Hallelujah! Kurt Warner signs 2-year contract with Cards
March 4, 2009
Our prayers have been answered: Kurt Warner remains an Arizona Cardinal in 2009.
The wait is over and Cardinals fans everywhere can let out a huge collective sigh of relief. Whew.
Just 24-hours after being wined and dined by the San Francisco 49ers, Kurt Warner re-signed with the Cardinals today for $23 million over the next two years, including $19 million in guarantees. Although the 49ers offer was considered by many to be closer to the $14-16 million per year Warner was seeking, Warner’s loyalty to the Arizona team and his desire to finish his career in Arizona ultimately prevailed. Warner will receive a $15 million signing bonus in 2009 and base salary of $4 million in 2009 and 2010.
Watch Paul Burmeister break the news of Warner’s re-signing on NFL.com.
Warner’s return as the starting QB gives the Cardinals legitimate Superbowl aspirations in 2009, a point Warner touched upon during his press conference, “Hopefully they’re as excited as I am about being back, excited about building, you know, what we started last year.” You can watch video of Warner’s entire press conference here.
Kurt Warner talks with Rich Eisen about his decision to re-sign with the Cardinals.
The Cardinals can now focus their offseason attention upon the upcoming 2009 NFL Draft, reconciling with WR Anquan Boldin, signing LB Karlos Dansby to a long-term contract, and figuring out a course of action with veteran RB Edgerrin James.
Category: 2009 Season, News | Tags: Anquan Boldin, Karlos Dansby, Kurt Warner
One more year: the case for keeping Boldin
February 13, 2009
Cardinals fans should be desperate to retain Anquan Boldin.
It’s laughable to me that people forget how quickly things change in today’s NFL. The Cleveland Browns were an up and coming team after the 2007 season; they’re not today. Back in 2005 the Bengals rode the hot arm of young Carson Palmer into the playoffs; Palmer suffered a season ending knee injury on his first pass of the game and the Bungles have never been the same.
It’s the NFL, it happens. A star player one year may not be a star player the next. Coaches leave. Free agents bolt. The schedule toughens. Heck, a team can even lose it’s star quarterback on the first few snaps of the first series of its first game. Just ask Bill Belichick about that one.
The 2008 Arizona Cardinals came within 2:37 seconds of winning Superbowl XLIII, but without their star wide receiver Anquan Boldin, a return to the playoffs in 2009 is unlikely. Here’s why:
1) Teams will figure out how to stop Larry Fitzgerald.
It’s just one of those things, but players don’t go crazy in the NFL (especially in the Superbowl, the NFL’s grandest stage) without every defensive coordinator out there losing sleep in the offseason muttering to himself, “Oh no he doesn’t. Not when we play him, not against us.” So for everyone out there that thinks Fitzgerald’s “special talent” will allow him to rise above the double-coverage, triple-coverage, etc. that he’ll face in 2009, I present to you the case of Randy Moss’s record breaking 2007 season: 98 receptions, 1493 receiving yards (15.2 yard average), 23 TDs, and no Superbowl rings.
Moss took the league by storm in 2007, but in certain games the opposing defense figured out how to take him away. Consider these 4 games from the regular season:
As you can see, there were 4 games (25%) during Randy Moss’s record setting 2007 campaign where he was relatively invisible. And guess what? The Patriots vaunted offense, the juggernaut that went 16-0 in the regular season (winning 14 games by an average margin of 22 points), only managed to beat Philadelphia and Baltimore by 3 points each when Moss was contained.
Even worse, look at Randy Moss’s stat line during the Patriot’s 2007 postseason:
Randy Moss was neutralized, and eventually the Patriots lost to the Giants in Superbowl XLII. I’m not saying Fitzgerald is or isn’t a better player than Moss, I’m just providing a cautionary tale about what works well one year in the NFL may not necessarily work well the next.
2) Kurt Warner won’t have the same year.
Maybe he’ll lose his arm strength like Brett Favre. Maybe he’ll throw a bunch of picks or struggle to adjust to the new schemes cooked up by whoever is the new incoming offensive coordinator, but for whatever reason, don’t expect Warner to come back in 2009 with another MVP-like year. If he does, more power to him, but I sure as heck think his chances and the Cardinals’ chances to return to the Superbowl in 2009 are vastly improved if they have TWO explosive WRs on the field with Boldin and Fitzgerald.
3) If Fitzgerald were to be hurt…
I know, it’s horrible to say, but how confident would you be if our starting WRs in 2009 were Steve Breaston, Jerheme Urban, and Early Doucet? Injuries are a reality in the NFL, and although Breaston, Urban, and Doucet played vital roles on the 2008 Superbowl team, the reality is that together as starters they wouldn’t strike fear into opposing teams or alter defensive gameplans.
Look at it this way: if the Eagles and Giants rumored interest in acquiring Anquan Boldin indicates they believe they’re one superstar WR away from reaching the Superbowl, that would mean losing Anquan Boldin would leave the Cardinals with only one superstar WR on the roster, and one injury to Larry Fitzgerald away from falling out of the playoff picture altogether in 2009. Look at what happened to the Giants this year: they lost Plaxico Burress, were unable to fill the void, couldn’t spread the field, and lost in the playoffs.
4) Anquan Boldin can play.
Boy can he ever. I didn’t follow a lot of college football, so I had no idea who Anquan Boldin was when the Cardinals drafted him in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft. I didn’t have to wait long to find out, as Boldin set a rookie receiving record with 10 catches for 217 yards and 2 TDs against Detroit in the Cardinals season opener. Nevermind they lost the game 42-24, or that they’d go on to finish Boldin’s rookie season 4-12, but suddenly Cardinals fans had hope, “Hey, we’re that team that found some awesome guy in the second round who’s going to be a superstar!” In his rookie 2003 season Boldin went on to grab 101 receptions (tying the Cardinals franchise record at the time) for 1377 yards and 8 TDs.
He’s been better ever since.
Boldin is the quarterback’s best friend, a guy who can turn a quick WR screen or crossing pattern into a 75-yard TD pass. Boldin takes the big hits and keeps on trucking. Over the past six seasons he’s averaged 83 receptions, 1082 receiving yards, 52 first downs (62.5% of catches), and 6.6 TDs per year.
Boldin’s injury shortened 2008 season was his best yet, where he overcame a horrific early season concussion to catch 89 receptions for 1038 yards and 11 TDs in only 12 games. When his 2008 stats are projected out over an entire 16 game NFL season, Boldin would have finished 2008 with 118 receptions for 1383 yards and 14 TDs.
Playoffs? Who could forget Boldin converting Warner’s short crossing pass into a 71-yard TD scamper down the sideline past Lawyer Milloy in the Cardinals 30-24 Wildcard victory over the Falcons. Certainly not the Eagles or Steelers, who were forced to respect Boldin’s big-play ability and allowed Larry Fitzgerald to have monster receiving games.
Boldin is a guy you want on your team. He’s the Hines Ward of the NFC, and that’s a compliment. Both guys are hard working, blue collar leaders on the practice field and in games, who aren’t afraid to get hit, and accept the punishment that follows the big catch over the middle or throwing a key block in the running game.
Affectionately called “Q”, Boldin is a consummate teammate, quiet leader in the Phoenix community (Anquan Boldin Foundation), and a guy I’d want on my team.
5) Reward your own.
Momentum is such a fickle thing. Suddenly the team that nobody thought was going to do anything won a few playoff games, and the next thing you know the 2008 Arizona Cardinals were confident and hungry and for all intents and purposes should have beat Pittsburgh in the Superbowl. Believe me, I loved every minute of it, but jeez, where did that come from?!
Everything came together perfectly: the leadership of a seasoned veteran quarterback, continuity on the offensive line, two superstar wide receivers hitting their prime, a rookie defensive back playing man-to-man defense out of his mind, a defensive front seven fighting for respect, and a capable coaching staff motivating the team to prove everyone wrong.
Will that happen again this year? Probably not. History shows that the losing team in the Superbowl has only made the playoffs once the following season since 2000, including the 18-1 Patriots team just one year removed from their last second loss to the Giants in Superbowl XLII.
Sure Tom Brady got hurt, but that’s the whole point. Something bad happens. Teams lose momentum. They lose coaches. Players leave via free agency.
Basically, it’s no cakewalk to get back the following year.
That’s why I’m saying reward Boldin now. Stem the tide that opened with the loss of offensive coordinator Todd Haley to the Chiefs (new head coach), the firing of defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast, and all the negative talk revolving around Boldin’s contract and Warner’s potential retirement. Commit to putting a winner on the field by signing Boldin and unrestricted free agent Karlos Dansby and your odds of talking Warner out of retirement increase immensely.
Boldin wants to be part of a winner, but the Cardinals must commit to winning now. Beyond 2009, Warner will almost certainly retire, and who knows how successful the Matt Leinart era will be.
But with Boldin and Warner back next year, the stars could align again. The NFC West will be improved, but the Cardinals are still probably the team to beat. Warner probably won’t repeat his 2008 performance, but with Fitzgerald and Boldin hitting their prime while second year players Tim Hightower, Calais Campbell and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie improve, who knows, maybe the Cardinals can find the playoff magic again.
The Cardinals proved people wrong with great success in 2008. Let’s hope they do it again in 2009.
Category: 2009 Season, Editorial | Tags: Anquan Boldin, Calais Campbell, Clancy Penderg, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Early Doucet, J.J. Arrington, Jerheme Urban, Karlos Dansby, Ken Whisenhunt, Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Matt Leinart, Steve Breaston, Todd HaleyHat trick!!!
September 16, 2008
Kurt Warner and Anquan Boldin connected for 3 TDs in a convincing 31-10 home victory over the Miami Dolphins.
Kurt Warner described Sunday as “one of those days when everything’s clicking and you feel like you can’t be stopped”.
The aerial assault began with Warner’s first pass of the day, a 79-yard TD completion to Anquan Boldin, and they were just getting started. Watch video highlights on NFL.com here.
Keys to Victory:
* Offensive Rhythm - Warner hit Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin in rhythm, which allowed the athletic wide receivers to run after the catch for huge gains. Warner spread the ball around with completions to 7 different receivers, which kept the Dolphins’ secondary from successfully double teaming any one player. Warner’s quarterback rating of 128.5 is second best in the NFL (Ben Roethlisberger leads with a 136.3 rating).
Arizona Receiving
* Offensive Line Play - the Cardinals have allowed 5.0 sacks this year through the first two games (compared with 1.0 total last year at this time), but thus far the offensive line has been fantastic in protecting Warner, it’s just that he refuses to throw the ball away and takes coverage sacks. Similarly, the team is averaging a paltry 2.7 yards per rushing attempt (31st in the league), but the line has only allowed 4 drive-stalling tackles for a loss on running plays in 2008 (combined -6 yards), compared to 6 tackles for a loss (combined -20 yards) through the first two games in 2007. That’s a huge improvement.
* Quarterback Pressure - Bertrand Barry (1 sack) and the Cardinals kept the opposing team’s quarterback uncomfortable in the pocket for the second straight game.
