Welcome to the NFL, Arizona (Article)

[Hypothesis]

From KTAR.com:
by Adam Green

Welcome to the NFL, Arizona.
The Cardinals have, finally, proven that they have turned the proverbial corner once and for all. The back-to-back NFC West titles and an appearance in Super Bowl XLIII showed that the Cardinals were competitive, but what has transpired over the last few days confirms that these are no longer your father's, my father's, or even my Arizona Cardinals.

Sure, it would have been easy to look at Friday's events as the beginning of the end of the "New Cardinals." After all, March 5th saw the Cardinals trade away Anquan Boldin and lose Karlos Dansby and Antrel Rolle as free agents. But, just when Cardinals nation was looking for the nearest cliff to jump off of or the closest bandwagon to board, March 6th brought a trade for Jets safety Kerry Rhodes and a newfound sense of optimism.
Don't get me wrong - the Cardinals are still a worse team as of this moment than they were when they were beaten by the Saints 45-14 in the playoffs.

Since then, though, the Cardinals have done business in the same way that legit, consistent NFL winners do: by not being afraid to make tough decisions with personnel and not overpaying to keep decent-good players.
The Cardinals have shown they are no longer a reactive franchise, but instead proactive. Two years ago they knew Antonio Smith was entering a contract year, so they drafted Calais Campbell to be groomed as his replacement. Then, when Smith took too much more money to sign with the Texans, Campbell slid right into his old spot and was even better than the man he replaced.

Going into this past season the team knew there was a good chance they would be releasing Antrel Rolle because of the way his contract was structured. The team, as an "insurance policy," drafted Rashad Johnson. Sure, Johnson had a rough rookie campaign, but it was another sign that the Cardinals were done overpaying to keep decent players and instead were readying themselves for the natural turnover that occurs in the NFL.
And, over the last few seasons, Steve Breaston and Early Doucet have stepped up at the WR position and they, along with Larry Fitzgerald, have helped the team win games when Boldin has missed time.

Which brings us to Friday.

Nothing happened that was unexpected. The team was ready to trade Boldin due to the depth at the WR position, most thought Dansby would leave to the highest bidder, and Rolle's replacement was already on the roster. Or so we thought.

The trade for Rhodes showed that while the Cardinals may have been dealt a blow, they were ready to come back swinging. Because of the Boldin trade they were able to add a player who is arguably better than the one he replaced. Do that once, maybe it's luck. Keep on doing it, and it becomes how the team does business. Not forking out too much cash to keep Rolle and Dansby shows there is no panic in the organization.

That, of course, comes from the head coach Ken Whisenhunt, who recently became the first head coach since the team moved to Arizona to get a contract extension. While many were worried the team would not get a deal done, the Cardinals went out and locked up the man most responsible for the team's turnaround.

Not overpaying for talent, being prepared to replace departing players, trading guys - no matter how great they once were - at the right time and rewarding a head coach who has brought the franchise to new heights? That's how good teams do it, and that's how it is being done with the Cardinals.

Welcome to the NFL, Arizona.

 

[dogpoo32]

Great article, but I will still probably continue to freak out anytime something major happens.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

I agree to a point.

More needs to be done, IMO.

Happy to hear about interest in Artist Hicks

Happy to hear Larry Foote and Joey Porter are visiting soon.

I will save my finish decision on how well the Cardinals handled this situation till before the draft.

 

[football karma]

At this point, I am going to give the FO the benefit of the doubt and assume that there is a plan. I also recognize (as Somers has written) that there is still a little bit of a "run-off" from the old Cardinals as evidenced by the Rolle and Leinart contracts.

I also recognize the following:

1. Trading Boldin means that Breaston gets the contract offer it will take to keep him here long term. If the team had signed Boldin to an extension, Breaston likely leaves next year. I dont think that would have been a good move.

2. Not signing Dansby and Rolle means its far more likely that guys like Dockett, Calais Campbell (when his deal comes up) and DRC (ditto) get long term deals/extensions.

The reality is this: even with U of P, the Cardinals are a "middle class" NFL franchise. Well positioned but not wealthy. While the salary cap does tend to make the playing field more level than those in MLB -- the reality is that its still not level. Forget what the accounting based "salary cap" is -- the Cardinals operate under a far more important "cash out the door" salary cap (as do 20+ other NFL franchises).

The Jets and Giants and Dolphins can afford to pay "great player" money for good players. They have the annual cash coming in the door to afford such luxuries. Teams like the Cardinals ( and the Steelers, btw among others) just don't.

 

[cardpa]

The greatest thing is that there is a long term plan to set a course for the organization and a plan that stretches out over years and not just one season to the next. Sure there will probably be some bumps along the way but the overall feeling is this team will always be in a position to compete for the long term and push for a playoff spot on a yearly basis. I can easily see Whiz being a double digit years tenure coach here.

Intelligent and reasonable thinking in the FO now and not panic stricken knee jerk reaction when something doesn't pan out like they would have liked it to. Yes they are still feeling the pains of the pre-Whiz, pre-Michael Bidwill era but even that will smooth itself out over time.

 

[green machine]

This is a damn good article. Writer should win an award.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

Good article. Cards are being proactive right now, and need to continue to do so. Reading stuff like this is music to my ears.

 

[Catfish]

Good find Hypo-----I hope that the FO keeps filling needs out of Free Agency so that we can use the draft to restock the pantry with BPA's.

 

[TheHopToad]

This is a damn good article. Writer should win an award.

Looks like it was even proofread correctly. No grammar errors. Good job!

 

[Cardiac]

This article explains why some of us weren't jumping of bridges last week. I get the history of this organization (been a fan for 35 +yrs) & in years past this would have been the same old Cards.

Whis is as good as it gets. Mike Bidwill is a pretty sharp guy himself and that's why he locked Whis up and paid him so well (5th highest pd coach in NFL). I also believe that Whis got some important perks in his contract. Contracts for players structured the way he and RG want. Simply more power in the day to day operations.

Now if Whis and RG hadn't been extended then I would be nervous.

Think about the last time anyone posted Whis isn't the answer or stinks. It's been at least a year, SWZD17 or Mitch were probably the last.

Demz My Boys needs to repost her thoughts on the look in Whis's eyes. She truly nails what he is about (IMO).

Did Cowher, Parcells etc ever have a losing season? Why yes they did but it lasted no more then 1 season. Whis is on their level IMHO.

All this to say that with Whis we will never regress to those same old Cards, he won't allow it.

 

[crisper57]

Despite the last two seasons, I'm still used to "winning" the offseason and then being a joke in the regular season. It's just engrained.

But now our fortunes have reversed.

It will still take time before I can breathe easy when the offseason doesn't go our way.

 

[john h]

From KTAR.com:
by Adam Green

I think teams in general who can spend the most money for players will in the long run have the best team. Saving money is a subjective phrase. If anything teams who poor all their cap money into the payroll post will over time have the best teams. Teams who hold money back only hold it back to increase profits for the owner. That is not bad for the owner but is not good for the fans. Our history is to hold back money over the years and it has resulted in our historical record of being near or at the bottom. FA has only began so lets hope we are not saving to much money this year.

 

[lauraw]

I dont think the FO is saving pennies, Money-consciously, I think it's just a way of doing business... Being prudent all the way around. I think they need to loosen up just a little bit and go for it once in a while, on bigger name FA's and maybe they will, now they've shown their trust in Whizz. They are on the same page and it will make the Cards bigger winners!!! Before there was no trust, no connectivity between the coaches and the FO..In whizz I trust