It’ll be an interesting off season for the Cardinals on many fronts and the QB position will be one of the key areas. There’s been talk since before the season started that KW would sign a two year contract and I still think that’s going to happen. What that will mean for the Cardinals in 2009, we probably won’t know until a week before opening day. I wouldn’t be surprised if KW was the starter at the opening of camp and it was his job to lose. Leinart was in the same situation this season and he blew it. Can Warner hold it together during the preseason? We’ll see, personally I think either guy could lead this team to a good season.

I get the Leinart question every week so I’ll give my standard answer. I still think he is, and will be, a solid NFL QB. I do think he’ll get an opportunity to prove that in Arizona and it could be as early as next season. He had a great off season, hot tub photos excluded of course, and was having a really good camp before the Oakland debacle. He’s got the tools and reportedly matured a great deal over the past year and a half.

It’s the first Division title that I’ve seen in my 27 years on this earth and hopefully I won’t have to wait until my kids are this old to see another one.

Ahh, Hightower and the running game is normally the second question after Leinart. I don’t have have a standard answer though b/c I really don’t know. Hightower was the most popular guy in Arizona about a month and a half ago. He had a great start to the season when he was a short yardage/goal line back and his first game as a starter was brilliant. Since then he’s gone into hiding, with the rest of the running game. Hightower’s much closer to a Marion Barber-type of back than Bush because he’s got a good mix of power and speed. He lacks top end speed but he’s got a good burst to get into the hole. I think most of us at ROTB place at least half, if not most, of the blame on the offensive line though. Outside of one game in St. Louis, the running game has struggled all year long, no matter who’s getting the rock. The running game has struggled so bad that there’s talk of J.J Arrington get more carries, or even becoming the starter.

Playoff positioning aside, the Cards need to prove to themselves and their fans that they can play competitive ball against an opponent that isn’t from the NFC West. They need to prove that they can win on the East Coast. They need to prove that they can play outdoors in playoff weather. They need to prove that they can establish a run game when it’s imperative to do so.

The trend with this squad is that they play hard until they’ve made a couple of mistakes that cause them to get behind by a 10+ points. If the Cards can get a quick score and taste some early success, then they play hard the whole game. ::shrugs:: As wonderful as this season has been in regards to bucking the “same ol’ Cardinals” stereotype, there’s still plenty of those doubt-inducing daemons lurking in the shadows of the players’ minds. So yes, they’ll play hard to exorcise some of those. Many in Arizona still think Warner could still get the MVP nod if he pulls of a stellar performance this week. That’s pretty unlikely considering the weather and Kurt’s unrelenting love of indoor fields.

Personally, I’d like to see them rest some of their guys this week and use the Seattle game as a tune-up for the playoffs. Warner has been showing his age the since getting hammered in the Giants game and his arm is looking tired judging by the fluttering/sailing passes as of late. Matt Leinart is much more mobile which could be more problematic for the Patriots…but I don’t see Whisenhunt giving Matty the nod unless this turns into a 28-0 blowout at halftime. Wait, that happened last week too and Whisenhunt kept Warner in to get sodomized by the Vikings for another 25 minutes…hmmm…don’t expect too much resting starters then!

His injury isn’t considered serious and from what we’ve been told, holding him out of practice was more of a precautionary thing. He hurt the shoulder when he fumbled last week but he didn’t miss at time during the game. If I had to guess, he’ll be limited today and return to full practice tomorrow (when they don’t do much of anything). Either way, he’ll play on Sunday.

Tim Hightower was our rookie-mancrush for the first half of the season but DRC has completely overshadowed him since jumping into the starting lineup. He’s improving every week and it’s been a huge testament to his abilities that Philly and Minny have decided to pick on Hood and pretty much leave DRC alone. He’s a playmaker who gets his hands on alot of passes. Only 13 players in the league have defended more passes than DRC and he played very sparingly early in the year. All in all, I’d say we’re very satisfied with his first 14 games and excited about his future.

…the quote that came out of the aftermath is one I don’t get tired of.

Think the Colts still enjoy a little “Playoffs?! Playoffs?”.