Season Recap - 2010 Arizona Cardinals

Final Record: 5-11

Finished: 4^th Place in the NFC West

2011 Draft Position: 5^th

Preseason Ranking:   17
Preseason Letter of Misfortune:

I was very sad to hear last spring that Kurt Warner had, in fact, decided to retire. Never has there been a player so gracious in defeat, so humble in victory and so thankful for the opportunities he was given. He made the most of his second chances in the NFL and when concussions dimmed the prospects of his continued success, a trip to the desert for one last opportunity proved he still had what it took to play. Few quarterbacks have taken two different teams to the Super Bowl. Fewer quarterbacks still have ever been so down and out – literally out of the league bagging groceries for a living – as Kurt Warner and managed to come back into prominence. Even in retirement, he has played no media games, as other superstar quarterbacks are wont to do. He said he would retire and he did. What a novel idea.

Warner’s retirement puts the focus of the Cardinals offense back squarely on Matt Leinert. The starting job is his to lose. Though the Cardinals seem to have faith in his ability to step in and fill the void left by Warner, they still signed Derek Anderson during the offseason to back-up and even challenge Leinert for playing time. The two quarterbacks are familiar with each other, having met while attending high school all-star camps back when they were 17. While in college, Leinert’s USC Trojans squared off against Anderson’s Oregon State Beavers in 2004 and USC came away with a 28-20 victory.

Both quarterbacks were less than perfect in their preseason opener against the Texans. Leinert threw the ball accurately, connecting on 6 of 7 passes for 49 yards, but was sacked multiple times and fumbled a handoff. Anderson managed to throw a TD pass, but also hit Texan defensive backs with two passes and hurt his chances to put more pressure on the coaching staff to move him up to the starting role.

For now, by default, Leinert remains the guy in Arizona. The entire first-team offense struggled against the Texans, so it’s still too early to blame Leinert directly. With the competition in camp heating up as the regular season approaches, he’ll have to distance himself from Anderson if he ever wants to be anything more in the NFL than a footnote in Kurt Warner’s bio.

Week 1: Defeated the St. Louis Rams, 17-13

Ranked – 6

Surprised? So am I, but despite 25 fumbles, Arizona lays a strong claim to the elusive NFC West crown.

Week 2: Lost at Atlanta Falcons, 41-7

Ranked – 19

            In an aerial battle, the Falcons emerged the true birds of prey. At least Oakland comes to Phoenix next week. Nothing helps you get over a whipping like playing the Raiders the following week. 

Week 3: Defeated the Oakland Raiders, 24-23

Ranked – 15

You dodged a bullet on Sunday. Multiple bullets. A team of your caliber shouldn't need to get lucky to beat teams like the Oakland Raiders.

Week 4: Lost at San Diego Chargers, 41-10

Ranked – 19

Any chance Warner will give up his dancing shoes and return to Arizona? Just four games into the season and the Cardinals are already on to their third quarterback.

Week 5: Defeated the New Orleans Saints, 30-20

Ranked – 18

Cardinals make the most of the Saints' mistakes and now have the inside track to the NFC West title.

Week 6: BYE WEEK

Ranked – 19

The bye week should only help Max Hall gain more confidence before his next start.

Week 7: Lost at Seattle Seahawks, 22-10

Ranked – 19

The defense shows some potential and the offense could explode if a quarterback ever emerged with enough accuracy to hit the talented wide receivers.

Week 8: Lost to Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 38-35

Ranked – 27

Finally, the offense gets things moving only to have the defense fall flat on its face.

Week 9: Lost at Minnesota Vikings, 27-24

Ranked – 26

The Cardinals showed a lot of spirit on Sunday until the final minutes of the 4th quarter. Like the 49ers, their season can still be salvaged.

Week 10: Lost to Seattle Seahawks, 36-18

Ranked – 27

After looking so good on the road against Minnesota, the Cardinals get pasted in the desert by birds who have shown very little life in recent weeks.

Week 11: Lost at Kansas City Chiefs, 31-13

Ranked – 30

Larry Fitzgerald isn't happy and wants to feast on caviar instead of the garbage Arizona has been serving. That doesn't bode well for next season.

Week 12: Lost to San Francisco 49ers, 27-6

Ranked – 29

All laughing aside, the Cardinals are still only two games out of first-place in the NFC West, but if they can't beat the other NFC West teams, how pathetic must they be?

Week 13: Lost to St. Louis Rams, 19-6

Ranked – 31 (ROCKY WEEK!)

Reporter: Why do you wanna keep playing?

            Derek Anderson: Because I can't sing or dance.

Week 14: Defeated the Denver Broncos, 43-13

Ranked – 26

It's nice to know the Cardinals can embarrass other teams once in a while, instead of just being embarrassed themselves.

Week 15: Lost at Carolina Panthers, 19-12

Ranked – 32

The Cardinals actually recorded an Offensive Fumble Recovery for a Touchdown when Arizona wide receiver Steve Breaston recovered a fumble in the end zone after running back Tim Hightower fumbled at the 5 yard line. Unfortunately, it came during a game Arizona lost to the hapless Carolina Panthers. All the good karma from the Offensive Fumble Recovery Touchdown is wasted after they only managed to score 12 total points against a Panthers team that typically gives up twice that much.

Week 16: Defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 27-26

Ranked – 31

The Cards have serious issues on offense they will need to address during the offseason, starting at the quarterback position. On the bright side, the defense looks somewhat solid.

Week 17: Lost at San Francisco 49ers, 38-7

Final Rank - 31

Tomorrow, the 2010 Cleveland Browns...