Monthly Archives: June 2009

Win Totals: NFC WEST

June 30, 2009
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Oddsmakers have already released Over/Under lines for total regular season wins for every NFL team for the upcoming season. Between now and the beginning of training camp (hopefully) I will post a division by division snapshot with the total regular season win games as a backdrop. Since we dove into the Arizona Cardinals a bit yesterday, we’ll continue in that neighborhood and take a look at the rest of the NFC West.

 

Arizona Cardinals

2009 O/U 8.5 wins

2008: 9-7

The numbers were detailed earlier. Either you believe in history and the Cardinals will fall by the wayside like just about every other Super Bowl runner up in the last 15 years. Or you feel the club is loaded with talent and the Warner to Fitzgerald combination with dominate NFL defenses with another year of seasoning together. Place your bets accordingly. Frankly, I think the Super Bowl Loser Jinx is too much too ignore. Or at least gives me enough pause to think the Cards could be a one-hit wonder.

Schedule Outlook: We’ll find out early if the Cards plan on joining or bucking history. Games with the Colts, Jaguars, Texans, Giants, are among their first six games, not to mention division grudge matches with the 49ers and Seahawks, two teams who feel they’re the Cards equal despite what happended last year. They also travel to Tennessee and host the Vikings in consecutive weeks late in the year. However, if a rally is needed to notch another winning record, they could do it in a closing four game stretch against teams that won a combined 15 games a year ago.

Seattle Seahawks

2009 O/U Wins 7.5

2008: 4-12 Read more »

Can The Cardinals Overcome Super Bowl Hangover?

June 29, 2009
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With more than a month to go before Training Camp opens, the Arizona Cardinals continue to receive an outpouring of love and hype in the wake of their Super Bowl run last season.

It does not seem to make a difference who is doing the measuring, but the LA Clippers of the NFL have become one of the league’s most dangerous teams. One expert says the Cards have more Super Bowl ready players on their roster than anyone else in their division. Another has Arizona leading the way with total players in his top 99.

Even the alleged question marks seem to have been answered.

What about a defense in transition with a new cooridantor and five new starters? More hype abounds here as the new cornerback tandem is touted an upgrade from last year, and the team defense is one year further along and better equipped in its ongoing transition with the 3-4 set. What if Anquan Bolden mopes around with his contractual status up in the air? No worries, the Cards have a playmaker ready to bust out a la Steve Breaston last season in Early Doucet. What about the specter of an aging Kurt Warner falling victim to the injury bug? That meme has been exorcised in light of Warner’s third longest active streak of consecutive starts.

Clearly, the Cards are headed back to the Super Bowl. Book it.

Not so fast my friends. Before investing, be it emotionally or financially, in the Cardinals this season, you might want to dust off the NFL record books first. History suggests the Cardinals wont even have as good a record this year as last, let alone make another hard charge into the Big Game. Read more »