Ask Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Jan 23, 2009 2:45 PM EST

Well its about that time to discuss anything Cardinals and our upcoming match up with you guys in the Super Bowl. Just to address some obvious situations:

No, the Anquan Boldin situation will not distract our team. And yes, he will play full strength in the Super Bowl.
We rarely call ourselves the Steelers of the West, that's done by the media...but we don't mind it either.
Our injury report doesn't feature any major injuries. Travis LaBoy looked doubtful but has been practicing and looks like he'll play. Other then that, just a few small injuries.
Our defense has stepped up, and luck has nothing to do with it. Our D is completely different from the regular season.
The hype is growing around our city. It may not seem like it to some, but our fan base is expanding greatly.
And finally. Lets hope for a great Super Bowl on February 1st.

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Can you talk about the excitement in Arizona right now?

The last I remember the NFL extended the Blackout Rule because there weren’t enough fans to fill the stadium for a home playoff game. Was that true? What’s it like there now?

Thoughtful discussion with a sense of history

by maryrose on Jan 23, 2009 2:52 PM EST reply actions

Its pretty interesting...

I posted this earlier today about all that. But it has been a crazy feeling. Ive been a fan for a while now and used to feel like a was one of few in Arizona. Now people are sporting jerseys and shirts. Its weird. And I was surprised about that first game taking a while to sell out too. Fact is, fans weren’t sure which Cardinals team would show up. And now we know. The NFC Championship sold out in 6 minutes, right after the Eagles beat the Giants.

Hey, hey, hey hey hey, watch the language, ok? I have a family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Jan 23, 2009 3:00 PM EST up reply actions

So they were just all closet Arizona fans?

They waited until the team started winning to sport team gear? Isn’t that kind of bandwagonish? I for one, have always rocked a Pittsburgh jersey, regardless of how poor we were playing.

by Harrisons Going To Eat You on Jan 23, 2009 3:09 PM EST up reply actions

Now now, no need to rile up the friendly answer-man. It’s hard to gain support for a team that doesn’t have a history of success. Perhaps going forward there will be more cardinals fans that stick with their team and watch. It’s not like there were droves of steelers fans marching the streets in the 1960s (for a variety of reasons).

by steelguy99 on Jan 23, 2009 3:33 PM EST up reply actions

See, I knew we could all get along.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Jan 23, 2009 3:48 PM EST up reply actions

Andrew and I are tight.

by steelguy99 on Jan 23, 2009 3:56 PM EST up reply actions

Thats how we roll.

No I see what you’re saying. You could say the majority of new fans are bandwagoners. BUT, how could you blame em? The Cardinals arrived and never played good. And when you had the Cowboys and Niners winning Super Bowls just a couple states away, it wasnt hard to root for them. Hopefully after the Super Bowl, whether we win or not, they will stay our fans.

Hey, hey, hey hey hey, watch the language, ok? I have a family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Jan 23, 2009 4:34 PM EST up reply actions

I dunno man

As a resident of Metro-Detroit and once-a-year frequenter of Ford Field, I will say those people rock out the Lions stuff regardless of how bad they were…and it’s been like that since the days of the Silverdome.

Now, someone will point to drooping attendance at the end of the season, but Michigan’s economy is 3 times as bad as it is everywhere else right now.

It’s a miracle FF is even half full on gamedays with the product the Fords put on the field.

In short, I’m calling out the bandwagoners (not so much you).

by Romain El 82 on Jan 24, 2009 7:26 PM EST up reply actions

Not me at all..

I’ve had suicidal feelings after some past Cardinals seasons but I’m still here.

Hey, hey, hey hey hey, watch the language, ok? I have a family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Jan 25, 2009 11:39 AM EST up reply actions

Detroit vs. Phoenix. No comparison

Most people from Detroit grew up in Detroit. They were raised as Lions fans by their parents, who in turn grew up watching the team. This is the case in most football cities back east.

Arizona on the other hand is full of transplants, mostly from the east and midwest. Most of these transplants continue to support their old team, which makes it harder to transitition towards supporting a historically poor franchise such as the Cardinals.

by AJ BirdWatcher on Jan 25, 2009 2:49 PM EST up reply actions

It worked in Tampa

they have a huge following since their big win. Not sure how it was before that, but I heard that back in the 70s and 80s you could get tickets for free at the Winn Dixie.

Since it’s Superbowl week, it’s interesting to note that the Bucs were one win away from facing the Steelers in XIV:

The Bucs won the NFC Central Division title and advanced to the 1979 NFC Championsip Game. Played at Tampa Stadium on January 6, 1980, the Bucs hosted the NFC Western Division champion Los Angeles Rams. One week earlier, Tampa Bay was led by running back Ricky Bell who rushed for 142 yards in the Buccaneers’ 24-17 win over the Eagles. Meanwhile, the Rams had stunned the Dallas Cowboys 21-19 to advance to the conference title game.

http://www.profootballhof.com/hall/story.jsp?story_id=2089

"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."

by showtime on Jan 23, 2009 9:15 PM EST up reply actions

So much talk has been made

about the matchup between your offense and our defense. That really is a premier matchup, but I think there’s a good chance the game will be determined by how the other sides – Steeler offense and Cardinals defense – matchup.

Two things scare me against our offense – good man press coverage, and smaller, extremely athletic DT’s (hello Eric Foster and Jason Jones). The former have shut down our passing game, and the latter, surprisingly enough, have shut down our zone-blocking running game.

So my question is are there players on the Cardinals who fit that mold? I’ve been hearing a lot about DRC since the Senior Bowl, but how does he do in press coverage? How good are Darnell Dockett and Bertrand Berry?

Also, more generally, what does your defense do well? What do they not do as well?

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Jan 23, 2009 3:19 PM EST reply actions

Darnell Dockett

He’s a small DT and is pretty quick. Watch out for him. Berry is a hybrid DE and OLB. Berry is has been with the team for a while and is an emotional player. DRC..what else can I say. This guy is special. They said he would have a high learning curve when he was drafted and thats exactly what happened. He’s almost to that point where you could call him a shutdown corner. Expect whoever he covers to have a quiet game.

I remember telling the Panthers fans that he would contain Steve Smith and they told me nobody could cover Smith. Then DRC shut him down. DeSean Jackson had that big catch because DRC went for the INT. That’s a rookie mistake.

Hey, hey, hey hey hey, watch the language, ok? I have a family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Jan 23, 2009 4:44 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, DRC has looked good. He was stride for stride wth Jackson, but that’s what happens occasionally. I’m glad he’s in the NFC, and I’m glad we don’t have a clear #1 WR for him to shut down.

I’ll bet that Dockett gets at least 1 sack and makes our running game look terrible a couple times. He sounds exactly like the type of player that worries me.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Jan 23, 2009 5:02 PM EST up reply actions

talk and a question

I’m not too worried about Dockett. If Mahan were playing I would be, but I think Hartwig has done a pretty decent job this year, especially lately. I trust stapleton to do an alright job when asked to because Dockett isn’t the biggest guy. Stapleton relies on his technique quite a bit being undersized and doesn’t do very well doubling guys like Ngata or Rogers, but if he has to deal with smaller guys he seems to do OK. That doesn’t mean he won’t blow an assignment or two.

To andrew. If the steelers get the run game going, I think the game will lean very favorably towards the steelers. As a cardinals fan, what is it that you like about your D-line/backers vs. our O-line? Obviously the steelers O-line is widely regarded as a laughing stock (and that’s not completely unwarranted either), but they have had some good games against OK D-line’s in the run game (and also gotten stuffed by the colts D-line). Your run defense has been pretty nice in the post-season for such a maligned unit.

Our left side is a pretty good run blocking unit – starks almost always gets push, kemo usually gets push, and hartwig can direct his man. How will your right side deal with that? How are your LBs at breaking TE blocks?

by steelguy99 on Jan 23, 2009 5:19 PM EST up reply actions

What I've seen differently from our D is getting 11 to the ball.

It sounds cliche but its worked. I’ve noticed them all get to the player and try to make a hit, then the rest pile it on. Against the Steelers, expect Gerald Hayes to be assigned to Parker. He’s been assigned to the RB’s every game so far and it has worked. Our D line sometimes will align our big DTs (Watson, Robinson) along side Dockett and Antonio Smith. This works pretty good against the running game. As far as LBs getting passed TE’s. Okeafor is quick off the edge and I havent seen him struggle against TE’s pass blocking.

Hey, hey, hey hey hey, watch the language, ok? I have a family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Jan 23, 2009 6:00 PM EST up reply actions

Having dockett vs Kemo is going to suck. Kemo’s a big oaf that doesn’t like to deal with speedy guys very much. He’s much more of a “HIT!!! ARGH!!!” kind of guy.

by steelguy99 on Jan 24, 2009 5:54 PM EST up reply actions

yeah

That’s why I’m scared of Dockett. He’s exactly the kind of guy that gives Kemo problems.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Jan 25, 2009 12:53 AM EST up reply actions

an easy one

Do the cards tend to defer or take the ball if they win the coin toss? I’m guessing the latter, but it’s just a guess.

by steelguy99 on Jan 24, 2009 12:46 PM EST reply actions

Defer. That's what we've done all season.

How about the Steelers?

Hey, hey, hey hey hey, watch the language, ok? I have a family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Jan 25, 2009 11:41 AM EST up reply actions

We almost always defer.

I’m surprised arizona doesn’t take the ball normally.

by steelguy99 on Jan 25, 2009 2:09 PM EST up reply actions

I beleive we led the league in scoring for the 3rd quarter. If not, we were pretty close.

Hey, hey, hey hey hey, watch the language, ok? I have a family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Jan 26, 2009 12:32 PM EST up reply actions

And we led the league with least amount of pts

allowed int he 3rd.

Guess the 3rd could be an important quarter.

Cool – hope the Boss doesn’t sing too long

by 703Steeler on Jan 26, 2009 4:16 PM EST up reply actions

The Cardinals have scored a whopping 154 point in the 3rd quarter while the Steelers have only given up a measly 29 points. Something definately has to give.

Out of curiousity, does anyone know how many points the Cardinasl have given up in the 3rd quarter? The Steelers have scored 87 points.

by Jonny B. on Jan 26, 2009 5:01 PM EST up reply actions

Question about Arizona's fanbases

The is more about the state of Arizona, not the team itself per se. When I lived in the Midwest a few years ago, I was told by several visiting Arizonans that the most popular team in Arizona was the Packers. In your opinion, was this true prior to the 2008 season? I was always under the impression a team like the Cowboys would have been more popular.

by Tizoc on Jan 25, 2009 1:30 AM EST reply actions

Well as far as favorite sports teams, it would be the Suns.

But I’m pretty sure you’re talking about football and you’re right. Before the past couple seasons, the most popular sports team would be the Cowboys. But like I said at RotB, there’s high fan bases for other teams too. But obviously after this year things have changed.

Hey, hey, hey hey hey, watch the language, ok? I have a family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Jan 25, 2009 11:43 AM EST up reply actions