As those of you who follow me on Twitter might know, I spent the last weekend in Flagstaff. While I can't claim by any stretch of the imagination I was up there solely to watch football (it's like 30 degrees cooler and drinks are relatively cheap) I did take in Saturday's Red/White scrimmage. Based on my attendance at the scrimmage and just spending the weekend in Flag I now have some random thoughts on the Cards. Consume at your leisure.
Fan Support At All-Time High
My most immediate reflection on the Red/White scrimmage is the fans. Estimates say there were approximately 13,000 people present - and it looked to be every bit of that.
My buddy and I showed up an hour before the scrimmage began when there was pretty much just an empty field and nothing else and the area around the practice field was already stacked with people. Also if you've never been there you should probably know that the field isn't exactly set up for thousands of people. Sure there are a few sets of bleachers here and there but for the most part this is people bringing out their own chairs, tents, and blankets.
There were even a large number of people just sitting on what's a relatively uncomfortable hill with rocks and sticks basically running up their ass. What I'm trying to say is that commitment appears very high amongst Cardinal fans.
I used to go to training camp in the late 90s where I don't think there were a fourth of the fans I saw Saturday. I am not interested enough to actually research that stat but it's just different. I suppose a few years of contending football will do that for you. Hopefully the momentum will continue to build.
New #4 Looks To Become #1 Number 4
As I watched new Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb take the field in the highest profile test of his three days as a practicing Cardinal my weirdo mind went to his number. You may remember my Arizona's Best Athletes By The Numbers post from last year. Well the winner of best #4 to that point is 80s Suns point guard Kyle Macy.
Basically if Kolb can get the Cardinals to the playoffs a few times he'll be the guy. And he's already the best Cardinals quarterback to wear #4 since his competition is Shaun King and Elizabeth Hasselback's husband.
If you're looking for an actual analysis of Kolb's play in the scrimmage, look elsewhere. He made some good throws but he looked very much a guy who was participating in his third practice. Thursday's preseason game against the Raiders should be comically bad.
Heap Fever
I am going to have to come clean and express that I am relatively ecstatic about Todd Heap. I understand that he's 31-years-old with some serious tread wear on his tires and hasn't caught more than 53 balls since 2006 but I just can't help it.
People talk about how injury prone he's been but tend to forget that in the last three seasons he's missed a total of three games. Seems more than a little unfair.
I'm not much of an optimist but I think playing back in his hometown combined with playing next to Larry Fitzgerald (the most talented WR he's played with...sorry Anquan Boldin) will reinvigorate Heap. Provided he can stay healthy, Heap will be a security blanket for Kolb and I predict he records his most catches since that 2006 season.
Mark it down - or don't.
Laughing at Max Hall
Max Hall - LOL. In the words of Forrest Gump "And that's all I have to say about that."
Adrian Wilson Is Tougher Than You
The news about Adrian Wilson tearing a tendon in his bicep is certainly less than ideal but knowing what I know about Wilson there's effectively no chance he misses serious time (a suspicion he apparently confirmed to Patrick Peterson). I'd assume the bicep injury will hurt his ability to wrap up for tackles but the way he hits that may not be a problem.
Wilson is the type of player that just lives and breathes football. I don't know the severity of the injury any more than people have reported to this point but I'd say barring his arm actually falling off between now and September 11 - he'll be on the field to face Carolina.
Waving Goodbye To Bulger
I can't tell whether I'm disappointed or delighted by the news of Marc Bulger's retirement. Obviously I spent a considerable amount of time as Bulger's biggest supporter for Cardinals QB in 2011 and now not only will we not see him in Arizona but we won't see him anywhere at all.
This means that (a) we won't know if I was right and (b) we won't know if I was wrong.
It's kind of like the guy who was really good at football in high school but tore his knee telling all his friends that he could have been one of the greats. I think I'll go with that - "I was totally right about Bulger but he just stepped away before his third act comeback." Sound good? Thanks.
I Still Don't Understand Personalized Jerseys
And on a final note I still get incredibly amused whenever I see personalized Cardinals jerseys with ridiculous sayings on them so imagine my delight when I saw the holy trinity of personalized jerseys in Flagstaff over the weekend.
Three years ago I first laid eyes on three fella's wearing jerseys that said "Poonster", "Teabag", and "Shocker" - thus imagine my delight when I saw them again walking the streets of downtown Flagstaff together in broad daylight. It was like seeing Big Foot but only if Big Foot was wearing a personalized jersey with a ridiculous saying on it.
I certainly can't claim to know what motivates one to put sexually charged sayings on the back of Cardinals jerseys and frankly I don't want to know as my imagination comes up with more hilarious scenarios.