From hype to flop: Cardinals among most disappointing in Valley history
Oct 4, 2016, 6:30 AM | Updated: 1:54 pm
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer (3) is helped up after a being sacked against the Los Angeles Rams during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. Palmer left the game after the hit. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
TEMPE, Ariz. — The Cardinals’ 1-3 start is a bucket of cold, dirty water in fans’ faces: a shock to the senses with a lingering and bitter aftertaste. Rarely has a Valley team started a season with so much local and national hype. Rarely has a team fallen so flat in its attempts to match that hype.
There are 12 games left to play in the NFL season — 12 games in which to change the storyline, but where does the Cardinals’ current predicament rank among the Valley’s all-time hype-to-flop moments? We examined the history of the city’s four major professional teams and Arizona State football for answers, and then chose a winner for each, with some notable contenders.
We examined the history of the city’s four major professional teams and Arizona State football for answers, and then chose a winner for each, with some notable contenders.
We also added a ratings scale to measure the teams against one another, with 1 being the most disappointing team and 5 being the least. The scale is based upon the level of expectations heading into the season (and postseason), the significance of those expectations to the Valley, the credibility of those expectations and the level of failure of the team in meeting those expectations.
We did not mention teams whose disappointing finishes came as a result of exterior factors like Carson Palmer’s ACL tear in 2014, or the NBA’s suspension of Suns forwards Amar’e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for Game 5 against the Spurs in the 2007 Western Conference semifinals.
Have a different take? Tell us about it in the comments section below.
ARIZONA CARDINALS
Winner: 2016 — The Cardinals were picked by most outlets to advance to the Super Bowl or at least the NFC Championship Game. Instead, they have already lost as many games as they lost all of last year, they have dropped two home games, they are two games off the NFC West division race, and their three losses are to quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo, Tyrod Taylor and Case Keenum.
Disappointment rating: Incomplete at No. 2 but trending toward No. 1.
Contender: 1999 — One year after their first playoff berth in the Valley, the Cards finished 6-10.
ARIZONA COYOTES
Winner: 2012-13. The Coyotes were coming off their first Western Conference Final appearance and their first playoff series wins in Valley history. It seemed that coach Dave Tippett could do no wrong, but the team let valuable free agent Ray Whitney walk away in the offseason and the lockout delayed the start of the season, killing any momentum the team hoped to carry over from the preseason. Goalie Mike Smith never established a rhythm and neither did the Coyotes, who missed the playoffs by four points.
Disappointment rating: 5.
Contender: 2000-01 — The Coyotes were coming off back-to-back playoff appearances, Jeremy Roenick and Keith Tkachuk were still around, and Wayne Gretzky had just been introduced as the managing partner in charge of hockey operations. There was a buzz around the team that hadn’t been heard since its first season in the Valley. The Coyotes started the season on fire, going 9-1-5 in their first 15 games. They played one game under .500 the rest of the way and missed the playoffs by a single point.
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Winner: 2016. The offseason acquisitions of pitchers Zack Greinke (six years, $206.5 million) and Shelby Miller had some fans and management believing the D-backs could contend for the NL West Division title this season. Not everyone bought into the hype, however, and that skepticism proved well founded. A.J. Pollock’s elbow injury in an exhibition game cast an immediate damper on the season and the D-backs staggered to a 69-93 record, one better than NL cellar co-dwellers Atlanta, Cincinnati and San Diego, and 10 games worse than the previous season.
Disappointment rating: 4.
Contender: 2002 — The Diamondbacks didn’t suffer a World Series hangover, winning the NL West with 98 victories, but St. Louis swept them, 3-0, in the NLDS. There would be no Randy Johnson-Curt Schilling dynasty in the desert.
ASU SUN DEVILS
Winner: 2015. ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit proclaimed the Sun Devils his dark horse pick to advance to the College Football Playoff and many national outlets jumped onboard. The tires on the road to a national championship were slashed early, however, when the Devils lost to Texas A&M in the season opener in Houston, and then lost their Pac-12 opener in a rout to USC at Sun Devil Stadium. ASU staggered to a 6-7 record, coach Todd Graham’s worst season in Tempe, including a Cactus Bowl loss to West Virginia.
Disappointment rating: 3.
Contenders: 1998 — Much more was expected from a team that was ranked No. 8 in the AP preseason poll, had gone 20-4 in its previous two seasons, and was loaded with talent. Expectations came crashing down when the team lost its first two games and finished 5-6. 1976 — The Devils were coming off a 12-0 season that culminated with a win over Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl and a No. 2 national ranking behind once-beaten Oklahoma. It appeared that Frank Kush’s program had finally arrived on the national scene. Then the Devils stumbled to a 4-7 finish, Kush’s only losing season in 21 seasons as coach.
PHOENIX SUNS
Winner: 1994-95. You could make the argument that the season before was just as disappointing when the Suns fell to the Rockets in the conference semifinals just one postseason after advancing to the NBA Finals. Michael Jordan had retired and the window was open for a new champion, but Houston had a better record than the Suns in 1993-94, and the home-court advantage that was critical in a seven-game series win. That wasn’t the case in 1995, but the Suns again blew a 3-1 series lead to the Rockets and lost Game 7, this time at America West Arena. They led with 1:05 to play, but Mario Elie’s 3-pointer and his infamous kiss with 7.1 seconds left sealed the Suns’ fate and ended their last real shot at a title in the Charles Barkley years.
Disappointment rating: 1.
Contenders: 1993-94 — See Above. 2005-06: With the dreaded Spurs out of the way, the Suns had a good path to the NBA Finals but fell to Dallas in a six-game Western Conference Final. Dallas beat the outmanned Miami Heat for the title.
