Merry training camp season, everyone. It’s been a long offseason, but football is finally gearing up again and to celebrate I’m rolling out a new series on TSR entitled “2010 NFL Question Marks,� where I discuss one or two of the biggest concerns that teams have heading into the new season. Granted, some teams have more issues than others, but I’ll primarily be focusing on the biggest problem areas. Today I’ll be discussing the Cardinals massive issues at the quarterback position.

The Cardinals have a couple of weakness that could be discussed, including offensive tackle, cornerback and inside linebacker. But none of them will impact their chances this season like the quarterback position will.

Gone is Kurt Warner, as well as the high-powered offense that the Cards have been able to run the past couple of years. The team traded Anquan Boldin to the Ravens during the offseason because quite frankly, they didn’t need him. (It’s also noteworthy that they felt as though he couldn’t stretch the field anymore.) The team knew the offense would focus more on the running game and less on the pass and thus, they could get by with the combination of Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston at wideout.

The look of the offense was changing and former first round pick Matt Leinart was going to usher in a new era.

But after giving him all the first-team reps this offseason and two starts in preseason, there’s growing speculation that Leinart won’t even make the final roster – nevertheless emerge as the regular season starter.

Reports have surfaced that there isn’t a lot of confidence in the locker room that Leinart can be the team’s long-term quarterback. Some have coined him “Captain Checkdown,� in reference to the way he looks to checkdown early in his progression instead of going through all of his reads and throwing downfield. While he has completed over 70% of his passes in preseason, he has failed to move the offense, which is why Derek Anderson is now the favorite to start.

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Last week we looked at the top 10 fantasy quarterbacks from 2008 with a look toward 2009. This week, it’s about those who catch passes. Wide receivers have become almost as valuable as running backs, so it’s important not to overlook that when you’re preparing for your fantasy draft. And you are preparing, right? Or will you cram on Labor Day weekend? If you’re like me, you’re reading this stuff now because these long months without football suck. So, about those receivers….and keep in mind this Top 10 is based on scoring from one of my own fantasy leagues, and stats may differ from league to league:

1. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals—There should be no question remaining as to who has the best hands in football. In fact, I’ll just say it — that Larry Fitzgerald is the best receiver in football, and one of the best since the days of (dare I say it) Jerry Rice, or Lynn Swann. Yeah, he’s that good, and he’s just getting started. In ’08, Fitzgerald had 96 catches for 1431 yards and 12 touchdowns….and that’s with Kurt Warner having two other legitimate targets in Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston.

2. Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions—This poor bastard put up huge numbers last year for an 0-16 team—78 receptions for 1331 yards and 12 scores. It’s difficult to draft anyone on the Lions, though.

3. Andre Johnson, Houston Texans—This guy is just a beast. I mean, a freaking beast. Johnson had SIX games of over 130 receiving yards, and wound up with 115 catches for 1575 yards and 8 TDs…all usually with two guys covering him. Like I said, a beast. Now what would he do with a real QB?

4. Anquan Boldin, Arizona Cardinals—Q wants the ball, and he may not get it in Arizona this season. But his numbers and skills have every other GM salivating. Last year, despite missing four games with injuries, Boldin caught 89 passes for 1038 yards and 11 scores. He even rushed 9 times for 67 yards.

5. Greg Jennings, Green Bay Packers—Jennings has been on the verge of fantasy superstardom for a few years now, and I think the next two seasons may be peak years for him — especially with Aaron Rodgers coming into his own and Donald Driver losing a step or two. His 2008 numbers? 80 catches for 1292 yards and 8 touchdowns. This year, I’m saying 100-1500-12.

6. Randy Moss, New England Patriots—The fact that Moss still had a 1000-yard season catching passes from the yet-unproven Matt Cassel says a lot about Moss. Dude is a sick receiver. He had just four 100-yard games, but was consistent over the season with 69 receptions for 1008 yards and 11 TDs. He gets his boy Brady back in 2009, so look for 2007-ish numbers again.

7. Terrell Owens, Dallas Cowboys—He had one game over 200 yards, one more over 100, and every other game below 100. Owens managed 1052 yards on 69 catches with 10 scores, but by his standards the season was a bust. In Buffalo, I can’t imagine his numbers will be much better.

8. Lance Moore, New Orleans Saints—Marques Colston was never quite right after coming back from an injury, but Drew Brees kept throwing the ball to this guy, to the tune of 79 catches for 928 yards and 10 touchdowns—with three 100-yard games.

9. Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers—He was suspended for the first two games in 2008, but still racked up 1421 yards on 78 catches with 6 scores…and a whopping eight 100-yard games. Steve Smith is just money, and he should be a Top 5 receiver in every fantasy league.

10. Antonio Bryant, Tampa Bay Bucs—Bryant had his best season as a pro last year after missing the entire 2007 campaign, catching 83 passes for 1248 yards and 7 TDs…and he gets bonus points for doing it with the Tampa Bay Bucs!

Brainz.org lists the top 7 reasons why Super Bowl XLIII was an instant classic:

7. Arizona’s Three Goal Line Stands
Who would’ve thought Arizona would have three goal line stands? Granted, Pittsburgh’s short yardage running game is subpar but Arizona’s run defense was mediocre in the regular season…

6. Controversial Officiating
I already talked about Roethlisberger’s near touchdown. There were other close plays that will be debated by sports fans for years to come…

5. Two Great QB Performances from Possible Hall of Famers
Neither team could run, so they had to go with the pass. This could’ve been an ugly game if the quarterbacks threw too many incompletions but both Warner and Roethlisberger came to play…

4. The Longest Play in Super Bowl History
The Cardinals were one yard from paydirt with 18 seconds left in the first half. They had no timeouts but it was first down. They could’ve taken a couple shots in the end zone. However, they only got one play because Harrison stepped in front of a Warner pass and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown. Until this play, Warner was 15 for 16 with five touchdowns in the red zone for the 2009 playoffs…

3. Fitzgerald’s Insane Second Half
Fitzgerald proved that you can’t keep a good man down. His only reception in the first half was in the two minute warning. But in the second half, he exploded with 6 receptions, 112 yards, and 2 touchdowns…

2. The Greatest Super Bowl Comeback Ever… Almost
The greatest comeback was in Super Bowl XXII. The Washington Redskins trailed the Denver Broncos 10-0 at the start of the second quarter, but scored 35 unanswered points to put the game away…

1. Big Ben Does His Best Joe Montana Imitation
…you can’t have an instant classic Super Bowl game without a late game winning drive. (Okay, there’s the Titans vs Rams game but that’s the exception.)…

The article goes into more detail explaining every reason, so make sure to check out the link above to view the entire piece.

The reasons listed above are pretty compelling. Yes, Super Bowl XLIII had several great moments (Harrison’s interception, Fitzgerald’s big play, Holmes’ TD catch). But for me, the game was sloppy on a whole, uneventful in the first half outside of Harrison’s touchdown, and often controversial at times. I thought it was one of the greatest fourth quarters of any Super Bowl played, but not one of the greatest games.

If you want to be technical, I think Brainz.org is right – it was an instant classic. But so many people are coining XLIII the best Super Bowl ever played and I don’t think it even tops two other Bowls in the same decade (Super Bowl XLII between the Giants and Patriots and Super Bowl XXXXVIII between the Panthers and Patriots).

Click here for six observations on Super Bowl XLIII.

Lucifer himself might as well have created the Monday after Super Bowl Sunday.

Is that extreme? No.

The Monday after the Super Bowl signals the end of another NFL season and that means there is no football on the horizon unless you’re one of the 10 people that watches the Pro Bowl. There are seven months between now and the start of preseason games, which makes me sick to think about. If I could freeze myself for the next seven months and thaw just in time for the 2009 season, I would.

Is that extreme? No.

But fear not my football friends because even though there isn’t any football this Sunday, it doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to get excited about while looking ahead. Below are 10 things to look forward to now that the Super Bowl is over. (And so that you don’t have to freeze yourself for the next seven months.)

Before you read on, realize that I’m not going to copout and write about how free agency and the draft are things to look forward to. Of course they are, but let’s get more specific here, people.

Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News writes that while Super Bowl XLIII was exciting, it wasn’t a classic.

A classic? That was a fun Super Bowl, no question. A triple plot-twist, loop-de-loop carnival ride.

That was a raucous fourth quarter Sunday evening, full of Arizona Cardinals grit and, eventually, a great Pittsburgh Steelers drive to win 27-23 in Super Bowl XLIII.

Oh, and there was that stunning 100-yard interception return by Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison to close the first half.

But was that really a classic, Ali-Frazier Super Bowl? I doubt history will treat it that way.
The protagonists were slightly less than epic and the action was just a bit too herky-jerk for instant masterpiece status. No Brett Favres or Lawrence Taylors in this game.

All those penalties. The wide-open receivers when the last thing the defense could afford was to leave wide-open receivers. That third-quarter sag.

Much better description: This was a classic example of the NFL’s Parity Era, when no team is good enough to dominate the Super Stage.

After all those blowouts in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and all those Super Teams, we’ve now had two shriek-finish Super Bowls in a row and five straight that were close in the fourth quarter.
The last blowout? Yep, Tampa Bay 48, Raiders 21 in Super Bowl XXXVII.

So Larry Fitzgerald was outstanding Sunday. Kurt Warner, too. Santonio Holmes was a revelation. Harrison made the greatest single play in Super Bowl history, by my reckoning.

But… this felt more like a good first-round playoff game that happened to have Bruce Springsteen at halftime and a spaceship capsule as the postgame stage.

Agreed. It was a sloppy game for the most part and take away Harrison’s interception return and the first half was largely uneventful. That doesn’t mean the game wasn’t entertaining because it was. But a classic? That’s reach.

Here are six quick-hit thoughts from the Steelers’ 27-23 victory over the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.

1. Santonio Holmes saved the Steelers.
Santonio Holmes saved the Steelers tonight. He saved Ben Roethlisberger from erratic play. He saved the usually stingy Pittsburgh defense from getting torched by Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald in the second half. He saved several of his teammates that decided to make costly penalties down the stretch. And he saved the Steelers from almost blowing a game they had control of for three quarters. Holmes was an easy choice for MVP and he was brilliant in Pittsburgh’s game-winning touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. True playmakers go above and beyond and that’s what Holmes did tonight. His touchdown catch was absolutely phenomenal and what a throw by Big Ben.

2. Why wasn’t the final play reviewed?
I’m confused – can an attempted forward pass not be reviewed by the booth in under two minutes? Because while it would have been a close call either way, Warner’s arm looked like it was coming forward on the final play of the game, which would have meant an incomplete pass and one last gasp for the Cardinals. And while it still would have been a long shot for ‘Zona to reach the end zone and win the game, I’m shocked the most important play wasn’t at least reviewed. Maybe the officials would have still come to the conclusion that Warner’s arm wasn’t coming forward and the fumble would have stood. But you’ve got to at least review it.

3. Harrison’s interception cannot be overlooked.
How fitting was it that the defensive player of the year came up with one of the biggest plays in the Super Bowl? James Harrison’s 100-yard interception return for a touchdown before half changed the entire makeup of the game. Some may fault the Cards for not trying to run the ball in that situation because they were at the 1 yard line and had they got stuffed, they still would have had plenty of time to spike the ball and have one last attempt at a touchdown. But they were out of timeouts and with only 18 seconds on the clock, it’s hard to blame Arizona for throwing the ball; Warner just made a bad decision with the pass. But had the Cards at least kicked a field goal in that situation, it’s a 10-10 game at half and maybe the game plays out differently from that point on. Regardless, Harrison’s effort was outstanding and he truly wasn’t going to be denied. If it weren’t for the Cards’ fourth quarter comeback and Holmes’ amazing play down the stretch, Harrison would have been the game’s MVP.

4. Ben Roethlisberger wasn’t great, but he was once again clutch.
One of the post game commentators used the word “outstanding� to describe Roethlisberger’s play tonight. That’s a stretch. While it’s true Big Ben kept plays and drives alive several times by scrambling away from defenders, his indecisiveness and his penchant for holding onto the ball too long also led to a couple of key holding penalties against the Steelers in the fourth quarter, including the one that led to a safety. That said, he was once again clutch down the stretch. He zeroed in on his best playmaker (Holmes) and put the ball in his hands in order to make plays. Roethlisberger’s play wasn’t sharp by any means, but then again, it rarely is. But there’s no denying he makes plays when the game is on the line and he did so once again tonight. He now has two Super Bowl rings and he’s still only 26.

5. Get aggressive, Aaron Francisco.
On Holmes’ 40-yard reception to set up the Steelers’ game-winning touchdown, Arizona safety Aaron Francisco took a horrible angle on the play and it allowed the Pittsburgh receiver to race up the sideline and put his team in position for the go-ahead score. Granted Francisco eventually made the tackle down field, but it looked like he was playing not to make a mistake and it cost his team. It’s one thing to be caught out of position. It’s quite another to allow a receiver to easily make a catch in the open field, completely overrun the play and then allow him to race down the field. Safeties have one of the toughest jobs on the field because they have to play in so much open space. But Francisco’s effort on that play was questionable at best. (Outside of chasing Holmes down and eventually making the tackle, of course.) Francisco also was one of the defenders who was beat on the Holmes’ touchdown catch.

6. Do the Cardinals even need Anquan Boldin?
Anquan Boldin has been one of the most underrated receivers in the league for several years and there’s no doubt he deserves to get paid like a No. 1 receiver. But should Arizona bend over backwards in getting him a new contract when they already have Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston on the roster? How good was Breaston tonight? I realize he’s able to make more plays with Fitz and Boldin on the outside, but does anyone think Breaston doesn’t have the ability to be a No. 2 in this league after the way he played in 2008? Thanks to him, the Cardinals might be able to acquire multiple draft picks in a deal for Boldin this offseason.

If Super Bowl XLII between the Giants and Patriots taught us anything, it’s that regular season records mean nothing and there are no guarantees when it comes to crowning a champion in the NFL.

The 17-0 Patriots looked like a slam-dunk to win the Super Bowl last January. That is, until a rowdy Giants bunch that played perfect football throughout the playoffs shocked most of the world en route to a 17-14 victory. Sound familiar?

No, the Steelers didn’t go 17-0 in the regular season. In fact, they were far from perfect and at times, looked awfully inconsistent. But with their No. 1 defense leading the way, it’s hard to argue that Pittsburgh doesn’t have the better overall talent heading into this year’s Super Bowl against the Cardinals, especially when you consider Arizona finished with a 9-7 record, competed in a crappy division and scored just one more point than they allowed this season.

But as the Giants proved last year, sometimes all it takes is momentum, which the Cards certainly have after soundly defeating the Falcons, Panthers and Eagles to get to Super Bowl XLIII. Arizona has a lot going for itself these days, including a resurgent veteran quarterback in Kurt Warner, a highlight reel playmaker in Larry Fitzgerald, and an underrated defense that is playing its best football of the season.

So who has the edge in Super Bowl XLIII? You can make a case for either team, which is exactly what I did. (Five of them actually.)

Below are five reasons the Cardinals will win on Sunday and five reasons why the Steelers will come away victorious. Contradictory? Sure, but play along – it’ll be more fun that way.

If anything, the 2008 NFL Season was far from dull. While the Cardinals and Steelers each won their respective divisions to secure playoff berths, neither team was a slum dunk to make it to Tampa at the start of the postseason.

Let’s recap, shall we?

The Steelers entered the playoffs with huge question marks to be answered, most surrounding their offense. In their last regular season game of the year, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was taken off the field strapped to a stretcher after the back of his helmet slammed against the turf following a hit between two defenders. Along with his health, Pittsburgh’s offensive line, although starting to gel in the final month of the season, seemed to be a weakness that defenses like the Titans and Ravens could exploit if they had the opportunity to face the Steelers in the postseason.

So while they ranked first in total defense entering the playoffs, the Steelers had major issues. Yet they steam rolled an overmatched Chargers team in the divisional round, then turned Joe Flacco’s inexperience against him in the AFC Championship Game and now they’re one win away from winning their second Super Bowl title in three years.

Conversely, the Cardinals had a little steeper hill to climb. Although their offense was explosive throughout the season, they played poorly down the stretch and many believed that if they had to go on the road in the playoffs, they would never survive. Not only that, but many pundits also didn’t believe ‘Zona would get past a good running team like the Falcons, who were sure to ride Michael Turner to victory in the opening round.

Thanks to three Atlanta turnovers and a soundly executed game plan to shut down Turner, the Cards beat the Falcons to set up a regular season rematch with the Panthers in the second round. Six Jake Delhomme turnovers later and Arizona was heading to the NFC Championship Game despite everyone and their mother suggesting that they would never be able to win on the road. Then despite the Eagles’ best efforts at a second half comeback, Arizona was able to hang on Sunday to secure a trip to the Super Bowl, which seemed like an improbable task at the start of the playoffs.

Now that the matchup has been set, what do we have to look forward to? Plenty, actually. Below are five storylines that should wet your appetite for the next two weeks before kickoff on February 1.