It’s widely believed that the Arizona Cardinals have taken a large step backward with the retirement of quarterback Kurt Warner, the trade of receiver Anquan Boldin, and the free-agent defection of linebacker Karlos Dansby.
Wideout Larry Fitzgerald doesn’t see it that way. In a recent visit with WQYK in Tampa (via SportsRadioInterviews.com), Fitzgerald addressed the team’s prospects for 2010.
“Well it’s going to be different,” Fitzgerald said. “You lose a Hall of Famer, it’s going to be difficult to replace him. But I think we have more talent, besides losing [Boldin], but the development of Beanie Wells, and having our tight end improvement, you know, myself back, and going out and getting Alan Faneca and the depth we have at the offensive line now — I think we’re better than we were around the quarterback position. So I think there’s not going to be as much pressure on Matt, or Derek, or whoever’s going to play for us to have to do too much. They just have to do what they need to do and the guys around them will make plays for them.”
Fitzgerald also believes that the Cardinals will be a perennial playoff contender, even without Warner.
“I think Coach Whisenhunt did a really good job of taking the talent that Denny Green brought in and just developing it and getting us moving in the right direction. So we’ve always had the talent,” Fitzgerald said. “We just didn’t know how to win. . . . Now we expect to go to the playoffs year in and year out because we’ve got a great group of guys.”
We like optimism, but we’re not sure Fitzgerald is being realistic. It’s still a quarterback’s league, and there’s no reason to believe that the Cardinals have a quarterback who can replace the bulk of the performance the team enjoyed from Warner.
what is he supposed to say? this team sucks and we aren’t going anywhere?
that will never happen. on any team
They should at least win the division.
My guess:
Arizona 10-6
San Francisco 8-8
Seattle 6-10
St. Louis 5-11
Cards will win the west again! 10 wins easily! People are trying to believe in Alex Smith? LOL
Simms gave him some weed to smoke. Because Fitz is obviously high. Back into the basement the Cards will go. They had a nice little run.
Fitz is one of those rare receivers that makes any qb look good. Just throw the ball to the guy who’s guarding him and let him take it away.
The headline here would cause you to believe that Fitzy is being delusional and then after reading what he said he is just being a confident leader of his team. It sounds to me like he is being a good veteran. Confident not arrogant.
Seahawks 10-6
Cards 8-8
49ers 7-9
Rams 4-12
Go Seahawks!
Fitzgerald is being far too generous calling Kurt Warner a hall of famer. Leinart would have won the west the past two years, and likely will this year.
He’s been hanging out with Chris Simms lately, pass it Fitz.
“I think we’re better than we were around the quarterback position. So I think there’s not going to be as much pressure on Matt, or Derek, or whoever’s going to play for us…”
*************
I hope Leinart and Anderson cut this statement by Fitzgerald out of the newspaper and frame it, ’cause it’s gonna be the nicest thing anyone says about those two bozos this year.
Jack Burton,
Great joke, original. You came up with that by yourself? Ohhh how hilarious. Incredible on your part I think.
What is he supposed to say? Is he supposed say they are gonna suck now?
Please pick up your check down the hall Mr. Fitzgerald
lol. That’s what they always say…
The bottom-line is that team ran off Warner’s ability to utilize the WRs in the intermediate zones and while under pressure. Neither of which Lienhart has ever shown.
Fancea was, at his best, not much of a pass-blocker. Beanie Wells is an OKAY, but not great, RB. They did not replace their stud-WR Anquon Bolden.
And their TEs! Fitzgerald needs to pass that shit he’s smoking around, because the Cardinal TEs still suck more than any TE group in the freakin’ NF! Byrd = Loser. Becht = Over the Hill. Dray = Camp Fodder. Patrick & Spach = Mediocre (on a good day). The fact is the three-loser Cardinal TEs that are on the current roster and saw game action last year had 23 catches among them… Give me a break…
funi…
“People are trying to believe in Alex Smith? LOL”
Wasn’t that the same QB that beat your team last December?
And good luck with that porous defense of yours this season now that you guys lost your best playmaker in Dansby & a retired DT Berry. You won’t have Warner to bail out that weak defensive unit.
But hey it’s July & there’s nothing wrong with a little bantering. I’m going to wait until the season starts before the 49ers pummel your team like they did last season. I’m sure it will be a nice view for the Cards looking up at the 49ers in the Division. Change is coming…get to know it!
The Cardinals have a pretty solid team for the most part. However.., lacking a strong QB is going to be the achilles heel. Matt Leinart is a modern day Kyle Boller. Sure, he’ll give you some exciting plays here n’ there…, just enough to keep you thinking it’s possible he can evolve into something better. But at the end of the day.., he’s just an average-at-best guy w/ a great paycheck that’s unjustified.
Leinhart would have won? lol. He was BENCHED for the WRITTEN-OFF Kurt Warner because HE COULD NOT WIN. Duh…
Larry, Larry….larry…. please come back to reality. You’ll end up looking like a fool with talk like this.
Wow Fitz isnt the only one delusional here. DH what are you smoking man?!?!?!? Pete carroll will do nothing for the seahawks. he couldnt win with a team that made the superbowl before and after he left NE. what makes you think he can turn around the seahawks?
As for the cards fans – it’ll be a rough year or maybe two while Leinart gets comfortable but after that it will be a yearly war between the cards and niners for that division
whats he really going to say? He knows this team is screwed. No Boldin means hes going to face double coverage on every down. On top of that, he has no QB capable of hitting him through that kind of coverage. the defense also wont be as good without Dansby. This team is done for. the 85 Bears couldnt win with Leinart and Anderson throwing the ball to the other teams corners.
San Francisco is very much improved and that should be enough to win whats easily the worst division in football
Hey, maybe they should trade for Michael Vick?
(found a way to mention Vick………..heh heh, send me a check, Florio, I’m doing my part!)
Moses,
Compare the winning %’s in Arizona. Warner’s barely exceeds Leinart’s and Warner’s is still below .500 in AZ.
Leinart can throw for 300 yds and lose just as Warner has.
jb10 – “what is he supposed to say? this team sucks and we aren’t going anywhere?
that will never happen. on any team”
Exactly.
They’re a passing team with solid receivers but no QB. Back to the middle of the pack.
The Cards were lucky to win the division last year being as the Niners beat them handily twice even with Warner! 6-0 in the Superbowl is our goa,l not just the division!
I’m not going to say that the Cards are a bad team, because they’re not. Honestly, as a Niner fan, the one team that really worries me in the division is AZ. But not being arrogant, and following the NFL as religiously as I do, I have to say that I believe the division belongs to the Niners this year. And this is the first time I have really felt comfortable saying that in a long time. The Cardinals hit their run when Warner showed and still had some left in the tank. I don’t think the team is going to fall off so dramatically, but just enough to lose the crown to the division.
As an Eagles fan im glad nobody mentioned the guy the giants way overpaid for and was too slow to play CB in any of this win/loss analysis
Don’t totally discount Leinart. If you watched the Cards last year, you’ll know that Warner refused to throw a pass longer than 15-20 yards for most of the season, thereby eliminating Fitzgerald’s greatest strength – catching the deep bombs. Leinart probably won’t be as quick and accurate on the short stuff as Warner was, but he definitely can throw a long ball better than Warner could/would last season.
Honestly, we don’t know how Leinart or Anderson will be playing this season. Leinart hasn’t seen much playing time at all in quite a while, and I think that the Cards offense is a big upgrade for Anderson. I believe that Derek Anderson would be able to connect with Fitz well, but that’s partly because I personally think that Fitz is the best receiver in the league, period. Anderson has some decent arm strength though, and Fitzgerald is the guy you can overthrow and let him chase the ball down. The vertical pass game should be intact this season because in my eyes, after being able to successfully manage the game, the QB needs to be able to connect with Fitz and let him make some big plays. Who knows though, this could say a lot about Kurt Warner if he made Boldin and Fitzgerald better in similar fashion to how Peyton Manning makes/made Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison look so good.
We gonna crucify him like we did to Desean Jackson and that kid from Florida U.?
Or is this not covered in the McNabb-is-a-victim-and-needs-protecting media doctrine?
SF will take the division
San fran is much improved? How? They improved from piss poor to average? thats awesome. The 49ers still didnt beat the seahawks twice last year, and the seahawks had more injured starters than any team in the NFL. So now that those starters are healthy, and we drafted studs, and we got some trades working the seahawks will spank the 49ers. Davis and Iupati are big and slow and inexperienced. Davis couldnt even block the DE’s he faced in the ACC. Iupati was dominated in the senior bowl when he was playing some decent talent for once. I dont see the improvement from the 9ers but thats just me.
SuspendingBJ says that the cards and niners are going to be the teams in the div for years so it must be so. his opinion is a good as gods.
Did i mention i hate the 49ers more than anything except the yankees and oklahoma city thunder owner Clay bennet.
I sincerely hope none of the skeptics of Leinart or the Cardinals are actually 49ers fans. I don’t know if Arizona will the division this year, but I KNOW the 49ers won’t.
Arizona has been able to rush the passer in the past and will this year with even more ferocity with the additions of Joey Porter, 2009 2nd rounder Cody Brown, CFL sack specialist Stevie Baggs, and O’Brien Schofield. Arizona will continue to run the ball well, with Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower. They will continue to pass the ball well with the undisputed best wide receiving corps in the West, that is, as long as Seattle doesn’t add Terrell Owens or Vincent Jackson.
San Francisco plays the sort of clock management, predictable, simplistic offense that is only successful if you have elite players at every position, particularly in the O-line and quarterback positions. They play games close to the vest, and you cannot win consistently doing that.
As for the “vaunted” defense that groping ESPN analysts and the idiots at NFL Nitwits are drunk on, let’s get something straight: they had
um they got 18 interceptions last year but they got 7 of them in two games against Arizona and Chicago that they almost lost AND got help from the refs in the latter.
They went up against non-losing teams outside their division six times and lost every time. The defense? 27 to the Vikings, 24 to the Texans, 30 to the Packers, 27 to the Eagles, and 45 to the Falcons. If not for a mistaken blown whistle taking away Berry’s touchdown, they would have given up 20 to the Cardinals week 1 (the Cards would have had the lead late so they would have gone for a field goal instead of going for it on 4th down) and lost 27-23.
As for the Kurt Warner diss, Kurt’s performances in the Super Bowl vs. Tennessee, the Super Bowl vs. Pittsburgh, the Divisional Round game against the Vikings, and the Wild Card game vs. Green Bay are four of the greatest quarterbacking performances in postseason history. McNabb and Manning would go into the Hall of Fame if they retired now with fewer SB appearances and considerably worse playoff numbers. I don’t know if I’d vote for Kurt.
As for Leinart’s arm strength, I don’t think he has a good deep ball at all and this is why I think it would be interesting to see Derek Anderson or John Skelton out there throwing it long and having him get it at its highest point.
they’ll win the division but only because the division sucks….. Rams receivers: …..?
49ers receivers: craptree…..davis….?
seahawks receivers: houshmanzadeh….?
cardinals receivers: Fitzgerald, Doucet, Breaston ….
i know that the only notable name for the cardinals is fitzgerald but you also have to look at the Quarterback play….. Who do the other 3 teams have?
I dont think *Sam Bradford* will turn out for years to come….. and the rams suck…….
How many players have actually come out and said their team sucks? Fitz is going to back up his team.
That does not change the fact that the Cards took a step back in talent, their #1 rivals (currently the 49ers) seem stable if not getting better, and the shift from pass happy to more balanced attack actually matches up worse against the 49ers (good run “D”).
I would be more worried about Hasselback staying healthy and getting the Hawks going again than Leinart matching Warner’s win total.
1. 49ers
2. Seahawks
3. Cards
4. Rams
anyone who thinks the Niners won’t win the NFC West is seriously as delusional as Fitz is. He knows the Cards are done. Niners beat them 2 times last year. Seattle, who gives a damn about Seattle. They aren’t even close. Niners go 11-5 and run away with this division. Book It! NFC West Champions!
“So I think there’s not going to be as much pressure on Matt, or Derek, or whoever’s going to play for us to have to do too much.”
Are kiddin’ me?
Wake up and smell the desert air!
Seahawks take the division IF Hasselbeck (Pro Bowler) can stay healthy.
Blitz all day and MAKE Leinart beat you through the air.
The glow of Fitzgerald’s contract is starting to wear off. he Has to know Leinart isn’t a suitable replacement for Warner, and Anderson couldn’t even hold a job in Cleveland. The Niners could win that division this year by default, and their QB stinks.
As I enjoy the Niner Fans confidence I can’t believe they truly feel Alex “6th chance” Smith is really the answer. Oh and all you tools talking smack about the Niners beating the Cards last year I have one question. Who won the division and won a playoff game last year? Hint: It’s not the Niners. Shut it until you actually do something.
All depends on the D and if they get a running game going. If that holds true Cards will win division and then some. Besides that give any QB enough time to throw the ball and it’s lights out. Watch out for the 49′s the Seahawks aren’t going anywhere.