The Greatest Show on Sand | Daniel's Arizona Cardinals

[Daniels]

Cardinals looking great at end of pre-season
Leinart surprises at QB

FINAL RECORD: 3-0-1
Week 1: VS Jaguars (W 37-21)
Week 2: VS Bills (W 27-17)
Week 3: AT Rams (W 27-16)
Week 4: AT Colts (T 20-20)

Pre-season Stats

Passing

QB Matt Leinart 117.7 QB Rating, 465 passing yards, 7 TD, 0 INT
QB Dante Culpepper 89.1 QB Rating, 528 passing yards, 2 TD, 0 INT

Rushing

RB Beanie Wells 6.4 YPC, 347 rushing yards, 2 TD, 54 ATT
RB Tim Hightower 3.2 YPC, 138 rushing yards, 42 ATT

Receiving

WR Larry Fitzgerald 17 receptions, 292 receiving yards, 2 receiving TD
WR Ryan Price (R) 14 receptions, 123 receiving yards, 2 receiving TD
WR Early Doucet 13 receptions, 165 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD
WR Steve Breaston 10 receptions, 152 receiving yards, 2 receiving TD
WR Carlos Bell (R) 9 receptions, 92 receiving yards

Defensive Standouts

LB Clint Ingram 27 tackles,, 12 AST tackles, 3 sacks, 1 INT
LB Cory Judge (R) 20 tackles, 2 AST tackle, 1 INT
SS Adrian Wilson 20 tackles, 6 AST tackles, 1 INT
DE Darnell Dockett 18 tackles, 3 AST tackles, 6 sacks
LB Cody Brown 16 tackles, 3 AST tackles, 2 sacks
FS Rashad Johnson 7 tackles, 1 AST tackles, 2 INT

[Daniels]

Week One Preview: VS Minnesota Vikings

VS

For the first time since 2007, Matt Leinart will get the nod as hands down starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals.

It comes after Arizona loses one of it's two major wide receiver weapons.

Today the Cardinals take on the Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings. I say Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings because A.P. is all they have. Brett Favre retired after last season at the age of 40 and a conference round loss to the Saints. The Vikings starting quarterback is: Rhett Bomar

Matt Leinart gets his first test as the defacto starter for the Cardinals. The three starting rookies, Cory Judge, Carlos Bell and Tobi Crisp will also be tested today in their first real NFL action, against one of the better teams in the league.

But the real test is how Arizona's defense will hold up without star LB Karlos Dansby. Dansby left after last season to sign with the Tennessee Titans. The defense looked good during preseason but preseason doesn't really show much. We'll see how good this defense is when they go against the Vikes great running game, amazing blocking and great receivers.

Quarterback - Advantage: Cardinals
Running Back - Advantage: Vikings
Wide Receiver - Advantage: Cardinals
Pass Defense - Advantage: Tie
Rush Defense - Advantage: Vikings
Special Teams - Advantage: Vikings
Coaching - Advantage: Cardinals

[Daniels]

Cards Destroy Vikes, 35-7

The Warner-less Cardinals are off to a great start with Matt Leinart at QB. The Cardinals beat the Vikings 35-7 on Sunday afternoon, led by Leinart's three touchdown performance. Leinart had an 102.6 QB rating and threw for just under 300 yards. Beanie Wells had an average day with 85 rushing yards on 24 attempts for a 3.5 average. Rookie Carlos Bell had a great day with five receptions for 83 receiving yards.

The Cardinals defense had a great day also, with rookie Cory Judge leading the defense, getting six tackles, two assisted tackles and a tackle for a loss. Clint Ingram had six tackles and as sack, and Calais Campbell had three tackles and two sacks.

Rhett Bomar was knocked out of the game in the early 4th quarter and rookie Kyle Olson out of Arizona came in and went 0-for-2 in his one and only drive. Bomar was 18-for-33 for 168 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

The Cardinals hope to continue the season like this, as Matt Leinart said, "We had a great day. Not every game is going to be 35-7, but I think we'll be able to make the playoffs this season if we continue to play like this. I'd just like to reiterate that I'm very happy right now in Arizona and I couldn't imagine being anywhere else."

This is Leinart's "make or break year" said GM Rod Graves "He's off to a great start so far. Three touchdowns to just one interception is a day all quarterbacks want to have. If he continues like this I don't think we'll have a problem keeping him. We love Matt and hopes he continues to play like this so we can keep him in Arizona."

Teams|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|Final
Arizona|0|14|21|0|35
Minnesota|0|7|0|0|7

[Daniels]

Things looking up in the desert

By Bill Simmons
Page 2
Archive | Contact

Were we wrong about Matt Leinart?

One week into the regular season and counting the pre-season, Leinart has the stats to show he can be an elite quarterback in the NFL: 10 TD-to-1 INT.

He did that despite losing one of the Cardinals top targets Anquan Boldin.

"I think Kurt [Warner] mentoring me had a lot to do with it. My rookie year I was nervous and afraid to throw downfield, I couldn't pickup the confidence needed to be a starting quarterback." said Leinart "But when I fractured my collarbone and Kurt got to start for the next few seasons, it really hit me that I was not playing like I should be. I was not playing like Kurt was."

See the full story at United Sports...

[Daniels]

Week Two Preview: VS Seattle Seahawks

VS

After Matt Leinart's impressive first game as starter, the Cardinals will take on their division rival the Seattle Seahawks.

The Seahawks don't have much going for them lately besides their relatively good defense. The running game is terrible and Hasselbeck has not performed up to previous expectations this season. Regardless, look for both teams to put max effort into this game because this could be one of two games that decide that division champions.

Last week rookies Cory Judge and Carlos Bell proved to be for real, as Bell had 88 yards on five receptions and Judge lead the defense with six tackles.

The Seahawks are one of the Cardinals' two competitors in the NFC West, with the Rams likely out of the race this year, the Cardinals, 49ers and Seahawks will battle for the division.

University of Phoenix Stadium is once again sold out for the occasion, look for the crowd to make a difference for the Cardinals.

Quarterback - Advantage: Cardinals
Running Back - Advantage: Cardinals
Wide Receiver - Advantage: Cardinals
Pass Defense - Advantage: Tie
Rush Defense - Advantage: Tie
Special Teams - Advantage: Tie
Coaching - Advantage: Cardinals

[Daniels]

Leinart Explodes for 6, Cards Win Shootout

Matt Leinart is for real, folks.

The quarterback bursted out for six passing touchdowns against the divisional-rival Seattle Seahawks, making Cardinals fans galore forget about Kurt Warner.

The Cardinals offense had a great day, along with the aforementioned six passing touchdowns, Chris "Beanie" Wells rushed for 100 yards on 18 attempts.

Receiving leaders Carlos Bell, Larry Fitzgerald and Beanie Wells combined for 17 receptions and four touchdowns. The rookie Bell had three receiving touchdowns on five receptions for 62 yards. Fitz caught six balls for 104 receiving yards, and Beanie Wells had 191 all-purpose yards.

On the defensive side of the ball, Clint Ingram and Cory Judge once again led the way for the relatively struggling Cardinals defense. Ingram had seven and a half tackles, while Judge had five tackles and a forced fumble.

Defensive end Darnell Dockett had a great day also, with four tackles and three sacks. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie picked off his first pass of the season against Seattle QB Matt Hasselbeck.

The Cardinals special teams didn't do so bad, either. HB LaRod Stephens-Howling returned a kick 98 yards for a touchdown. He had 246 kick return yards on six returns.

Teams|1st|2nd|3rd|4th|Final
Arizona|14|14|14|10|52
Seattle|3|10|6|21|40


Passing -
Cardinals QB Matt Leinart - 134.1 QB rating, 27-39 325 passing yards, six passing touchdowns
Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck - 96.8 QB rating, 20-35 336 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, one interception

Rushing -
Seahawks HB Julius Jones - Fifteen attempts, 109 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns
Cardinals HB Beanie Wells - Eighteen attempts, 100 rushing yards
Cardinals HB Marcus Mike (R) - Ten attempts, 22 rushing yards

Receiving -
Seahawks WR Deion Branch - Six receptions, 134 receiving yards, one receiving touchdown
Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald - Six receptions, 104 receiving yards, one receiving touchdown
Cardinals HB Beanie Wells - Six receptions, 91 receiving yards
Cardinals WR Carlos Bell (R) - Five receptions, 62 receiving yards, three receiving touchdowns

Defense -
Seahawks LB Lofa Tatupu - Seven tackles
Cardinals LB Clint Ingram - Seven and a half tackles
Seahawks LB Aaron Curry - Four and a half tackles, two tackles for losses, one sack
Cardinals LB Cory Judge (R) - Five tackles, two tackles for losses, forced fumble, pass deflection
Cardinals DE Darnell Dockett - Four and a half tackles, three tackles for losses, three sacks
Cardinals CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie - Half a tackle, one interception

[Daniels]

Cardinals cut FS Rolle


Rolle returning an intercepted pass

PHOENIX -- The Cardinals announced Monday morning that free safety Antrel Rolle had been cut from the roster and would not be brought back on a reduced salary. Rolle started both games for the Cards this season but had not made an impact on their defense yet.

The Cardinals told Rolle on Sunday night, right after Sunday’s 52-40 win against Seattle. Rolle has been tremendously underperforming this season. The Cards cited Rolle’s $10.73M cap salary number for this season, the largest on the team, as one of the reasons for the cut.

According to GM Rod Graves, the Cardinals decided this on Friday night, “We actually decided Friday night to cut him. We decided to let his final game as a Cardinal be a divisional game, and if he performs well that game, maybe we’ll think twice about cutting him.” Rolle had two tackles during the game. Possible landing spots for Rolle include: the Chiefs, the Dolphins, the 49ers, the Vikings, and the Raiders.

The Cardinals are expected to begin trade talks with multiple teams about safeties this week.

[Daniels]

Cardinals trade for Kerry Rhodes

NEW YORK -- Tuesday night, the Arizona Cardinals finalized a trade with the New York Jets that will send free safety Kerry Rhodes to Tempe and two undisclosed draft picks towards New York City.

According to sources inside the organization, one of the draft picks is a third rounder.

The Cardinals hope Rhodes will help repair a defense that gave up 40 points to the offensively weak Seattle Seahawks last week.

Former Cardinals free safety Antrel Rolle was underperforming in the role of free safety and the Cardinals cut him Monday morning.

The Cardinals believe that Rhodes will bring the same fiery enthusiasm for the game he did during the seasons before Rex Ryan came to New York.

Rhodes was named All-Pro multiple seasons and should be a nice fit in the Cardinals defense.

Jets G.M. Mike Tannenbaum said during the offseason that Rhodes would play in New York this year and beyond "unless something changes."

Obviously, something did change. Tannenbaum quickly reached a deal in principle a day after those comments were made, but the talks fell out. The Cardinals likely would have released Antrel Rolle during the no-cap offseason if this trade was able to be completed then, but the release and the trade came three weeks into the season.

Rhodes has four years left on his contract and according to Arizona G.M. Rod Graves, is likely to finish out that contract in Arizona, "Kerry is a great player. He struggled a bit during the last year in Rex Ryan's defense, but before that he was a perennial All-Pro at his position, we expect him to continue that kind of play and put forth maximum effort here."

"I think he'll give us another great leader out there," said veteran safety Adrian Wilson "Kerry has shown to be a great player when he wants to be. We talked over the phone for a while when Mr. [Rod] Graves announced to the organization that Kerry was coming here and he definitely seems eager to come to Arizona."

"I'm sure Jerry [Gray] will enjoy having him on his defense. Jerry was a defensive backs coach and a former defensive back himself, so I honestly believe that Kerry will reach his full potential here in Arizona. I can't wait to see him out on the field."

Rhodes, a fourth-round pick out of Louisville in 2005, has 15 career interceptions.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press