Cardinals no longer under-achievers
As I write, while looking out of my window at a garden piled high with snow and ice, it's hard to imagine I'll be in the desert at the end of this week. Talk about a shock to the system.
Myself and Greg Brady will be providing live commentary of the Green Bay Packers' visit to the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Wild Card game on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 5 live sports extra on Sunday evening and it should be a game with enough action to warm British NFL fans shivering through this harsh cold spell.
Both clubs can score points for fun and are loaded with offensive weaponry that should make this game fantastic for the neutrals. Quarterbacks Kurt Warner (Arizona) and Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay) are among the very best in the business and have immense receiving talent at their disposal.
This game will also appeal to NFL history buffs. The Cardinals-Packers rivalry began with a 3-3 tie way back in 1921, one year after the Cardinals, who began playing in Chicago in 1898, became a founder member of the NFL.
Despite having a long history, the Cardinals have not always enjoyed a storied heritage. They have endured years of mediocrity (and that is putting it politely) - with their lone NFL championship coming in 1947 - and have hopped from city to city, playing in .
The names have changed but, for the most part, the struggles have remained constant. Since that 1947 title victory, the Cardinals have won just five playoff games and three of those successes came last season during an improbable run to the Super Bowl,
Cardinals owner Bill Bidwell has been lauded for his appointment of Ken Whisenhunt as head coach
The Cardinals have not always been the best-managed club in the NFL. I have worked alongside a former Arizona player on television and, off air, he told me about the frustrating penny-pinching antics of his bosses.
According to the player, the fridges in the Cardinals locker room were locked and only opened at certain times of the day in order to make the soft drinks last longer. That was just one example he gave of poor player treatment.
Whether that is true or not, this much I do know - the Cardinals were bad for a long time. After moving to the Arizona desert in 1988, they posted 13 seasons in which they recorded at least 10 losses.
But things have changed.
Team owner Bill Bidwill has delivered on his promise of the spectacular $455 million University of Phoenix Stadium which opened in 2006 and Cardinals fans can now watch their club in air-conditioned comfort rather than sweltering in the oppressive heat.
And he made a wonderful move in 2007 when he
Whisenhunt has shown tremendous flexibility in leading the Cardinals to back-to-back NFC West crowns for the first time since the 1974-75 campaigns.
Last year, the Cardinals appeared to be loafing through the back end of the regular season. They had taken care of the weak NFC West Division but were on a losing slide and in danger of embarrassing themselves in the post-season. They were being hailed the worst playoff team in living memory. Given their form, that was not a particularly harsh statement.
So Whisenhunt decided to get tough. with the kind of full hitting usually not seen during the regular season. And he told those who were not interested in being winners that they were welcome to leave whenever they liked.
No one did. The tough love worked and the Cardinals went on that Cinderella run that almost resulted in one of the biggest shocks in NFL history.
That story paints Whisenhunt as a tough boss, an old-school type who likes to run his players into the ground and feels knocking the living daylights out of each other during a routine training session will only make you tougher.
That could not be further from the truth. This is a man with his finger firmly on the pulse of his team. And Whisenhunt is a coach who is willing to change depending on the needs of his players.
The Cardinals had the earliest possible bye week in the NFL this season, getting an enforced rest after just three games. That means they enter these playoffs on the back of a long stint of games without a decent break.
Bearing that in mind, Whisenhunt has managed to take his foot off the gas without compromising performance on the field. NFL players traditionally get Tuesdays off during the season but the Cardinals have enjoyed extra 'Victory Mondays' in which they can put their feet up after a win.
The hitting in practice has been kept to a minimum and this Christmas Day, Whisenhunt gave his players an extra day off, in stark contrast to a year ago. That meant they had three days off during the build-up to their Week 16 clash with St. Louis. Okay, it was only the Rams but that kind of rest period during a regular game week is unheard of in the NFL.
The Packers will provide a stiff challenge on Sunday. In fact, I pick them to win on the road in Arizona because they are a red-hot team on both sides of the ball but, whatever the outcome of the game, these Cardinals have achieved something considerably greater than a 10-win season.
They have finally shaken off the losers' tag that has been hanging around their necks for decades. They have proven themselves to be more consistent winners and Whisenhunt deserves a great deal of credit for that turnaround.
Playoff Predictions:
New York Jets 20-16 Cincinnati Bengals
Philadelphia Eagles 17-27 Dallas Cowboys
Baltimore Ravens 14-24 New England Patriots
Green Bay Packers 34-28 Arizona Cardinals
You can catch live commentary of the Green Bay Packers against the Arizona Cardinals this Sunday at 2100 GMT on ´óÏó´«Ã½ 5 live sports extra. (Available on the web to UK users only). Watch extended highlights of this weekend's NFL play-offs on ´óÏó´«Ã½ 2 on Monday 11 January at 0010 GMT; short clips on Monday on the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Sport website (UK only).
Hello, I'm Neil Reynolds. I commentate and write about the NFL. I've followed the NFL since 1983 and covered the league as a journalist and broadcaster since 1991. I also played for 10 years in the British American Football League.
Comment number 1.
At 7th Jan 2010, oke2008 [RIP #15] wrote:Hi Neil!
dont want to appear petty but i'm going the other way on all the playoff games but the New England game
New York 10 - 21 cinci (new york will blitz nearly every defensive play and allow Him of the silly name to stretch the field to far)
Eagles 30 - 28 Dallas (the cowboys to choke, as per usual and i think the eagles will be too strong on both sides of the ball)
Ravens - Pats i'll agree with that
Packers 14 - 35 Cards (tom'll be happy) (geen bay have shown all year they cant protect the QB and i fear Rodgers will take a battering in this one, also, no team beaten by the Bucs has ever won the 'bowl)
be an interesting weekend though
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Comment number 2.
At 7th Jan 2010, eddie-george wrote:Just want to say winning the NFC West 2 years running is not exactly reason to light the fireworks. But if the real Cards come to play this post-season, if Larry Fitzgerald is healthy, they could go all the way. Probably fancy their extra experience, especially on the defensive side, will tell against the Pack this weekend.
On your other wildcard weekend calls...
Jets-Bengals - can't look beyond the Bengals. Two best Ds in the league so obviously this will be a blowout(!), but Cincy have the balanced offense that the Jets don't yet have... + the Chris Henry factor + the fact no Bengals are going to the pro-bowl... only one winner here for me.
Pats-Ravens - As a Pats fan, I gotta say the Pats... were Welker fit, I'd say it confidently, but they've really got to be careful here about getting into an arm-wrestle. Cannot however see Flacco leading a comeback.
Cowboys-Eagles - Surely Dallas. D is way too hot right now, even though they won't blank the Iggles again you can't imagine they won't contain them. The Iggles D in contrast is shipping points.
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Comment number 3.
At 7th Jan 2010, speedster2368 wrote:Amazingly, I'm gonna be the first to agree with you on the Packers, Neil. One loss in eight (desperately unlucky to lose to the Steelers, Rodgers throws 383 yards and 3 TDs) cannot be argued with. RED HOT!!! Plus they just whooped Arizona last weekend. Packers by 10.
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Comment number 4.
At 7th Jan 2010, The Imperative Voice wrote:Because NFL teams play an unbalanced schedule of sorts, with 2 games against each of their division rivals, 10 games against non-division teams, and no games with more than half the league, it can be hard to compare records as apples to apples. For instance, is New Orleans really as good as their record suggests? So I find it useful to look at common opponents.
The Jets and Bengals have Houston and Oakland in common on their schedule. Neither made the playoffs. The Jets won both games, the Bengals lost both. Advantage Jets.
New England and Baltimore both played the Broncos and Colts. Both teams lost to the Colts, but the Ravens beat the Broncos and NE lost in overtime to them. That would seem to favor Baltimore except NE and Baltimore have played once this season already and NE won by 6. Tight one.
Philly and Dallas had essentially the same schedule except the Eagles had Chicago and 'Frisco and Dallas played Seattle and Green Bay. They finished with the same 11-5 record. Close call, except they played each other twice in division and Dallas won both games. Advantage Cowboys.
Green Bay and Arizona both played Chicago, St. Louis, Minnesota, Detroit, 'Frisco, and Seattle. Both teams were 7-2 against the same set, although they played division opponents twice. Some might read something into how Arizona beat a Minnesota team that beat GB twice. Others would note that GB beat a Frisco team that swept Arizona. The tiebreaker could be the season ending win by GB over Arizona, except who knows how seriously that was taken. Tight one.
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Comment number 5.
At 7th Jan 2010, USUKwordman wrote:Hey Neil,
You should enjoy the weather out here in Arizona - the mild winter is what makes the summer bearable.
There has been a dramatic shift in the Cards' culture over the twenty plus years they've been here and I attribute that to Whisenhut bringing in a tough, Steelers mentality, Michael Bidwill becoming more involved and his father disappearing into the shadows, and the new stadium giving the club new revenue streams which prompted Old Man Bidwill to open the purse strings. So many times over the years, good players would leave or be dealt away because the Cards were tight fisted. This can be attributed to them not having additional revenue streams and due to the fact that the Bidwills' only business is the Cardinals football team, unlike other owners who make their money in other primary businesses. So the incentive was to not plow profits back into the team.
Anyway, the Packers are the hot team right now, and the Cards have some key injuries (Boldin, Rolle, DRC, and Campbell) but I'm hoping that our experience in last years playoffs and Super Bowl will give us an edge when the whistle blows.
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Comment number 6.
At 8th Jan 2010, Grizzly wrote:Neil - enjoy the trip, the word 'envy' springs to mind !
Everyone seems to be tipping the Packers, they're certainly much improved in the second half of the season, one of two things must have created the improvement:
1. Rodgers has learned to avoid sacks
2. The O-line have made significant improvement.
Through games 1-10 Rodgers was dumped 43 times, his last 6 games he has been sacked 7 times.
I agree the Packers are hot right now and whilst it's never wise to ignore the Cards crudentials I'll take the Pack to win this.
Having seen Leinhart last week I guess Wisenhunt and his staff are concerned about where the franchise goes when Warner retires, given their still poor running game, personally I love Warner and hope he goes on for a while yet, no question he still has the ability.
I'll take the Bungles, Cowboys, Ravens and Packers to win.
Have a great trip !
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Comment number 7.
At 9th Jan 2010, badcomputerkarma wrote:The Eagles have the better coach and they´re more solid than the Cowboys. I would like the Bengals progress, small and troubled franchise that they´ve been in the last years. And I always liked their song "Manic Monday".
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Comment number 8.
At 10th Jan 2010, buymespresso wrote:Why is the ´óÏó´«Ã½ spending money covering such a regional sport? If being a popular sport in primarily one country is the only qualification for ´óÏó´«Ã½ coverage, where are the ´óÏó´«Ã½ bloggers for Sepak Takraw? Roller sports? Kabaddi? Pelota?
Yes, you can go ahead and proclaim that the International Federation of American Football has 57 members and therefore American Football isn't a regional sport. Oh please... is that a serious argument? If the USA All Star team played the Rest Of The World, how large would the margin be? Hell, how many non-Americans would end up like Max Brito?
But... I'll humor you and say it is a serious argument. In that case, the International Roller Sports Federation has nearly a hundred national federations - where is the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s Roller Writer? Are you waiting for somebody to add tiny little engines to skates so that you can classify Roller Sports under Motorsport?
Or perhaps the requirement for a sport to be covered to this extent by the ´óÏó´«Ã½ is that it must be one important in a commercially significant country. In that case, where is the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Sumo writer?
Please ´óÏó´«Ã½, if you must cover this sport, cover some others. How much does it cost to pay a blogger anyway? Two pizzas a week, a carton of peanuts, and monthly rental of a storage locker? :-)
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Comment number 9.
At 11th Jan 2010, northernsuperspur wrote:After watching last nights Cardinals-Packers match, all I can say is "more please"
There cant be many times a team can score 45 points and still lose, and I think the Cardinals field goal kicker may just be the most relieved man in Arizona right now.
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Comment number 10.
At 11th Jan 2010, eddie-george wrote:Neil, fella, I was envious of you before this match, I'm speechless now. What. A. Game.
Just about pulled me out of my post-Pats funk... not only that they lost, but there was a pretty short task list versus the Ravens which they flunked completely.
1. For the D - watch Ray Rice.
2. For the O - don't turn the ball over.
Congrats to the Ravens, of course, we sucked something horrendous, but as they say, you can only beat what's in front of you. Good luck next weekend, hope Joe Flacco still remembers how to pass the ball!
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Comment number 11.
At 11th Jan 2010, English Arrogance wrote:Number 8, the sole argument for providing coverage of American Football is because enough people in Britain follow it. That is why sky devote up to 10 hours every sunday to american football. Purely a supply and demand issue, there's not even a lot of coverage, one reporter in america, a radio show once a week available online and one article per week. I would imagine the ´óÏó´«Ã½ spend 10x more money (at least) on the 2nd rate darts competition that has just finished taking place.
That game last night, hurt. Big Packers fan, couldnt believe it. One of the top 5 games of the season and definitely one of the best ive managed to actually catch on the telly.
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Comment number 12.
At 12th Jan 2010, Feen wrote:Wildcard games took up where the regular season left off, great games and i'm sure the Colts/Saints/Vikings and even the Chargers will not be looking forward to the weekend.
Its hard to call any of the games (though i would expect the chargers to beat the Jets, i don't think the jets D can shut down Phil Rivers) but the other 3 games could go either way.
Neil - Would you like to give us your run down on the games and who you see getting to the Conferance showdowns. I fancy the Chargers/Ravens and the Vikings but i just could not call the Saints/Cardinals game. It could be another high scoring game.
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Comment number 13.
At 12th Jan 2010, Neil Reynolds wrote:It is hard to predict this weekend's games. Very wide open. And some elite QBs on display... Favre, Rivers, Manning, Romo, Warner.
I will give a full preview of the weekend's action on Thursday complete with predictions. BUt I can see at least a couple of road teams coming up with wins.
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Comment number 14.
At 12th Jan 2010, eddie-george wrote:Neil - "And some elite QBs on display... Favre, Rivers, Manning, Romo, Warner."
And this guy called Brees who I hear is quite good. Apparently jetlag makes you forget about mvps...
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Comment number 15.
At 12th Jan 2010, Neil Reynolds wrote:Oops... maybe should have included Brees :-)
I blame the jet lag !
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