Whether it was his intentions or not, Ken Whisenhunt just started a storm of epic proportions in Arizona.

Whisenhunt made the announcement Thursday that Derek Anderson – not former first round pick Matt Leinart – would start in the Cardinals’ third preseason game on Saturday. Leinart of course, was being viewed as Kurt Warner’s replacement and has taken first-team reps throughout the entire offseason.

Now rumors have started to circulate that the Cards are ready to give up on Leinart and may even try to trade him before the season starts.

On Friday, Leinart lashed out and expressed his frustration with the situation.

“It is disappointing and a little bit frustrating. I can’t sit up here and say I’m happy and all smiles,” said Leinart. “If it is an open competition, then let’s have it that way from the start.”

Leinart has a point. Although he has done nothing in preseason to warrant being the regular season starter, he has also been given fewer opportunities to shine. He has attempted just 13 passes thus far (compared to Anderson’s 41) and while he has yet to throw a touchdown pass or move the ball with any regularity, Anderson has thrown two picks and has a worse completion percentage (58.5% to Leinart’s 76.9%).

Leinart hasn’t looked good, but a) he hasn’t played much and b) his offensive line has stunk when he has been in there. If you’re Whisenhunt, why call this a competition if you’re going to give Leinart very few snaps?

If the coaching staff truly believes that Anderson gives the team the best chance to win, then so be it. He does have a better arm, seems to take better command of the huddle than Leinart and he’s arguably a better fit for Whisenhunt’s offense. As previously noted, Leinart has also received most of the first-team snaps this offseason so he has had chances to prove himself.

That said, his chances haven’t come during games – or at least not like Anderson’s have. So don’t call this a competition if one guy is getting more live opportunities than the other. Again, if the Cards want to cut bait with Leinart and go with Anderson as the starter then that’s fine. But Leinart has hardly been given the opportunity to prove his worth in preseason games. And while Whisenhunt may be hacked off at what Leinart said today, I don’t blame him for being frustrated with the situation. (Even though Leinart probably should have went a more positive route with his comments.)

At the start of the week, there was speculation that the Raiders, Rams, Jaguars and Bills were all trade possibilities for Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. But after the Rams and Bills both dropped out of the running on Wednesday, the Jaguars and Raiders followed suit today and now the Steelers don’t appear to have any viable trade partners heading into tonight’s draft.

In reality, the Raiders were the only team that made sense, because they’re the only team that wouldn’t care about Big Ben’s contract, off-field baggage and six-game suspension at the start of next season. There should be no bigger wake up call to a player then when even Al Davis doesn’t want you. (Actually, Davis probably doesn’t want Roethlisberger because he doesn’t want to admit that he made a colossal mistake by drafting JaMarcus Russell four years ago.)

According to ESPN’s John Clayton, the Cardinals have contacted the Steelers about a possible trade, but did not make an offer that would lead to a deal getting done soon. Ken Whisenhunt was Big Ben’s offensive coordinator for three years in Pittsburgh, so it would make sense that Arizona would be interested. But at the end of the day, Roethlisberger will likely still be a Steeler in 2010.

For now, the only thing Pittsburgh can do is ride out Ben’s suspension and hope he learns something from it. They’ll prepare for Week 1 with Bryon Leftwich and Dennis Dixon competing for the starting job, then figure out Roethlisberger’s future at a later time.

It could be a rough year in the “Steel City.”

Photo from fOTOGLIF
]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/04/22/raiders-rams-jaguars-and-bills-all-out-of-the-running-for-big-ben/feed/ 0 http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/01/14/2010-nfl-playoffs-point-counterpoint-cardinals-vs-saints-preview/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/01/14/2010-nfl-playoffs-point-counterpoint-cardinals-vs-saints-preview/#comments Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:00:11 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=32916

To get you ready for the Cardinals-Saints’ Divisional Round tilt in the “Big Easy” this Saturday, here’s a preview of the game via a mock dialogue between an Arizona and a New Orleans fan.

Saint Fan: I bet Sean Payton couldn’t sleep after watching the Packers rip apart the Cardinals’ defense last Sunday! Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones and Jermichael Finley lit you guys up and we have similar weapons in Marques Colston, Jeremy Shockey, Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem. I can’t wait to see what that group will do against Arizona’s brutal secondary this Saturday!

Cardinal Fan: Last week was an anomaly – the Cards’ defense won’t play that bad two weeks in a row. Ken Whisenhunt and his staff have already dissected what went wrong and are working to correct the problem. Besides, tackling was the main issue last week, which is correctable.

Saint Fan: Payton just won coach of the year and is one of the brightest offensive minds in football. If Mike McCarthy figured out how to rack up 40-plus points on Arizona, then Payton might double that.

Cardinal Fan: This isn’t the regular season – it’s the playoffs.

Saint Fan: Wow, you’re just figuring this out now?

Cardinal Fan: Hear me out; Whisenhunt is 4-1 in the postseason as the Cardinals’ head coach. He has already been to the Super Bowl and thus knows what it takes to get there. There’s no doubt Payton is a great coach, but there’s a lot more at stake for him this weekend with the Saints being the No. 1 seed and expected to reach the Super Bowl after running through the competition for most of the season.

Saint Fan: Yeah, but let’s give defensive coordinator Gregg Williams his due. His aggressive style has changed how the Saints run their defense and he deserves just as much credit for our team’s success this year as Payton does.

Cardinal Fan: Oh, you mean the same Gregg Williams-led defense that can’t stop the run? Once we establish the ground game with Beanie Wells, Kurt Warner is going to pick your fading defense apart with his precision passing. Plus, once we get inside the red zone we’re nearly unstoppable. We’ve scored touchdowns on 70.4 percent of our trips inside our opponents’ 20-yard line, which is the best in the league.

Saint Fan: You obviously haven’t been doing your homework. The Saints rank second in red zone defense, allowing touchdowns just 39.3 percent of the time. Meanwhile, that Jekyll and Hyde Green Bay defense allowed touchdowns 60.9 percent of the time. Warner isn’t going to have it as easy as he did last week, especially considering we pressure with five or more rushers 49.4 percent of the time. Warner will cough the ball up, just like he always does.

Cardinal Fan: Warner is excellent at diagnosing a defense at the line of scrimmage and getting the ball out of his hands as quickly as possible. And again, you seem to be blatantly ignoring the fact that the Saints can’t stop the run. They’re allowing over 120 rushing yards per game this year.

Saint Fan: One name: Sedrick Ellis. When he’s healthy, the Saints’ defense looks completely different. He’s taken the last two weeks off to rest his knee and is now reportedly 100%. You’re not going to be able to run the ball, you’re not going to be able to convert touchdowns in the red zone and you’re not going to match up with an offense that averages over 400 total yards and 30-plus points a game. Pressure or no pressure, the Saints are flat out a better team – it’s their time.

Cardinal Fan: They’re also a team that finished the season 0-3. After the Cowboys beat them in New Orleans, Drew Brees looked like a crushed man. Your team focused too much on a perfect season and is now stumbling into the playoffs. We have the momentum, we have the recent postseason experience and we have been solid on the road this season.

Saint Fan: Whatever, all I know is that you better hope the game doesn’t come down to a field goal with Shanky Rackers on your roster.

Cardinal Fan: Damn it…got me there.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots
1:00 pm ET
TV—CBS

Last season, the Ravens began their playoff journey as a wild card by upsetting the AFC East champion Dolphins, and then upsetting the top seeded Tennessee Titans, before losing to the eventual champion Steelers in the AFC championship game. This season the Ravens went 10-6 and eked into the playoffs in Week 17, but their losses have mostly been close games, including a 27-21 defeat in New England in Week 4. The Ravens’ fifth ranked rushing attack is led by RB Ray Rice, and they will once again use their stout defense (ranked third overall) to try and stop Tom Brady, Randy Moss and company. The Patriots will try to run the ball to control the clock and keep it away from Rice, and also try to use said running game to allow Brady and his receivers to stretch the field. Of course, everyone knows that Wes Welker is out for the season after jamming his knee into the Reliant Stadium turf last Sunday. But did anyone expect rookie WR (and 7th round draft pick) Julian Edelman to catch 10 passes for 103 yards and run up and down the field looking like a Welker clone doing it? Not really. Still, Brady didn’t have guys named Lewis, Suggs and Reed lining up on the other side last week, and those guys in purple jerseys could force him into making a few mistakes. The bottom line, however, is that the Patriots are 8-0 at home this season, and a Bill Belichick coached team is a tough out in the playoffs.
THE PICK: PATRIOTS 26, RAVENS 17

Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals
4:40 pm ET
TV—FOX

Amazingly, this game is the third contest of the weekend that is a rematch of a Week 17 game, and like the Philly/Dallas game, this one is also in the same building, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona. Will it be the same outcome though? Last week, the Packers played all of their starters in annihilating the defending NFC champs 33-7, but Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt did not use star QB Kurt Warner after the first quarter. Still, how much of that crap about tipping your hand before playing an opponent again do you believe? This is the NFL, and the team that executes their game plan usually wins. Packers’ coach Mike McCarthy believed that letting Aaron Rodgers and his receivers stretch the field against the Cardinals’ 23rd ranked pass defense, as well as mixing in a heavy dose of Ryan Grant and Ahman Green to run the ball and keep it away from Warner and Matt Leinart was an effective strategy. Of course, McCarthy’s Packers boast the #1 rushing defense in the NFL and the #5 passing defense, so they feel like they can stop whoever is trying to move the ball against them anyway, especially if star CB Charles Woodson suits up after aggravating a shoulder injury last week. Remember, though, that the Cardinals are recently playoff tested, and came within a brilliant Santonio Holmes touchdown catch from winning it all less than a year ago.
THE PICK: PACKERS 33, CARDINALS 30

Upsets galore and crazy outcomes have forced us to look a bit harder at the Coach of the Year rankings, but most of our contenders are hanging tough.

1. Jim Caldwell, Indianapolis Colts—The poor guy is still dodging proverbial rocks being thrown by Colts’ fans, who wanted their team to continue its pursuit of perfection instead of rolling over against the Jets. Being that the Colts were still in position to go to 15-0 when Caldwell did that, we have to cut him some slack and remember that his team is still the top seed in the AFC and would be in the NFC as well.

2. Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints—Payton surely did not want to back into the #1 seed in the NFC, but after losing two games in a row, his team did just that when the Vikings’ loss Monday night let the Saints snag the top position. And once again, we have to consider the entire season’s body of work.

3. Norv Turner, San Diego Chargers—When you consider that Turner’s Chargers always play lousy in September, only to win when it really matters, that’s far better than it being the other way around. It’s time we started to give Turner his due.

4. Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals—The Bengals are another team not playing well, but they have dealt with two tragedies this season—the death of player Chris Henry, and the passing of the wife of D-coordinator Mike Zimmer. And still, the Bengals are 10-5 with an AFC North title. Raise your hand if you expected that.

5. Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings—Yes, the Vikings are floundering and in danger of losing the #2 seed to Philly or Dallas, but I’ll keep mentioning two players who Childress sought in the off-season that made this a championship caliber team—Brett Favre and Percy Harvin.

Honorable mention: Ken Whisenhunt, Cardinals; Mike McCarthy, Packers; Andy Reid, Eagles; Bill Belichick, Patriots; Rex Ryan, Jets; Wade Phillips, Cowboys; Josh McDaniels, Denver Broncos

After they beat the Rams last Sunday, many of the Cardinals starters probably figured that they would have Week 17 off against the Packers. But that was before the Vikings lost to the Bears on Monday night and kept Arizona’s hopes alive for clinching the No. 2 seed in the NFC.

The chances of the Cardinals earning the No. 2 spot are slim. They would not only have to beat Green Bay this Sunday, but the Vikings and Eagles would both have to lose as well. That’s a big request, although given that Minnesota plays the Giants and Philadelphia plays the Cowboys, it’s certainly not out of the question.

‘Zona head coach Ken Whisenhunt has quite the dilemma. If he chooses to rest his starters against the Packers, then he’s essentially relinquishing any shot of the No. 2 seed. If he doesn’t rest his starters and the Cards fail to earn the No. 2 seed based on one of the above scenarios, then players like Kurt Warner won’t get any rest heading into the postseason.

Another thing Whisenhunt has to consider is the fact that the Cardinals could wind up hosting the Packers in the Wild Card round next week. If he plays his starters, Green Bay will have plenty of game film to use in preparation to stop Arizona the following week. So what is Whisenhunt to do?

Personally, I think Whisenhunt should play his starters and go for the No. 2 seed now that it’s still in reach. But then again, I’m a risk taker. If you have a shot to earn a first round bye and home field advantage then you have to go for it, regardless of whether or not the odds are stacked against you.

Of course, if the Vikings beat the Giants at 1:00 p.m., none of this will matter because the Cardinals would be eliminated from the No. 2 spot. But if they lose, then I don’t envy Whisenhunt’s decision at 4:00 p.m.

As we seem to repeat week after week lately, you can’t put anyone other than Jim Caldwell and Sean Payton atop this list as their teams remain undefeated. That doesn’t mean there aren’t other contenders for coach of the year, however.

1. Jim Caldwell, Indianapolis Colts—The Colts have clinched their division, their conference, a first round bye and home field throughout the playoffs, and threatening the 1972 Dolphins, all with a rookie head coach. That just doesn’t happen, but here we are.

2. Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints—Like Caldwell, Payton’s Saints have encountered a few road bumps recently, but are still 13-0. One more win and they will have ensured that the road to the Super Bowl in the NFC goes through the Superdome…and that’s just daunting for anyone.

3. Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings—The Vikings beat up a very good Bengals team last weekend, and are close to wrapping up the #2 NFC seed. Despite the Saints’ undefeated mark, nobody should be taking Childress’ team lightly.

4. Norv Turner, San Diego Chargers—Funny, we’ve been ignoring this guy the whole time, and all his team does is win, especially late in the season. This season, Turner’s Bolts might be Super.

5. tie Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals & Josh McDaniels, Denver Broncos—Despite losses to the Vikings and Colts, respectively, last weekend, the fact remains that both of these playoff bound teams have very much exceeded expectations, especially defensively, this season.

Honorable mention: Ken Whisenhunt, Cardinals; Jack Del Rio, Jaguars; Mike McCarthy, Packers; Andy Reid, Eagles; Tony Sparano, Dolphins