Anquan Boldin, when healthy, is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. This isn't a secret. He's been to three Pro Bowls, enjoyed four 1,000-yard seasons, caught more than 500 passes thus far in only 87 games and scored 41 touchdowns. He's a running back in a receiver's body, though, so he has endured his fair share of injuries -- missing 16 games in his first six seasons due to injury. This season, he's played every game, but he's done so at less than 100 percent.
Looking at his numbers, it's evident he's not himself. His per-game averages show Boldin's on pace for career lows across the board. And he just doesn't seem himself, either. Considering his ankle injury isn't going away without rest -- and the fact that the gamer Boldin won't voluntarily sit out -- should the Cardinals bench him until he's healthy? One Arizona columnist says they should.
NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.
When Justin Tuck showed up to watch film of the Arizona Cardinals this week, he was fired up. He knew what he was going to see -- Cardinals QB Kurt Warner sitting behind his line, taking forever to get rid of the ball while a swarm of receivers ran their routes downfield.
"I was licking my chops," said Tuck, the Giants' defensive end. "But then I went in there and...he's not holding the ball as long as he used to. We're looking at an average of 2.2 seconds, which is a drastic change."
You wouldn't think the Cardinals would have to change much, playing in the weak NFC West and coming off a season in which they represented the NFC in the Super Bowl. But starting with an opening-week loss to the surprisingly game division-rival 49ers, the Cardinals found life as defending conference champs to be tougher than they thought it would be.
NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.
Consider this hypothetical: what if two coaches met in a dark alley and threw down in a no-holds-barred brawl? Who would emerge victorious?
First, some background: back when I was in high school, when my friends and I were pretty creative in finding ways to avoid actually paying attention in class, we'd create brackets (think NCAA Tournament) where we'd pit our teachers against each other**. Whoever we thought would win in a fight advanced to the next round. It always ended with our offensive line coach against our wrestling coach in the finals and a huge argument as to who would come out on top.
Anyway, last week, the Back Porch staff somehow ended up discussing whether Rex Ryan or Tom Cable would win in a old school playground scrap. I passed along the above information, and shortly after that, an idea was born -- NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament.
Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.
After what seemed like about 15 straight seasons heading into the year as the trendy "sleeper" pick of the NFL, the Arizona Cardinals finally realized their potential, winning a home playoff game for the first time in the life of many football fans (myself included) and heading to the first-ever Super Bowl. Now, all of a sudden, expectations are at an all-time high. Can the team thrive, or will they disappoint?
When the Cardinals drafted Matt Leinart 10th overall in the 2006 draft, just about everybody thought it was a perfect marriage. Arizona, the perpetual dark-horse candidate, finally had a franchise quarterback; Leinart, who had excelled in a pro-style offense at USC, was experienced beyond his years and it would only be a matter of time before he assumed the full-time job.
It didn't quite work out like that -- Leinart started 11 games as a rookie and held his own, but he only had five starts in 2007, and spent all of last season watching Kurt Warner lead Arizona to the Super Bowl. Part of the problem was that Leinart struggled with the offense, but there were bigger concerns with his maturity.
Anquan Boldin and Darnell Dockett are both a little upset with their current contract situation. Dockett's situation is a little less exposed because of the constant mention of Boldin's deal, but they're both looking for something new.
And they both have injured hamstrings. Which may or may not be true, but it wouldn't appear that coach Ken Whisenhunt is buying into the injury excuse.
On Monday, the NFL announced its preseason schedule for 2009, and the most intriguing game -- as intriguing as preseason games can be -- might be between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals on Thursday, Aug. 13.
One of the unintended consequences of releasing Terrell Owens is that now there's no one around to take the focus off Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips. (On the upside, the offense is now "Romo-friendly," so there's that.) In previous seasons, Phillips' shortcomings were partly overshadowed by anything T.O. might do, no matter how seemingly benign.
At the annual NFL meetings earlier this week, Phillips offered this thoughts on how long it takes to evaluate a head coach. (Presumably, his response is autobiographical, though he could've been speaking in generalities.)
Even though Kurt Warner just signed a two-year deal to stay in Arizona, Matt Leinart is still a play away, as they say. Except that if you believe the other Cardinals backup, Brian St. Pierre, who told his hometown paper that head coach Ken Whisenhunt promised him the opportunity to win the backup gig.
On its face, it sounds preposterous. Leinart was the team's 2006 first-round pick; St. Pierre was drafted by the Steelers as a late-round afterthought and spent the first few years of his NFL career toiling away on the practice squad.
Anquan Boldin, when healthy, is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. This isn't a secret. He's been to three Pro Bowls, enjoyed four 1,000-yard seasons, caught more than 500 passes thus far in only 87 games and scored 41 touchdowns. He's a running back in a receiver's body, though, so he has endured his fair share of injuries -- missing 16 games in his first six seasons due to injury. This season, he's played every game, but he's done so at less than 100 percent. 
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