Frontpage article on nfl.com

[BigRedRage]

http://www.nfl.com/teams/trainingcamp/ARI

cant copy and paste it without grabbing stat info and stuff not in the article

 

[clif]

Overview

Things may be changing in the desert.

The Arizona Cardinals have had just one winning season in 17 years since they relocated from St. Louis, and they have finished in last place in their division eight times. But second-year coach Dennis Green has been rebuilding furiously, trying to make the team a winner before it moves into a new stadium for the 2006 season.

It's not impossible. If the Cardinals can protect their new quarterback, Kurt Warner, they have plenty of firepower with three good young wide receivers, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Bryant Johnson. Their second-round draft pick, running back J.J. Arrington, could be a steal; he was a 2,000-yard rusher in college last season and is an excellent pass receiver, too.

The defense made progress last year largely because of Bertrand Berry, a defensive end who was signed as a free agent and finished second in the NFL with 14½ sacks. More help has been added to strengthen Arizona on that side of the ball.

Green is known as a coach who won't stand still, and he didn't. He fired offensive coordinator Alex Wood after last season and replaced him with Keith Rowen. He changed quarterbacks almost every year during a successful decade run with the Minnesota Vikings, and he did plenty of shuffling again during his first season with Arizona.

Warner is the key. Not everyone is convinced that Warner, a two-time league MVP, has anything left, but he did get off to a good start with the Giants a year ago before fading and then giving way to Eli Manning. The problems seem to start when Warner gets knocked around a bit in a game; it's thought that he holds onto the ball too long in the pocket.

Arizona hopes that a strengthened offensive line -- three of last year's starters are gone from the roster -- will protect Warner well enough to let him recapture at least a glimpse of his old form. Clearly, this is a new time for the Cardinals, who used to be known for their frugal ways and for the players who left, not those who arrived. Now, Arizona is attracting free agents and, this summer, the Cardinals gave Boldin a hefty contract extension.

Arrivals

Arrington, a second-round pick, could be one of the steals of the draft and is a terrific fit for the Arizona offense because of his pass-catching ability. The Cardinals again were active players in free agency, adding Warner, offensive tackle Oliver Ross, free safety Robert Griffith and linebacker Orlando Huff.

Rowen, the new offensive coordinator, is a former offensive line coach, and he figures to devise schemes that, the Cardinals hope, can give Warner the protection and confidence he'll need to succeed. A year ago, Warner was sacked 24 times in his last four starts for the Giants.

Departures

The group of players gone from last year's roster includes retired running back Emmitt Smith, plus starting offensive tackles Anthony Clement and L.J. Shelton, guard Cameron Spikes, cornerbacks Duane Starks and Renaldo Hill, and tight end Freddie Jones.

Quick counts


Since the Cardinals moved from St. Louis to Arizona for the 1988 season, they have had just one winning year, a 9-7 record in 1998 which they followed with a first-round playoff victory at Dallas.

In Green's first nine years as an NFL coach, he did not have a losing season and his teams reached the playoffs eight times. He now has had two losing years in a row, his final season in Minnesota and his first year in Arizona.

The Cardinals jumped from 26th to 12th in the league on defense last year, in large measure because of Berry's NFC-best 14½ sacks. This year, Arizona worked to improve the secondary as well, drafting Antrel Rolle in the first round and signing free-agent safety Robert Griffith, a former Pro Bowl player.

Clearly, the Cardinals are not out of it in the division. Although they were 2-4 in division games a year ago, the margin of defeat in the four losses was a total of only 16 points.

Arizona is counting on the revamped offensive line and Arrington to fix one major problem: The Cardinals have had a 1,000-yard rusher just once since 1986 and have not had an 1,100-yard runner in that stretch. To reach 1,100 yards, it's necessary to average only 68.75 yards per game. Over the last five years, an average of 15 players a year rushed for 1,100 yards in the NFL.

On the record

Dennis Green, on third-round pick J.J. Arrington: "We got (Arrington) for a reason. If you look at Travis Henry and Emmitt Smith, the smaller guys that weigh a lot -- he weighs 212 pounds -- they are like pinballs. They are very hard to knock off their feet. He's built low to the ground. I think that's why he was so successful at Cal. He's very quick and fast, but he's also very hard to get a hand on."

Green, on focusing on the run game: "I can't think of (when I coached at) San Francisco or Minnesota where we had a successful season and we didn't have a 1,000-plus rusher. It just doesn't happen very often. That's our goal. We want whoever is going to start to be that 1,000-yard rusher. We didn't have it last year, and we are going to press for it again this year."

Kurt Warner, on proving himself in Arizona: "When I went to arena football, I had to prove it to them. When I went to the Rams, I had to prove it to them. I went to New York last year, and it just becomes part of it. But that's OK. I'm not worried about it because, again, I know what I'm capable of, and I know what I have around me."

 

[SunsTzu]

edit: too slow

 

[nathan]

The Cardinals have had a 1,000-yard rusher just once since 1986 and have not had an 1,100-yard runner in that stretch.

Didn't Adrian Murrell, Garrison Hearst, and Ronald Moore have 1000+ yard seasons?

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

Didn't Adrian Murrell, Garrison Hearst, and Ronald Moore have 1000+ yard seasons?

Only Murrell...

 

[dreamcastrocks]

JJ was a 2nd round pick, not a 3rd round pick. And why are they not including Okefor in their FA aquisitions?

 

[nathan]

Only Murrell...

Ronald Moore, 1993: 263 carries, 1018 yards
Garrison Hearst, 1995: 284 carries 1070 yards

They were just barely over 1000.

 

[Metcalf Rules]

JJ was a 2nd round pick, not a 3rd round pick. And why are they not including Okefor in their FA aquisitions?

And who is this L. David guy they mention in the projected starting lineups? I know they mean L. Davis, but I was worried we'd signed Larry David of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm fame.

 

[Cardsmasochist]

JJ was a 2nd round pick, not a 3rd round pick. And why are they not including Okefor in their FA aquisitions?

You beat me to the post. Okefor is going to improve our defense temendously.

And J.J. was a 2nd round pick, not a third rouder like the article states.