those were both good reads. thanks.

as for your TE needs, we’ll trade you one Joe Klopfenstein for Matt Leinert, straight up.

I’d like to throw out that a 4-0 Bills team we played in Week 5 wasn’t a team we were expected to beat at the time. The fact the Bills have swallowed their tongues and pooped themselves since then is a different matter.

The Cards were up against Dallas and blew that lead because they couldn’t play the clock to their advantage with a run game. The Cards ultimately won that game because they made fewer mistakes than Dallas. An opening kick-off return to start the game isn’t necessarily a “mistake”…but that initial play was the difference between Dallas’ late rally winning and OT.

Against the Panthers the Cards fell apart on tackling mechanics. Tough physical teams with some swagger will not get bumped out of bounds by half-ass tackling/pushing/name-calling. The Cards played like wusses that week (and again against the Eagles) and lost due to lack of execution. Against the Panthers’ they had a chance to make the game close/winnable but Warner threw an INT that was returned for big yardage and led to a quick score (multiple scores for Philly).

Which leads to the ultimate reason for failure: turnovers. Against better competition the Cards play tighter (in a bad way) than against familiar opponents (NFC West teams). Warner tries to do too much typically which leads to holding on to the ball too long in the pocket (hello sack and stripping of the ball) or throwing the ball into a tight spot (that gets tipped and intercepted).

There are other culprits to blame for the Cardinals’ failures as of late and Special Teams is a big part of it. The Cards lost their ST “stud” against the Rams last time and have been giving up big yards on kick-off returns (problem when you’re scoring all the time) and the punting has been shoddy. A new punter (Aussie Ben Graham) has been plugged into to help one facet but the coverage teams are still a big concern. The running game has also been an issue as detailed in the above link to the RotB site. Penalties have been a trouble that seems to have fixed itself the past two weeks (both losses). Perhaps the Cards need to play “stupid” to win. ::shrugs:: I’m sure Incognito and Dockett will provide some opportunities for the yellow linen to fly.

Always has been, always will be. He’s involved with so many things, I honestly cannot keep track of them all. His website touches upon what he does through his own initiative. He’s very involved in the community in Arizona with the Cardinals. Charity/volunteer opportunities that usually have practice squad guys assigned will have Kurt there leading the charge.

I think I can empathize with your lack of enthusiasm with the Cards leaving for “greener pastures”. Living in NoCal I’ve despised the Raiders doubly…the first time for going to LA and even more so for bringing their pathetic asses back into my TV broadcast sphere. Bastards. ;-)

So were you a Chiefs fan for that seven year drought?

I’ve been really hard on Edge, maybe too hard, but it’s clear that he can’t be productive behind this offensive line (then again maybe no one can but that’s a different story). He will be cut in the offseason, I’d bet everything I have and then some on it. Even the guy who runs the official site, who normally won’t make predictions about current players, has come out and said that he’ll be released.

All that being said, I could see him being productive with a team that has a good offensive line and a scheme that fits his running style. I think his days as a ‘feature’ back are over, mainly because he’s lost what little burst he ever had. He doesn’t have the ability to break tackles anymore but he is a master at finding the tiniest hole and plunging ahead for two yards. I know we’ve talked about it at ROTB and could see him going back to Indy or even Denver (both teams with good lines and a zone blocking scheme).