Cards' Bus Going In Right Direction

I've always been a Cardinals fan. As a teenager, I listened to as much of the games as I could because there was no TV for us as a family on Sundays. Now that I think about it, had we watched TV, it's not like it would have mattered. I only could have watched half the games because of the blackout rule. But to be honest, it took until 1998 (the year I returned home from a religious mission to Argentina and, incidentally, the year the Cards made the playoffs and beat the Cowboys) until I felt emotionally invested in the team. I cheered, wanted them to win, but it was rarely with any faith. I always knew that it was, a) a crummy team, or b) a team that no matter what happened, would find a way to disappoint me. Every year was the same- the hope that a team with an overall lack of talent (overall because there were always some very good players) would somehow overachieve, stay healthy, and get lucky. Years of being competitive at home and awful on the road. Bad drafts or drafting players that would flourish AFTER leaving Arizona. Major injuries to key young players. Player signings motivated more for ticket sales than for performance on the field. Not paying players that deserved to be paid. In all, the team did not ever seem to have a vision or a plan of any sort.

Things have changed. Today's news of the contract extensions for Coach Ken Whisenhunt and GM Rod Graves symbolizes the completion of a team's transformation from the league's "armpit" (as said by Simeon Rice) to an actual winning football franchise. Whisenhunt is the first coach to get a contract extension since the team moved to Arizona. He becomes one of the five highest paid coaches in the league. To me, it shows that the organization has a plan, a vision, of what it wants to do and is willing to stick to it.

To be fair, the change started with Dennis Green. He drafted some quality players and began the culture change, but he could not carry it out. Also in fairness to ownership, as they claimed that if the team had a new stadium that they would be able to be more competitive because of the added revenue streams (something that I believed about as much I believe that Santonio Holmes actually got both feet down...which I don't!), they have delivered on that claim. They have shown that they are no longer complete misers, that they will spend money when it is needed. Russ Grimm was paid so he would not leave. Strength coach John Lott got paid. Kurt Warner got paid. Adrian Wilson got extended. Larry Fitzgerald got paid. Now, Coach Whiz got paid.

The extension is evidence of just how much respect Whisenhunt has earned from the organization, and that it is on board with his plan for the team. He has shown himself to be a company man, as he refused to worry about his contract status when he had more than a year left, showing his players by example to stick to the football issues until the time comes to worry about money issues. He has shown leadership skills and has brought the spirit of competition and improvement. He has drafted players with a plan for now and for the future, thinking ahead to positions in which current players may leave, in addition to getting talent that can contribute in the first year. He has changed Matt Leinart into a blue collar football worker. He has handled Anquan Boldin's outbursts with class and dignity. He took Kurt Warner and helped him resurrect his career, and was intelligent enough to adapt to the skill set of his quarterback and personnel when his personal offensive philosophy was different. He is an Arizona rock star- not in personality or in ego (Buddy Ryan/Dennis Green), but in status.

Right now, the team is at a turning point. It has lost its elite quarterback. It is losing one to 3 key starters on defense. It may be dealing a starter on offense. Normally, I would be back to bracing myself for meagerness. I'm not saying that won't take a step back this year. It might. But knowing that The Whiz is in the driver's seat and that the organization has packed its bags and loaded them onto his bus, I trust that joining them for the ride is going to be enjoyable on the whole for many years. I can't wait to see where the next stop is going to be.