The Seattle Seahawks and the Super Bowl

The Seattle Seahawks will play the Denver Broncos on Sunday in Super Bowl XLVIII.  The Seahawks look to win their first Lombardi Trophy.  The Super Bowl hasn't exactly been nice to the NFC champs.  The first time they were in the Super Bowl it was a big deal to Seattle fans.  You could say it was extra large.  They played the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL.  That was their only appearance before this season and it ended with a 21-10 loss.  Seven years later the Seahawks are a much different team.  With Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch leading the offense and the best defense in the league they feel very confident going into Sunday's game.

The Denver Broncos and the Super Bowl

When you think dynasty in football you often think New England Patriots or even Pittsburgh Steelers.  You think of those teams because them, as well as the Dallas Cowboys have been to the most Super Bowls.  When you think dynasty you rarely think of the Denver Broncos.  They will play in their 7th Super Bowl on Sunday.  Just one less then the before mentioned teams.  They also have one of the best QB's to ever play the games.  The reason Denver is not considered a dynasty is for two reasons.
First their record.  They are 2-4 in the Super Bowl.  Their 2 wins came back to back, which they are only the 7th team to do so. In their first 4 appearances they lost all of the games by more than four touchdowns.  Not a dynasty at all.  Unless your the Buffalo Bills.  Reason number two that they are not a dynasty is time frame.  Nine years past from their last loss to their first win.  And finally the Broncos are not a dynasty because they did not dominate.  Perhaps if John Elway had not retired the Broncos would have become a dynasty.
The Broncos won their two Super bowls very differently.  In Super Bowl XXXII the Broncos rode the legs of Terrell Davis to victory.  He rushed for 157 yards and three touchdowns as they defeated the Green Bay Packers.  In Super Bowl XXXIII it was John Elway and his 336 yards passing and one touchdown that led the Broncos to victory over the Atlanta Falcons.  Elway also played his last game and was named MVP.
This years version of the Broncos seems to have all the pieces that should lead them to another Super Bowl title.  It will be tough with Russell Wilson and the best defense in the league standing in the way.

Tidbit Tuesday: Super Bowl Edittion

It's that time of year again, it's Super Bowl Week!  After a great season everyone is anticipating the big game that is just 5 days away.  During the week you will hear all kinds of stories about both teams and their players.  Well here's one I hope you heard first from me, The Az Sports Guru.
Did you know that the Super Bowl did not get a roman numeral until its fifth year o existence.  The Kansas City Chiefs late owner Lamar Hunt decided that adding a roman numeral would give the game more class.  And so it was born Super Bowl V.
Not many people pay much attention, but if you think about it when else do we use roman numerals?  I remember having to learn them in grade school and it always came easy to me because I would just think of the Super Bowl.  The interesting part will be when the Super Bowl goes to Santa Clara, California in two years.  It will be the 50th anniversary of the super Bowl.  That's Super Bowl L?  Yes its Super Bowl L.  It will be strange to see just one roman numeral  behind the word Super Bowl but I'm sure the committee in Santa Clara will come up with some genius way to market it in their favor.  Perhaps it will be the large Super Bowl, as long as its not the Loser Super Bowl.

Remember When Wednesday Jan 8

Remember when Michael Jordan scored his 20,000th career point?

It was January 8, 1993 and the Chicago Bulls were playing the Milwaukee Buck's.  What seemed like just another January night in the NBA quickly turned onto history.  Michael Jordan poured in 35 points to lead the Bull's to a 120-95 victory over the Buck's.  The 35 points gave Jordan exactly 20,00 points for his career.  Jordan had become the second fastest player in the NBA to reach the 20,000 point milestone.  The only person that accomplished this feat quicker was Wilt Chamberlin, who did it in 499 games.  Later that June Jordan led the Bull's to their third consecutive NBA title beating the Phoenix Suns 4 games to 2.  

Tidbit Tuesday Volume 1

Today is the first installment of a segment I call Tidbit Tuesday.  Recently a friend of mine asked me a football question.  This friend frequently asks me questions about sports when he is unsure.  Like most of the other times I was able to answer his question.  This gave me the idea for Tidbit Tuesday.  I can give some random fact about sports and maybe teach a few people some new info they can use to impress people.  So here you go.
Did you know that no QB in the NFL has started in and won the Super Bowl for two different teams.  Two guys have started the Super Bowl for two different teams teams but did not not win.
In 2000 Kurt Warner won the Superbowl with the ST. Louis Rams.  They beat Tennessee 23-16 and Warner was named MVP.  Kurt Warner was the gunslinger for the team everyone called the Greatest show on turf.  In 2009 Warner, after many thought his career was over, started in Super Bowl XLIII for the Arizona Cardinals.  The outcome was a little different this time.  Warner and his cardinals came up on the short end of a 27-23 score.  The game was very close and had a controversial TD catch been called the other way Warner would be the man to quarterback two different teams to a Super Bowl.
To find the other quarterback to start the Super Bowl for two different teams you have to go all the way back to 1965.  This when a guy named Craig Morton was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys.  His career lasted until 1982.  In 1971 he took the Cowboys to their first ever Super Bowl.  And lost.  The Cowboys lost to the Baltimore Colt's 16-13.  This game was by far one of the worst Super Bowls ever played.  Many people refer to it as the "Blunder Bowl."  The Colt's committed a record 11 turnovers (a record that still stands) and still won the game.  The next season Morton and Roger Staubach alternated playing QB until Tom Landry decided to give the full time duties to Staubach who led the Cowboys to a win in the Super Bowl that year.  That was the begin of the end for Morton.  He played a lot the next season because of an injury to Staubach but when he was healthy Morton was shown the bench, and later the door that off season.   He was traded for a draft pick that would later be used on Danny White.  At age 34 he took the Denver Broncos to the Super Bowl.  Ironically it was against the Dallas Cowboys and it was another loss 27-10.  One more interesting fact before I let you go.  Craig Morton wore number 7 for the Bronco's.  He retired after the 1982 season and the Bronco's then drafted a guy named John Elway in 1983, who was part of a QB draft class that may be the best ever.

Barely An Athlete?

With the NFL Playoffs starting tomorrow the talk of the NFL is not about teams like the Eagles and the Packers barely getting.  Its not even about the Cardinals winning 10 games and not getting in.  Is it about the recent slide of the Chiefs and Saints, with both managing to get in the playoffs.  No, of course not.  The talk is about a team that 5-11-1 and fired their coach the day after the season ended.  The funny part is the new coaching search is not the main fi\ocus in Minnesota.  Its the punter, yes the punter.  And to top it off he was cut before the season even started.  And that's where this story begins.
Chris Kluwe was a punter for the Minnesota Vikings until he was cut by the team before the season started.  In an essay he wrote published by Deadspin he he claims that he was cut because of his stance on gay rights and same sex marriage.  This allegation opens up for a lot of discussions and opinions on being a gay athlete.  This will be discussed in a future article.
I listen to a lot of talk radio.  Obviously I listen to sports but I also like to listen to a station that talks politics and current events.  On this station I heard a radio personality talking about the Kluwe situation.  Now this station doesn't always talk sports, but it is no stranger to it.  The segment was more informative than it was commentary, until the end.  The report said as the segment ended that Kluwe was a punter, "barely an athlete".  This bothered me for several reasons.  was he saying that as if to say that this story was relevant because it was just a punter saying it?  What if it was Tom Brady or even Bruce Arians?
This poses another question.  Why would he say that a punter is barely an athlete.  I get that they are only on the field a few times a game and that all they do is kick a football.  But lets be honest they are in the NFL and that takes a lot of athleticism to get there, no matter the position.  Punters may not be as athletic as a QB or even a lineman but they workout and train everyday just like any other athlete in the NFL.  I'd love to see that radio personality compete in a combine drill against Chrs Kluwe or any other NFL punter, than I'd like to see how athletic he thinks punters are.

The Arizona Cardinals Playoff Chances

So its week 17 in the NFL and the road to the playoffs is as hot as its ever been.  This holds especially true for the Arizona Cardinals.  The Cardinals go in to week 17 with a 10-5 record.  They will host the San Francisco 49ers in hopes of making the playoffs this season.  Not only do the Cardinals need a win over their division rival but they also need a little bit of help.  The Cardinals only make the playoffs with a win Sunday and a New Orleans saints loss.  The Saint's play the 4-11 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  I know it doesn't look good for the Arizona Cardinals, but stranger things have happened in the NFL.  Tampa Bay even with a bad record has been playing well the last few weeks.  They are a team that was in every game regardless of the outcome.  The other factor is the Saint's.  They having been playing horrible the last few weeks and after last weeks loss you have to wonder if they are beginning to doubt themselves.
Regardless of what happens Sunday the Cardinals have a lot to be proud of.  Under a first year head coach and an aging mediocre quarterback they are going to at least win 10 games.  They have had a lot of young guys step up and have great seasons.  This gives Cardinal fans something to look forward to in the future.  As good as they are my prediction is that they beat the 49ers by a field, but don't get in the playoffs because the Saints beat the Bucs.

It's Time To Be Thankful..........For The Bidwill's?

Not very many people realize but the Arizona Cardinals are the oldest franchise in football.  They originated in 1898 as the Morgan Athletic Club.  In 1920 they were one of four teams to start the NFL.  The Cardinals have been owned by the same family since 1932, the Bidwill's.  Only the New York Giant's and the Chicago Bears have been owned by the same family longer.  The team has been in Chicago, St. Luis and now here in Arizona.  While researching I found out a few interesting things.  Violet Bidwill had her business partner run the team after her husband Charles died.  She then got remarried to a St. Luis business man and moved the team there 11 years later.  Strange coincidence don't you think?  Her sons Charles Jr. and Bill then took ownership over when their mother died.  Charles sold his portion to Bill and he has been sole owner ever since.
While being the owner for 61 years Bill has taken a beating from the media, and for the most part it is pretty much well deserved.  The Bidwill's have been known for being cheap.  Bill moved the team from St. Luis and promised fans that he would lobby for St. Louis to get a franchise team.  When the vote came around he voted for the team to be given to Jacksonville.  This put a sour taste in a lot of St. Louis fans mouths.  Until recently the Bidwill's would not open up their wallets for any players.
Another thing most people don't know about the cardinal's is that Bill doesn't run the everyday operations of the Cardinals anymore.  His sons Michael and Bill Jr. run the team on an every day basis.  This brings me to my point.  Yes the Bidwill's are not the best owners in the NFL, they may not even be in the top 10 but they have managed to keep the Cardinals profitable for over 60 years.  If you ask me that's pretty good ownership.  The Bidwill's do what owners should do, the paperwork.  They handle all business side of football and let the players play and the coaches coach.  For those of you who still don't see my point it could be a whole lot worse.  Arizona could have owners that want to be in the spotlight and use favoritism to get focus on their team.  These owners would rather be in the headlines then have a winning team.  So Cardinal fans be thankful for the Bidwill's because it could be Jerry Jones or Daniel Snyder!  

Are The Refs Really To Blame?

The hot topic in the NFL isn't the playoffs,  it's not even the amount of injuries there has been this season.  But instead most of the talk has been about the referees.  The refs have blown a lot of calls this season, so much that it has cost some teams games.  Now there is a saying in sports that goes, "if you have to rely on one call by a referee then you probably should have lost the game anyway".  This is true most of the time, but with all the bad calls lately and some refs seemingly not knowing the rules it makes you wonder how much of an impact those calls would make for a team fighting for a playoff spot if they were called the correct way or even reversed.
I get how sports goes for the average fan, if your team loses blame the refs.  But the reality is that there have been a lot of bad calls that weren't even looked at or explained by the NFL.  In case you didn't know the NFL does have a committee that reviews game film and even grades the referees.  The problem is that this info never goes public, so you never hear if a ref was reprimand for his actions.  When there is a mistake found the team is sent a letter of apology, the ref is made aware and the case is considered closed.  This lack of accountability is what makes everybody so mad.  If the NFL would add some sort of penalty for refs I think they would not catch so much crap every time a ref makes a mistake.
Everyone is quick to blame referees but lets really think about it for a minute.  Are the refs really to blame.  When the NFL was forced to use replacement refs there was such an uproar.  Everyone wanted the regular refs back.  So much so that it was almost like they were overlooking the bad calls they have made in the past.  They were willing to overlook that as if to say, you guys aren't that bad come on back.  Now sometime later everybody wants something done about these refs.  But what is it they want done?  Should we bring back the replacement refs?  I think not.  The way to fix this problem is to make the refs full time employees of the NFL.  When this happens you can train them and make them watch film all week long.  Then they will be more in tune with the rules and be able to at the very least believe and back up the calls they make, even if they are bad calls.  

Reaching High Hopes, Or Another Season Of Jokes? A Cardnials Preview

Guess what everybody its that time of year again.  Yep it's football season.  Time to see what a new season brings for your team.  Eveybody seems to be excited about their teams chances and its no different here in Arizona.
Training camp started late last week and with all of the new pieces the Cardinals have assembled in the off season the fans have very high expectations this year.  The expectations seem to be high every year, but since Kurt Warner left the Cardinals have continued to put together disappointing season after disappointing season.  The Cardinals have a new coach, QB, running back and guard that plan to put an end to those disappointing seasons.  The Cardinals have a new coach, quarterback, running back and guard that plan to put an end to those disappointing seasons.

During the off season the Cardinals hired Bruce Arians to be their next head coach.  At first I wasn't to thrilled with the move, but as time goes by I think the Cardinals made a great decision.  Arians is a proven winner.  What he did last year in Indy is just short of a miracle.  The move is also good because Arians wasn't a household name.  That means not as much pressure to win as there would have been if a high profile coach would have been hired.  The Cardinal's brought in Buddy Ryan and Dennis Green and the results were horrible.  To say the least "they were who we thought they were".  Then when the Cardinals started winning and made it to the Super Bowl they did with a little known guy named Ken Whisenhunt.  I don't think its a coincidence that a big name coach can't win here.

After the Cardinals hired Arians it wasn't long before they acquired Carson Palmer to be their next QB. This is good for many reasons.  First they know who the QB is going into camp and for a team like the Cardinals it gives the coaches a chance to focus on the offensive line.  Second Palmer was the best guy available.  Sure you could argue that Kevin Kolb is as good or even better than Palmer but the bottom line is Palmer has not let Arizona down and many fans were left with a sour taste in their mouth from Kolb overall performance with the Card's.  And finally Carson Palmer is a good quarterback.  He is good but not great and certainly has the ability to become better here in Az.  Palmer is a proven veteran that has won in the past and with a target like Larry Fitzgerald he has a promising future.  The problem is that he will set his own legacy with the Cardinals.  The offensive line will.
The Cardinals also added Rashard Mendenhall at running back.  Mendenhall who like Palmer has came to the Cardinals to try and prove himself as still a good running back in the NFL..  The addition of Mendenhall is a good one because he is fast and can give the Cardinals 60 to 70 yards a game. If they can throw like most people think they should be able to that's all the rushing game will need to contribute.  Now I'm not saying the offense is going to ne the best in the league but I think the Cardinals will not have to rely on just their defense to get them out of trouble.
The strong point of the Cardinals for the last few years has been their defense and this year should be no different.  They were a very good under rated unit last year.  They definitely will miss Safety Adrian Wilson but if rookie Tyrann Mathieu really is a changed man we will soon forget about trusty number 24.  Mathieu, who no longer wants to be called Honey Badger, is very talented and is in the right place to turn his life around and have an effective rookie season in the NFL.

The Cardinals may not make the playoffs but they will definitely be a much improved team from last years disaster.  As far as the playoffs go, I feel they will go as far as the O-line will take them.  If the line allows the running backs to average 85 yards it will open up the passing game.  If this happens and they can split the season series with the 49ers and Seahawks they will be in good position to make a push for the playoffs.

Season Prediction:

The Arizona Cardinals, under first year head coach Bruce Arians will finish the 2013 champaign 8-8.  They will reach the NFL playoffs.  They will lose on the road in a wildcard game.