What Cardinals Fans Are Saying

[Jeremy Igo]

This week I continue the bird watching tour of 2016 with a hunt for a rare bird known as a Cardinals fan. When googling communities for fans of the Arizona, I was left with few options. 

Heck, the Huddle came up as a first page result.... That's a new one. 

 

But, there is no shame in having few fans. I actually prefer it to teams like the Seahawks who have a large (but decreasing) amount of fans that know nothing about the team. For the most part, these Arizona fans seem to be knowledgeable. A nice change of pace after last week. 

On the Panthers defensive line

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DL—Here is where, IMO, the game will likely be won or lost for the Cardinals. The Camthers interior DL is very strong. Short and Lotulelei will be the strongest set of DTs the Cardinals face this season. They have faced a similar player in Aaron Donald and have had success. (The Vikes DTs are very good too, just not at this level, IMO). The difference is that Short is almost as good as Donald and Lotulelei is close behind, so the Cards Gs and C will have their hands full. Short is especially disruptive as a pass rusher. On the DE side, the Camthers are less talented. Jared Allen is older and now hurt, while Charles Johnson’s play has slipped precipitously from 2 years ago. Ealy has flashed, but is still inconsistent. The interior guys are the key to the kind of night Palmer is going to have. 

Aside from the "Camthers" nonsense, a pretty fair assessment. Can't disagree with much here. 

On Panthers linebackers

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LB---Without question the LBs Davis and Kuechly form the fastest and best duo in the league and will present problems. They play the run and pass equally well and both cover sideline to sideline with scary tenacity and efficiency. I believe Kuechly may be the best defender not named Watt in the league. How the Cardinals scheme around these two is the 2nd biggest challenge of the game. Shaq Thompson is fast but young and isn’t at the level of Davis or Kuechly. Somehow the Cardinals must protect Palmer and their route scheme must create space away from Davis and Kuechly, who each had 4 INTs on the year. A tall order and easier said than done. 

Again, pretty fair. It is hard for anyone to argue that Luke and TD are not the best linebacker duo in the league. 

On the Secondary

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DBs & S---Here is where, if Palmer has time, the Camthers are most susceptible. Their back end is probably below average with the notable exception of Josh Norman. They’ve had injuries to the other 2 starting corners, who weren’t great in coverage either. Norman is elite, but their scheme keeps him the outside, and they do play zone a lot. So the Cardinals can work Brown and/or Fitz in the slot and should be able to get favorable matchups with the other DBs. The safety position isn’t much better. Roman Harper is smart but slow and Kurt Coleman, despite his 7 INTs, can be had, as well. As a group, they do have 15 INTs, so Palmer can’t be trying to play pitch and catch like he tried with GB last week. The Camthers have given up more points in the 2nd half over the last half of the season than any other team. Certainly in some of those games the scores were such that it didn’t matter, but Indy, GB, NY and SEA all made serious 2nd half runs and none of those teams have the offensive firepower of the Cardinals. Most of that production came at the expense of a very suspect secondary when the pass rush wasn’t getting home. 

Unfortunately, this is realistic as well. Admittedly, the Panthers depleted secondary is the biggest weakness on the entire team. To make matters worse, they are facing the most talented WR corps they have all season. The good news? Carson Palmer is their QB. Palmer looked like a guy who had never won a playoff game in his entire career last week, because he hadn't up until that point. Look for the Panthers to feast on this statue of a QB early. Once banged up, the game is over. 

On stopping the Panthers offense... 

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 Well, first and foremost Cam. He had a hand in 45 TDs…unreal. If the Cardinals can force him into an average or poor game, I think we win. Secondly, Olsen. Dude balls out every week and he must be limited. Figure out a way to keep those two in check and the rest of their team isn’t enough to beat us.

....and here it is. I have posted this same exact thing from almost every opponent this NFL season. Contain Cam... Double Olsen... easy win. Yet the Panthers are now 16-1 and have the highest scoring offense in the league. 

On Cardinals Fans traveling to Carolina

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Anybody else planning on going to the Carolina game? I'm considering driving out for the game from Indy but I'm curious to see where any other fans are sitting

Can you imagine that drive home... freezing cold with no Superbowl thoughts to keep you warm? I recommend he reconsider. There will be 99.5% Panthers fans at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday. It won't be pleasant for visitors. 

On the Panthers turf... 

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I would hate to see it, but we may well do so, the cruddy field in Carolina being the difference between winning and losing.

Routes that require sharp cuts are easier to make than to defend when the conditions underfoot are bad, even when you have the right cleats on.

Same for making adjustments at the line on defense, the RB knows where he is going long before the D, who must react, when footing is treacherous that can be the difference between making and missing the tackle. 

The Panthers have a home field advantage from more than just their home fans, their home turf (swamp) is something that could impact all aspects of the Cards game on both sides of the ball and special teams.

I wonder if BA has the fire-hose out for practices this week!

Looks like the Seattle turf excuse made it into the ether and it is now "a thing". The turf is fine. If football teams can't handle playing in outdoor conditions, they don't belong in the playoffs. Stop whining. 

I must say, for the Cardinals to be in the NFC Championship game it was really rough trying to find anything interesting they were saying. Either they do not expect to win this game or the Cardinals fan base is made up of mostly 75 years olds who stick to AOL chat rooms. 

 

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[Donald LaFell]

that fan really knew his stuff, props to him

[Jakob]

I've been browsing their forum since Monday morning and 9 out of 10 posters seem reasonable, but I don't know why everyone is saying the Camthers? I feel like it's the most lighthearted insult ever, or just an attempt to be funny? I have no idea..

Also, has a single Cardinals fan registered on the huddle yet?

[Donald LaFell]

15 minutes ago, Jakob said:

I've been browsing their forum since Monday morning and 9 out of 10 posters seem reasonable, but I don't know why everyone is saying the Camthers? I feel like it's the most lighthearted insult ever, or just an attempt to be funny? I have no idea..

Also, has a single Cardinals fan registered on the huddle yet?

If anything it would be a compliment to Cam 

[smash_n_dash]

It is Cam's team so.... Thank you Cardinals?

[ItsNotGonnaBeAlright]

Edit: Something Something Cardigeralds

Edited January 21, 2016 by ItsNotGonnaBeAlright

[Toker Smurf]

I hate when they figure us out. I guess they don't want to let Cam put up astronomical numbers like last week, 161 passing yards and 3 rushing yards. Yep, just don't let Cam explode, the rest of our team sucks.

[motocross_cat]

Welp if they diddnt want to play in the carolina "swamp" they should have won more games.

I guess the new trend in society called being a pussy has reached the nfl.....

[Moorgan]

41 minutes ago, Jakob said:

I've been browsing their forum since Monday morning and 9 out of 10 posters seem reasonable, but I don't know why everyone is saying the Camthers? I feel like it's the most lighthearted insult ever, or just an attempt to be funny? I have no idea..

Also, has a single Cardinals fan registered on the huddle yet?

I think I've seen two here this week and both have been pretty knowledgeable and respectful. I have family out in Phoenix and there isn't a huge passionate fan base. As for the field and weather conditions, that is what home field advantage looks like, along with the crowd. Camthers just doesn't rise to the level of anything more than...meh.

[ItsNotGonnaBeAlright]

49 minutes ago, Jakob said:

I've been browsing their forum since Monday morning and 9 out of 10 posters seem reasonable, but I don't know why everyone is saying the Camthers? I feel like it's the most lighthearted insult ever, or just an attempt to be funny? I have no idea..

Also, has a single Cardinals fan registered on the huddle yet?

I guess it would be an insult if we didn't like Cam? I don't know. I mean, we could call them the Carsondals but that just looks like Car Sandals. 

[WilmyWood]

From here on out, the Cardinals shall be known as The Carsondinals.

[sharkkiller]

5 minutes ago, WilmyWood said:

From here on out, the Cardinals shall be known as The Carsondinals.

Why not just Carsonals? It is the same number of syllables, and you really only need to replace the d with an s. 

[theBartmann]

Camthers refers to Cam being the face of the franchise (from our perspective), so you would have to get rid of Carson and find a way to work Larry Fitzgerald into the Cardinals. We all like Carson Palmer as fans, but it is the #11 jerseys that are sold continuously.

And if you are into football, here is a look into Carson and our offensive game planning process from MMQB a little while ago. More than anything any of us Cards fans could describe to you obviously:

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/11/17/nfl-carson-palmer-arizona-cardinals-inside-game-plan

[Jeremy Igo]

3 minutes ago, theBartmann said:

Camthers refers to Cam being the face of the franchise (from our perspective), so you would have to get rid of Carson and find a way to work Larry Fitzgerald into the Cardinals. We all like Carson Palmer as fans, but it is the #11 jerseys that are sold continuously.

And if you are into football, here is a look into Carson and our offensive game planning process from MMQB a little while ago. More than anything any of us Cards fans could describe to you obviously:

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/11/17/nfl-carson-palmer-arizona-cardinals-inside-game-plan

To think a team with 10 pro bowlers has only one great player and thus is the name of the team is pretty silly.