In sports odds never really matter to anyone except to people betting on the games. But even if you’re not betting it’s always fun to take a look at the odds and point spreads to see what the experts in Vegas think about your teams chances. Luckily the experts aren’t always right. I know the season just ended and the draft and free agency haven’t happened yet so these odds will change a little. I wouldn’t look into this too much if at all. But anyways, here are the 2011 Super Bowl odds according to Bodog.com as of right now.
It’s hard to believe, that a little over one year ago (371 days to be exact) the Arizona Cardinals were playing on football’s biggest stage–Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Florida.
A little more than a year later, we’ve seen the Cardinals defend their NFC West crown, watched them get eliminated from the Playoffs, and watched their franchise quarterback, Kurt Warner, retire from the game.
The combination of the Super Bowl being just hours away, and the freshness of Warner’s retirement, have me waxing nostalgic today. And that nostalgia has led me to a simple conclusion–Kurt Warner is simply one of the best ever to lace up the cleats on Super Sunday.
The three single-greatest games in Super Bowl history in terms of passing yardage all belong to Warner. In his Super Bowl debut, Warner threw for a Super Bowl record 414 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce in the fourth quarter in the Rams’ 23-16 win over the Tennessee Titans. Last season, Warner threw for 377 yards and 3 touchdowns, including a 64-yarder to Larry Fitzgerald that gave the Cardinals the lead over Pittsburgh with just over two minutes left in the game. In his other Super Bowl appearance (Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002), Warner rallied the Rams in the fourth quarter, running for a touchdown and finding Rickey Proehl for another to tie the Patriots 17-17. New England would later win the game on a last-second Adam Vinatieri field goal.
I spent a good portion of Super Bowl Sunday thinking about exactly where Warner stands against the other legendary quarterbacks in Super Bowl history.
Kurt Warner may be gone, gone from the NFL that is, but he’s far from forgotten. Some in the Midwest would like to keep it that way.
Both Warner’s home town of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and his college, the University of Northern Iowa, are eager to honor the former Cardinal quarterback.
According to the ABC affiliate in Cedar Rapids, his hometown is interested in naming a street near his old high school, now a middle school, after him. If that wasn’t enough, according to a Cedar Valley newspaper–apparently everything in Iowa has Cedar in front of it, except the trees, I hear they’re oak–, UNI is looking to induct them into the school’s hall of fame.
Got to love Midwesterners. Always faithful to one of their own.
Unlike in the Midwest, in a transient city like Phoenix, people and places are easily forgotten.
Luckily for Cardinals’ fans, their practice facility is already located on Warner Road in Tempe and of the all the dozens of quarterbacks that have played for the franchise in Arizona, Kurt and Jake Plummer are the only ones anyone will remember.
The debate over whether or not Matt Leinart is the answer at quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals is in full swing. While no one knows whether or not Leinart will perform at a high level, one thing is certain, the team will need to sign a new backup.
One quarterback that may be on the Cardinals’ list is Miami Dolphin Chad Pennington.
But Pennington could have options elsewhere, including Arizona, where per Darlington at least two players believe the team will make a run at him.
And the chances of Pennington actually playing for the Cardinals are much greater, given the team’s lack of faith in Matt Leinart — who already would have been the starter if the franchise truly viewed him as the long-term answer.
I’ve been as tough as anyone on Matt Leinart but to assert that the team has a “lack of faith” and “would already have named him starter”, seems a little harsh. From every account the team plans to give Leinart every opportunity to be the starter with very little competition.
Pennington would be an interesting signing but only as a backup. Although he has experience as a NFL starting quarterback, he still would be a significant step down from Warner and not much of an improvement over Leinart.
One of the major knocks throughout Pennington’s career is that he has a “weak arm”. Many have said the same thing about Leinart.
If the Cardinals’ are choosing between two weak arms to be the starting quarterback, I’ll take the younger Leinart and his upside any day.
Pennington wants to return to the Dolphins [ProFootballTalk]
Would you rather have Chad Pennington or Matt Leinart as the Arizona Cardinals starting quarterback? Let us know in the comment section below.
If I was an NFL GM and you told me that I could start my franchise and pick one wide receiver in the NFL, I would take Larry Fitzgerald.Fitz has it all.He’s got great size, great hands, excellent speed, great leaping ability, the knack for making the big play and has a great attitude.In the NFL nowadays, whether it is fair or unfair, a number of guys at the wide receiver position have been labeled as divas. Fitzgerald is far from that. While other guys are doing the jig in the end zone, which can be very funny at times, Fitz is throwing the ball to the official.When other wide receivers are complaining about not getting thrown the ball enough, you won’t hear a peep from Fitz.Even though it has been a year since last year’s playoffs I still remember how in awe I was of what Larry Fitzgerald was able to do for the Cardinals.He couldn’t be covered.It certainly helped to have Anquan Bolding opposite him, Steve Breaston in the slot and Kurt Warner at the top of his game, but Fitz put together one of the greatest postseason runs I can remember.I always knew that he was a great receiver.I always knew that his stats were up there with the best of them, but in the postseason last year he was incredible. When it comes to any sport, players make a name for themselves in the playoffs and that’s when Larry Fitzgerald positioned himself as the best receiver in the NFL.
Larry Fitzgerald joined Mully and Hanley on 670 the Score in Chicago to talk about how he feels a year later after the Super Bowl loss, the retirement of Kurt Warner and who he likes in Super Bowl XLIV
On the memories from last year’s playoff run:
“It was great memories, but it’s still a little marred.I woulda loved to be able to get a championship ring.I woulda took all those personal accolades and threw them out the window to get that ring.To be that close to having that championship it still kinda hurts in your gut.I remember all the good things; just the amazing play of Kurt Warner and the rest of our team.”
On the importance of having a good quarterback:
“There’s a lot of truth to that statement.I don’t care who you are.If you don’t have a guy that can throw you the football it’s gonna be a long day at the office.Since Kurt Warner has been here in Arizona, he’s really helped me.Not only on the field but off the field to nurture me and push me to be a really good receiver.He always stays on me to become better.I think Jay (Cutler) is gonna help those guys.With Mike Martz coming in there, with that offense, I think they’re really going to be potent.They’re really gonna be a team to be reckoned with next year.”
On the decision that Kurt Warner made to retire:
“Yeah, it’s gonna be interesting to see.Kurt’s done a fantastic job throughout his career playing football at an extremely high level.Now the young guy, Matt Leinart, gets an opportunity and now everybody around him will have to pull and do a little bit more to help his transition to be that much easier.”
On whether or not he knew Warner was going to call it quits:
“Oh yea.Me and Kurt are very close.We talk all the time and I just knew it was getting to him in terms of the preparation.He’s 38, he has a lot of family, seven kids and a wife, and there are some other things that he’s interested in doing off the field so I’m happy that’s he’s happy.We’re gonna try and move forward and do the best we can.”
On the play of the Saints defense and whether or not it can be classified as dirty:
“No, it’s football.If we were talking about a couple years back before they called a lot of rules to protect the quarterback, that was football every week in the NFL.They just have an old-fashioned way to play, they get after the quarterback.You gotta disrupt the timing and I think you’ve seen them do a good job and it’s been effective.”
On who he thinks will win the Super Bowl this year:
“I gotta go with the Colts.You can’t go against Peyton Manning.He’s incredible and whenever he steps on the field, his team has an opportunity to go out there and be victorious.”
If I was an NFL GM and you told me that I could start my franchise and pick one wide receiver in the NFL, I would take Larry Fitzgerald.Fitz has it all.He’s got great size, great hands, excellent speed, great leaping ability, the knack for making the big play and has a great attitude.In the NFL nowadays, whether it is fair or unfair, a number of guys at the wide receiver position have been labeled as divas. Fitzgerald is far from that. While other guys are doing the jig in the end zone, which can be very funny at times, Fitz is throwing the ball to the official.When other wide receivers are complaining about not getting thrown the ball enough, you won’t hear a peep from Fitz.Even though it has been a year since last year’s playoffs I still remember how in awe I was of what Larry Fitzgerald was able to do for the Cardinals.He couldn’t be covered.It certainly helped to have Anquan Bolding opposite him, Steve Breaston in the slot and Kurt Warner at the top of his game, but Fitz put together one of the greatest postseason runs I can remember.I always knew that he was a great receiver.I always knew that his stats were up there with the best of them, but in the postseason last year he was incredible. When it comes to any sport, players make a name for themselves in the playoffs and that’s when Larry Fitzgerald positioned himself as the best receiver in the NFL.
Larry Fitzgerald joined Mully and Hanley on 670 the Score in Chicago to talk about how he feels a year later after the Super Bowl loss, the retirement of Kurt Warner and who he likes in Super Bowl XLIV
On the memories from last year’s playoff run:
“It was great memories, but it’s still a little marred.I woulda loved to be able to get a championship ring.I woulda took all those personal accolades and threw them out the window to get that ring.To be that close to having that championship it still kinda hurts in your gut.I remember all the good things; just the amazing play of Kurt Warner and the rest of our team.”
On the importance of having a good quarterback:
“There’s a lot of truth to that statement.I don’t care who you are.If you don’t have a guy that can throw you the football it’s gonna be a long day at the office.Since Kurt Warner has been here in Arizona, he’s really helped me.Not only on the field but off the field to nurture me and push me to be a really good receiver.He always stays on me to become better.I think Jay (Cutler) is gonna help those guys.With Mike Martz coming in there, with that offense, I think they’re really going to be potent.They’re really gonna be a team to be reckoned with next year.”
On the decision that Kurt Warner made to retire:
“Yeah, it’s gonna be interesting to see.Kurt’s done a fantastic job throughout his career playing football at an extremely high level.Now the young guy, Matt Leinart, gets an opportunity and now everybody around him will have to pull and do a little bit more to help his transition to be that much easier.”
On whether or not he knew Warner was going to call it quits:
“Oh yea.Me and Kurt are very close.We talk all the time and I just knew it was getting to him in terms of the preparation.He’s 38, he has a lot of family, seven kids and a wife, and there are some other things that he’s interested in doing off the field so I’m happy that’s he’s happy.We’re gonna try and move forward and do the best we can.”
On the play of the Saints defense and whether or not it can be classified as dirty:
“No, it’s football.If we were talking about a couple years back before they called a lot of rules to protect the quarterback, that was football every week in the NFL.They just have an old-fashioned way to play, they get after the quarterback.You gotta disrupt the timing and I think you’ve seen them do a good job and it’s been effective.”
On who he thinks will win the Super Bowl this year:
“I gotta go with the Colts.You can’t go against Peyton Manning.He’s incredible and whenever he steps on the field, his team has an opportunity to go out there and be victorious.”
These are just a few of the responses I got from a mass text I sent out on Friday that simply read “It’s Leinart time.” These responses weren’t from religious people, but apparently the prospect of Matt Leinart inhering the starting QB job from the now retired Kurt Warner has put the fear of God in them. It didn’t get any better the following day, as I told a life-long Cardinal fan that I had more confidence in Matt Leinart than most did. He proceeded to educate me on Cardinal history because he assumed I new nothing about the team - and nothing about football in general. The hardcore fans don’t like Leinart. The casual fans think he is a joke. Apparently Kurt Warner isn’t even that high on him. Well, I still believe in Matt Leinart. I know I’m opening myself up for ridicule here. I know almost no one has my back on this. I know the challenges of coming up with evidence to back my claims that Matt Leinart can be a decent starting QB. I’m going to try - hear me out.
First, Matt Leinart’s rookie year was considered successful by most standards. He led the Cardinals to four of their five wins in 2006. His QB rating wasn’t great, around 74, but acceptable for a rookie. He played well in his first two starts, highlighted by his performance in the famous Monday Night Football battle against the Bears. The team struggled overall, but I would place most of the blame on Denny Green, who at this point in his career seemed to care more about fishing than running an efficient football team. Going 4-7 as a rookie, on a team with a terrible offensive line and coaching staff isn’t the worst start to a career. Matt Leinart jerseys were flying off the shelves during 2006 and 2007, proving there was once a time when Leinart had support in this city.
We all remember Leinart’s career derailing in 2007, but Leinart had some success that season before suffering an injury. He started 2007 horrendously against the 49ers, but horrendous play against the 49ers isn’t just isolated to Leinart, as we have seen the past few years. The Cardinals lost that game 20-17, although they would have won had Eric Green recovered a fumble in the end zone late in the game. The next week the Cardinals notched a win over the eventual division champion Seahawks and Leinart threw for 299 yards. The following week Leinart was awful again, on the road against a very good Baltimore Raven defense. The Cardinals almost won that game because of Kurt Warner’s heroics off the bench. After that game Ken Whisenhunt went to a two-QB system, which is extremely rare in the NFL. The Cardinals beat the Steelers the following week and Leinart led a key touchdown drive late in that game. The next week Leinart got hurt in a win against the Rams and missed the rest of the season.
Leinart got a lot of criticism in 2008, but the two main episodes that stand out were photos of him partying and losing his starting job to Kurt Warner. I never got why people were outraged about Matt Leinart getting photographed doing a beer bong, in his house, during the off-season. All of the sudden Leinart had zero work ethic because he had the nerve to party. I go to graduate school, I work hard every single day, but if someone photographed some of my weekend activities and applied the same logic, I guess I don’t have a work ethic either. Fair or not, the photos cast Leinart as immature in the public eye. In training camp in 2008 Leinart failed to beat out Kurt Warner for the starting job and was heavily criticized. Last time I checked there were only a handful of quarterbacks in NFL history better than Warner, I’m not too concerned that Leinart lost out to Warner.
If 2008 was the worst year of Leinart’s career, 2009 wasn’t that far behind. The Cardinals often built big leads in road games only to squander them when Leinart came into the game. Leinart didn’t play well in these games - highlighted by a horrible pass in the Green Bay game that caused an injury to Anquan Boldin. I can come to his defense a little, however. The Cardinal offense was based almost solely on Kurt Warner’s amazing decision making and accuracy. Warner’s immense command of the playbook allowed him to call different plays at the line and his ability to almost always make the perfect pass is what makes him one of the greatest of all time. Leinart doesn’t have this ability, so of course there was a drop off when he entered the game. There was never a gameplan tailored to his skills. When he started the Tennessee game the offense was stagnate and conservative, but Leinart didn’t spend the entire week practicing with the first team (he split reps with Warner, who figured to be the starter until he scratched himself on game day). In other games when he came in relief of Warner the Cardinals had big leads and everyone on the team had a let down due to the fact that a QB change was basically signaling that the coaching staff assumed the game was over. Sure, Leinart made some bad plays, but I highly doubt anyone was giving close to 100% at those points in the game. It was especially obvious in the defense, when Leinart came they stopped trying. It was all mental.
There is no doubt there are question marks surrounding Matt Leinart entering 2010. He didn’t have a good 2009, but his sample size from that season was too small and the situations he was in were too irrelevant. So many people are formulating a “we’re doomed with Leinart” opinion based on a few meaningless snaps (minus the Tennessee game) he took this past season. If you’re one to believe 2010 is going to be a bad year for the Cardinals, it shouldn’t be because Matt Leinart is the starting QB, it should be because Kurt Warner isn’t.
I have more confidence than most in Leinart and I know I don’t have much to back it up with. I know the argument I just outlined probably won’t make the Matt Leinart haters feel any better heading in 2010. All I can say is if Leinart does surpass expectations next year, remember who was driving his bandwagon in February of 2010. If he bombs like everyone thinks he will, well, it’s not like I have any credibility anyway.
There isn’t many people who would deny that former Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner is a good guy. But it turns out he may be nicer than any of us ever thought.
According to the blog Ask Alyssa All Things PR/Marketing on the Fairytale Brownies website (I’ll scour the internet to find a good source), Warner is amazingly nice even in defeat.
First, we want to thank Kurt Warner for being a Fairytale Brownies Fan. He sent congratulations brownies to Saints coach Sean Payton after the team won against the Cardinals in the NFC divisional playoffs, and then sent another brownie box to him after the Saints beat the Vikings. Thank you, Kurt, for spreading the brownie love!
Sending brownies to the coach of the team that not only knocked your team out of the playoffs but also knocked you out of the game (and league some would argue)? That’s just saintly. And he did it not once, but twice!
The only way most athletes would even consider sending brownies to a foe is if they’re laxative laced or of the “special” variety just days before a league drug test.
It’s unclear whether this was a one-time thing, or if Warner has extended similar niceties to others who have knocked his teams out of the playoffs.
But you’ve gotta wonder, exactly how many brownies do you send someone for winning the Super Bowl? I guess I’ll have to “ask Alyssa” next week if the Saints beat the Colts.
The idea of Matt Leinart as the Cardinals’ starting quarterback in 2010 has fans worried. It sounds like you can count Kurt Warner among that group.
As a guest on Tuesday’s Dan Patrick show, heard locally on XTRA Sports 910 from 7-10AM, Warner talked candidly about his feelings on his former backup Matt Leinart.
Those feelings won’t exactly inspire an immense amount of confidence in the fans.
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“I still don’t know what Matt Leinart’s gonna be,” Warner told Patrick. “I don’t know what his resume’s gonna be when he’s all done. I haven’t seen him play enough.”
Interesting quote from a man who has seen every training camp, practice and game Leinart has played in since coming to the NFL. If there is anyone who should be able to speculate about where Leinart’s career is heading, it’s Warner.
If that wasn’t enough to get the Card fans’ feathers ruffled, his next comment certainly would.
“I haven’t seen him consistently do all of those things and do them at a high level,” Warner said. “I’m gonna be out of the picture. He’s not going to have to live up to that expectation as far as having me behind him.”
In one quote Warner basically confirmed what fans and the media have speculated for years, Leinart is inconsistent and has yet to show he can do things at the highest level.
Post retirement Warner seems to have shed the company lines about Leinart in favor of more honest and candid commentary. The picture he paints is one that plays directly into every negative feeling about Matt Leinart that fans of the Cardinals have and are trying to burry.
Can Leinart carry the load?
Is his arm strong enough to be a starting quarterback in the NFL?
One thing is for sure, as Warner said in the interview, Leinart isn’t going to have the former MVP behind him or the expectations that come with that. Whether that’s good or bad is yet to be seen.
Are you worried about the second coming of the “Matt Leinart Era”? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Eli blogs vigorously on the Arizona Cardinals at his personal blog Voice of the Cardinals here on Fanster as well as on MVN.com. Eli’s podcast “Voice of the Cardinals” can be heard on Fanster Radio. // Eli's Profile
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It’s hard to believe, that a little over one year ago (371 days to be exact) the Arizona Cardinals were playing on football’s biggest stage–Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Florida.
