Cards Need to Take Page from Inter Milan
By Scott Allen
Inter Milan won the Champions League 2-0 today on a pair of goals by Diego Milito to win their first championship in 45 years. Whatever they did en route to their championship. The Arizona Cardinals need to take the same attitude. Why give up on the dream just because you have some roster changes?
Winning a lot of the times reflects the coach. For Inter Milan, their coach, Jose Mourinho, who calls himself “Special One”, is know to be a hot commodity and rumors have him going to Real Madrid next season.
As for the Cardinals, winning the NFC West the past two seasons has clearly reflected the attitude of their coach Ken Whisenhunt. Now, although I’m fairly certain Whiz will not go out and proclaim himself “special”, I am certain he realizes what he has built in Arizona over the past three seasons. I am sure the rest of the front office, including General Manager Rod Graves, knows as well. So in order to continue to build and get the Cardinals to the Super Bowl, there are some things that need to be resolved quickly before training camp starts.
- Resolve the quarterback issue. I don’t mind having an open competition in training camp between Matt Leinart and Derek Anderson, but if that’s the way it is going to go, at least let them know if not the fans and media. Rumors have swirled around obtaining Marc Bulger. If you are taking that shot, do it now. Rod Graves denied the Cards are looking, but didn’t squash the thought, saying he is “leaving options open”.
- Clarify the rolls of running backs Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells.
- Find out who your third and fourth receivers will be. Third should be Early Doucet. If so, who is number four?
- Resolve the Deuce Lutui contract issue. I don’t care which way it goes, sign him or say you aren’t signing him. It is one of few distractions this team has right now. it would be nice to have none going into training camp.
- Find out who are your best men for the secondary. It was clearly the weakness of the team in 2009. There are some new faces such as Kerry Rhodes. The new guys need to make immediate impacts.
Do whatever it takes. Get your house in order. This is the time to do it. Wouldn’t it be nice going into the preseason knowing who your number one QB is, your number three and four receivers are, and who is going to step up to improve the secondary? In a perfect world that would happen. We all know we don’t live in one. Let’s hope the Cards though want to live in a world where everyone is on the same page and continues to drive towards the ultimate goal, a Super Bowl championship!
Scott Allen