We’re only two games into the preseason, but the Arizona Cardinals have hardly resembled the team that broke through for an NFC title last year.
The Cardinals offense turned in another porous effort, only managing two field goals in a 17-6 loss to the San Diego Chargers Saturday night. The starters accounted for one of those, but only after an 89-yard kickoff return by LaRod Stephens-Howling. Quarterback Kurt Warner finished 6 of 13 for 80 yards and an interception, and backups Matt Leinart and Brian St. Pierre weren’t any better. Over the first two games, the Cards have only found the endzone twice.
Head coach Ken Whisenhunt didn’t sound too concerned after the game, and with a team full of veterans, his attitude is probably justified. Still, Super Bowl losers have had a terrible following season over the past decade, and Arizona’s sluggish start to the preseason could turn into a full-blown hangover if its not careful.
It will be interesting to see how the Cards bounce back next week against a Green Bay team that looked awesome last night. The Packers might not be the team they want to face when looking to get their confidence up.
Sunday, August 23, 2009 at 5:05 pm by reggy10
In a rematch of last season’s Super Bowl, the Arizona Cardinals found themselves on the short end once again, falling 20-10 to the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers in the preseason opener for both teams.
Neither starter Kurt Warner nor former No. 1 pick and backup (for now) Matt Leinart were productive against the Pittsburgh defense. Warner finished 6 of 10 for 53 yards, and Leinart completed 8 of 14 for 83 yards. The two combined to produce just three points, and Leinart, who’s continued to hear the “bust” label thrown around more and more of late, couldn’t even get the Cardinals on the board after taking over in the middle of a drive and started in Pittsburgh territory.
Fortunately for him, Brian St. Pierre, whom head coach Ken Whisenhunt recently announced was a legitimate threat to overtake Leinart for No. 2 on the depth chart, was even worse. St. Pierre, who followed Whisenhunt from Pittsburgh, was just 4 of 10 for 43 yards and an interception, for a dismal QB rating of 13.3.
For now, it appears that Leinart’s job is safe. But both he and the rest of the team were sluggish in the opener, and need to find their stride in order to avoid a Super Bowl hangover.
Sunday, August 16, 2009 at 7:21 pm by reggy10
Once pegged as the future franchise QB, fourth-year pro Matt Leinart now finds himself battling for the right to back up Kurt Warner.
Leinart has welcomed the competition with Brian St. Pierre, the journeyman backup QB who came into the league in 2003 undrafted from Boston College.
“I think they’re just pushing me, as they’ve been doing for a long time now,” Leinart said in an interview last week. “I’ve been through a lot the last couple of years and seen a lot of different situations and stuff, so what’s another one for the books?”
Leinart, who led USC to two national championships before being drafted 10th by the Cardinals in 2006, lost the competition for the starting QB position last season and opened the door for Warner’s late-career storybook resurgence last season. Despite his struggles in the NFL so far, Leinart does not consider his career a bust.
“It doesn’t bother me at all because I know what I need to do just to continue to have a chance to play and that’s all I’m really worried about,” Leinart said. “I welcome competition, as everyone else should, because it makes you better, I think.”
Monday, August 10, 2009 at 9:52 pm by bryan
Hours after ending his mini-holdout by signing a five-year, $11.8 million contract, rookie RB Chris “Beanie” Wells sprained his right ankle in his first practice with the Cardinals on Saturday afternoon. Wells sat out Sunday’s session on the sidelines.
The Associated Press first reported the injury, noting it occured when Wells rolled his left leg in a collison with DE Jared Brown.
“I’m definitely disappointed about it,” Wells said. “I’ve been going through the injury thing quite a while now and yesterday was just a fluke. It could have happened to anybody. Somebody just rolled up on my ankle.”
Wells, who the Cardinals drafted #13 overall in the NFL Draft this April, is still playing catch up after he missed the team’s voluntary offseason workouts because his Ohio State classes were still in session.
The Cardinals drafted him early, expecting him to make an immediate impact on the league’s last-ranked rushing attack last season. While incumbent RB Tim Hightower is currently slated as the No. 1 RB on opening day, Wells could give Hightower a run for the starting spot if completely healthy.
Cardinals fans do have reason to be excited about Wells, as he checked into training camp weighing 224 pounds, a huge drop of 22 pounds from when he first arrived in Arizona after the draft.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009 at 10:34 pm by bryan
