First quarter

Can't believe Bengals lost…that's atrocious

Clearly trying to establish Fitz early

Don't underestimate the power of Hightower…he's running so hard the defense will be softened up for Wells

I know why the ref threw the flag on the hold but I think you have to let that go. It was a hold though I just thought it was irrelevant to the play

What happened on the INT? Terrible pass but what was Fitz doing?

SD ball 9:30 in the 1st

Why does Sam Rosen have a job? He's always either wrong or boring.

Here's the problem with the previous hold call. There's a hold on a SD WR on the screen pass that wasn't called. I don't think it should have drawn a flag but if you're establishing the hold early, how does that get let go?

If you're putting 8 in the box, can someone follow Gates across the formation?

Horrible start for the defense. D-line being completely controlled by SD O-line.

TD SD RIVERS TO GATES 7-0

It's so easy to defend SD. Find Gates and cover him wherever he goes. AZ trying a different philosophy.

A-Dub got burnt bad. He can't handle Gates in single coverage

Huge 3rd down conversion to Fitz…could go a long way for this game

How do you miss Williams? Terrible pass. Will was running a slant so why did DA throw it to the post?

Oooh…Hightower missed a block in pass protect leading to a sack…I can't remember seeing him do that before

SD ball 1:09 in 1st

Look at that, Kevin Spenser getting some TV love

I thought Joey Porter was an aggressive attacking player yet he hangs back and gets eaten alive for a first down to a FB

Second quarter

Great kick out on Porter, he's very easy to move today

Hey…off-sides on Porter…so he can't tackle, he can't stand up his blocker, and now he draws a penalty

FUMBLE!...great hit by Toler…nervous anticipation while we wait for the refs

Boy did AZ need this

7-7 abt 13min to go

Let me say this again in case I'm not good at these notes…A-dub can not cover Gates in single coverage

Didn't this drive just start?

How are they at the 5 already?

SD TD

SD is putting on a clinic. Every defender gets blocked or over-pursues. The defense is atrocious

14-7 SD

Wells running over people

Great play by Cooper…ran through two blocks to make the tackle on Wells…why can't someone on our defense do that

Terrible drop by my boy Williams

Yes Keith got blown by but that's on DA…he's telegraphing the snap count

Bad punt

7:44 in 1st half 14-7 TD

Let's see if the defense can figure out who Gates is

Right now Bill Davis can't match up with Norv Turner

How come all these RB's we've never heard of become famous against AZ?

Good holding call…you have to call a double arm bar

You won't believe this but Gates got open to set-up 3rd and 1

SD TD…I'm obviously asking too much for someone to cover Gates…when during the week did someone for AZ think, "let's have Paris cover Gates"

21-7 SD 3:30 1stH

Pick 6

Are you not going to look to find the MLB before you make that throw?

28-7 SD 2:30 1st H

I guess it's time for the future

I was actually impressed Max knew the 2 minute warning was approaching. That shows great awareness for any QB coming off the bench, let alone a rookie who's experiencing the first regular season 2 minute warning.

Max looks completely in charge.

Sendlein has had a great season so I'll give him a break on that sack but it was a bad sack to give up Max must throw the ball there. He can't take the second sack. You've got to stop the clock with an incomplete pass.

Great throw from Max great catch from Williams.

4th & 2

Check out the QB meeting. It was CKW Hall and Skelton. Where was DA?

SD TO

I wouldn't have went for that. Rookie QB and 2 rookie WR's. You're giving too much field position up to an offense that can easily score.

The only reason you go for that is to see how Hall can handle it.

Terrible decision by SD. How does Turner not take advantage of a chance to get 3 pts. You have one TO and the AZ defense has done nothing against you all game. Missed opportunity

28-7

Third quarter

Another big play given up by the defense on FB screen

Early TO from Rivers

Really DRC? You can't cover Malcolm Floyd? 30 yard gain

Great tackle from Toler. He's missed some assignments but he hasn't missed any tackles

Need to hold SD to a FG if you're going to win

Never mind…no pressure on the QB and another catch by Floyd

No gain but another off-sides on AZ

There's still 25 minutes left in the game and SD is at 325y of O

Lenon didn't make the tackle but pushed the blocks into Sproles

Watson in the game…Lenon saved a TD with the knockdown

Middle is wide open on 3rd & 3…rarely does Rivers not check into a better play but he really failed on that check

WOW. Missed FG, went right over the top of the upright…gotta give the D credit

6 sacks for SD defense…no pressure on Rivers for AZ defense

3 and out

28-7 SD 7:30 in 3rd

Amazing…Rosen just said "wide-open Gates"

Another off-sides

Toler left his area and came on the delay…that had to be his own decision…great play by a young player

FG is good 31-7 SD

Thought LSH was going to break that one

I expected more on special teams

O-line is getting embarrassed

Don't believe JAX is winning

Wells and Fanaca combine for Max's fumble. That's not on Max at all

1st play TD

A-dub's worst game

38-7 SD 1:31

It's amazing how bad this division is

Great straight arm from Will

Levi Brown is a complete waste of time

What's Rosen talking about? Going back to DA? The guy is clueless. The only reason you put DA back in is to get Fitz out. If you want to protect Fitz, put DA back in so he gets the crap beat out of him. The best decision is to allow Fitz and Hall to work together.

Fourth quarter

I can't believe how wrong I was about this defense.

Great tackle by DRC even though Rosen gave the credit to Toler

7 catches for Gates for 144 yards…guess AZ didn't know much about him since he's only been in the league for 8 years

Terrible over-pursuit by Calais, big gain by another get to know you RB

Branch stood up two guys

Great hit by Johnson

Wish I was watching that JAX/IND game

FG good 41-7 SD

Another average kick return

I know it's risky but you've got to go deep or run the football. SD is jumping every route

Why even have a RT if he's not going to do anything?

So AZ forced SD to make a change @ QB too

Why can't Branch keep his hat on?

Hey…SD made a mistake…and so did Rosen…that's the LT since he's to the left of the QB, not the RT

CHARGERS PUNT! CHARGERS PUNT! WITH 7:33 TO GO

Good pass up the seam…Max even looked off the safety

Better flow in this possession…even though this game was a joke, these reps are important

Great block by Patrick to create space for Hightower and the 1st down

Lutui got blown up

Did AZ scout Phillips this week?

Got a throw that away Max…this isn't BYU…you're not out running Phillips

GOAL! GOAL! GOAL!

FG—Rosen said it was a big kick…it's 41-10 but that was a big kick

Victory formation

Going to be a tough week

The mistakes in the Oregon State game were over-whelming. You can go down the list and name almost every member of the ASU program and find a game-costing decision that was inexcusable.

The problem is so basic. CATCH THE FOOTBALL! Two touchdowns were dropped against Oregon State. Two third down conversions were dropped. One third down conversion won't go down as a drop but Kerry Taylor didn't look for the ball along the sideline and was very lazy with his feet and caught the ball with his toes on the chalk.

It's hard for me to judge the other major errors I saw in Corvallis when so many of them are fixed just by catching the ball. Take everything I say through rest of the blog with a grain of salt because it ranks so far below receivers simply catching the football.

Someone please donate the money to buy the team a jugs machine so the receivers can just stand there and catch.

Other mistakes that cost the game:

D-LINE: How does an offense that comes in 113th in the nation in total offense rack up over 400 yards? I must recant on how bullish I was at the beginning of the season. ASU's defense is one of the most over-rated elements of the game in all of college football.

From the sideline it looked like there should have been quite a few more holding flags thrown on the Oregon State O-Line. However, the refs were very consistent and called very few holding penalties throughout the game.

The D-Line did nothing in this game. RB Rodgers had some big holes in the middle. QB Katz had all day to throw. Sure there were open receivers but you can't leave your DB's hanging out to dry that long.

COACHING: How about a blitz? Yes, your D-Line should have done more. Yes, you don't have a secondary good enough to blitz like Rex Ryan. Yet, at some point, you have to accept the fact that their O-Line came to play and your front wall didn't. There was not enough done schematically to make a sophomore QB feel uncomfortable.

At the end of the first half, why are you punting the ball to one of the best punt return teams in the nation? That punt has to go to the sideline. Sure, Mike Riley pulled a brilliant punt return reverse. I understand sometimes you have to nod your head to great coaching but this isn't one of those times. ASU should never have given OSU the chance to return the kick. At the end of the game OSU punted it to the sideline and forced ASU to go 85 yards. Their coaching staff got it right, ASU's did not.

The 4th quarter time out with the clock stopped before Oregon State punted was horrible. It cost ASU 40 seconds of possession time when they could have stopped the clock on OSU's last possession.

How do you not on-side kick after the last ASU TD? Do not take this as a decision that cost ASU the game. The chances of recovering an on-side kick are much smaller than fans realize.

I have no idea if ASU would have got the ball back. I do know one thing, though. Kicking it deep ends the game. Your defense has been horrible. You're kicking to one of the best return teams in the country. They have one of the best RB's in the country to run out the clock and you have only one TO left. You have no chance to win the game once you kick it deep.

QB: This was Stephen's worst game as a Devil. I understand what happened against Oregon. He was pressing and running for his life. He tried to make miracle plays against a top 5 team and it just didn't work.

There was no excuse in this game. I counted 5 of the 11 defenders on the field around one ASU receiver on the red zone INT. He has to throw the ball to Dennis Erickson before taking a sack in the two minute drill.

He has to learn that dropped passes and poor protection are not his fault. He can not change his game and try to be a hero just because others aren't doing their job.

This offense is predicated on taking what the defense gives you. Then you take advantage of mental mistakes caused by the quick pace of the offense. There is no pace when you're constantly turning the ball over or dropping passes.

O-Line: There is not Pac-10 quality talent on this O-line. Mazzone's offense is being completely wasted.

LB's: Burfict really is as good as advertised. The problem is he's always running off the field with small injuries or getting into someone's face on the other team. At some point someone on this coaching staff has to have the onions to stand up to him and lay down the law. Let him know the next PF he receives will put him on the bench the rest of the quarter.

There's a lot more I could go into but let's face it, if the receivers start catching the football, a lot of these points are moot. There's also the fact the bus just pulled up to the plane and I'm getting ready to come home.

Why did the game seem like Groundhog Day to me? The defense makes a huge stop. Threet leads the team downfield in dominating fashion to the red zone. Turnover! I felt like the Devils could have put up 28 points in the 4th last night, not zero. So frustrating...

Jarrod

Usually when someone says "choke," it's an attack on their mental strength. I hope I can say that word without someone thinking I'm blaming Threet. Most of the INT's were his fault but I think it was a young kid pressing.

There's good desperation and bad. He was too desperate to make a play. ASU needed to score but they didn't need to take the unnecessary risks he was taking. He'll learn because he has the talent.

Was it me or was that second half the longest most excruciating half of football in a long long time. I will probably have nightmares about that half for the next year or two. And I am an Oregon fan...

Scott

I thought the first quarter was longer than the whole 2nd half.

Give the Raiders some respect now.

Gabe (Mesa)

Why? Because they lost to an average football team? Because AZ dropped 5 potential INT's? Because they were handed a gift twice on punt coverage and still couldn't win?

This just in: a fish rots from the head.

The Cardinals may want to consider picking up the tab for Sabastian Janikowski's retirement party, which I'm sure will be scheduled for next weekend.

A win is a win, but this was ugly.

Joe

This division is so bad that every win is gold in your hand. Don't apologize for how you win. Don't worry about where this puts you in the BCS polls. Just win and prepare for next week.

Hey guys,

I am officially hitting the "worried" button. Not panic, but worried. The Cards should be 0-3, yet they are somehow 2-1. On one hand I am thankful they play in the NFC Worst, but on the other hand, I am worried about simply being satisfied with a division championship. Anderson is horrible. And NO, I do not think Leinart is/was the answer, so to all my fellow Cards fans, please stop saying he is. The offense looks slow, uninterested, unmotivated, and uncoordinated. But, I will take 2-1 and hope they start gelling.

Jarrod

Worried about what? Have AZ fans become so accustomed to winning that division championships are taken for granted?

If you win the division, you get a home playoff game. CKW is 3-0 in home playoff games. Who knows where the offense will be at that point.

I also don't think DA is horrible. Look around the league and remove the obvious QB studs. Every team is looking for a franchise QB. AZ is no different. The catch is AZ can win this division with Wolf at QB so let's give DA time because we can.

It's time to be worried in any other division. In the NFC West, everything will be fine.

You know what I enjoyed most about the Niners loss to KC? Not that we are another game ahead of them in the division, but that all the "experts" including Mike and Mike are looking dumber and dumber.

I know that with the poor quarterback play and poor defensive play we have no chance of making any noise in the playoffs, I get more excited this year with a 49ers loss than a Cardinals win.

By the way - Does Seattle have a real shot at winning the division? They haven't looked bad. Maybe "Tell the Truth Tuesdays" is really working for them!

Aaron

Don't say "no chance" because it's early. Obviously, if they play like this they're out in the first round to NO or ATL. Look at the regular season as a bunch of pre-season games to get ready for the post-season. Yes, I have that much confidence in AZ. Granted, my confidence doesn't really lie in the Cards as much as someone has to win the division and the other three teams are awful.

Everyone in the West has a shot because the division is awful but I don't see how they'll play consistent enough football to get to 10 wins.

Doug,

You said that with the 49ers going into Atlanta, they may be 0-4… They have the eagles the week after that. They may be looking at 0-5.

Chris in Phoenix

Your point is completely legit but SF has a chance in that game. Not because of anything they do but because of the emotional game the week before for PHI. The return of McNabb and a divisional game in Philly might take a lot out of the Eagles.

How many bad games does the defense have to play before we can say the defense is NOT that good!

Maurice

3 more. SD and NO could tear up good defenses so I'll give them a little bit of room but if they can't clean it up after the bye week, then I'm with you.

Is there still panic regarding the Cardinals? They played a poor game against a supposed ‘horrific organization' and narrowly escaped with a victory.

Christopher

Why was there panic to begin with? It's the NFC West. We should panic if the commissioner comes out and says, "The NFL has decided we'll take 3 Wild Card teams in the NFC and the West has lost their right to send a division champion." Someone has to win the division.

Have you really seen something from the other three division teams that make you fear them?

Doug,

To say the Cardinals were lucky to win the Raiders game would probably go down as the understatement of the year. San Diego and the Saints are not the Rams or the Raiders. They are more like the Falcons and we all saw what happened there.

The Cardinals can not stop the run. Where is this defense that was supposed to be the "strength" of the team?

Pass protection - we don't have any! But, that isn't why DA can't hit Fitz or just about any other receiver - he has no touch! Every announcer and commentator said the same thing - you throw the ball at Fitz because he's the best in the NFL at fighting for the ball and coming down with it. DA constantly over-throws him. And what the h__l were those two shuttle passes. It looked liked they were the first ones he has ever thrown.

Why aren't we running the ball? The play action worked and the Cards moved the ball. I don't understand.

Penalties and bone-head plays. Wolf can say what he will but those two punt muffs were player errors cause by players not focusing on what they were doing, same with the stupid penalties.

The Cards are in real trouble and its going to take a lot more than a little "clean up" to make it right. This isn't "rough edges" - it's broken glass and splinters!

Right now - the Cards will be doing great to win 5 or 6 games - and right now I only see one more win for sure. My monies on Seattle.

This is bad and Wolf should stop trying to sugar coat it!

Ray

What started out as a very intelligent e-mail really went up in flames quickly.

OAK was lucky AZ dropped 5 INT's. If Janikowski makes the kick, OAK would have been lucky to win that game too. Neither team deserved to win so let's not worry about that.

Everything else in the e-mail is solid except the end. 5 or 6 wins is just dumb. You really think there are only 3 games left on the schedule that CKW can out-coach someone? The offense can get it figured out in enough time to win 3 of the next 13.

To everyone not named Ray, if you have a problem with Wolf, e-mail him! Although he drives me crazy sometimes, I'm not going to be messenger every time someone disagrees with him. If Wolf says something that you want to respond to, e-mail him.

Did you pick up on Wiz saying that this week is like when they were starting a rookie quaterback Ben Rothensberg. Does this mean Max Hall could be starting this week? Makes you wonder.....

David

Normally, I wouldn't rip you for spelling because I'm the worst but after earning two rings can you get a little closer than Rothensberg? Rose Bowl winning QB Jeff Van Raaphorst wanted me to put in the correct spelling of Roethlisberger for you. I'm only doing it because he let me sit on the aisle and took my middle seat.

No, Max will not be starting this week. Max will not be starting next week. Max will not start until after AZ is eliminated from playoff contention and I don't think they will be.

9ers fire OC Raye…it has begun.

Sean

They'll also fire their HC at the end of the season.

Wolf - are you kidding me! DA didn't do anything - except over throw Fitz all day and throw 100 MPH ball to guys 10 yards way - it was Wells running that allowed the Cards to move the ball - DA is not an average QB is a below average QB - but you're right - we have no other choices.

The defense is the biggest disappointment of this team!

Ray

Twice in one mailbag Ray?

Why put "Doug" in the "To" line and then rip Wolf?

Boy was that a frustrating game! That being said, I think you can say that Erickson has elevated the talent to a level where they can compete. Now they need to learn how to win. A win in Corvallis would do wonders for this football team. The talent is there. The speed is there. The confidence to put the foot on the throat of the opponent and finish games is lacking, however. I believe in what Coach Erickson is building.

Brian

You're one of the few on the same island with me. I nominate you as President of the island council.

Doug I absolutely agree with you. As much as I would love to see DA go 25-35 for 320 yards 2 TD 0 INT, have the Cards run for 100 yards, and the defense come up with 3 or 4 turnovers in a win, at the end of the day the Cards aren't going to get an extra win for winning pretty. When the Cards host a home playoff game and raise that division banner, the scores and game recaps aren't going to be on there.

Side note: If Andre Roberts can't catch passes and can't catch punts, he needs to catch a ride out of town. He lets both of the punts go and on the replays he isn't doing ANYTHING to indicate that his teammates are in danger there and then he catches a punt on the 3 yd line I think. Just a disaster of a 3rd round pick so far, especially since returning was supposed to be one of his strengths.

Kevin

This organization has drafted so well you're going to bomb on some. Having said that, Roberts has been awful since day one. Good kid, not an NFL caliber player. They missed on this one.

Doug:

Long time listener and KTAR Rewards member. First time I have emailed the show. After hearing you guys talk about the VOTE of Confidence that Coach Singeltary gave to his OC saying he would be here the rest of the year, then promoting QB coach Mike Johnson to OC, shows what a mess this franchise is in, so if you play for a coach like this how much confidence can you have in him?

Brandon

With everyday that passes, Singletary continues to show that he's over-his-head.

Thanks for being a long time listener. Sorry I stopped returning e-mails personally and started putting them in the mailbag.

I may be one of those fans who know nothing about college football but I do know this from Koetter's last class at ASU 12 of those players played significant minutes during Erickson's tenure.

Among the players Koetter recruited that Erickson couldn't win with Gerald Munns, Mike Nixon, Travis Goethel, Ryan McFoy (moved out of position to linebacker for some stupid reason) Jon Hargis, Dimitri Nance, Danny Sullivan, Jamaar Robinson, and Kyle Williams.

You see these were players that came from Koetter's final recruiting class in 2006 that would be or were fifth year seniors from Koetter's final class.

During Erickson's tenure he also had the following offensive linemen that are now currently or have been on NFL rosters in the same capacity as Dimitri Nance; Shawn Lauvao, Paul Fanaika, and Brandon Rodd.

Players who were on Erickson's roster on the offensive line that Koetter recruited but didn't for whatever reason completely play out their four or five years at ASU Richard Tui'utu and J.D. Walton. Walton was drafted into the NFL.

But to wrongly affix blame on Koetter and pat Erickson on the back is foolish given Erickson held onto Rich Olsen one season too long and allowed his best recruiter to walk out on him to Duke University no less.

However the main point would be this, there were judgment calls that Erickson made that led to the failures of this football program over the last two seasons and not coincidentally they're calls that were made on the offensive side of the ball.

1) Starting Dimitri Nance one of the least productive running backs in the history of the program based on games played and number of carries over his career.

2) Starting Danny Sullivan at QB when it was clear far before the hind sight is 20/20 argument you would make had any relevance to Erickson's decision. Sullivan's career completion percentage prior to taking the reins as a senior was in the area of 47%.....you don't decide to take a chance on a guy simply because he's a senior.

Brett

Amazingly bad points for someone so confident in their sarcasm.

There's a natural transition every time a team changes coaches and when that happens some players leave on their own and others are cut because they don't fit. I can easily blame that on Koetter because if he worked harder on recruiting and won more games, he'd still be here.

Although I agree the offense was very unimaginative, don't rip the play calling. What plays could have been run by an offensive group that had a "game-manager" QB, a porous O-Line, and receivers that couldn't catch? I wish some of the plays were run out of different sets so it wasn't as telegraphed but I'm not going to ask Olson to recreate Picasso with finger paints.

As soon as you go to the Danny Sullivan card, it's proof that ASU needs your money and not your opinions. Anyone who booed Danny Sullivan or screamed for his benching should be forced to buy tickets for our veterans while they stay at home.

You were booing Rudy from Notre Dame. Here was a kid that would do anything to be successful for his school. Played behind an O-Line that either had players with little skill or was injured playing on heart and throwing to receivers that couldn't catch.

Maybe you're the type to constantly blame others for the problems around you but Danny did what he could with limited talent around him and limits on his own talent.

My problem with Sullivan insults is the people that make them. How many practices did you go to last year? Brock didn't know the plays. He struggled grasping the Olson offense. Samson had no arm strength for much of the year and ran with the ball way too early bailing on potential plays downfield.

It doesn't matter how good or bad Danny was, he was the best 2009 QB the Devils had.

Doug,

I read your blog about ASU Coach DE, I wish there were more "fans" in the valley with a little more patience. Look at the successful programs across professional and college sports, for the most part their coaches have a decent tenure and are given an opportunity to build their program their own way.

As much as I despise the UofA, ASU grad of course, I give them a ton of credit for sticking with Stoops over the past few years of struggles, now they are beginning to see the fruits of all that pain as he has rebuilt a program that was completely destroyed, much like we saw in Tempe with Koetter, which you pointed out in your blog. I say stick with DE, give him a chance to develop this young group of players HE recruited, let's see what happens. Thanks,

Josh

Due to your e-mail, I have to admit how wrong I was about Stoops. Although I could see some of the positives that were taking place in the program, I thought he was a constant volcano. His inability to control his emotions early on made me think this program was never going to get over the hump of being a consistent winner. He has a very solid two years and UofA fans who never called for his head should be proud and deserve their reward.

Good column on ASU. Hopefully the short-term woes will turn into better days down the road. How is the U of A football team this year? That's my current school (ASU being my former school… I guess since I root for both, I have multiple personality disorder!).

Thank you, and have a great day! Jennifer

I must tell you that it's not a real rivalry when someone roots for either side. UofA is a legit Holiday Bowl contender but the winner of the Stanford/Oregon game is going to the Rose Bowl.

I'm @BigNanano on twitter. I can't believe you mentioned my name on the air. Love the show.

Big Lare

Everyday is show prep. You e-mail me, it will probably be posted.

I agree with Kurt. The Cards should have picked up Mark Bulger. He's not Kurt Warner, but he's not Derek Anderson either. He actually reminds me of Warner when Warner left the Rams. Warner was a battered, turnover machine. This year on the Ravens sideline might do Bulger wonders. Kind of like Warner's Giants semi-sabbatical.

Matt

I want to rip the Cardinals for not going after Bulger but here's the problem. No one else went after him. I agree with Warner that Bulger would have been a great fit. The catch is, how can I rip AZ for not going after Bulger when so few other teams did?

Since no one else wanted Bulger, why should I question AZ for not making a stronger push?

It probably was Singletary's decision to fire his OC. His boss came down and said it was Jimmy or Him so he decided it was Jimmy.

Tom

First, I don't think "Him" should be capitalized but if you think Jimmy Raye and God are on an equal plane, I don't want to argue religion so I'll respect your opinion that Jimmy Raye created us and rested on the 7th day.

I could not find an email address for Doug or Wolf on your website so I am sending it to you. Could you please forward this to them.

Last week I was in Seattle taking my daughter to Seattle Pacific to begin college. All the talk on the radio was about how bad the Seahawks were. Except for one sportscaster, everyone wanted to get rid of Matt Hasselbrook. They were discussing how bad their back-ups were, how bad the GM was in bringing in QB talent, where they should go to trade for a QB. Of course this was before the Chargers game so the QB's get a respite this week. The offensive line was put down. The defensive line was put down. The playcalling was put down. Maybe things are so bad with the Cardinals after all.

Paul

The e-mail address is Doug@ktar.com but I completely understand how easy that is to forget.

Hello,

I heard you guys talking about DA keeping his starting job because the team is winning, I would disagree and here is why…. This team could easily be 0 - 3 at this point and it has been the offense that has put them in situations to lose games by not sustaining drives, Oak game was a combo between special teams and offense. I know penalties play a factor but a team can still win games with penalties. GB had 18 penalties and almost won that game. We all heard the saying, "don't fix it, if it isn't broke". Winning games doesn't mean it's not broke. I have a little saying; it's called, "preventive maintenance". I think in this case you guys are blinded by the fact that we are 2 - 1 and tied for first in the division. I would rather address this issue now rather than later when we are 4 - 6 at week 10. The Cardinals could start Hall in the first half and put in DA for the second half. This would make it a little more difficult for teams to game plan against our qb, give Hall the experience and hopefully light a fire under DA's rear. This would not be a bad move since it is clear that DA will not be the future qb of AZ. One last thing, Hall can't be any worse than DA.

To the argument, "we could easily be 0-3," I have a counter: they're not.

How can I be blinded by being in first place in the division? Isn't being in first place the whole goal?

Your idea to start each QB for a half is one of the top 20 worst ideas in football history. If no coach has ever done it, isn't that a hint that it wouldn't work? I don't care about the future QB of AZ. I care about winning more games than anyone else in the NFC West. We don't even know if there will be football in 2011 so I'm not going to prepare a QB for 2011.

Wolfe,

You mentioned that DA has thrown the game winning touchdown in AZ two wins. They were only game winning touchdowns because our defense has made stops and if DA would sustain more drives that would result in touchdowns, then we should have blown these two teams away and be talking about how good DA is. We need balance on the offense but right now we don't have it. The running game is good but DA's 52% completion, 3 TD and 3 INT is not cutting it.

I would say make the change after the Chargers game, if it has not gotten a lot better.

Thanks,

Marcos

What part of my name, appearance or voice reminds you of Wolf that would lead you to e-mail me something you want to tell Wolf?

I got the perfect sound bite for your name drop. Beastie Boys has a song called the "new style". And they say mmmmm…Deeeroppp. It would be perfect. You can just pay me in reward points and take all the credit for it. Love the show. Mike. Queen creek

Thanks Mike…Lex gave me a "kerplunk" sound. I'll try to see what's better.

Doug, What time is Mr. Gentry coming on this morning? Please respond at your earliest availability. Thanks

Garrett

He was on at 8:50 on Friday. If you missed it, here you go.

Word of the Day = IGNORANUS: A person who's both stupid and a butthole

Topic Derek Anderson:

I find it so very hard to understand how Derek Anderson had such a great, Pro-Bowl year, and now can't lead his receivers after a month of practices and games.

I have wondered if Anderson has a physical vision issue where your eyeballs actually change shape while trying to focus on moving objects and your timing and focus is always a little behind.

Ben in Sun city [where old people go to die]

Players are given an extensive physical at the beginning of the season. I'm pretty confident if Derek was having vision problems the doctors would have discovered the issue.

Sorry I'm not on the same page with your sense of humor. I assume you thought your WOTD and Sun City blast were funny.

If you are one of the 32 best ANYTHINGs (in this case, QBs) in a WORLD of nearly 7 Billion people, it's not asking too much to consistently complete a pass to arguably the best wide receiver out of 7 Billion people.

DA & 31 others. Are supposed to be the best of the best. How can there be such a chasm between #s 5 & 32?

Mike

Because there's a defensive coordinator who's one of the 32 best in the world working all week to stop him; two safties who are two of 64 of the best in the world paid millions to stop him; 1 CB who is one of the 64 best in the world paid millions to stop him.

I don't think it's that hard to figure out if you've never thrown a pass to someone until your first regular season game it will take some time to develop some timing. When the receiver is injured, his speed varies greatly and it makes it a little harder.

DA is probably around the 25th best QB in football. It probably takes DA longer than it should to develop timing.

do u have ur gymbag?

Jennifer

No sweetheart. I'm not going to be working out in Oregon. I'll be eating dinner, going to the bar on Friday and working on the pre-game all Saturday morning.

Marcus Campisi - Bowling Green vs Buffalo

No Marcus, that is not a 5-star game.

Charger fans don't even care anyway

Big Lare

It's amazing to me how good the Padres and Chargers are and how poorly supported they are.

Doug,

All of the Trivia questions does not have any right answers to the questions? I think some thing is not right.

Thanks

Leyder

I'll forward your e-mail to the people that run the trivia on our site. As you can guess, I can't win anything so I don't play.

The paper in SD is the San Diego Union and Evening Tribune

Phillip

Thanks. I said it was the Union Tribune. Had no idea it was two different papers.

the San Francisco flop!

Hey Greenberg, how does that taste?!

Xavier

I'm amazed at how bad that pick is Hi Doug, I was outside when you said your WOTD this morning, but you haven't posted it on your tweeter page yet. Are you going to put it up soon?

Becky

I put it up as soon as I can but sometimes I get a little sidetracked while focusing on the show. The WOTD works all day so if I get it up a few minutes late it won't affect your points.

McNeil can't play because of the preseason list he was placed on. I don't think he can play til week six...similar to PUP

Jim

He is out for 3 weeks. The catch is it's 3 weeks from when he signed his contract.

Fun Katy is a Cowboys fan and UofA?

What is she a Yankee, too??

Poor Fun Katy needs an intervention. We don't have any time to lose!

Brian

She's from Dallas after she moved from Scotland. I'm embarrassed for her on the Dallas thing.

I'm Michael M, but am I THE Michael M that won the fooshaw t-shirt? Please say yes!!!!  Whenever you follow Wolf on his twitter account you have a chance to win. If you do win, someone in our promotions department will tweet you.

Hardest Power Poll ever. What to do with the NFC West? If PIT is 1, doesn't that make ATL really good? Should GB really go from 2 to 6 because of FG? Who should get knocked out of the top 5 if you're leaving GB out? You buying CHI/KC?

GAME NOTES V OAK

Before KO, all I care about is if Dockett shows up…have to wait till I find out since Cards get ball first

Couldn't have predicted that start…I guess I do get to see Dockett

Easy call on the PI if it was on the illegal pick…couldn't hear ref's mic to know who they called it on though

Nice hole for Hightower

Why no PI on the 3rd down attempt?

11:46 left in first…Wolf's on big screen

Crowd hated PF call on Wilson but it was the right call…I do think the ref should have blown the whistle

That TD was so easy to see coming as soon as Miller went into motion showing he had man coverage on Wilson…I love Bill Davis but I pray he didn't really think A-Dub could cover a TE in single coverage

Had single coverage on Fitz on screen pass…would have liked to see DA take a shot on that one

Anyone remember the last 3rd down conversion for Cards?

Great stand by defense…shld b good field position

Never mind…special teams giveth and taketh away today

3rd & goal…all eyes on docket…OAK TO

Another good defensive stand…10-7 OAK

BEANIE!

Thought the PI on the Williams route was uncatchable…if they called D-holding or illegal contact, sorry…can't hear ref's mic

Cards streak of no 3rd down conversions goes to 87:39

10-10 after FG

Dockett not in…guess he's tired from not doing anything

Great play from DRC to stop TD

You have to block a kick that was that low…no interior push on the Janikowski…13-10 OAK

What a terrible call on the PI with 1:35 left. Clearly that was PI on Williams and not the Raiders…Fitz looked open on the play

Great block by Duece picking up the twist

Steven Williams ends the streak without a 3rd down conversion @ 91:16

End of 1st ……13-10 OAK

New streak on dropped pass…couldn't tell if it was a busted play

4th down was converted but there should have been a PF on Lutui for picking someone off the pile

Great run by Wells. Got to the outside despite run blitz. LB's caught in trash.

Wanted play-action on 2&G got Wells stuffed

Outstanding play design on TD. Play looked like it would be spread ‘em out and hand it off but DA rolled out after play-fake and hit Breaston. 17-13 AZ

So far

It's unbelievable that wasn't a PF on Calais. The way they protect QB's, I'm shocked.

Receivers are open all over the place against this defense today. So much for a team meeting.

Not the time to go deep on 2nd & 12…sideline phone must have rang and Al wanted to go long…now you're left with 3rd & 12

What is Roberts doing? What a waste of a 3rd round pick.

5:52 left 1st H

Wright just dropped potential 3rd down conversion…As the ASU sideline reporter, I see more dropped passes than anyone

Great hustle by Lennon to be back in position to make the pick.

What was that from DA? He has to learn he's not good enough to make Favre-type special plays. Just take what the defense gives you and if it's not there, take the sack.

Looks like the defense thought halftime was coming sooner than the clock said.

Terrible decision to go for QB sneak with no TO's left

This defense has been a waste of time for 6 quarters.

Halftime 20-17 OAK

2nd & 18 draw…the only reason you call that is because you don't believe in the O-Line and you need to make the D-Line think of something else

This game is boring.

DA threw the shovel pass again? Did he not learn?

Impressive D-stand…of course there's no docket

Missed FG could hurt. This game's too close to leave points on board

WOW. DA looks good on this drive. Going through progressions much better

Good balance on this drive.

Brandon Keith made a great tackle on Hightower. Brandon: Block the white team or get out of the way.

Very accurate pass to Fitz on the TD. Leave that high and Fitz gets rocked and might lose the ball.

1:01 left in 3rd 24-20 AZ

Everyone will yell at DRC on the punt but that's on Roberts. He did nothing to tell his teammates the ball was close

Dockett's play was incredible

Bad PI…Toler completely blew that play

Why are the refs talking, that was clearly a false start…never mind…delay of game

Congrats to Toler. It's rare you'll see a team make it so obvious what they think of another team's player. He was picked on the whole drive and made the last two plays.

24-23 AZ 7:51 left

Terrible KO protect…no room to run

2&21 after FS and Facemask

Check that 3&21

Really don't like the decision to challenge the catch on the defensive penalty…it's a first down either way and now you've lost a TO that you'll probably need in a close game

Huge 3rd & 1 penalty

Ohh…Rashad…you've got to catch that INT to keep Janikowski off the field

Thought he made it when it left his foot

Interesting OAK is in no hurry…they're milking clock thinking they don't want to leave time after a Janikowski kick…I hate that strategy

Absolutely the right call on the PI on DRC. No one likes it but he did have a hand in there and the refs have been calling PI all game.

So they started this morning but it wasn't as bad as I expected. I got 7 fire Dennis Erickson e-mails over night last night.

I was actually happy that it was only 7. I refuse to believe the majority of ASU fans want Dennis Erickson fired. In order to want Dennis Erickson fired, you have to put on a T-shirt that reads, "I don't know a $%#* thing about college football and ASU but I want that guy fired."

I'm sure if I cross-referenced the "Fire Dennis Erickson" e-mails, it would be from the same senders as the "Fire Steve Kerr" e-mails.

When the Suns started to put it together, suddenly people realized they were wrong because they had no facts or patience to back up their opinion. The ASU situation is the exact same.

Remember how many of you hated the Goran Dragic pick. Terry Porter almost destroyed the kid. Finally Alvin Gentry came in and said, go in there in screw up.

He told Dragic to quit looking to the sidelines when you mess up, just stop messing up.

Don't worry about coming out of the game. Worry about creating, scoring, and defense.

Dragic's failures mounted early and then he exploded into the best back-up point guard in the NBA.

ASU starts one senior. Dirk Koetter left the program with nothing for young recruits. He did have good players who were coming into their senior year that Erickson was able to take advantage of. After that there was nothing. All of the 5th year seniors and non-redshirt seniors are from the Dirk Koetter era.

If you compare the talent of similar aged players throughout the Pac-10, ASU is way behind. Do you blame Erickson for not recruiting better talent while Koetter was head coach?

Let's look at the juniors. Unless they are junior college players recruited recently as stop-gap players, the juniors are the result of 5 weeks of recruiting.

Dennis Erickson was hired around Christmas of '06. He had 5 weeks to convince talented players to break verbal commitments they had made months and sometimes years earlier to come to ASU.

Did you really expect Dennis Erickson to beat USC to players in the height of the Pete Carroll reign after recruiting for 5 weeks?

You are seeing Dennis Erickson compete with top ten teams on the field with only freshman and sophomores that are truly his players. Oregon was the number one defense in college football and ASU torched them for 600 yards. Cameron Marshall fumbled at the 2. Steven Threet tried to do way too much in the fourth quarter and it cost the team.

These aren't excuses for UO's win. They deserved to win the game. ASU deserved to lose the game.

If you're blaming the coach though, what was the decision that Dennis Erickson made that cost them the game? He coached a good game. His assistants coached a good game.

ASU lost because young players made dumb mistakes. Get upset as a fan. Get mad that this is happening. Get emotional but do it at the game and realize ASU is building something.

Trust what your eyes are telling you. You can see ASU is fast. You can see ASU is getting close. You can see they are a better team than they were two years ago.

Don't allow your frustrations with close losses drive you to bail on Dennis Erickson.

The last thing ASU needs is to put in someone else while the team is getting closer.

I asked for your patience with Steve Kerr because he was making good long-term decisions that wouldn't work in the short-term. I hope I earned your respect enough that I can ask for it again.

The reason why I said ASU would go 6-6 and not go to a bowl game is because I thought they'd lose a lot of close games due to young players doing dumb things while they learn to do the right thing.

Don't you think Threet will be a better QB every day after that lesson from UO? I do.

Suddenly, when the players start making fewer mistakes, Erickson will look like a better coach.

No one at ASU has the guts to tell you this because it's terrible for marketing but get your 2011 season tickets now. All season it's going to be like this. Those who stay firm and resolute will reap the rewards next year.

Doug still has the defending Super Bowl champs atop his Power Poll after they went on the road and got a win on Monday Night Football. The NFC West is down the list with the Cardinals being the highest ranked.

1080p is good enough, I use DVD/VCR combo, no DVR yet, I'm happy

More with less, happy with less

ASU audio sucked buttermilk

Xavier

Everyone without a DVR is happy until they get one. Once you have one, you become retro-actively angry you didn't have one

Hey Doug,

That endzone rule needs to be changed. CJ had possession and both feet down. Touchdown! To prove my point, if he does the exact same thing at the 1 yard line and reaches out and breaks the plane, it's a touchdown. It's such a stupid rule.

Tim

It's a simple choice: do you like gray? With NFL refs being highly trained and well-paid, you could expect them to use common sense and say that's a catch. If that's how you feel, that's a catch and a stupid rule.

The NFL doesn't want gray area. They want the refs to judge every play with a hard and fast rule. The rule is in place and Johnson did not follow the rule. We can attack the league all we want but it's not like this is a new rule. Johnson gets paid a lot of money to be prepared to play. When players don't learn the rules, they put their team at a disadvantage.

Look, a win is a win.

Anderson threw for almost 300 yards. The defense stepped up all game.

As we progress the offense will become more in sync. The Cards have a 1 game lead in the NFC West over the Niners!

Jarrod

I agree but let's not use the Rams win to judge the team with. The Cards are an average team in a bad division which should translate to 9 wins and a division championship.

Not gonna win the NFC West by losing 31-6 to Seattle, are you, S.F.? But, then again, barely squeaking by the Rams isn't too promising, either. I really hope D.A. and Fitz can get on the same page quickly. Stevens-Howling looked pretty good.

Hope ya had a good weekend, Doug. Can't wait for the show tomorrow morning.

Brother Murph

p:s: it's good to have your power poll back.

Every week is a new week though. Let's judge SF by the game Monday night.

Mr. Franz,

I was curious and I hope you'd ask this of John Clayton and the smarty-pants ESPN guys: "What is the 49ers' magic number today?"

John

At least Clayton thought SF would win the division with 9 wins. It's the Greenberg's of the world who picked SF to go 12-4.

Doug. I think when you are evaluating derek anderson you have to remember that 12 incompletions that he had last week were to fitz and they clearly just weren't in sync. DA's gonna be ok. Is he listed as injured from last night? He took a lot of hits! -Keith in Glendale.

DA is an average QB that ignorant fans think should be perfect on every play. The Cards will be 9-7. They will win the division. If you went in to the Rams game thinking they would lose, you're not knowledgeable about football. If you went in to the ATL game and thought they would win, then you're not knowledgeable about football.

Doug, Wonder how Greenie is feeling about his NFC West, 49r love now?

Paul

picking SF to be 12-4 is worst prediction I've ever heard.

Doug,

Don't know if you remember the debacle last year with Larry's Brother Marcus making some pretty asinine comments regarding Kurt not getting Larry the ball. Marcus was SORT OF at it again making some references last week but this time biting his tongue a bit better some comments he made "no comment RT@mollyMcManimie I'd be so frustrated if I was your bro. im dying for him" "feeling like a caged animal right now"

Thought u mind find that interesting.

Adam

Just by the nature of retweeting he's trying to make his point. He has no idea what he's doing because he's either adding pressure to Larry or speaking for him.

Are you guys kidding me? Quit making it sound like Anderson was good. AWFUL! He is horrible. Hello 7-9 this year.

Greg

I never said he was good. I said the division is so bad the Cards will go 9-7. I also said I'm not going to judge DA by playing with the Browns because that's not NFL

Virtually no reps with Fitz, Fitz is at about 75%, DA threw a number of times with multiple Rams defenders plowing into his chest, Steven Williams running the wrong routes, and Komar and Hightower both fumble the ball on drives that looked like were going to turn into points. And despite the struggles, on the TD drive that decided the game he went something like 10/14 for 101 and the TD. All things considered, I didn't think he played all that bad last week.

Kevin

No one can judge DA this week. Only HOF QB's could succeed with this line.

He's terrible. Sure he could throw a couple lasers down the field, but the guy couldn't throw simple dump passes. He skipped at least 5 balls.

Ryan

Let me try to educate you since this was the first football game you've ever seen. There's a huge gap between terrible and average. DA is not good enough to overcome a bad O-Line, multiple penalties, a slow Fitz, bad tackling, and players not ready to play. DA is average, he is not terrible. There were quite a few mistakes he made and bad throws. If you're going after DA for the loss with all the hits he was taking, please don't vote in our national elections.

I know it's a week old now but can you please explain the rule on the Calvin Johnson catch me, I am really confused now?

Danneal

When you go to the ground while in the process of making a catch, you must control the ball throughout the play. This includes getting up from the ground. Here's the official rule: A player who goes to the ground in the process of attempting to secure possession of a loose ball (with or without contact by a defender) must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, there is no possession.

I think someone needs to look at the fbook comments, and not funKaty. She keeps reading really poor comments on there and some people have some really good points. Most were saying relax w Anderson and give it time. Charles

I don't think she should choose the majority to read. She should read the dumb ones. If everyone was smart, I wouldn't have a job.

Wolfley's has a nice atmosphere lots of big TV's, not too outrageously priced and for smokers, not Mrs or me, the best outdoor smoking patio I've seen expected from Wolf Macrae

Embarassed to say but I haven't been there yet. Hoping to go for lunch this week.

Did my eyes deceive me or was that Sam Bradford that made the tackle on Kerry Rhodes last week after the interception? William

I think it was.

Fun Katy read my post last week about Max Hall starting. I said we'd have to deal with DA's inconsistency until NEXT YEAR when Max Hall starts. I obviously don't know if he'll start or not next year, but I wanted to let you know I have a little more sense than to start calling for the rookie already. DA threw for almost 300 yards and we won last week, so it clearly wasn't that bad. I just randomly have a lot of Browns fans I talk to on twitter, and they've been laughing at me since we announced DA as the starter. I don't think he's terrible, but I do think he's inconsistent. I think we should still win the division with him though. Anyway, just wanted to clarify and mabye give you back a little faith in your listeners understanding of the game. Thanks for reading. I know you said you respond to all your emails, but I won't be offended if you don't. I know you're busy. Have a great day.

mcw

You and I feel the same way about DA. For some reason I've lost a lot of people who want to say I'm a homer because I picked the Cards to go 9-7 and said DA's an average QB. I don't think I have a mindless audience. I used to return every e-mail but now I return them through the mailbag. If you didn't hear the story click the link at the top of the page.

Doug and Wolf:

I love your show and listen every morning but I for one can not revel in the exploits of one Ray Lewis. I have no choice but to accept the fact that he is in the league but I find it problematic that he ever is the face of his team, commerical endeavors or the NFL. This is still a man who was not forthcoming with the police in the wake of a MURDER investigation in which two people were killed and pled guilty to "obstruction of justice" in a murder investigation.

I still find it hard to believe that he received no suspension for pleading guilty to something that egregious while Ben Rothlisberger, who was not even charged, was suspended for six games and will serve a four game suspension. While his own career has prospered I can not help but think about the lives of the two men who went unfulfilled, and to whom, much to the efforts of Mr. Lewis, justice was denied.

Steven

First, we strongly disagree but thank you for listening. Our disagreement is completely wrapped in respect for your opinion because of the class you showed in the way you explained it. Let me see if I can walk you through to the other side.

1) I'm not reveling in the man but I'm amazed at Ray Lewis' ability to play football.

2) Every man has a right to work in any industry after they've paid their debt to society. If you have a problem with him in the NFL, you should have a problem with the laws and sentencing of our country. Once you're out of prison, we should want all ex-cons to make a living.

3) I agree with you that what he did was terrible and I thought he should have received a stronger sentence from the judge. However, to this day there's been no one convicted of murder in the case so it's clear to me the investigators didn't do a great job anyway. They did get Lewis to testify. The DA only charged Lewis with a misdemeanor.

4) The Lewis situation was only a misdemeanor so no matter how upset you are at him, how much can you expect from the NFL to punish someone on a misdemeanor? Remember, Goodell was not the Commissioner at the time. Lewis received the highest fine of any NFL player. Under Tagliabue, that was a significant penalty.

5) You should look at Roethlisberger differently because it happened after Lewis. Goodell came in and started dropping the hammer because of his belief that Lewis and Leonard Little got off too easy.

The crap that people are talking about DA is so annoying! Every QB is going to throw incompletions! Seriously. I think they should play fitz but just as a presence so that breaston isn't double teamed. Just keep fitz's plays short routes. He's still a threat esp in the endzone.

Keith in Glendale

I wish I could convince people what AVERAGE means. He's not that good and you saw it @Atlanta. He's not that bad and you saw it @STL. If the Cards tackled well, didn't commit dumb penalties, and the O-Line knew what time the game was, it would have been a close game. I think there's a lot of people hating and a lot of people making excuses. I picked ATL to win the game for a reason. DA was only a small reason.

Last week you said there 4 teams out of 32 road teams that won but there could be only 16 road teams that could win not 32 doug

Brooklyn Joey

Actually, that's not what I said. I said, "There were only 4 teams out of the 32 that won on the road, granted 16 were at home." Since there are 32 teams in the league, I was right and I did throw out a bone in case I confused someone.

First off I would like to congratulate ASU on their win on Saturday. I know what the score was but if not for the horrible officiating, ASU by 14 should have been the score.

It was almost unbearable to watch, talk about getting homered. Look forward to you hammering the ref's on Monday morning.

Robert

I won't be hammering the refs. Anyone who hammers the refs knows nothing about football. ASU dropped a pass in the end zone, missed 4 points in the kicking game, had a chance to down 3 punts inside the 5 and tripped over the letter "W" on a breakaway run.

If people have such a hard time with the refs, blame the Pac-10. In non-conference games most teams bring their own refs. In the Pac-10, they don't allow other conferences to bring their own refs so when Pac-10 teams travel, they're forced to deal with hometown refs.

Hello, Last week, one morning there was a song playing during Doug & Wolf. It was a guitar playing and you stated it started a fire inside. Can you remember the artist and title? For the short period it played, it sounded awesome... Thanks Roy

Don't remember for sure but I think it was Nickleback. Keep listening and e-mail me the second you hear it.

Doug and Wolf -

First off love the show! A couple of weeks ago I heard you guys discussing when in the Bay area folks need to get to a particular restaurant. Was it Scomas? Need to try the seafood linguine? Going to be in San Francisco next weekend.

Thanks, Evan

That was it. I haven't been there before but everyone who talks about it just raves.

What do you win in your knock-out pool? Must be nice, cause you're not picking Saints, but 2nd pick would be GB.

Xavier

You win the pride of embarrassing your friends. I didn't really pick GB. I pick whoever is playing BUF, it just happened to be GB.

I thought Wolfley promised Jeff Munn he would be the callout for Friday.

Ryan

He did. He also promised he'd get a Mohawk.

Though I am sure you do not spend your free time reading the comments posted to sports articles but the comments from the 49er fans on some of the articles in the Chronicle this morning sure are fun to chuckle at. GO ASU.

Robert

I don't have any free time during football season. All I do is watch games and write in the mailbag.

1st quarter

Almost broke that return

Turner is back

Why did Dockett get all that money

D-line getting man-handled

More Turner

Rhodes already…I thought they've been working on penalties

Hey! An incompletion. 1st negative play

Defense is completely unready to play

TD ATL

Hey look, another penalty on the KO return

Illegal formation…all you have to do is look down the line and see if there's a TE there or a 300-lb man

Bilick is the worst analyst in FB…yes it was a hold on Breaston but what about calling out the acting job…then he called it an MME move…What's MME?...is that the circuit that goes at in the hexagon?

Good play by DA keeping things alive on the dump off to Patrick

More Turner

Forced punt by the defense!

Faneca's over-rated as a player. Supposedly his leadership is worth the fact he can't pass block anymore. If he does his job, Patrick gets 50 yards.

INT…looked like Breaston just got beat to the ball…need to see coach's film to know who's fault

2nd quarter

That wasn't a face mask and it wasn't on Porter…this is the ref from week 1 last year @ home last year that couldn't figure out his microphone…he's the worst in the league

Love Clark Haggans…if I'm evaluating talent I wouldn't be over-whelmed but as a fan, I love the "give everything" guys and he's one of them

Great blocks and Hightower showed break-away speed…Brandon Keith was great on the play

Pretty ticky-tack OPI called on White

Great play by Toler

Definite PI on DRC…should have been unsportsmanlike when he threw his mouth guard

What is Bilick talking about? He was looking for PI before the ball is thrown. Brian, you can't have pass interference until you have a pass.

D-Line is doing nothing

I agreed w/ the procedural penalty against Brown in the 1st Q but they aren't consistent in calling it. ATL's LT has been in the backfield on every pass play.

Great down-field blocking by the greatest TE in the history of the game on the TD…never mind, Rhodes was just covering TG and followed him to the sideline

Good catch and run by Steven Williams

Keith was destroyed by Weatherspoon, KNOW your assignment, why are you going inside

Keith didn't pick up the stunt and got DA crunched again

Good call on the Toler PF because it's a terrible rule. He didn't launch and the receiver wasn't defenseless but it was Head-2-head

I love Steven Williams but you can clearly tell there's a difference between pre-season and regular season DA's getting hit on almost every pass

3rd Quarter

Great blitz pick-up by Hightower on the INT…didn't want to miss the lone positive on the play

Great TD…executed so perfectly it was indefensible

I thought Dockett's play wasn't going to drop off with the money. What's he done this season? 4th down conversions and reverses in a blow-out?

Looks like Hightower and Lyle came to play…having a hard time complimenting anyone else

Never thought the day would come where we'd compare Ginobili to A-Dub.

Clark Haggans was right. You could hear him say, "I'm on the line of scrimmage," during the PF call on Finnerman.

4th Quarter

I'll give Thom a break but saying 4th inning is funny…Bilick can stuff it on his Ohio beatdowns.

Thom: I think it will be illegal procedure. Bilick: or it could be the defense lined up off-sides. No Bilick, it can't be the defense off-sides because the tackle was in the backfield. How about watching the game instead of guessing?

Why is DA still in there? This O-Line is awful.

I've always wondered how guys feel comfortable receiving their game checks after a performance like this.

Max is in…wait, defense is now in

Now what are the Max lovers going to say

I don't like typing that. I love Max but I can't stand the idiots that think he should start.

41-7

After the Indianapolis Colts went down to Houston and lost in Week 1 Doug had to re-arrange the top of his Power Poll after just one week. The Cardinals won and won ugly. Did that move them up from No. 16?

1st quarter

Brandon Keith can't possibly think he's supposed to block the outside rush and let someone come untouched from the 5-technique

DA looks really inaccurate to start but the key is no INT's and his receivers are bailing him out

Great move by Campbell…made the sack while being held

Can't possibly play a better first quarter to start the year than A-dub did

2nd Quarter

Steven Williams has to recognize he's hot and get his head around faster…should've been a TD

Washington reads the play like a veteran

So difficult to fully appreciate Jackson as a Ram…love to see him with a stable organization

Granted Bradford's a rookie but Bill Davis is really good at his job

Hightower carried an entire drive for the 1st TD

Great Rams play call to end the half, limit the rookie's reads with the roll out

3rd Quarter

This game is going exactly like I think the season will go

How did Michael Adams not get called for defensive holding in the end zone?

Breaston just saved Brandon Keith from giving up a TD

How many penalties can one team handle?

DA is playing poorly but I don't know how anyone could play well behind that O-Line

I hate wasted timeouts…did you not know the 3rd down play was going to take place 40 seconds after the 2nd down play?

There was no safety help over the top, Fitz made the right read and DA missed a TD

Very next play DA missed Fitz because of up the gut pressure

Dockett got tackled on the Jackson run and there's no flag

Next play Dockett got hit with an illegal chop block…am I the only one that can see the line play?

Brandon Keith is just not an NFL caliber player at this point

Does the O-line know the regular season started?

As close as this division will be, Komar's fumble could be an enormous play for the whole year (obviously that's depending on the games outcome)

Big league 3rd down conversion from your own end zone…Bradford has great poise

4th quarter

This game is coming down to which O-line wants to win

Another penalty

Another penalty

Another penalty

Big play from Paris Lennon…must feel good as a former Ram

I don't think Cards can win if they don't score on this drive

Another big play from Breaston

TD!...How did Fitz get that open? Doesn't any of the Rams DB have 2010 Madden?

There's no excuse if you lose a game to a rookie QB in his first start driving down the field for a winning TD

Seattle just beat SF. Even though I picked it, there comes a point where you're so right you're wrong. No way would I have picked a blow-out. That was such a beat down I don't think I get credit.

Bradford's moving the team.

Dumbest coaching move of the weekend…if you're going to go for it on 4th down then why did you throw it down the field on third down? If you knew you were going to go for it on 4th then use 3rd down to shave yards off the distance, like a Steven Jackson draw play. If you want to throw down the field on 3rd down, then kick the FG.

Ball game…but I'd like to see Rhodes get down…don't risk the fumble…give the ball to your offense to run out the clock

Holy ____! Hightower is clearly down but don't blame the refs. He can't even make it close in that situation. Between his fumbles and Wells' inability to pick up the blitz, there are real problems.

That fumble makes Rams' coaches look even dumber for not kicking the FG.

I'll say it again. There's no excuse for allowing a rookie QB in his first start to march down the field and win the game…but I'm nervous this time

A-DUB! An INT while cramping up. That's a gamer.

This game is exactly what I've been saying all off-season. This is not a good team but this division is so bad they'll win it anyway.

Doug is back with his weekly Power Poll. He starts the NFL season with last year's Super Bowl participants as the 1-2 and national favorites Ravens and Packers following.

Anderson sucks: Give Mattie a chance to run the team, if not go with Max.

Patrick

I don't think Anderson sucks and I don't think Leinart's great. I would have gone with Matt but clearly we're beyond that stage now.

Matt will be the starter but he won't last 2 games. That's my prediction...

DA will be patchwork QB, the focus will shift to Max and John

Will

I disagree. I think Matt's done after he spoke to the media.

Leinart has to be the guy that gets traded or cut. Even with the experience issue, at this point is it really that much of a step backwards going with Anderson and having Skelton/Hall behind him? Leinart is gone next year because of the money that will be due to him in 2011. DA is inaccurate but he can throw down field and make throws Leinart can't. I even say Max Hall before I trust Leinart to lead the Cards to a division title.

Kevin

I agree since you say "at this point." I think they should have gone with Leinart but once he spouted off he has to go.

When was the last regular season touchdown pass thrown by Matt?

Thanks,

Chris

Does it matter?

I am all for giving leinart a chance but if he isnt gonna be here next year which we all know he is not why waste a whole season with him.

Steve

To win?

Good show today.

The only this worse than having a QB controversy……… in this case is not having one. It's not a controversy, it's a "competition". It's a competition simply because it's not worthy of controversy status. A QB Controversy is when you have two QBs capable of being the guy. Controversy means both guys could start for any other team. Controversy means the future and the present meet to lock horns.

Rich

I think this is a great opinion. Even though I keep saying Leinart B. M. (before media), how can anyone really be right when we're comparing average versus mediocrity?

Doug Franz broadcaster extraordinaire… Do you recant? I told you Whiz didn't like Leinart. Come on Doug, recant! You owe me a recantation…ring the bell in the morning.

Matthew

No. You told me in a previous e-mail you thought Whiz wasn't giving Leinart a fair shot. Think about the ignorance of what you're referring. You're saying Whiz would rather lose then see Leinart succeed. I don't know how Whiz feels about Matt the person and I don't care. The question is can Matt Leinart win in the NFL. I think the answer is no but this division is so bad he'll win enough. CKW obviously stops at the word no and is ready to move on.

I think the Cardinals are going to have to choose between unpleasant alternatives. It appears they can muddle through with a pair of quarterbacks without long term value and give up a promising quarterback or they can take a step back this year and position themselves for better quarterbacking in the near future.

If they're not going to start Leinhart they should release or trade him. He's earned that kind of respectful treatment from the club.

Bob

"Muddle" can still mean winning this division. I realize if SF or SEA is better than I'm giving them credit I'll have a huge recantation in front of me but I think 9-7 is winning this division.

Let's win this year and let's use the off-season to develop one of the young QB's everyone's in love with. Never forget, Skelton and Hall look great against the UFL All-Stars.

I would say win win for both the Sox and the Dbacks

Edwin Jackson (26 yrs old)
4 starts
2-0
0.96 ERA
0.36 WHIP
28 IP
23 H
3 ER
7 BB
34 K

Daniel Hudson (23 yrs old)
5 starts
3-1
1.72 ERA
0.90 WHIP
36.2 IP

For a guy who took his wife to Cooperstown, it's nice to get a baseball question…sorry I disagree. First, EJ shouldn't be here because Max should be the closer. Secondly, EJ is already in his arbitration years. The D-Backs have Hudson for 6 years. There's no way he'll reach Super 2 status so the D-Backs avoid arbitration until after 2013 so even a tie goes to the D-Backs. Combine that with the simple fact that EJ wasn't pitching that great at the end, it's a no brainer. D-Backs win that trade.

Loverboy will be performing LIVE at Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino on Friday, September 10th.

At only 300 points per entry, I'm SURE to win...which one of you wants to go with me? WHICH ONE OF YOU 'KIDS...ARE HOT TONITE! WHOA!!! SO HOT TONIGHT...AND WHERE WILL YOU BE TOMORROW?'

Front row, guys...fists in the air, deep in the LOVERBOY MOSH PIT!

Brother Murph...!!

I don't think Loverboy truly understands what we do for them. Here's a good poll question, who's a bigger act, D&W or L'boy?

I'm taking L'boy, but I think we get 35% of the vote. I'm happy with that.

Doug,

Long time listener and we've exchanged a number of emails these past few years.

98 graduate of the University of Wisconsin. I have 20 tickets to the game and am obviously flying back to Madison to reunite with all my college friends and their wives.

Here are a couple of musts while you are in the homeland:

1. Mickey's Dairy Bar- near Camp Randall. BREAKFAST. Get "the Scrambler". You will not be disappointed.
2. The Great Dane Brew Pub- near the Capital. Great English Pub atmosphere. They have great beer, great food. I was the first bouncer they ever hired and I still get free meals and beer from their management when I go there, 12 years later!!!
3. The Union: Go to the student union and have a brat and beer on the Terrace. Its right on Lake Mendota and just an awesome time.

Hope you enjoy yourself there.

Joe

Sorry I don't return e-mails anymore. Maybe I will again but it was a terrible situation that occurred. Really excited for the trip. Although I think Wisconsin wins, it's crazy just how big a 3-0 start would be to ASU.

Go Devils.

Want to contribute to the next mailbag? E-mail Doug here

In case you missed it, here's the link to a previous blog on why the mail bag is back. If you're wondering why I haven't returned your e-mail, it's saved for the mailbag.

If anyone can take the strong armed, but erratic Derek Anderson and change his mechanics and turn him into a solid Q.B., it is Ken Whisenhunt.

Have a good one!

Lloyd

Buckeye

Agreed. I still look at what he did with Roethlisberger. Won 15 games as a rookie.

I know it is football season, but... does Mark Reynolds still play professional baseball? Has anyone seen someone go form great to suck quicker than Reynolds? Other than Upton of course...

Jarrod

8/1 two hits. 8/30 3 hits. Between he had 13 and batted .165

Did you hear Colin yesterday saying that the cards are a 6 win team then a little later he said the seahawks could win the division! He's off his rocker! Keith in Glendale

I did. Again, if I thought the NFC West was good I'd be down on the Cardinals. Alex Smith does look better than I expected but I think this division is bad. I still think Cards win.

I think Matt is pressing because he feels he can't mess up. He is under such scrutiny he feels he can't. So, he plays it too safe and is thinking too much. In turn, he's looking hesitant and unsure of himself. He's obviously not a confident man right now.

Freddy

Remember, I think Matt should be the starter but if you're right, it proves I'm wrong. If Matt can't handle the pressure of competition in practice, he certainly can't handle the pressure in a game.

We exchanged emails about 3 years ago and agreed he will go down in history as a great college QB nothing else.

Joe

I think Matt's an average NFL QB and I think that's still good enough to win the division.

You can't lessen the peaks and valleys of DA (Disregarding Accuracy). I think we're living in a dream word if we think the Cards can. He has a 53% career accuracy rating and a 69.7 passer rating. Those are bad back up QB numbers…there's no way he can be the starter for this team. The Browns let him go and replaced him with Jake Delhome. Leinart needs to be the starter.

Matthew

I wouldn't go so far as dream world. I do believe in CKW more than I believe in Anderson. If he says Anderson's the guy I think it's the wrong move. The catch is CKW is 2-for-3 in division championships so I'll disagree with the move knowing he'll probably end up being right.

18 games? Wow, you only need 55 1/2 yards a game for 1000. Didn't Jim Taylor & Jim Brown do that in 12 & 14 game seasons? Records will be broken, not sure how I feel about that. Great show as always.

Thanks.............Larry

1K seasons are now expected and no longer an achievement. AVG YDS/G will be a more important stat than per season.

And we don't always have a great show. Did you hear how bad I was last Friday?

All this Leinart bashing made me do some research. Matt has started 19 games as a pro QB. If you compare those 19 starts with Peyton Mannings first 19 starts, Matt's actually look better.

Thanks but wouldn't you say you could see clear improvement from Peyton? Again, I think Matt should start because of my belief in the defense and special teams but I don't expect him to be anything but an average NFL QB.

Doug,

Love the show, listen every morning but I am calling you out for your HOMER remarks. Here you have an EXECUTIVE of over 20 years telling you Matt doesn't have it. YET you continue to say "the Cardinals are going to win this division." Even worse, you and Ron rant about all of the question marks the 49ers have. That's why it's obvious you two are just being homers, you don't even do your homework. Let's see, best rookie receiver last year, best tight end in the league who happened to tie a record for TDs in a season, top 5 running back in the NFL, Top 10 defense that could get better this year. I mean come on. Oh I forgot one guy, but all I have to do is say his name...Patrick Willis. Boom. You two could have 300 experts and execs call you up and you would still be the homers that you are. You two are usually very objective but I had to call you out on this.

Anonymous

There's a shock. Pick against someone's favorite team so I'm a homer. Let's get one thing straight on the mailbag. When you call me a homer you're announcing to the world that you are an ignorant fool. How am I being a homer by not believing in your home town team? I think the 49ers are not that good (around 7-9). I think the Cards are a little bit better. I think the Cards are going to go 9-7 and lose in the first round of the playoffs to Atlanta. Does that really sound like a homer?

I picked the D-Backs to finish 4th this year. I picked the Lakers over the Suns in 6. I even picked Georgetown over my beloved Ohio Bobcats (still upset about that one). I pick what I think will happen. Of course I'm going to be wrong sometimes but it's much more important to me to be right than to make a prediction just so someone will like me.

The national media is bagging on our home team here enough. It would be nice to see our local media stand up and rally behind them. After listening this morning, I was let down and disappointed with you. We tune in to hear news and interviews...not your assinine speculatory trade rumor...that you pretty much fabricated.

Doug sucks...Wolf is why people listen.

hector

One person says I'm a homer because I picked the Cardinals and another says I suck because I'm not being homer enough. Such is the job.

To those of you who are higher on the evolutionary plane than Hector and Anonymous, you have my word that I will always tell you what I think whether our home teams want to hear it or not.

Gentlemen,

I beleive the ultimate solution to the Cardinals QB saga is to trade Matt now while he still has some stock and value in the League. Since Whisenhunt likes the blue collar-QB, how plausible do trade scenarios sound?

Geechy Dan

I think a trade scenario is in the works right now. I don't know if it will happen. It just depends on the fall-out of Leinart's recent comments.

However, "Geech" I don't want to give you an asinine speculatory trade rumor…that I pretty much fabricated.

Want to contribute to the next mailbag? E-mail Doug here

I've been struggling all weekend if I should write this or not. I decided that giving you information for you to judge is better than hiding the info and having you wonder, "what happened?"

I ran into a situation last week and I've decided to make a dramatic change. I will no longer be as vigilant in returning e-mails. I've always considered it simple customer service to return your e-mails.

In case you didn't know, I have returned almost every e-mail I've ever received as a talk show host. The only reason I would ever not return an e-mail is if your e-mail went to my junk file (I don't know what causes that) or if you needed to cuss me out to make your point. If you treated me like a jerk but didn't cuss, I would return your e-mail but I'm not pulling punches. I'd rip you right back. I thought it was hypocritical to only return the "nice" e-mails so I returned all of them.

No matter how heated an e-mail argument became, I could always count on that listener keeping the disagreement between us. Unfortunately that confidence was broken last week. I realize up front I'm over-reacting because it was one person out of about 200K e-mails I've received in almost four years. I believe I have to, however, because of how damning this incident could have been.

I consider it so important to return your e-mails because without you I have no job. Whether you love or hate me, agree or disagree, the show doesn't exist without you and our advertisers. If you take the time to communicate, I should take the time to respond. I hate to go in this direction but the risk of a listener taking my e-mail and using it against me is now too real.

I don't want to give you specifics because that would be unfair to the e-mailer (irrelevant of the e-mailer's treatment of me). The listener wasn't happy with his perception of how we treated one of the teams he rooted for and called Wolf, Farmer Rod and me idiots. I defended why we do what we do and never got personal.

Now, I'm no saint. I was very terse and sarcastic in my comments but I responded with facts to back-up my points and never attacked him.

He forwarded my e-mail directly to the team.

Luckily I have a good standing at this station. Luckily I've had lots of conversations with this team in the past so they knew not to take my comments out-of-context for how they were attended. As you can imagine, though, not everyone listens to the show or knows anything about me. As the e-mail circulated, the confusion mounted until a consortium of people could put out the fire. I caused a lot of people drama last week of which I feel terrible. I can't help but think it started all because I trusted one person.

Don't get me wrong. I meant what I said. I'm not hiding from my comments. I would have told the team the same thing. The difference is I would have explained the situation in more detail than three sentences written while I'm already on the air. I would have taken the time to give the team the respect they deserve as opposed to the time I'll give someone calling me an idiot and questioning the work all of who work on the show. A quick three sentence e-mail can easily be misread and all it takes is one person to make a judgment and everything goes wrong.

There is one thing that comes out of this you might like. The return of the mailbag. I will now keep all your e-mails you send and answer some as soon as I can in the mail bag. With the mailbag you can find out what I think about your comments while alleviating my concern for what someone might do with my answer just because they wanted me to suck up to them.

Larry Fitzgerald was in the huddle for every play call despite no helmet or pads and a huge brace on his right leg. He broke the huddle like anyone else. Of course it seemed like Coach Ken Whisenhunt was genius. Why not run the first play in NFL history that went 5-wide with a running back? Who's going to cover a WR with a leg brace? Only this illegal formation included the worst route ever run by Larry Fitzgerald. He hobbled out from the huddle and lined up between a split wide Stephen Williams and Andre Roberts in the slot. He finally got there at the end of the snap count but never got set. The whole time he was in motion he shouted, "Sell it. They can't cover both of you. Make him (the safety) choose. Drive him back."

Leinart took the snap but his favorite receiver just stood there shouting down field. Roberts, confident since he knew this was his best practice and best day as a professional athlete, juked to the outside and then went up the seam on a Z route. Matt Ware cut him off ready to intercept a pass from the USC QB who never threw the deep ball. SOLD. Williams never broke stride while listening to the shouts of the best receiver in the NFL behind him. Leinart let fly a pass that was clearly overthrown to the uneducated from the second it left his hand. No way could a player that 32 NFL teams said, "No Thanks," to seven different times run under that pass in the back of the end zone.

TOUCHDOWN CARDINALS!

Do you mind if I do something really dumb? I did my first sports talk show in April of 1991 so I'm coming close to being a member of the media for 20 years. I'm about to do something that would get me fired from any college campus teaching job. I watched one practice Tuesday and made a decision.

The Arizona Cardinals will win the NFC West.

Yes, I just made that prediction after watching Tuesday's practice.

Ever notice that Ken Whisenhunt always does the opposite of what's expected? He doesn't do this to be unpredictable. He's just a graduate of Georgia Tech and he's smarter than the rest of us. Whenever the Cards play poorly during the regular season, it's CKW who always calms down media and fans. After what we thought was an average pre-season game, it's CKW who's dropping the hammer while the rest of us check the film wondering what upset him. CKW uses the pre-season to reach perfection while the regular season is just a mechanism to reach the playoffs.

There was no doubt that every player on the Arizona Cardinals got the message that CKW was disappointed in Saturday night's performance against the Houston Texans. If you would have watched Tuesday's practice you would agree with me. You won't hear this from very many sources because there were about 10 members of the media at practice and six of them were Sports 620 KTAR employees.

The Cardinals practiced their two-minute drill. At first it was tough. The four-wide wide receivers were Steve Breaston, Andre Roberts, Ed Gant, and Stephen Williams. Yes, Stephen Williams caught an incredible 45-yard bomb in the back of the end zone with the CB draped all over him on the best pass of Matt Leinart's professional career, but that's not why I picked the Cards. It was what I saw every play for five plays before that.

Larry Fitzgerald didn't sit on an exercise bike thinking "this is rehab." Do your rehab on your own time and be involved in practice now. Larry ran in his brace to tell the receivers what he would see if he were playing. That's a team leader who got the message from his coach.

Only seven players went into the locker room after practice. There were over 50 players who stayed on the field working on their skills when they had already allotted the full time mandated. Look to the far side of the field and there's Andre Roberts, Marshay Green, Jorrick Calvin and Justin Miller catching punts from the Jugs machine. In the foreground are six different WR's throwing passes to each other. To your left, just standing on the sideline, are three OL talking to Russ Grimm making swim move gesture's to each other. The QB's are talking to passing game coordinator Mike Miller at the 45.

Ken Whisenhunt is standing at the 50 and he is well pleased.

Dear National media:

Meet the 2010 NFC West Champions.

• DWash—Wow…can cover and blow up running backs

• DWill—three plays sequence: ended up pushed back 8 yards/stuffed a 3rd & 1/pushed back on QB sneak for 1st down…Washington looks like the 1st rounder and Williams the 2nd

• Toler—better than in any practice in Flag

• DA—pick was tipped but it was thrown in coverage

• Togafau—showed why he always bounces between practice squad and inactive list

• Branch—solid not flashy got held twice that wasn't called

• Iwebema—constant energy, great special teams block

• Roberts—if I'm trapped on the 2nd floor of a fiery building with a baby, I'm not tossing him the kid…wonderful block on the TD run

• Lutui—does he want a job?

• Green—hard to keep him off the field

• Jefferson—inconsistant…couple real nice plays and two completely blown angles

• Dray—never seen him in practice because he was always hurt but looked good blocking and receiving

• Wells—no holes but ran hard…read coverage well and sat down in zone for TD rec

• Williams—just keeps going…great catches including the PF he drew and hung on the ball…next play draws PI

• Skelton—didn't play this well in practice…maybe he's the QB that gets the gamer tag

Technically, week 2 started a few days ago. However, since Sunday was an off-day and all of us start the work week on Monday, I'll say week 2 starts now.

I was at every scrimmage and every practice except two. Here's 5 things I'd like to see in week 2 that I didn't see in week 1:

1) MATT LEINART MAKE FASTER DECISIONS.

I still believe in Matt Leinart as a solid NFL quarterback. I'm not dumb enough to change an opinion after a week of training camp. With regret, I do admit that Matt has been a disappointment so far. It could easily be my fault, maybe my expectations were too high.

I want to see fewer double-pumps and more completions. Leinart doesn't pump fake to juke a safety. He pump fakes because he hasn't made a decision on what to do. He doesn't throw to a spot expecting the WR to be there. He waits until he's absolutely sure it's the right decision. In the NFL, that's too long to wait. You have to know where people will be and then throw it to that window. If you wait until you're sure someone's open, he won't be by the time the ball gets there.

It's not all bad. There are flashes of the QB you want to see and that's why I still believe.

2) SOMEONE TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THE 4TH WR SPOT

Right now, Stephen Williams is the 4th best WR in camp. Although I'm a huge fan of the rookie from my beloved Mid-American Conference, he's not ready to be your fourth WR. Onrea Jones doesn't get open on a consistent basis. Ed Gant is just kind of there. Then there's Andre Roberts. He has a weird problem for a WR. He can't catch.

3) SECONDARY SUCCESSFUL WHEN SPREAD OUT

I think this defense, when in regular personnel, is one of the best in the NFL. Yes, I really said that. The front 7 is great and the depth on the D-line is unbelievable. The secondary with DRC, A-Dub, and Kerry Rhodes is solid. The problem is the CB spot opposite DRC.

I have a feeling almost every opponent will not let the Cards sit in their regular personnel. I think 3-wide will be the minimum for a game while 4 and 5-wide will be the norm. I think that will cause major problems for DC Bill Davis -- not that he can't handle it mentally but the personnel is the problem.

I won't know about this one until the HOU game because of number 2 above isn't going to give me a read on number 3 during practice.

4) LEVI BROWN V HOUSTON

Brown's camp has been outstanding but it's been just that "camp."

Full disclosure, I was never a big fan of this draft pick. Maybe the key was leaving him at LT instead of moving him to the right side since LT was where he's played from HS through PSU. I want to see if his first week is for real or just a string of good practices. If the week 1 Levi Brown is the same one we'll see this year, maybe my number 1 issue above will solve itself.

5) A TE DO ANYTHING

I told you before how many practices I've been to and I've yet to see Becht play. Patrick looked good but got hurt last Wednesday (left knee). Spach just gets in fights. Surprisingly, Byrd has looked good in pass patterns but I'm not so sure he could keep Fun Katy off the QB if he had to block her.

There's nothing I've read from the other divisional opponents or seen in Flagstaff that moves me off of the prediction that Arizona repeats as divisional champion. I'm just being a little greedy after one week.

So...did you make your pick in the Rookie of the Team draft?

You choose one player from the Cardinals roster who has impressed you. The catch is you have to pick someone drafted on day three or someone who wasn't drafted at all.

My pick is Stephen Williams. He's a 6' 5" 208 lbs. rookie out of Toledo. Let me give you his high school track numbers to show you his athleticism. He almost jumped his height in high school and had a long jump of almost 23' (official numbers were 6' 4" in the high jump and 22' 11" in the long jump. Is he fast you ask? He ran the 100 in 10.7 seconds. At the combine, he ran a sub 4.5 electronic timed 40. If you watch him against Houston on 8/14, he's wearing number 14.

Just the tangibles are reason enough to love him. He's taller than every CB and he can out-jump most of them. Granted, none of this matters if he can't catch the football. It's easy to say, "There's a reason the UT he went to was Toledo and not Texas," especially since he's from Houston. I'm not worried about that, I actually think it's a positive. He's already dealt with not getting the attention and he excelled at Toledo. He told Wolf and me it leads to extra incentive.

So far his camp hasn't been stellar but it's been solid. He admitted to us that the playbook is the most challenging aspect of his new job. There are times when you can tell he's still thinking during his route instead of reading the secondary naturally. When you're over-thinking, your natural athleticism doesn't come out as well. He is a student of the game, though. Williams is not one of those players where you say, "Don't think," because you're scared what could happen. He's a very intelligent kid with a passion to get it right.

If you're short on time, I had with him after practice.

If you've got a few more minutes, listen to Steve when he came on the show earlier in the first week of camp. His story of swordfights with his head coach at Toledo is priceless.

It's time for you to play the game.

Stick your neck on the line and name your "dog."

Every year there's a couple of us in the media who play scout and after the first weekend of practices you have to declare who your ROOKIE OF THE TEAM is. We pick a player to surprise and have the best season. In year one of the game, I won going away taking Ben Patrick. Last year, none of us could compete with Yoda who walked away with the award when LaRod Stephens-Howling was fantastic.

Here are the rules:

1) It has to be a rookie.

2) It can't be anyone drafted in the first two days of the draft

The first two days of the draft now encompass the first three rounds so your pick has to be a rookie free agent or a 4th-7th round pick. If there's a tie, the lower draft pick wins. Obviously, rookie free agents are ranked lower than the 7th pick so you look better if you stick your neck out that far. The problem is you'll lose your scouting license for one year if your pick doesn't even make the team.

You've got one day to make your selection in the ROOKIE OF THE TEAM draft. Tomorrow I'll reveal my pick and talk to him for a few minutes so you can get to know him.

On your mark, get set, PICK!

I asked one baseball insider what he thought of the trade. He said it was a great deal, "if you're an Angels fan."

I agree with him for now.

I don't care what anyone tells you. The trade of Dan Haren was a salary dump. The players Arizona received do not make the organization better than they were. Unless Haren has serious problems and this season foreshadows the rest of his career (which I don't believe), the D-backs took a step back.

They didn't take one step back to take two steps forward with these three players. These three players will not equal for the D-backs what Dan Haren will be for the Angels.

The fourth player is legit but I don't think he's come to the right place. I'm deeply concerned because the key piece of the deal falls into the place of the D-backs biggest failings. If the PTBNL (that's a cool baseball way of saying player-to-be-named) is Tyler Skaggs, I'm OK with that. He's a top prospect in the Angels lower minors. I'm concerned however about the D-backs track record.

Who's the last impact starting pitcher that came up through the D-backs organization? Since no one's been able to develop through the system since Brandon Webb, I don't trust Skaggs will either. Tyler, if you don't develop into a strong starting pitcher, it's not your fault. No one does in the D-backs minor leagues.

I'm not going to completely blast the deal until I see what happens in the off-season. The term salary dump is a bad phrase that makes people upset. It shouldn't. The D-backs shouldn't be spending the money they are for the team they have. They should dump salary because this team isn't good enough to make what the owners are spending. I want to see what they do with the savings.

Chad Qualls has been a joke. The Valverde trade will be the worst trade in D-backs history until 2025 when Arizona trades Grant Vera to Cleveland for a bag of balls and Vera hits for the triple crown the next year. This team has to get a closer and closers cost money.

If the D-backs get a good closer, with the money they saved and Skaggs develops, this was a good trade. Since I don't think both will happen, I don't like the deal.

Doug answered a few questions and gave his first reactions to the news of Steve Kerr leaving the Phoenix Suns.

Who will/should replace Steve Kerr?

David Griffin doesn't suck up enough so I don't think it will be him.

How will Steve Kerr's tenure in Phoenix be looked at?

He changed a melodrama into a contender.

Did the move have to do with the future of the team - re-signing Amare or other free agents?

No, it had to do with one man not being a winner ... Robert Sarver.

Did the move have to do with Kerr's salary with the team and/or strictly TV/family time?

Yes.

Q: WHAT'S NEXT?

A: Nothing happens until Friday when Mizzou and Nebraska must state their intentions. The Big 12 can still be saved but Texas would have to make concessions. I don't think that will happen because Texas in the "Super 16" is better than Texas in the Big 12 under new revenue distribution rules.

Q: WHAT HAPPENS BEFORE FRIDAY?

Nothing on the record.

The Big 10 will quietly try to talk Notre Dame into joining the conference. They want to get an answer out of ND because a yes will mean they won't invite Mizzou and Nebraska, forcing Mizzou to walk back to the Big 12 with its tail between its legs.

The Big 10 will swear to ND this is the last time they will invite the Irish. Although it makes the most sense for ND to say yes, they won't because they know the Big 10 is bluffing and will ask again.

Q: HOW DO THEY KNOW THE BIG 10 IS BLUFFING?

In the 90's Notre Dame was offered an invitation from the Big 10. ND quietly said yes and then went public. After their fans went nuts and NBC upped their contract offer, ND stayed independent. The Big 10 said they would never ask again at that point. Since they're asking again, ND knows they can keep the Big 10 on the back burner. Besides, why not watch the other schools jump through hoops and then decide what you're going to do. At any time ND can pick up the phone and invite themselves to any conference.

Q: WHAT ELSE CAN STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING?

If the SEC calls Texas that would really change things. Texas wouldn't be the same big dog in the SEC but they would be able to dictate who comes with them. If they brought the 4 Texas schools, they could join the other West division teams and put the two Alabama schools in the East.

There is one scenario that no one has talked about but would be very tough to pull off. Why not have the Big 12 go on the offensive? TCU? Ark? New Mexico? ASU?

Q: WHAT KIND OF FALL OUT WILL TAKE PLACE?

If ND says no to the Big 10, Rutgers, Pitt, and Syracuse could all be invited with Nebraska and Mizzou. That would make Big East football a conference of five teams. They can't go on the offensive at that point because the basketball schools would tell the football schools to give it up.

At that point the ACC would probably jump into the fray and go for UC, UofL, UConn, and either South Florida or WVU. Hard to decide between the last two. WVU gives you tradition and great ticket revenue while South Florida gives you the Tampa market to sell to advertisers and a third team in Florida where all the athletes are.

Q: WHO STANDS TO LOSE THE MOST?

Iowa State. If the Big 12 falls apart, who wants them?

To a lesser extent, WVU and USF could be losers. If the ACC raids the Big East for the leftovers after the Big 10, I don't think both of them will have a seat when the music stops.

Q: WHO'S THE BIG WINNER?

In the short term it's the Super 16. The Texas schools would force the rest of the conference teams (especially ASU and UofA since they would all be in the same division) to raise their game.

Q: IS THERE A "LONG TERM" WINNER?

If they play their cards right, it could be the Mountain West. There's no word on what happens to KU, K-State if the Big 12 folds. Plus, there's talk that the Texas Legislature might force the Texas schools to bring Baylor with them and force the Pac-10 to rescind an offer to CU. Colorado could be left out in the cold. The Mountain West could become a 14 team conference. The north division would be KU, K-State, CU, CSU, Boise St (yes, I'm putting them in), Wyoming and ISU (Cyclones get lucky because I need the balance of 7 teams per division). TCU, New Mexico, SDSU, UNLV, Utah, BYU, and AFA would make up the SW division.

If the Mtn W expands to this level and picks up 4 former BCS teams, I think they get that BCS bid they've been begging to receive.

KU basketball could be a big winner because they'd come close to Memphis in C-USA dominance and have a clean road to a #1 seed in every tournament.

Q: DOES THIS MOVE US CLOSER TO A PLAYOFF IN FOOTBALL?

No. The only reason I could say yes is because there's less bureaucracy. Fewer conferences mean fewer decision makers and that does streamline the process. However, one of the big hang-ups for a playoff is the Big 10 and Pac 10's love for the Rose Bowl. Now that those conferences would have 32 of the 120 D-1 teams fighting for 2 Rose Bowl spots, it would make a playoff less likely. Giving more power to two anti-playoff conferences doesn't bring a playoff closer. I could see, though, that a "Plus 1" game could be added following the bowls.

Q: WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN?

I think the Super 16 is going to happen.

I don't think ND is going to join a conference on someone else's time table. The Big 12's ultimatum to Mizzou and Nebraska screwed things up for the Big 10 to get ND because Mizzou needs an answer. Once Nebraska and Mizzou depart, I think Texas is in the Super 16. I have no idea who will win the Baylor v CU battle. The Pac 10 will try to play hard ball because they want the Denver market. I think the Pac-10 will force the Texas Legislature to decide between Baylor or some conference championship games in Dallas.

I completely believe in a 16 team Big 10 because ND will say no.

It's hard to see the carnage that will be left between the ACC and the Big East. If I'm the ACC, I move now and don't wait to see what the Big East will try to do to save itself before the Big 10 makes it's move.

What I don't know is how the SEC will act. They've been very quiet. They are the one card that has more power than ND and Texas.

Just some quick notes while I'm sitting here at Gateway Chevrolet feeling like I got punched in the gut.

1) Box out

2) Any human being who plays as a center or power forward and has as many turnovers as rebounds is not a max contract player

3) Play until you hear the horn, then stop and watch

4) Unthinkable...Fisher out-played Richardson

5) FIND ANYONE AND KEEP THEM OFF THE GLASS

6) Ball movement...why did the offense watch Nash instead of get open for him?

7) The pain doesn't affect Game 6

8) Whatever Kerr does with Amare is the right decision because you can't replace 20 points a game and you can't give big money to a guy who shows up twice in a seven game series

9) Never count out Nash

10) No matter how many negatives we see from the Suns in the WCF...it's incredible that we even have the chance to sit here and complain about the WCF

Channing is going to go off tonight.

Yes, I know I'm the only one on the Frye bandwagon tonight.

Yes, I know I was the main one driving straight at the bandwagon with an 18-wheeler after his performance in game 2.

The difference is rhythm, flow and waking-up to the fact you're in the Western Conference Finals. I think Channing is finally there.

In Game 2 he was atrocious. In his first play on the floor he threw a lazy pass and then weakly hustled back on defense to grab the ball out of the net instead of attacking the trailing Odom on a boxout. The ball didn't go through the net and Odom easily had a stick-back. That play is the definition of being mentally unprepared to play.

In Game 3, he was more mentally prepared to play. Don't get me wrong. I'm not complimenting his Game 3 performance. However, there's no reason to attack his professionalism in Game 3 like I did in Game 2. Other than a shot he forced to beat the shot clock (he was hung out to dry by a teammate and deserves nothing negative on that play) all of his shot were sound shots within the offense. He only hesitated on his first one. He woke up a little in Game 3.

I'm not grasping at straws and trying to find small positives. I'm looking for signs that can predict the future. Channing Frye will have a great Game 4. There will be another game in Phoenix. GO SUNS!