Burns: Predictably unpredictable

The Arizona Cardinals unpredictability have become….so predictable. In a season filled with plot twists, what’s one more? The unexpected is to be expected after watching the Cardinals demolish the Bears 41-21.

4-0 on the road, 1-3 at home. Five picks last week for Kurt Warner, five touchdown passes this week. Shock the world by beating the Giants. Shock ‘em again by losing to Carolina. Who are these guys? They’re 5-3 with a two game lead in the NFC West, that’s who.

Unfortunately, that’s not good enough for Anquan Boldin. More on him in a moment.

In the first half, the Cardinals offense moved the ball at will against a Bears defense that clearly quit right before halftime. 21 first downs compared to 8 for the Bears. 131 yards rushing compared to only 26 for Chicago. Warner had 4 touchdown passes as his offensive line did a terrific job. Larry Fitzgerald had two touchdown catches. Early Doucet saw some action. And for just a moment you thought Beanie Wells was going to have that Beanie-breakout-game we’ve all been waiting/hoping for.

He didn’t but I was completely impressed with him today. 13 carries, 72 yards, picked up the blitz on a couple of occasions.

The Cardinals briefly allowed the Bears to make things interesting when Matt Leinart came in and threw a pick. But before you had too many flashbacks to the Bears-Are-Who-We-Thought-They-Were game, order was restored. A sly Ken Whisenhunt joked after the game that the Cardinals didn’t let them off the hook.

I am concerned with Leinart and his confidence. Put in for mop up duty then yanked the minute he threw the pick, he looked like a man with some serious confidence issues standing on the sideline.

I am also concerned about Seattle next week. The Cards should blow them out at home. But that’s where things get complicated for this bunch; they don’t handle “should” very well.

But mostly I am wondering about the state of Boldin’s head and frankly, what motivates him these days. By all accounts he wasn’t happy about not playing Sunday despite a bad ankle that has really limited him lately. I get it. He’s an injury-prone, ultra-competitive tough guy who plays through the pain. But is it asking too much for him to at least pretend to be interested in how the team does? He comes off as a selfish brat whose only concern is proving to the NFL that he can stay on the field when in fact he can’t. The Cardinals played in the Super Bowl and have started the season 5-3. And he’s miserable.

Besides – and I’ve said this before – the Cardinals don’t need him. They won without him Sunday. They’ve won without him the last year or so. And this is something else I’ve said before: There is no way, literally no way the Cardinals should give Boldin a long term extension at the end of this or any other season.

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