The saddest part about the Arizona Cardinals' historic collapse on Monday Night Football against 'Da Bears is that everyone in the greater Phoenix area must have seen it coming. Like fans of the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers, loyalists in the desert have come to expect the worst from their teams, and the teams generally deliver.
Rex Grossman turned the ball over six times-and the Bears won. The Cardinals led 20-0 at halftime-and the Bears won. The Bears didn't score an offensive touchdown en route to a 24-23 win; they returned a punt for a touchdown, scored two defensive TDs, and notched a field goal. The Cardinals were the first team this season to lose a game while scoring at least 23 points and keeping its opponent's offense out of the end zone.
Not that such futility is new to the Cardinals. Arizona is a franchise that has never been to a Super Bowl or even a league championship game. The Cardinals have had one winning season in the past 20 years, in 1998, and in the seven years since, the team has a record of 35-76, the worst in the NFL.
It's been 60 years since the Cardinals have won a playoff game! That's the longest streak in professional sports history. Take that, Curse of the Bambino, and I don't want to hear any more whining from you Cubs fans out there either. You're cheering for a veritable postseason powerhouse compared to what your beleaguered brethren in Arizona have.
Let's look at this year's Cardinals. The team is loaded at the skill positions. Wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald have each pulled in more than 100 catches for more than 1,400 yards, making them the first teammates in history to reach those statistical milestones. The tightwad Bidwell family opened up the vault for prized free agent acquisition Edgerrin James, who has four seasons to his credit of more than 1,500 yards rushing. With two-time MVP Kurt Warner under center and Heisman Trophy-winner Matt Leinart waiting in the wings, the Cardinals were poised for an offensive breakout in 2006.
Except with no offensive line, all those skill players go to waste, and the Cardinals' line has more holes than a sieve. In his first four games, Warner threw five interceptions, lost three fumbles, and got sacked 12 times, all while absorbing crunching hits from defensive linemen and blitzing linebackers. James is averaging just 2.7 yards per carry, the lowest output of his career by nearly a yard, and he has publicly vented his frustrations with the line's inability to open running lanes.
Nor can all the blame be placed solely on personnel. Cardinals fans are starting to lose hope, and really, who can blame them? The franchise routinely has one of the worst home attendance figures in the NFL, and half the fans that do show up are rooting for the visitors. Many people only live in Arizona during the winter, and make their home elsewhere for the majority of the year; when their team comes to town, they come in droves. Also, geography handicaps the Cardinals. Arizona's location in the far southwest of the country makes for long flights to and from East Coast road games.
Hope really does spring eternal. Every season, sportswriters and fans alike pile on the "Cardinals as a massive sleeper" bandwagon, and every season the bandwagon hits the skids by November. It has to feel like Groundhog's Day for Arizona fans. I'm no NFL expert, but I have two hard-and-fast preseason rules that have served me well in the last few years: take every, "This is the breakout year for the Cardinals!" and "This is the year that Peyton Manning carries the Colts to the Super Bowl!" article with a nugget-sized grain of salt. Neither event ever seems to happen. But hold out hope, Arizona fans! If a phoenix can rise from the ashes, so can a Cardinal.
Matthew Mertens is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major.
