The NFL season "officially" came to a close this past Sunday when the Pro Bowl was played in Honolulu. Next season the Super Bowl will be the conclusion to the season as the Pro Bowl will be played in the off week in between the big game. This is only fitting since every NFL fan knows that the Pro Bowl is a meaningless game. I was relieved more than anything after the game. Although my NFL season was finished sometime in November, I'm glad that the season done for everyone. This season has truly tested my patience and I need the break.

There are several story lines that we should be following throughout the off-season. I'm sure that ESPN will air them all today, starting with everything and anything related to the Dallas Cowboys, but I assure you that there is more going on in the league than that. Here are a few that I find the most intriguing.

- The Quarterback Carousel:

Several teams have some big issues at the QB position. Starting with the NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals, Kurt Warner will need to decide whether or not he will return for another year. If I'm working in the front office in Arizona, I'm doing everything in my power to bring him back. The Cardinals will be hurting without him next season and they need to realize that.

Kerry Collins is also hitting the market, which normally wouldn't be big news, but it is this year. The Titans have already mentioned that they want him back but I
think Collins might be playing a little too much hardball. He has publicly said he would want more than Warner, which to me sounds ridiculous. Collins didn't win any playoff games this year and didn't even come close to matching Warner's numbers. Both Collins and the Titans need each other and they sooner they realize that, the easier things will be. On a related note, if Collins comes back we also have to wonder what will happen with Vince Young. Will he sit on the bench for another season and demand a trade?

Just as I was writing that we're going to faced with another off-season of Favre, it appears as if he is going to retire. It's being reported on ESPN that he informed his agent that he is hanging it up this off-season. We can only pray that this is finally true and Favre will just go away. Honestly. I've never been more annoyed with a player in the past season than I have with Favre. I hope it was worth it for the Jets. Now they will go into this season not knowing what they have at QB because they wasted an entire season on Favre. Good luck with that.

The Browns are on this list as well, choosing between Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson. They appeared to have made the call last season, but with a new coaching staff, who knows. I think it will be Quinn, which also leads me to believe that Anderson will need to be traded somewhere else.

Several other teams also have to make some QB choices. The Chiefs will need to decide whether or not Tyler Thigpen in the answer. The Eagles will need to make another call on Donovan McNabb. The Bears will have another off-season to ponder the QB situation, most likely going outside the organization this time. The Lions will have to decide if they should use the first overall pick in the draft on a QB. The 49ers will also have to make the call on Shaun Hill.

- The Free Agent Market

There is a pretty good group of free agents hitting the market. The pack is led by Titans DT Albert Haynesworth. I have a pretty good feeling that Tennessee recognizes his worth and shows him the money, but if they don't get it done by the start of free agency, several other teams will be throwing wads of money at the guy.

Julius Peppers is hitting the market as well and has pretty much sealed the deal that he won't be back in Carolina. He spoke on the sidelines at the Pro Bowl and basically said as much. If I were a Carolina fan, this wouldn't make me very happy with the guy, but it's a business and he has to do what he wants to do. He has mentioned that he wants to play in a 3-4 defense and if he holds true to that, he narrows the list of potential teams. If you're bored during the off-season, just visit the message board of any team and read "legit" reasons why an elite player like Peppers would want to go to their team.

Baltimore also has to make the call on Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs. Head Coach John Harbaugh has slightly hinted that the team could only bring one of these players back and made it seem like it will be Suggs. I personally couldn't picture Ray Lewis playing for another team. His name is synonymous with the Baltimore Ravens and he should stay. There have been rumors of him jumping ship to Dallas, but I think that will be a mistake on both parts. Dallas really isn't that good of a team, no matter what the media wants you to believe and Dallas needs to focus on building a winning team, not getting big names and building a fantasy football team. I've also read about him playing for the Jets and his old defensive coordinator, Rex Ryan. Speaking as a fan who sees the Jets twice a year, no thank you.

- Off-Season Moves

Along with a few moves I've mentioned before, there are a few others that will be interesting to watch. Anquan Boldin is again wanting out of Arizona. He mentioned during the Pro Bowl that he loves playing with his team, but doesn't necessarily like the front office. That is all fine and dandy for him, but he needs to stay in Arizona. I don't think he realizes how good he has it lining up opposite of Larry Fitzgerald. I've seen this situation play out several times and it never ends well for the receiver who leaves town. Can you say, Peerless Price? Fitzgerald and the Cards will be hurt slightly if Boldin is shipped off, but they will recover and move on.

One destination I've read about was Boldin going to the Giants. This could be a possibility because the Giants were definitely a different team without Plax and who knows if he'll come back or when he'll come back. Boldin would be a decent fit with the Giants, but I still think his best career move would be to stay in Arizona. Speaking of Plax, he still has legal matters to address before he can think of playing again. I think the Giants miss him and want him back, but that relationship is all but finished. He displayed some pretty stupid and selfish behavior last season that most likely caused them to miss out on a second straight Super Bowl trip.

I hate mentioning the guy, but T.O. will be in the news plenty this off-season. I'm not even going to bring up his reality show since that is a joke, but whether or not he stays in Dallas is also being brought up. It took a few more years for the real T.O. to show up in Dallas, but he did last season and they suffered for it. The Cowboys got swindled in a trade for WR Roy Williams last season, and on the outside he could be the replacement for T.O., but I don't see that working out at all. I'd say this will be an interesting story to follow, but just about anything T.O. related gives me a migraine, so I'll let everyone else fill me in on the details.

The Pacman era is officially over in Dallas, as the Cowboys released the cornerback on Monday. Looking back, it wasn't a terrible move by Dallas. They barely gave up anything for the guy, so it was worth a shot (sorry, poor choice of words), but it didn't work out. Not that Pacman should be worried about this though; he has many more important things to worry about.

On a similar note, Michael Vick will be out of jail soon and Dallas..errr..I mean Oakland..err I mean some team might be willing to give him a chance to play. Truth be told, he is the perfect QB for the Wildcat, if some team wants to implement that gimmick offense. I don't agree with it, but he will get another chance in the NFL. Of course, this is all assuming that he has stayed in the shape during his prison term. I'm guessing he has and he'll see he way back on to an NFL roster soon enough.

For now these are some of the bigger issues heading into the NFL off-season. There will surely be more and I'm sure I missed a few. The Combine is coming up on February 18th – 24th which leads us to the draft. Be sure to check back with us between that time as we'll be joining that masses with our own mock draft before the big day.

It still doesn’t sound quite right, but the Arizona Cardinals are taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday in Super Bowl XLIII. The Cardinals came into the playoffs as the number four seed in the NFC by way of an easy division championship. Many fans and writers felt as if they didn’t even deserve to make the playoffs when they qualified. Few people gave them a chance in the Wild Card round against Atlanta, even less gave them a chance in the Divisional round at Carolina, and just about everyone (including me) picked the Eagles to knock them off in the NFC Championship. One thing is for sure heading into Sunday; the Cardinals deserve to be there and will put up a good fight against the Steelers.


Before the season even started, the Cardinals were in the news for their decision to go with Kurt Warner at QB instead of their first round draft pick from USC, Matt Leinart. It was a gutsy call by Coach Ken Wisenhunt, but one he felt he had to make in order to win more games. Looking back, it seems to have been the right decision. The Cardinals started out 2-0 with wins over San Francisco and Miami, and then lost the next two games on the East Coast to Washington and New York.

Arizona returned home to face the 4-0 Buffalo Bills. The Cardinals trashed the Bills 41-17 and essentially exposed them as frauds to the rest of the league, sending Buffalo into a tailspin that would last all season. They then got a big win at home against Dallas when they blocked a punt in overtime to win the game. Heading into the bye at 4-2, fans in Arizona were optimistic.

Coming out of the break, Arizona lost a tough game at Carolina, which moved their East Cost record to 0-3. Some would say it was a trend, but the Cardinals ended up proving that theory wrong when it counted the most. The Cards then won their next three games against division opponents which ran their record to 7-3 and 4-0 in the division. It was at this point that almost everybody could see the division was theirs to lose.



Arizona lost a very close game at home to the eventual NFC East Champion New York Giants, then had to travel East on a short week to face Philadelphia for a Thanksgiving Day match-up. They played terrible in that game, losing 48-20. They returned home the following week and overpowered another NFC West team, the Rams, to clinch the NFC West and ensure the fans of at least one home playoff game.

With the last three games essentially being meaningless, Arizona played like it in two of those games. They fell to Minnesota 35-14 and allowed Tarvaris Jackson to throw for a career high four touchdowns. Arizona then traveled east again and moved their East Coast record to 0-5 as they were completely overpowered by the New England Patriots. The Cardinals came home in the final week to beat Seattle, which allowed them to finish the regular season at 9-7 and a perfect 6-0 in the division.

Kurt Warner had an excellent season stat wise throwing for 4583 yards, 30 touchdowns, and finishing the regular season with a QB Rating of 96.9. Arizona didn’t run the ball nearly as much as they passed it, so Edgerrin James finished the season with only 514 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. Rookie Tim Hightower took over the rushing duties mid-season and finished with 399 yards and 10 touchdowns. Wide Receiver Larry Fitzgerald cemented himself as one of the best in the league with 96 receptions, 1431 yards, and 12 touchdowns. Closely following him was teammate Anquan Boldin, who had 89 receptions, 1038 yards, and 11 touchdowns. Boldin’s numbers are even more impressive if you consider the fact that he missed time after being carted off the field against the Jets earlier in the season. As an overall unit, the Cardinals finished fourth in scoring (26.7), fourth in overall yards (365.8), and second in passing yards (292.1).


The defense has held their own and gained momentum during the post-season. They are led by Karlos Dansby, Antrel Rolle, Adrian Wilson, Bertrand Berry, Roderick Hood, and rookie Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The defense combined had 31 sacks, 20 fumbles, 13 interceptions, and 2 touchdowns. Their league ranks aren’t quite as impressive as the offense or nearly as impressive as Pittsburgh’s defense. The Cards finished the season 28th in points (26.6), 19th in yards (331.5), 22nd in passing yard (221.2), and 16th in rushing yards (110.2).

Prediction: Pittsburgh 37, Arizona 17. I tried my hardest to not involve personal bias in my pick and I think the final score reflects that. It's pretty simple, I don't think Arizona is good enough to hang with Pittsburgh. I think the key to Kurt Warner's success is having time in the pocket and I don't think the Steelers defense will give him an ounce of that time. Combine that with a lack of running game, and I don't see this game even being close.