history.
We are no longer learning a NEW offense or defense.
We finally have a home field advantage with 63,000 screaming fans.
We have improved our special teams
We have the best place kicker in the NFL and certainly the best kicker since Jim Bakken.
We have the 2005 sack leader back and healthy.
We have , if nothing else some depth along the 2 areas where we were hurt the most last year, the d-line and the o-line.

Will this year go the way we hope it will? Well, thats why we play the games.
We will need a little luck, just like every other team that makes the playoffs and we need to stay relatively healthy, again , just like every other team that makes a playoff run.

I guess what I'm saying is don't feel guilty or foolish for feeling optimistic.

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"The system works. Players are just not making plays."
Ken Whisenhunt

conraddobler

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When written in Chinese, the word "crisis" is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity. John F. Kennedy

Pariah

I'm giddy.

Jersey Girl

Posts like this make me feel less cautiously optimistic and more "we're gonna kick some arse" optimistic.

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"'Ohana' means family. Family means nobody gets left behind. Or forgotten." EVER.

thirty-two

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!!!!!!!!!!!

is it sunday yet!!!!!

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Rest in peace, Skkorp. We'll never forget you.

Duckjake

Always has and always will. No matter how hard we try to convince ourselves otherwise, what happened in the past does affect what happens on the field.

Every coach that has come to Arizona has had to deal with it.

It looks like Boldin may have finally been able to get the corporate culture turned in the right direction. So that the past will be a positive influence rather than a negative.

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The only thing crazier than Cardinal football is Tim Minchin.

Jersey Girl

Anquan Boldin for president!!!!!!! (Photoshop images requested.)

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"'Ohana' means family. Family means nobody gets left behind. Or forgotten." EVER.

CardShark

I agree on all counts. I've been very optimistic with all of the changes that have transpired over the past 3 years. Unfortunately until the Cards are able to show they can play up to potential, I'm sure I'll have that feeling of waiting for the shoe to drop. As a young boy, my father caught my brother and I playing with matches. To cure us of this, he would light a match, blow it out and immediately place it on our finger tips. The Cards have made feel like I'm playing with fire again and I know I'm going to get burned for it.

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CardLogic

I was just wondering...


How long has it been since the Cardinals last went two consecutive years with the same HC, OC, and DC???

Maybe 1997-98? Of course after the playoff win the team was gutted of players (Lomas Brown, Jamir Miller, Larry Centers).

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"...fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell

"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please."
-Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain)

Duckjake

And how long has it been since they began the season with 23 NFL Veterans out of 24 starters. (Incl.Punter & Kicker)

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The only thing crazier than Cardinal football is Tim Minchin.

black

Yes! Well put.

Duckjake

The last time we were able to watch a Cardinal team with this type of offensive firepower was 1984 with Lomax,Green,Tilley,Stump and OJ Anderson. That team scored 423 points and averaged 396 yards per game.

Wouldn't that be fun to watch?

__________________
The only thing crazier than Cardinal football is Tim Minchin.