Arizona Cardinals News and Notes

	Arizona Cardinals Stories
	2010 NFL Draft in review: Arizona Cardinals I read a lot of draft review that are down on the Arizona Cardinals for taking risks with their later picks in the 2010 NFL draft. In my mind that is the perfect opportunity to take a risk, if it happens to not work out so what, the team will have plenty of 4th, 5th, and later round picks in the next year’s draft. On top of that there is hardly the financial commitment to a later round draft pick, like there is in the first round. Teams should take a risk here and there, especially in the later rounds.
	Who will be the starting QB for the Arizona Cardinals in 2010? It seems that the Arizona Cardinals do not feel very comfortable with passing control of their offense from Kurt Warner to Matt Leinart or the recently acquired Derek Anderson. It seems neither QB has stepped up in any significant way during recent mini camps, and the team may be in the market to find a veteran QB to come in and take over the offense. Now if that happens the Cardinals should do the right thing and move Leinart to a new situation, and allow the pieces to fall where they may.
	2009 NFL draft one year later: Arizona Cardinals Beanie Wells gave this team a boost, it lifted them form the running game from last in the league in 2008 to 28th best in 2009. That is not the improvement one would expect from a first round draft pick. It seems this is one of those draft classes that will take a longer time to bloom. A year ago I gave this draft class a B Grade; one year out I might drop it to a B- and wait for the full impact of this class to come into effect.
	Draft Day decision makers: Arizona Cardinals Arizona Cardinals General Manager Rod Graves has the final say on all personnel matters be that in free agency or on draft day. However, after winning two straight division titles Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt also has a large say. They are advised by an up and comer in NFL front office circles, Director of Player Personnel Steve Keim. Keim oversees a quality personnel staff, which includes Reggie Terry their Director of Football Administration. They of course will be joined in their war room by their full complement of scouts.
	What should the Arizona Cardinals do with their first round draft pick? The Arizona Cardinals are a team with so many needs, that they could do any number of things come draft day. Since they have been burned by draft day trades, and only have seven picks to address a plethora of needs, look for them to play it safe and stick with the 26th overall pick.
	What are the needs of the Arizona Cardinals heading into 2010? It always surprises me how fast Championship caliber sports teams can fall apart. It wasn’t that long ago that the Cardinals were in the Super Bowl, now the feel like thy have slipped back to the mediocrity that has plagued this team throughout its long history.
	2009 NFL season in review: Arizona Cardinals It is kind of hard to bag on a team that went 10-6, won their division, and advanced to the second round of the NFL playoffs. 2009 was a pretty good year for the Arizona Cardinals, but I see a big drop off coming. QB Kurt Warner retired, the offense will be turned back over to Matt Leinart, and they traded WR Anquan Boldin. I see no plan to replace these key figures in the offense. Alas, that is for next year, let us allow the Cardinals fans to enjoy their 2009 campaign.
	Arizona Cardinals to turn to Matt Leinart Now that it is official, Kurt Warner has retired, many are speculating that the Cardinals will go out and draft a QB. While that may be true, the Cardinals could use another developmental guy to back up new Cardinals QB Matt Leinart. Many remember Leinart as the celebrated USC QB who dropped to the Cardinals with the 10th pick in the 2006 draft. This will be the second time, the Cardinals offense has been turned over to him, but it looks like this time it is going to stick.
	Stadiums of the NFL-University of Phoenix Stadium The first thing to remember about the University of Phoenix stadium is that it is not home to the University of Phoenix sports teams. UofP is a for profit school that doesn’t operate any sports teams. They simply hold the naming rights for the stadium.
	2009 Arizona Cardinals draft analysis The Arizona Cardinals entered the 2009 draft with a few specific needs, and while they didn’t do anything all that fancy on draft day they adequately addressed their needs. General Manager Rod Graves has been known to be conservative, partially because they never seem to have the picks to trade much, and partially because when they have traded it hasn’t exactly worked out.
	What are the Arizona Cardinals worth? The team that came to be known as the Arizona Cardinals was originally founded in 1898, and is among the oldest professional football team in America. It is also one of few NFL teams that have called three separate states home.