Cardinals turn in season to build on
http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=nfl/news/abn4120032.htm
By Michael Rushton, NFL Contributing Editor
(Sports Network) - The Arizona Cardinals finished the 2007 season with an 8-8 record.
That statement normally isn't worth leading a story with, but when you are talking about the Cardinals, a .500 season is a big deal. In fact, this past season marks the first time the club didn't finish with a losing record since going 9-7 in 1998 under Vince Tobin. Unlike this season, that campaign resulted in a playoff appearance.
Still, the Cards were competitive until the end and made the hiring of Ken Whisenhunt as head coach seem like a good one. The former Steelers offensive coordinator instilled confidence in the club, something that was missing under Dennis Green the previous year.
Whisenhunt did wonders with the Steelers and young quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and that ability to mold a passing attack carried over to Arizona. The Cardinals ranked fifth in passing offense at 254.1 yards per game and seventh in points at 404.
Unfortunately, Whisenhunt didn't get to do with injured quarterback Matt Leinart what he did with Roethlisberger -- make him an instant star -- but he was able to maximize the talents of wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.
Arizona will next turn its focus to defense, as the team was horrible against the pass and gave up far too many points to be a playoff team. The Cardinals are just a piece or two away on defense from being serious contenders in the NFC West.
TELLING STATS
The Cardinals gave up 232.3 passing yards per game, which was 28th in the league. However, the club held the opposition to just 97.9 rushing yards per game.
Arizona knows how to stop the run, it's the pass that it can't handle.
Quarterback Kurt Warner threw 27 touchdown passes, but was intercepted 17 times while fumbling 12 times, losing six of those. Leinart was picked off four times in five games, while Tim Rattay threw another three interceptions in four games.
Ball control is something Arizona's offense needs to work on. Warner's INT total was his highest since getting picked off 22 times over 16 games in 2001.
TURNING POINT
Arizona was in the hunt for the NFC title and had a chance to take matters into its own hands late in the season.
The Cardinals entered a Week 14 contest against the eventual division-champion Seattle Seahawks with a 6-6 record, while Seattle was 8-4. A win would have pulled Arizona to within a game of the Seahawks in the standings and would have been its second over Seattle this season.
However, the Cards were routed, 42-21, and then lost the following week to fall out of playoff contention.
WHAT WENT RIGHT
Boldin and Fitzgerald were as good as advertised this year, no matter who was under center.
Fitzgerald fought off a groin injury late in the season to post a team-high 100 receptions, 10 touchdowns and 1,409 yards. His TD total and yardage matched his career highs set in 2005, while his reception total was just three shy of his career best, set the same season.
Boldin, meanwhile, missed time with a hip injury and was also slowed late by a toe ailment, but he still pulled in 71 passes for 853 yards and a career-best nine touchdown catches.
A healthy Boldin and Fitzgerald will help speed up Leinart's learning process next year.
While his interception total was high, Warner still did a great job stepping up for the injured Leinart. Showing he still had gas left in the tank, the former NFL MVP had 10 games where he threw multiple touchdown passes, including three in each of the last four games.
Warner, who was also running the no-huddle offense in games while Leinart was healthy, provided an excellent insurance policy for Arizona and should be tutoring Leinart again next year. In fact, Whisenhunt has already told Leinart that he will begin next season as the number one quarterback.
"He made it clear I am the quarterback, which I feel I deserve to be," Leinart told the team's official site. "(But) I have to go out and prove myself. I know that. I'm not dumb."
According to the site, Whisenhunt said that Leinart wasn't going to lose his starting role because of injury. However, he did say that all his players need to perform to keep their jobs.
The 2004 draft was a good one for Arizona. It took Fitzgerald in the first round that year, then grabbed linebacker Karlos Dansby (second round, 33rd overall) and defensive tackle Darnell Dockett (third round, 64th overall) in succession after that.
Dansby posted 99 tackles, 3 1/2 sacks and 3 interceptions this year and likely won't get to test free agency this year. The club will either re-sign him long term or use the franchise tag on him, as indicated in published reports.
Dockett, meanwhile, didn't slump after signing a five-year deal in October of 2006. He set career-highs in tackles this year with 58, in addition to a career-best and team-high nine sacks.
Third-year corner Antrel Rolle also turned in a year to build on, as he grabbed a career-high five interceptions, returning three of them for touchdowns. Two of those came in one game, a three-pick day versus the Bengals on November 18. Only an Arizona penalty on the final return prevented him from posting a three-touchdown game.
However, Rolle's five picks were only spread out over two games.
WHAT WENT WRONG
Leinart's injury, a broken collarbone suffered in Week 5, ended his season early, meaning he lost a year of development. He also had some confidence issues when he was replaced by Warner early during no-huddle packages.
While buddies Leinart and Warner said all the right things during that situation, it is obvious that Leinart wants to be on the field all the time, and some questioned Whisenhunt's decision to use Warner.
The head coach said he wanted a more experienced quarterback in that situation. But it was a blow to Leinart's growth, as he's got to learn how to do it sometime.
That being said, Leinart will open next year as the starter. But one has to wonder how confident he will be under center, especially if Warner is still around.
Also, Edgerrin James' second year in Arizona went by much like the first -- very quiet.
James, an explosive back in Indianapolis before signing a four-year deal with the Cardinals prior to the 2006 season, isn't running behind the same dominating line he did with the Colts and it is showing.
Like last year, James was never really able to take over a game and help the Cardinals control the pace. He went over 1,000 yards rushing for the fifth straight season and upped his touchdown total from six to seven this year, but that only matches the 13 he scored in 2005 alone.
James averaged over four yards per carry in all but one of his seven seasons in Indianapolis, but has yet to do so in Arizona, turning in seasons of 3.4 in 2006 and 3.8 in 2007.
Arizona might listen to offers for James this offseason, but replacing him would be tough and the Cards would be better off just holding on to him despite his salary.
Rolle and Roderick Hood had five interceptions each, but Hood's also came in bunches. He had a pair of two-pick games and returned one to the end zone in each of those outings. However, that left 13 other games where Hood was unable to have an impact in the pass defense.
Of course, the secondary was missing two key players, as corner Eric Green (groin) and safety Adrian Wilson (heel) both ended the season on injured reserve.
The loss of Wilson was the biggest. A Pro Bowl safety last season, he hadn't played since mid-November due to his injury and was one of Arizona's leaders on defense.
UP NEXT: THE DRAFT
Arizona will be drafting a little later than usual thanks to its finish, and the club should be ignoring offense early on. The Cardinals will draft 16th in the first round.
Instead, the club could use an upgrade at the defensive end spot, assuming last year's second-round pick Alan Branch can play along side Dockett in the middle effectively. Safety and corner could also use an upgrade as well.
Unrestricted free agents of concern include wide receiver Bryant Johnson and linebacker Calvin Pace, in addition to Dansby. Green and linebacker Darryl Blackstock are restricted free agents.
01/02 19:25:51 ET
http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=nfl/news/abn4120032.htm
By Michael Rushton, NFL Contributing Editor
(Sports Network) - The Arizona Cardinals finished the 2007 season with an 8-8 record.
That statement normally isn't worth leading a story with, but when you are talking about the Cardinals, a .500 season is a big deal. In fact, this past season marks the first time the club didn't finish with a losing record since going 9-7 in 1998 under Vince Tobin. Unlike this season, that campaign resulted in a playoff appearance.
Still, the Cards were competitive until the end and made the hiring of Ken Whisenhunt as head coach seem like a good one. The former Steelers offensive coordinator instilled confidence in the club, something that was missing under Dennis Green the previous year.
Whisenhunt did wonders with the Steelers and young quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and that ability to mold a passing attack carried over to Arizona. The Cardinals ranked fifth in passing offense at 254.1 yards per game and seventh in points at 404.
Unfortunately, Whisenhunt didn't get to do with injured quarterback Matt Leinart what he did with Roethlisberger -- make him an instant star -- but he was able to maximize the talents of wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.
Arizona will next turn its focus to defense, as the team was horrible against the pass and gave up far too many points to be a playoff team. The Cardinals are just a piece or two away on defense from being serious contenders in the NFC West.
TELLING STATS
The Cardinals gave up 232.3 passing yards per game, which was 28th in the league. However, the club held the opposition to just 97.9 rushing yards per game.
Arizona knows how to stop the run, it's the pass that it can't handle.
Quarterback Kurt Warner threw 27 touchdown passes, but was intercepted 17 times while fumbling 12 times, losing six of those. Leinart was picked off four times in five games, while Tim Rattay threw another three interceptions in four games.
Ball control is something Arizona's offense needs to work on. Warner's INT total was his highest since getting picked off 22 times over 16 games in 2001.
TURNING POINT
Arizona was in the hunt for the NFC title and had a chance to take matters into its own hands late in the season.
The Cardinals entered a Week 14 contest against the eventual division-champion Seattle Seahawks with a 6-6 record, while Seattle was 8-4. A win would have pulled Arizona to within a game of the Seahawks in the standings and would have been its second over Seattle this season.
However, the Cards were routed, 42-21, and then lost the following week to fall out of playoff contention.
WHAT WENT RIGHT
Boldin and Fitzgerald were as good as advertised this year, no matter who was under center.
Fitzgerald fought off a groin injury late in the season to post a team-high 100 receptions, 10 touchdowns and 1,409 yards. His TD total and yardage matched his career highs set in 2005, while his reception total was just three shy of his career best, set the same season.
Boldin, meanwhile, missed time with a hip injury and was also slowed late by a toe ailment, but he still pulled in 71 passes for 853 yards and a career-best nine touchdown catches.
A healthy Boldin and Fitzgerald will help speed up Leinart's learning process next year.
While his interception total was high, Warner still did a great job stepping up for the injured Leinart. Showing he still had gas left in the tank, the former NFL MVP had 10 games where he threw multiple touchdown passes, including three in each of the last four games.
Warner, who was also running the no-huddle offense in games while Leinart was healthy, provided an excellent insurance policy for Arizona and should be tutoring Leinart again next year. In fact, Whisenhunt has already told Leinart that he will begin next season as the number one quarterback.
"He made it clear I am the quarterback, which I feel I deserve to be," Leinart told the team's official site. "(But) I have to go out and prove myself. I know that. I'm not dumb."
According to the site, Whisenhunt said that Leinart wasn't going to lose his starting role because of injury. However, he did say that all his players need to perform to keep their jobs.
The 2004 draft was a good one for Arizona. It took Fitzgerald in the first round that year, then grabbed linebacker Karlos Dansby (second round, 33rd overall) and defensive tackle Darnell Dockett (third round, 64th overall) in succession after that.
Dansby posted 99 tackles, 3 1/2 sacks and 3 interceptions this year and likely won't get to test free agency this year. The club will either re-sign him long term or use the franchise tag on him, as indicated in published reports.
Dockett, meanwhile, didn't slump after signing a five-year deal in October of 2006. He set career-highs in tackles this year with 58, in addition to a career-best and team-high nine sacks.
Third-year corner Antrel Rolle also turned in a year to build on, as he grabbed a career-high five interceptions, returning three of them for touchdowns. Two of those came in one game, a three-pick day versus the Bengals on November 18. Only an Arizona penalty on the final return prevented him from posting a three-touchdown game.
However, Rolle's five picks were only spread out over two games.
WHAT WENT WRONG
Leinart's injury, a broken collarbone suffered in Week 5, ended his season early, meaning he lost a year of development. He also had some confidence issues when he was replaced by Warner early during no-huddle packages.
While buddies Leinart and Warner said all the right things during that situation, it is obvious that Leinart wants to be on the field all the time, and some questioned Whisenhunt's decision to use Warner.
The head coach said he wanted a more experienced quarterback in that situation. But it was a blow to Leinart's growth, as he's got to learn how to do it sometime.
That being said, Leinart will open next year as the starter. But one has to wonder how confident he will be under center, especially if Warner is still around.
Also, Edgerrin James' second year in Arizona went by much like the first -- very quiet.
James, an explosive back in Indianapolis before signing a four-year deal with the Cardinals prior to the 2006 season, isn't running behind the same dominating line he did with the Colts and it is showing.
Like last year, James was never really able to take over a game and help the Cardinals control the pace. He went over 1,000 yards rushing for the fifth straight season and upped his touchdown total from six to seven this year, but that only matches the 13 he scored in 2005 alone.
James averaged over four yards per carry in all but one of his seven seasons in Indianapolis, but has yet to do so in Arizona, turning in seasons of 3.4 in 2006 and 3.8 in 2007.
Arizona might listen to offers for James this offseason, but replacing him would be tough and the Cards would be better off just holding on to him despite his salary.
Rolle and Roderick Hood had five interceptions each, but Hood's also came in bunches. He had a pair of two-pick games and returned one to the end zone in each of those outings. However, that left 13 other games where Hood was unable to have an impact in the pass defense.
Of course, the secondary was missing two key players, as corner Eric Green (groin) and safety Adrian Wilson (heel) both ended the season on injured reserve.
The loss of Wilson was the biggest. A Pro Bowl safety last season, he hadn't played since mid-November due to his injury and was one of Arizona's leaders on defense.
UP NEXT: THE DRAFT
Arizona will be drafting a little later than usual thanks to its finish, and the club should be ignoring offense early on. The Cardinals will draft 16th in the first round.
Instead, the club could use an upgrade at the defensive end spot, assuming last year's second-round pick Alan Branch can play along side Dockett in the middle effectively. Safety and corner could also use an upgrade as well.
Unrestricted free agents of concern include wide receiver Bryant Johnson and linebacker Calvin Pace, in addition to Dansby. Green and linebacker Darryl Blackstock are restricted free agents.
01/02 19:25:51 ET
