The Arizona Cardinals made it all the way to the Super Bowl following the 2008 NFL season, and they almost pulled off a victory too. That surely would have been something to see, the Arizona Cardinals as Super Bowl Champions. With the young talent they have on the roster and the highly thought of coaching staff, it does look like the team may be positioning itself as one of the better teams in the league these days. As exciting as they are on the field and as good as the results have been recently, here is a look at three things that suck about the Arizona Cardinals.

1. Pick A Name, Any Name – The job of football players is to produce on the field, the job of the head coach is to make sure the team is run well, the job of the marketing department is to get more exposure for the team. The team moved from St. Louis to Phoenix in 1988 and became known as the Phoenix Cardinals. That name served them just fine from then through the 1993 season. It was then, that the marketing department of the Phoenix Cardinals decided that what was holding them back in appealing to the most fans possible was that they were in name only representing the city of Phoenix and not the entire state of Arizona. With that, the team became the Arizona Cardinals. Yeah, that did the trick.

2. Contract Negotiations With Kurt Warner – The Cardinals have won two league championships in their history. The first came in 1925. That’s ancient history though, when was their second? Oh… 1947. So how should a team that finally has a quarterback lead them to the Super Bowl after all those years of futility reward him? Ask Kurt Warner. After two Super appearances, a Super Bowl victory, two league MVP awards, a Super Bowl MVP Award, and numerous Pro Bowl appearances, he came to the desert and backed up highly touted and future clipboard carrier Matt Leinart. When that arrangement proved problematic, he took over the team and led them to the Super Bowl. Following the season, not only did the Cardinals not place an emphasis on resigning their star quarterback, but they actually forced him to first look for offers elsewhere. It makes one think that for awhile, a certain football team in the American Southwest forgot that they were the Arizona Cardinals and not a more successful franchise that had some clout.

3. If I Can’t Make It There, I Can’t Make It Anywhere – The Cardinals, as an organization, have a long history. The club can actually trace itself back to the Morgan Athletic Club in 1898. The team has been a member franchise of the NFL since 1920. It started out as the Chicago Cardinals from 1920 through 1943, in 1944 the Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers temporarily merged rosters due to World War II, then the team was the St. Louis Cardinals from 1945 through 1987, before moving to Phoenix in 1988. The Cardinals have represented three different cities in the National Football League, and as a testament to their football abilities, they have a losing record in each of those cities. Even the one season where they merged with the Steelers resulted in an 0-10 record.

The Arizona Cardinals had a great 2008 season and came this close to winning it all. Fans of the team have a lot to be happy about regarding their team, but just for fun this series of articles is looking at three things that suck about every team in the NFL.

Did we miss something that sucks about the Cardinals? Go ahead and share it with us!

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The Tennessee Titans have only really existed since 1997, but have been quite successful since then. The team puts up one of the more consistent winning records in the entire NFL and has had numerous great players, as well as one of the more respected head coaches in the league. With such a short history, coming up with three things that suck about the Tennessee Titans wasn’t easy, but since we’re doing this series on every team in the league… here you go.

1. The Team Name – This is the first thing that jumps out. It isn’t that a Titan wouldn’t be an intimidating mascot and it isn’t that the name Tennessee Titans doesn’t flow well or sound good together. What’s the problem then? Originality. When the New York Jets came into existence in 1960, they were the New York Titans. There wasn’t another option available other than using a retread name that wasn’t good enough for the Jets almost fifty years ago?

2. The Move From Houston – Not that there is a good way for an NFL franchise to leave a city, but the departure of the Houston Oilers to Tennessee was particularly ugly. The city of Houston welcomed the Oilers as part of the start-up American Football League in 1960 and supported the team through many down years (and some up as well). Team owner Bud Adams may have wanted a new stadium, but what he did to the city of Houston and the fans that had been loyal to his team is inexcusable.

3. The Team Name Part 2 – Okay, in a list of three things that suck about the Tennessee Titans how can two of them be the team name? Here’s why. The Oilers announced they would be moving from Houston following the 1995 NFL season and began play in the Tennessee for the 1997 season. Despite this almost two years of preparation for their relocation, when the team opened up play in Nashville they took the field for the first two seasons as the Tennessee Oilers. Ahh, Americans every where can close their eyes and envision the endless oil fields of Tennessee.

The Tennessee Titans are a great team, have played in some memorable games, and have had some of the best players in the league during their short history. The strong way that the organization is run lays the groundwork that the Titans will continue to perform in the upper half of both their conference and the entire NFL too. As good as they are though, for fun we’re taking a look at three things that suck about every team in the NFL.

Did we miss anything?

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In recent years, few teams have been more successful than the New England Patriots. The team won three Super Bowl titles in four years during the early 2000s and has also appeared in two other big games. There is a lot to love about the New England Patriots, but because this series is looking at the other side of things, here are three things that suck about the New England Patriots.

1. Pat The Patriot – When it comes to team mascots, Pat the Patriot is a fine enough looking one. Its easy to see why he ended up with the name “Pat”, the team being the Patriots and all, but seriously… apologies to those that share his name, but wasn’t there a more manly option than “Pat”? Wouldn’t this be the most famous “Pat” in history?

2. Bill Belichick, Coach For A Day Of The Jets – There are a number of attributes that coaches look for in the players that play for them. Similarly, there are a number of attributes that owners and general managers look for in a head coach. Evidently, in the case of the New England Patriots, one of those attributes is a lack of committment. Bill Parcells resigned as the head coach of the New York Jets in 1999, Bill Belichick, his longtime assistant coach took the job that day and the Jets future seemed set in stone. Um, that stone was pretty unstable because one day later Bill Belichick announce his resignation as head coach of the New York Jets.

3. Spygate – The New England Patriots videotaping scandal is still fresh in the minds of many people. Basically the Patriots, one of the best teams in the league, felt that they needed further assistance in beating the opposition so they broke league rules and on at least one occasion videotaped the other team’s coaches sending plays into the defense. This was a huge advantage because from that point on the Patriots basically knew what types of defenses the other team was going to call. With this kind of advantage, it is actually amazing that the Patriots didn’t win even more games.

The Patriots have proven year in and year out to be one of the best teams in the entire National Football League, but just for fun we’re taking a look at the three reasons that every team in the NFL sucks.

Anything else suck about the New England Patriots?

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The New Orleans Saints came into the league in 1967 and over the years the team has had some rough years in the NFL. There is a lot to like, even love, about the team… but here are three things that suck about the New Orleans Saints.

1. Mediocre Players From Louisiana, How’s That Worked? – We all understand the idea behind a pro team trying to get the occasional player that played collegiately or in high school close to where the NFL club plays. It can help attract some fans, it provides a nice way to stay in touch with the community, but it has to be done correctly too. The New Orleans Saints have turned putting below average local players on their roster into an art form. Remember quarterbacks John Fourcade and Bobby Hebert? What about other great Louisiana products that the Saints just had to have like Hokie Gajan, Steve Rogers, and Nick Savoie. Top quality, for sure. What about some of the Louisiana area players they’ve missed out on? Brett Favre, anyone? They had Jake Delhomme, but let him go. Henry Thomas? Alan Faneca? Leonard Marshall? Terry Bradshaw? Kevin Mawae? Gary Reasons? Kevin Faulk? Mark Duper? Nice job.

2. The Fleur-De-Lis – Ahh, the mighty fleur-de-lis. It strikes fear in the hearts of all who see it up close and in person. Don’t know what a fleur-de-lis is? It’s the Saints logo that is slapped on the sides of their helmets. We’re not really sure if there is a more pointless or just overall worse team logo than the dreaded fleur-de-lis. Okay, you like the design of the logo and you’re sure that it actually means something fierce and warrior-like, right? Translated from the French, fleur-de-lis means “lily flower”. Yep, Saints fans are cheering for the mighty lily flowers.

3. Nepotism – Who doesn’t think nepotism sucks? Well, other than those that benefit from it, everyone pretty much hates nepotism. In 1985 the Saints head coach was Bum Phillips who had been a very successful coach with the Houston Oilers in the late 1970s before joining New Orleans in 1981. When it turned out that the Saints didn’t experience the success everyone was hoping for, going 27-42 under Phillips, and a coaching change was needed, who did the team turn to in order to right the ship? Well, when you’re desiring completely different results, who else would you turn to? Why, his son Wade Phillips who had no head coaching experience at that point., that’s who. The younger Phillips’ record in mop up duty for his dear old dad? One win and three losses. Nice job, New Orleans.

The New Orleans Saints are usually one of the more exciting teams in the league and have a great fan base, but just for fun this series of articles is looking at the three things that suck about every team in the NFL.

Did we miss a reason that the New Orleans Saints suck? Don’t be shy… let ‘er rip.

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So far…

Three Things That Suck About The…
Arizona Cardinals
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
Tennessee Titans

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As much as football fans love the NFL, there being so many things that make the league absolutely fantastic, there are also a number of things that irritate and annoy them about the game they love. With that in mind, here are five things that suck about the National Football League.

1. Negated Kickoff And Punt Returns
One of the most exciting plays during an NFL game can be a kickoff or punt return. The sight of the return man juking and spinning to get free from would-be tacklers and then streaking down the sideline all the way to the endzone is something that every football fan hopes for whenever their team receives a kick or punt. The problem with the NFL is that it seems that eight or nine times out of ten the return is called back due to a penalty, usually holding or an illegal block in the back. Nothing kills the mood like a touchdown return being called back because of a penalty. Isn’t it a shame that so many great plays are wiped away as if they had never happened? What would a solution be? Maybe allow the return team to hold during a return and to balance that advantage out, allow the kicking team to have twelve men on the field? That isn’t the answer, but it sure would be nice if football fans would be treated more with seeing kickoff and punt returns that counted.

2. Over Sponsorship
Anyone who watches an NFL broadcast knows what the problem of over sponsorship is. All it takes is one look at the Cadillac instant replay, one glimpse of the General Motors scoreboard, one glace at the Coca-Cola halftime show, or one peek at the Home Depot Pre-Game Show. These are just examples, but the point is that every little thing associated with the game has a sponsor attached to it. Remember when television networks first started leaving their half transparent logo on the screen during the game? Little did football fans know that it was going to be all downhill from there.

3. Lack Of Celebrations
While having an entire offense break out into an impromptu scene from a Broadway show following a touchdown may not be necessary or wanted, is there really anything wrong with a little over the top celebrating after a player scores? The famous fun bunch celebration done by the Washington Redskins‘ wide receivers was great. Who could seriously have had a problem with the Ickey Shuffle? Joe Horn’s hidden cell phone and even Terrell Owens spiking the ball on the Dallas Cowboys star were all good entertainment. When a player makes a dramatic game changing play like scoring a touchdown or a deep quarterback sack, its nice to see them get excited and put on a show. The old saying that the letters NFL stands for the No Fun League rings more and more true with each and every excessive celebration penalty called every year.

4. Unnecessary Celebrations
In contrast to what it looks like, this is not a direct contradiction to reason number 3. While celebrations after touchdowns are a great part of the game, is there anything more annoying than seeing a player celebrate after making a somewhat run of the mill play that they should be expected to make most of the time. We’ve all seen the linebacker tackle the running back for a one yard loss and then get up and act like he’s just made the best play in the history of professional football. Just as annoying is the wide receiver that catches a short pass for a three yard gain and then pops up to his feet signaling first down and strutting like a fifth grader who just beat up the playground bully. This would be like a high school teacher spiking their dry erase marker after correcting the day’s homework or maybe a grocery clerk flexing their biceps and blowing a kiss to the crowd every time they give the correct change. A psychologist might have a better grasp at what makes a grown man engage in a public celebration for merely doing what is expected of him.

5. Head Coaches Who Delegate The Play Calling
Coaches work their entire lives to move up the ladder and hopefully one day be in charge of an NFL team. The responsibility of running a professional football team is huge in the sporting world. When a head coach delegates the play calling to an assistant coach, what possible valid reason could there be? If a coach is not calling the plays then they are an assistant coach, regardless of what their official title says they are. If the offensive coordinator is a better play caller, then he should be the head coach. General managers should and do delegate many of their duties, but they don’t turn over contract negotiations to the head coach. Head coaches can delegate who runs practice drills, who designs an offseason fitness program, and which assistant coaches are in charge of what positions, but they should not delegate play calling unless they no longer want to be the head coach. This would be like the President of the United States deciding that from now on the Secretary of Commerce will be the one who signs a bill into a law or like a parent delegating the job of paying the monthly bills to their six year old child. A head coach is responsible for how the team performs and they should be the ones calling the plays.

Summing up a football fan’s love for the game by saying that the NFL is awesome just isn’t enough. To be completely truthful, there is something about the league or game that bothers every fan out there. Striving to make the game perfect for every fan who watches it is pointless as that goal will never be achieved, but fixing the obvious problems would be a worthwhile pursuit of those in charge of the league.

So… what did we miss?

What do you think sucks about the NFL?

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Teams only have to use a punter when the offense stalls or fails to do its job. Punting is not the most exciting part of a team’s playbook, but it is necessary. Pinning an opponent back near their goal line is a big advantage as starting field position is one of the more reliable statistics used when examining why one team is successful in the league when another is not. Oakland Raiders punter Shane Lechler recently signed a new contract worth an estimated four million dollars a year over its entire length. The previous record for highest average salary for a punter was 1.8 million dollars. Is Shane Lechler worth it?

Whether he is worth it or not, there is little dispute that Lechler is one of the best punters in the league, and has been for the majority of his career. Another Raiders punter that has made the news lately is former great Ray Guy. Guy was one of the more successful punters over the length of his career and had a well earned reputation as one of the harder punters to block and one of the best punters at pinning the opponent inside their own ten yard line. There is a lot of debate now regarding whether or not Guy belongs in the Hall of Fame. So far he has come closer in Hall of Fame voting than any other punter in history, yet he is still on the outside looking in. Guy played fourteen season in the NFL, all of them with the Raiders, and made the Pro Bowl seven times. He was also the league leader in yards per punt on three occasions (1974, 1975 and 1977), and finished second or third in that category on four other occasions.

To this point, Shane Lechler has played in the league for nine seasons, also all with the Raiders. He has made the Pro Bowl on four different occasions and lead the league in punting yards twice, including once during his rookie season. In his nine seasons he has been the league leader in yards per punt four times (2003, 2004, 2005, and 2007). In fact, in only two of Lechler’s nine seasons has he finished any where other than first or second in the yearly yards per punt category. His 49.1 yard average in 2007 is the third highest average by a punter in the history of the NFL. Lechler also has the highest yards per punt average of any active player, but even more impressive is that he has the highest yards per punt average for a career than any punter in NFL history.

So if the Raiders feel that Lechler is the best punter in the league, offering him more than the highest punter has gotten in the past is valid. Beyond that, if they would like to pay a premium because of his loyalty or longevity with the team, that is hard to argue against as well. Four million dollars seems like a lot for a punter, but when you are paying for the best player at his position and the ability to keep a long term player on his current team, plus possibly rewarding him for his past performance when he wasn’t in the top pay range, its hard to argue too hard against going over top dollar.

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But, few people know that early in the Oakland Raiders’ existence that Al Davis actually coached the team for three seasons. How did he do?

1963 10-4
1964 5-7-2
1965 8-5-1

His total win-loss record ended up being 23-16-3, not too bad of a winning percentage overall and a lot better than any other owner in the league considering that none of them have ever coached a pro football team. The truth is, when you view the team’s records during the coaching tenures of Jon Gruden, Tom Flores, and John Madden, the Raiders have had their most success when they have exhibited stability at the head coaching position.

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“With the NFL draft behind them, the next item of business for the Minnesota Vikings is selecting the team’s cheerleading squad for the 2008 season.”

Well, I’m sure Vikings fans every where are relieved that the next item of business will not be signing free agents, undrafted rookies, or the players they picked in the draft. No, the next thing to tackle will not be organizing spring practice or re-examining the playbook. Nor will the next important item be going over the off season training program or evaluating player performance from last season. No, all that stuff can wait. Right now, cheerleader selection takes the front and center spotlight for the Minnesota Vikings organization.

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It seems almost a yearly occurrence, people speculating where the Louisiana State University football coach will move on to next. Will he jump to the pros? Will he jump to a “big name” school? Maybe he’ll take a job coaching his alma mater.

Nick Saban left LSU shortly after winning a National Championship in 2003 to become head coach of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. Shortly thereafter, he left the NFL to return to the college ranks as head coach of the University of Alabama.

Fast forward a mere four years later and the LSU Tigers are National Champions again after beating the Ohio State Buckeyes. And, what controversy surrounded the LSU program shortly before the game? Would Tigers’ head coach Les Miles leave Louisiana to take the head coaching job at the University of Michigan that was being vacated by Lloyd Carr.

Two National Championships in four years, in addition to regularly appearing in and finishing the season in the top 20… and people continue to talk of LSU as a stepping stone to better opportunities? Show me a college program, with the exceptions of Southern California that has comparable accomplishments recently.

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