Arizona Cardinals By The Numbers Nov 21, 2008

The Arizona Cardinals have played incredible football this season.  In fact, chances are if you drafted any Cardinals player whose name doesn’t rhyme with “Hedgerrin Flames,” you have a least one stud on your fantasy team.  Let’s examine some “cardinal numbers” and see what makes this team tick:

37 – Age of MVP candidate Kurt Warner.  This old dog may be 279 years-old in canine years, but he isn’t going to be put to sleep anytime soon.  If he was selected at all in your fantasy draft, it was probably in the last rounds.  Nevertheless, if you were lucky enough to reluctantly pluck him from the remaining stragglers, there’s a good chance that you are in position to win it all (thanks in no small part to Kurt).  A 17-consecutive-touchdown-throwing-streak isn’t a shabby number either.

3 – Number of interceptions thrown by Matt Leinart (remember him?) in an August 23rd exhibition game, which sealed his fate as the No. 2 quarterback for the 2008 Cardinals. Am I the only one who had him pegged as a starter on their fantasy roster? Warner and his agent are set to negotiate a contract extension for 2-3 years, so don’t expect to see Leinart as a Cardinal starter anytime soon.

5 – Steve Breaston’s draft number when he was selected by the Cards in 2007. Thanks to Warner, Breaston has quietly put together a solid season and has likely positioned himself in the Top 20 in your league’s scoring.

2 – Games missed by Anquan Boldin after getting his face smashed to smithereens. Even with the time off, Boldin is still three touchdowns ahead of any other player in the NFL. He also has 49 grabs for over 600 yards.  More impressive numbers! Looks like Warner isn’t the only Cardinal up for MVP consideration.

1.67 – Average number of yards gained by Edgerrin James in his past three games. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. But don’t feel too badly for James owners. When you’re a running back on a pass-heavy offense, even the starter won’t get a lot of action. Speaking of which …

1 – Number of touchdowns by Tim Hightower since he purportedly took over as the starting running back on November 2nd. Hightower will continue to get the carries, but with ageless quarterback Warner throwing missiles to a sizzling trio of receivers, you better keep those expectations in check  

1,000,000 – Number of hits on YouTube for the video of former Arizona Cardinal head coach Denis Green giving his inspiring, “They are who we thought they were” speech.  At least the Browns fans get a moving nougat from time to time.

33 – Years since the Cardinals last finished the season in first place.