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Well what do you know?
Three weeks into the 2003 season, a sudden burst of fantasy firepower is emanating from, of all places, the Valley of the Sun, home of the Arizona Cardinals — the lowliest of bottom-feeders in many gridiron pundits’ NFL power rankings at the start of the season, including yours truly.
Before I go any further, I have to tell you how genuinely happy I am to be writing something positive about a team that, forever it seems, has been so easy to criticize. Truth be told, I have an extremely soft spot in my heart for a team whose head coach, Dave McGinnis, is one of the really good guys in the game, and whose public-relations director, Paul Jensen, worked side by side with me once upon a time as an editor at Pro Football Weekly and was a joy to work with — even though he was, and still is, a die-hard White Sox fan.
So it does heart my good to report that, while the Cardinals still figure to have a helluva time escaping the the NFC West cellar this season, their offense definitely is worth delving into for fantasy purposes.
The numbers don’t lie.
Through three weeks (not counting Denver’s demolition of the Raiders last night), the Cardinals ranked sixth in total offense and fourth in passing offense. Even in lopsided losses to the Lions and the surging Seahawks to open the season, the Redbirds showed that they can move the chains and make a big play here and there, although a fair share of their offensive production came in garbage time after falling so far behind the opposition.
Clearly, however, there are some players on this team whose fantasy stock has risen, with rookie WRs Anquan Boldin and Bryant Johnson at the top of the list.
It has been impossible to overlook Boldin, a second-round pick out of Florida State who couldn’t have burst on the scene in more impressive fashion. Through three weeks, Boldin is tied for the NFC lead in receptions with the Redskins’ Laveranues Coles. He is averaging a whopping 16.4 yards per catch with two TDs, and Boldin’s 23 receptions top the 19 that Earl Cooper had for the 49ers in 1980 for the most in league history by a rookie after three games. Boldin’s 378 receiving yards, meanwhile, surpass those of the previous record-holder through three games in this category, Green Bay’s Billy Howton, who collected 358 yards way back in 1952. At his current pace, Boldin is projected to catch 123 passes for 2,016 yards (which would be an NFL record) and 11 touchdowns.
Johnson, one of Arizona’s two first-round picks, is just beginning to strut his stuff. He overcame a slow start with six grabs for 86 yards, with a long gain of 25 yards, in the Cardinals’ stunning upset victory over Green Bay. In that same game, Boldin caught five passes for 99 yards, including a 38-yard reception that set up the Cardinals’ first touchdown from the one-yard line.
Which provides us with the perfect segue to Cardinals QB Jeff Blake, who scored that first touchdown with a plucky somersault into the endzone and looked to be in total control vs. the Packers’ defense, completing 20-of-31 passes for 273 yards and one TD, a one-yard toss off play-action to FB James Hodgins.
“Boldin is one of the most mature first-year players I’ve been around in my life,” McGinnis said. “Bryant was a little more raw than Boldin, but he has come along well. And Jeff Blake has given those guys a lot of confidence.”
It’s also worth noting that Blake still can throw the deep ball as well as anybody in the league, and there are still a lot of potential 30-yard-plus TD bombs left in his cannon arm, in addition to even more enticing big-play targets on the horizon once Bryan Gilmore, who can run like the wind, and Larry Foster recover from lingering knee and ankle injuries, respectively.
Although he had a quiet game vs. the Pack, another Big Red fantasy weapon whose stock could be on the rise is TE Freddie Jones, a much happier camper this season after being told by first-year offensive coordinator Jerry Sullivan that he would be more involved in the offense (Jones scored a TD in Week One).
Last but not least, let’s not forget Cardinals RBs Emmitt Smith and Marcel Shipp, who figure to become increasingly effective fantasy weapons in an emerging ground game operating behind a king-sized offensive line that performed superbly vs. the Packers — even without OG Leonard Davis (ankle) in the lineup.
With play-action having become an integral ingredient in Sullivan’s mix-and-match offensive recipe, Smith and Shipp could be on the verge of a lot more scoring opportunities, both rushing and receiving.
So there you have it: a positive piece of writing by Dan Arkush on the Arizona Cardinals.
And if Mr. Jensen should happen by this article, I’ve got one thing to say to him:
Hey, Paul: HOW ABOUT THOSE CUBBIES!!!!!!
Well what do you know?
Three weeks into the 2003 season, a sudden burst of fantasy firepower is emanating from, of all places, the Valley of the Sun, home of the Arizona Cardinals — the lowliest of bottom-feeders in many gridiron pundits’ NFL power rankings at the start of the season, including yours truly.
Before I go any further, I have to tell you how genuinely happy I am to be writing something positive about a team that, forever it seems, has been so easy to criticize. Truth be told, I have an extremely soft spot in my heart for a team whose head coach, Dave McGinnis, is one of the really good guys in the game, and whose public-relations director, Paul Jensen, worked side by side with me once upon a time as an editor at Pro Football Weekly and was a joy to work with — even though he was, and still is, a die-hard White Sox fan.
So it does heart my good to report that, while the Cardinals still figure to have a helluva time escaping the the NFC West cellar this season, their offense definitely is worth delving into for fantasy purposes.
The numbers don’t lie.
Through three weeks (not counting Denver’s demolition of the Raiders last night), the Cardinals ranked sixth in total offense and fourth in passing offense. Even in lopsided losses to the Lions and the surging Seahawks to open the season, the Redbirds showed that they can move the chains and make a big play here and there, although a fair share of their offensive production came in garbage time after falling so far behind the opposition.
Clearly, however, there are some players on this team whose fantasy stock has risen, with rookie WRs Anquan Boldin and Bryant Johnson at the top of the list.
It has been impossible to overlook Boldin, a second-round pick out of Florida State who couldn’t have burst on the scene in more impressive fashion. Through three weeks, Boldin is tied for the NFC lead in receptions with the Redskins’ Laveranues Coles. He is averaging a whopping 16.4 yards per catch with two TDs, and Boldin’s 23 receptions top the 19 that Earl Cooper had for the 49ers in 1980 for the most in league history by a rookie after three games. Boldin’s 378 receiving yards, meanwhile, surpass those of the previous record-holder through three games in this category, Green Bay’s Billy Howton, who collected 358 yards way back in 1952. At his current pace, Boldin is projected to catch 123 passes for 2,016 yards (which would be an NFL record) and 11 touchdowns.
Johnson, one of Arizona’s two first-round picks, is just beginning to strut his stuff. He overcame a slow start with six grabs for 86 yards, with a long gain of 25 yards, in the Cardinals’ stunning upset victory over Green Bay. In that same game, Boldin caught five passes for 99 yards, including a 38-yard reception that set up the Cardinals’ first touchdown from the one-yard line.
Which provides us with the perfect segue to Cardinals QB Jeff Blake, who scored that first touchdown with a plucky somersault into the endzone and looked to be in total control vs. the Packers’ defense, completing 20-of-31 passes for 273 yards and one TD, a one-yard toss off play-action to FB James Hodgins.
“Boldin is one of the most mature first-year players I’ve been around in my life,” McGinnis said. “Bryant was a little more raw than Boldin, but he has come along well. And Jeff Blake has given those guys a lot of confidence.”
It’s also worth noting that Blake still can throw the deep ball as well as anybody in the league, and there are still a lot of potential 30-yard-plus TD bombs left in his cannon arm, in addition to even more enticing big-play targets on the horizon once Bryan Gilmore, who can run like the wind, and Larry Foster recover from lingering knee and ankle injuries, respectively.
Although he had a quiet game vs. the Pack, another Big Red fantasy weapon whose stock could be on the rise is TE Freddie Jones, a much happier camper this season after being told by first-year offensive coordinator Jerry Sullivan that he would be more involved in the offense (Jones scored a TD in Week One).
Last but not least, let’s not forget Cardinals RBs Emmitt Smith and Marcel Shipp, who figure to become increasingly effective fantasy weapons in an emerging ground game operating behind a king-sized offensive line that performed superbly vs. the Packers — even without OG Leonard Davis (ankle) in the lineup.
With play-action having become an integral ingredient in Sullivan’s mix-and-match offensive recipe, Smith and Shipp could be on the verge of a lot more scoring opportunities, both rushing and receiving.
So there you have it: a positive piece of writing by Dan Arkush on the Arizona Cardinals.
And if Mr. Jensen should happen by this article, I’ve got one thing to say to him:
Hey, Paul: HOW ABOUT THOSE CUBBIES!!!!!!
