All memories don't have to be amazingly memorable. As an Arizona Cardinals fan, I consider the Arians-Palmer era as a decent and fun one though they didn't win a championship or even make it to the Super Bowl. Cards are not quite the New England Patriots and given their checkered past, living through this era felt a lot better to me than it actually was. Cards have been to just 5 playoffs in 20 years and 6 in around 35 years. Arians-Palmer took us to 2 of those playoffs in the last 5 and had a losing season only once. So, we might as well call this era a dynasty of epic proportions and compare them to Hoodie and Brady. Life is all about context and perspective and this is practically a dynasty for the Cards fans. Both Arians and Palmer retired this week and that puts a nice wrap on this stretch. They also started together in the desert in 2013.
The high point of their combined run was obviously the 2015 season with a 13-3 regular season, a first round playoff bye, and a NFC championship game appearance. The highlight of that season and probably a top-5 moment in the history of the AZ Cardinals was the OT win against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in a classic playoff game. That Cards' season ended in Carolina in an embarrassing fashion for Palmer. You never know which Palmer showed up and the one in Carolina was definitely not the good one. They missed the playoffs the next 2 years. 2014 had a lot of potential too until Palmer got injured. Between his injuries and inconsistency, Palmer left a lot to be desired. Arians was up and down too with his coaching. But I will still miss them both. It was a mostly positive experience with these two at the helm and I thank them for the memories.
As for the here and now, the NFL playoffs are kicking off this weekend. Parity rules in the NFL and there is always a healthy dose of churn and surprises in the list of playoff teams every year. This year's entrants are no different and even more fascinating! Some real long playoff droughts are being terminated this weekend. The Bills are in the playoffs after a staggering 18-year break. I can't believe they have not made it since their loss in the music city miracle back in the day. Their last playoff appearance pre-dates iPhones and HD TVs. Even the QB they lost to in that game, Steve McNair, is unfortunately dead already. The bad news for the Bills is, they didn't really make it to the playoffs this year either. They pulled the ultimate back-door maneuver to sneak in. Of course the Bills' fans don't care and it's not their problem that the Baltimore Ravens collapsed and lost to let Buffalo in.
And here's the even worse news for the Bills. They probably have no shot against the Jaguars, who are ending a 10-year playoff drought. Thats saying something given that they will be playing against a Blake Bortels led Jaguars team. Of course, nobody will be surprised if the Bills do win and thats saying something about Blake himself. This is not going to be a made-for-TV matchup with a lot of excitement and star power. Hope it stays close so people have something to watch in this game. The other not-so-sexy matchup sends Titans to Kansas City. The Titans are ending a 9-year playoff drought. Come Monday, they will be ready to start another drought after the loss to the Chiefs. The NFC match-ups are a lot more interesting. The Saints-Panthers is the headliner. I like the Saints in this one, though Cam and the Panthers are no joke. The Falcons @ Rams will be a good one and probably the closest contest of the weekend.
The Rams are ending a long 13-year playoff drought themselves, but it feels much shorter because they are new to LA. So, LA doesn't care about the drought nor about the Rams in general for that matter, but there will be enough bandwagon fans to join this playoff spectacle anyways. I give the Falcons a slight edge to pull off the upset here due to their playoff experience, but if they can't contain Gurley, they will be done. As always, the Falcons may win the first 2.5 quarters and then mail it in at the most inappropriate moment. We shall see. In the larger picture, all of these teams seem like nothing more than a nice bait for the Patriots. There is an explosive ESPN piece today on the palace intrigue and politics between the Hoodie, Brady, and Kraft. For most teams, this would be a major detraction. Of course for the Patriots this is probably the best thing ever. Hoodie will craft this into motivational fodder and the Pats may have just clinched their Super Bowl, though that seemed like an eventuality this season anyways.
The high point of their combined run was obviously the 2015 season with a 13-3 regular season, a first round playoff bye, and a NFC championship game appearance. The highlight of that season and probably a top-5 moment in the history of the AZ Cardinals was the OT win against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in a classic playoff game. That Cards' season ended in Carolina in an embarrassing fashion for Palmer. You never know which Palmer showed up and the one in Carolina was definitely not the good one. They missed the playoffs the next 2 years. 2014 had a lot of potential too until Palmer got injured. Between his injuries and inconsistency, Palmer left a lot to be desired. Arians was up and down too with his coaching. But I will still miss them both. It was a mostly positive experience with these two at the helm and I thank them for the memories.
As for the here and now, the NFL playoffs are kicking off this weekend. Parity rules in the NFL and there is always a healthy dose of churn and surprises in the list of playoff teams every year. This year's entrants are no different and even more fascinating! Some real long playoff droughts are being terminated this weekend. The Bills are in the playoffs after a staggering 18-year break. I can't believe they have not made it since their loss in the music city miracle back in the day. Their last playoff appearance pre-dates iPhones and HD TVs. Even the QB they lost to in that game, Steve McNair, is unfortunately dead already. The bad news for the Bills is, they didn't really make it to the playoffs this year either. They pulled the ultimate back-door maneuver to sneak in. Of course the Bills' fans don't care and it's not their problem that the Baltimore Ravens collapsed and lost to let Buffalo in.
And here's the even worse news for the Bills. They probably have no shot against the Jaguars, who are ending a 10-year playoff drought. Thats saying something given that they will be playing against a Blake Bortels led Jaguars team. Of course, nobody will be surprised if the Bills do win and thats saying something about Blake himself. This is not going to be a made-for-TV matchup with a lot of excitement and star power. Hope it stays close so people have something to watch in this game. The other not-so-sexy matchup sends Titans to Kansas City. The Titans are ending a 9-year playoff drought. Come Monday, they will be ready to start another drought after the loss to the Chiefs. The NFC match-ups are a lot more interesting. The Saints-Panthers is the headliner. I like the Saints in this one, though Cam and the Panthers are no joke. The Falcons @ Rams will be a good one and probably the closest contest of the weekend.
The Rams are ending a long 13-year playoff drought themselves, but it feels much shorter because they are new to LA. So, LA doesn't care about the drought nor about the Rams in general for that matter, but there will be enough bandwagon fans to join this playoff spectacle anyways. I give the Falcons a slight edge to pull off the upset here due to their playoff experience, but if they can't contain Gurley, they will be done. As always, the Falcons may win the first 2.5 quarters and then mail it in at the most inappropriate moment. We shall see. In the larger picture, all of these teams seem like nothing more than a nice bait for the Patriots. There is an explosive ESPN piece today on the palace intrigue and politics between the Hoodie, Brady, and Kraft. For most teams, this would be a major detraction. Of course for the Patriots this is probably the best thing ever. Hoodie will craft this into motivational fodder and the Pats may have just clinched their Super Bowl, though that seemed like an eventuality this season anyways.
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