Antoniosmith Posts -- FanHouse

Latest Antoniosmith Stories

Minnesota Favre vs Houston Texans: MNF Subplots to Watch

Posted: Aug 28th 2009 2:30PM by Stephanie Stradley (author feed)
Filed under: Texans, Vikings, AFC South, NFC North, NFL Analysis

9 COMMENTS

The Monday Night Football game between the ~~Favres~~ Vikings and Texans is certain to have a ton of Brett Favre talk, even with Tony Kornheiser departing the booth. Post-shoulder surgery Favre playing an entire half of football with his new team is news. Football fans will be watching to see if he can make the throws that he wasn't able to make at the end of last season.

But the Favre story isn't the only one to watch in this game. There's a number of interesting stories to look at for two teams that have been mentioned as playoff teams.

Continue Reading Minnesota Favre vs Houston Texans: MNF Subplots to Watch

Summer Scramble: NFC West Burning Questions and Prediction

Posted: Jul 29th 2009 2:00PM by Dan Graziano (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, Rams, Seahawks, NFC West, FanHouse Previews, NFL Predictions, NFL Analysis

0 COMMENTS

It's July, the slowest month of the year for the NFL, and it's driving you nuts. You need a fix. A hit. Anything NFL to pull you through the dog days. FanHouse is here to help with an in-depth look at each division that should have you plenty prepared for training camp. We're calling it Summer Scramble, and this afternoon we look at some Burning Questions in the NFC West and offer a ridiculously early prediction.

Continue Reading Summer Scramble: NFC West Burning Questions and Prediction

Cards Balance Offense, Deepen Defense

Posted: Apr 29th 2009 1:30PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Arizona Cardinals, NFC West, NFL Draft

1 COMMENT

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

Assuming the loss of last year's offensive coordinator Todd Haley -- and also assuming they keep Anquan Boldin around and happy -- doesn't prove catastrophic, the Arizona Cardinals have built one juggernaut of an offense. Along with Kurt Warner, two of the league's best wideouts, a quality slot receiver and Tim Hightower, the Cardinals have now added an NFL-ready every down back for good balance. Edgerrin James was on his last legs in 2008, and Hightower isn't suited to handle a full load. Enter: Chris "Beanie" Wells.

Continue Reading Cards Balance Offense, Deepen Defense

The Perfect Draft: Arizona Cardinals

Posted: Apr 23rd 2009 3:00PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Arizona Cardinals, NFC West, NFL Draft

0 COMMENTS

With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.

After a Cinderella run to the Super Bowl -- and nearly winning the thing -- the Cardinals will look to continue building momentum as a franchise. They have a gaping hole in the backfield, because there is no true every-down back on the team anymore. Also, Anquan Boldin's situation really needs to be resolved, and the team could struggle to replace dearly departed offensive coordinator Todd Haley.

Continue Reading The Perfect Draft: Arizona Cardinals

Antonio Smith's Late '08 Emergence Earns Him Some Coin

Posted: Feb 28th 2009 5:00PM by Tom Mantzouranis (author feed)
Filed under: Texans, NFL Free Agency

0 COMMENTS

Every year, players from that season's Super Bowl hit free agency. Inevitably, a few are overvalued because of their role on a successful team and signed to contracts that their individual talent can't quite live up to.

Will the Texans be the latest to fall prey to this circumstantial inflation?

It's possible, as they've inked ex-Cardinals defensive end Antonio Smith to a five-year, $35 million deal to occupy the bookend spot on the line opposite of Mario Williams. The deal includes $12.5 million in guarantees.

Continue Reading Antonio Smith's Late '08 Emergence Earns Him Some Coin

Arizona Cardinals: Sky-High Expectations

Posted: Feb 26th 2009 1:00PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Arizona Cardinals, NFC West, NFL

5 COMMENTS

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

After astonishing everyone and heading to the Super Bowl last season, the Arizona Cardinals now face truly raised expectations for the first time in memory. We all remember the magical postseason run, when Larry Fitzgerald established himself as the NFL's premier wideout (even if Andre Johnson wants to argue), Kurt Warner polished his legacy, and the defense showed its capability -- one we had not seen much in the regular season.

Continue Reading Arizona Cardinals: Sky-High Expectations

Surprising Cardinals Must Prioritize Offseason Needs

Posted: Feb 11th 2009 1:08PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Arizona Cardinals, NFC West, NFL Free Agency, NFL Rumors, NFL

0 COMMENTS

The Arizona Cardinals are coming off the most successful season in franchise history. This offseason, they'll face a myriad of personnel decisions which could go far in determining it we witnessed a beginning or an outlier. In addition to the high profile cases of Kurt Warner, Anquan Boldin, and Edgerrin James, the Cardinals also have several other key issues to resolve.

Karlos Dansby and Antonio Smith are free agents. The contracts Adrian Wilson and Darnell Dockett should be addressed, and they need to hire three significant coaching holes -- offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach.

Continue Reading Surprising Cardinals Must Prioritize Offseason Needs

Anatomy of a Play: Cardinals Outside Linebacker Loop

Posted: Jan 29th 2009 3:41PM by JJ Cooper (author feed)
Filed under: NFL, Super Bowl, Cardinals

0 COMMENTS

To get you ready for Super Bowl XLIII, we're diagramming a couple of key plays in Anatomy of a Play.

While the Steelers have a reputation as a blitzing team, the Cardinals are actually the team that will most likely do anything and everything to create havoc on defense.

Pittsburgh believes that it can get pressure with a four-man rush. Arizona, on the other hand, will probably send five, six and even seven to put Ben Roethlisberger on the ground. The Cardinals will also likely blitz their inside linebackers in first- and second-down situations to try to create problems in the Steelers' run game.

Continue Reading Anatomy of a Play: Cardinals Outside Linebacker Loop

Between the Lines: Analyzing the Cardinals' Front Seven

Posted: Jan 27th 2009 11:40AM by JJ Cooper (author feed)
Filed under: NFL, Super Bowl, Cardinals, Steelers

0 COMMENTS

Every week this season we've analyzed some aspect of line play for Between the Lines. So for the Super Bowl, we are analyzing all aspects of the battle at the line of scrimmage.

When you watch the Cardinals defense and try to discover tendencies, or pick out stars and weak spots, you can't help but get tripped up by one glaring problem -- if you go back and watch the Cardinals during the regular season, you feel like you're watching a different team than the one that cruised through the NFC playoffs.

Continue Reading Between the Lines: Analyzing the Cardinals' Front Seven