Considering I barely have time to stay up on what our division rival teams are doing, I would assume people that are less obsessed may have the same issue. With that in mind, I wanted to pass along some articles that look at how the Arizona Cardinals have fared so far in this preseason. I will be including this type of feature throughout the season for people that read voraciously on the NFL, but if you're not interested just go ahead and skip this post.
In a nutshell, the Cards lost to the defending Champion Green Bay Packers 28-20 but the big loss was their 2nd round pick, running back Ryan Williams, to a patellar tendon tear. He'll miss the season. It's a tough break for the Cardinals as he was expected to carry a large part of the load along with Beanie Wells.
Also, Arizona inked that one guy Larry Fitzgerald to a rather large contract.
Three things revisited: Cardinals-Packers - NFC West Blog - ESPN: Kevin Kolb affirmations: The Cardinals' new quarterback wisely kept throwing the ball to Larry Fitzgerald, covered or not. The diving one-handed catch Fitzgerald made wasn't even a one-handed catch. He caught the ball between his forearm and shoulder pad. Kolb: "They had a drop-eight situation where the back was getting out underneath him, so I just tried to get it to a spot where he couldn’t get it and I knew Larry was going to try to do something special, and he did. I didn’t mean to put it out that far, but it is nice to have somebody on your side that can make those kinds of plays. Playmaking is not a problem for us. For us it is about cleaning up the details." There were times when Kolb held the ball too long, inviting pressure a couple of times and throwing too late for an open Fitzgerald another time. I thought Kolb's offensive line generally held up well in protection. Having Clay Matthews watching from the sideline had to help. The Cardinals sustained two long drives with Kolb in the lineup, but they settled for field goals on both of them. Penalties were a problem.
Cardinals Rookie Ryan Williams Likely Out For The Season With Ruptured Patella Tendon - Revenge of the Birds: One of the major goals in the Preseason is to get out of each game without any major injuries. That didn't happen tonight with rookie running back Ryan Williams going down with what appears to be a ruptured patella tendon on his first carry of the game against the Green Bay Packers. Williams had to be carted off the field, and he was surrounded by his teammates when he was placed on the cart where you could see how emotional he was about the injury. The Cardinals locker room was described as described as "dejected" following the game after the severity of Williams' injury was revealed.
5 Positives From Arizona Cardinals/Green Bay Packers Preseason Game - Revenge of the Birds: The Green Bay Packers beat the Arizona Cardinals 28-20 in their Week 2 preseason game and rookie Ryan Williams might be sidelined for the season with a torn patella tendon. But despite these negatives, not everything was bad that happened Friday night at Lambeau Field. In particular, there were five things that stood out as things that happened that were positive for the Cardinals.
Five Negatives Coming Out Of The Cardinals Second Preseason Match - Revenge of the Birds: During last night's game against the Green Bay Packers, there was plenty to cheer about. The offense and defense both looked much more locked in than the previous game against the Raiders, but the Cardinals were unable to overcome the Super Bowl champs and fell 28-20. Even though the team looked better than last week, there are still some things that the team needs to improve upon and some negatives that came out of this game.
azcentral.com blogs - Kent Somers - Replacing Ryan Williams: Running back Ryan Williams had not played in a meaningful NFL game, yet the Cardinals face a tough challenge in replacing him. Tests on Saturday confirmed that Williams suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee Friday night against the Packers and will be out for the season. A second-round pick out of Virginia Tech, Williams is expected to undergo surgery early this week.
Foresight 20-20 on Hightower trade - NFC West Blog - ESPN: One of my regular Facebook correspondents, Jeremy, is an Arizona Cardinals fan I met down at University of Phoenix Stadium a couple of seasons ago. Jeremy reached out over the weekend to say the Cardinals would happily undo the Tim Hightower trade now that running back Ryan Williams is out for the season. He characterized Hightower's trade to the Washington Redskins "premature" and lamented what Arizona received in return (Vonnie Holliday and a sixth-round pick). [+] Enlarge Sam Sharpe/US Presswire The Cardinals traded Tim Hightower this offseason to the Redskins for Vonnie Holliday and a draft choice. I pulled a Ken Whisenhunt at this point, noting that hindsight was 20-20. As Whisenhunt suggested, no one could have reasonably known Williams would suffer a torn patella tendon. But it wasn't hindsight in Jeremy's case. Looking back at our conversation, he questioned the trade back on Aug. 5.
Arizona Cardinals/Green Bay Packers Rewind: 1st Team Offensive Breakdown - Revenge of the Birds: As it was done for the the game against the Oakland Raiders, now that we are a few days past the completion of the Arizona Cardinals' game against the Green Bay Packers, we now go back and look at the offensive sets and playcalls. For today, though, we will only look at the first-team offense led by Kevin Kolb. What does it look like?
Fitzgerald deal: Eleven thoughts on No. 11 - NFC West Blog - ESPN: Eleven thoughts after Arizona Cardinals president Michael Bidwill and Pro Bowl receiver Larry Fitzgerald announced a new eight-year contract agreement for Fitzgerald:
Fitz's Fortune | National Football Post: There may be no player in the NFL who has maximized his earnings more than Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. As he signs one of the highest total value contracts -- $120 million -- in NFL history today, Fitzgerald has completed the trifecta of blockbuster contracts, with each contract bettering the standard he set in the prior one. Let’s examine:
Three things revisited: Cardinals-Packers - NFC West Blog - ESPN: Pass-rush inflation: The Cardinals did get pressure on Aaron Rodgers at times, but not from their outside linebackers. Darnell Dockett was active and dominant, appearing healthier than he was last season. Fellow defensive end Calais Campbell also got pressure. O'Brien Schofield repeatedly pressured Matt Flynn once the backups were in the game. That was a good sign for Arizona, but also a reflection of that inflation referenced in the lead-in to this item. Green Bay allowed five sacks in its first preseason game. This one offered more of the same. I'd be interested in seeing Schofield work with the first-team defense in the next preseason game. Joey Porter and Clark Haggans don't need the work as much at this point in their careers.
azcentral.com blogs - Kent Somers - Replacing Ryan Williams: Running back Ryan Williams had not played in a meaningful NFL game, yet the Cardinals face a tough challenge in replacing him. Tests on Saturday confirmed that Williams suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee Friday night against the Packers and will be out for the season. A second-round pick out of Virginia Tech, Williams is expected to undergo surgery early this week.