Veteran QB Kurt Warner has decided to hang up his cleats and call it a career.  Warner played in 62 games for the Cardinals and he completed 1,371 of 2,105 passes (65.1%) for 15,843 yards with 100 TD passes and 59 INTs (91.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 82 times for 54 yards (0.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Warner is the Cardinals’ all-time leader in completion percentage (65.1%) and QB Rating (91.9).  He also ranks #4 in both pass yardage (15,843) and TD passes (100) in team history.  Look for the Cardinals to bring in some form of competition for Matt Leinart as they can’t feel too confident in him as a starting QB.

1st round pick Beanie Wells (RB) was very solid for the Cardinals sharing time with Tim Hightower.  He played in 16 games for the Cardinals last season and he carried the ball 176 times for 793 yards (4.5 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  Wells also caught 12 passes for 143 yards (11.9 avg) as a rookie.  The sky is the limit for Wells as he can do it all.  The 2nd best pick for the Cardinals last April didn’t come until the 7th round (#240 overall) which is where they selected RB/KR LaRod Stephens-Howling.  Stephens-Howling played in all 16 games for the Cardinals last season in which he carried the ball 6 times for 15 yards (2.5 ypc) and he caught 10 passes for 83 yards (8.3 avg) with a TD.  He also returned 52 kickoffs for 1,257 yards (24.2 avg) with a 99-yard TD return.  He also had 22 tackles on special teams for the Cardinals.  Safety Rashard Johnson was picked in the 3rd round (#95 overall) out of Alabama.  He played in 10 games for the Cardinals and he made 20 tackles and defensed 1 pass.  CB Greg Toler was selected in the 4th round (#131 overall) out of St. Paul’s (VA).  He played in 13 games for the Cardinals last season and he made 11 tackles, defensed 2 passes and he had 1 interception.  Linebacker Will Davis was selected in the sixth round out of Illinois (#204 overall).  He played in 11 games for the Cardinals last season and he made 19 tackles and he also had 2 sacks.  Linebacker Cody Brown (2nd round, #63 overall) out of U.Conn. missed last season due to injury but the Cardinals like him a lot.  Guards Herman Johnson (5th round, #167 overall) out of LSU and Trevor Canfield (7th round, #254 overall) out of Cincinnati didn’t play in any games last season for the Cardinals.

GRADE FOR 2009:  B-

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B+

The Arizona Cardinals were depleted and more fatigued than the New Orleans Saints in their NFC Divisional Round game, but I was still expecting a much closer outcome.  The Cardinals defense just could not stop Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, and the rest of the Saints offense.  One main reason was that Dominique Rodgers-Cromartrie (knee) and Antrel Rolle (concussion) both got injured in the first half and Drew Brees took advantage.  Brees finished with 3 touchdowns and 247 yards on 23/32 passes.  Reggie Bush hurt the Cardinals the most though.  He rushed for 84 yards and 1 touchdown on only 5 carries, including a 46-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter to put the Cardinals in a 21-7 hole.  Bush hurt the Cardinals in special teams too, returning a punt for 83 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to put the game out of reach for the Cards.

Kurt Warner and the offense did their best early in the game to try and keep up, but the Saints made some huge plays and the Cardinals were in a hole early.  In what might have been Warner’s final game, he got really banged up, getting blindsided on a block after being intercepted, and looked a little gingerly from then on.  He finished with 205 yards, no touchdowns, and 1 interception on 17/26 passes.  Justin Hightower had a huge 70-yard touchdown run on the first play for the Cardinals, but after that the Cardinals only got 30 rushing yards the rest of the game.  Beanie Wells only had 7 yards on 5 carries.  The Saints overpowered and outplayed the Cardinals on both sides of the ball and it may be the end of the Kurt Warner era in Arizona.

The Arizona Cardinals offense was more than impressive in their 51-45 win over the Packers in the Wild Card round, but their defense was very weak.  They did get a great defensive play to win the game, but they gave up 45 points.  The Packers had a good offense, but they don’t have the weapons that the New Orleans Saints have.  The Saints have lost three straight going into this game, and they didn’t score more than 24 points in any of those games.  These are the playoffs though, so I am expecting the Saints to be much sharper in this game against the Cardinals.  They averaged 404 total yards per game this season, and they have a great quarterback in Drew Brees.  Brees has a great running game to go to as well, using three different running backs that gave the Saints an a rushing average of 132 yards per game.  This is going to be a very tough matchup for the Cardinals defense.

Kurt Warner has proven he is one of the best postseason quarterbacks ever and his 379 yard, 5 touchdown performance last week was amazing.  He had more touchdowns than he did incomplete passes (4).  The Saints defense is nothing spectacular too, so Warner should be able to find a lot of success.  They held teams to 235 passing yards per game in the regular season, but I expect Warner to easily surpass that with Larry Fitzgerald to throw to.  Anquan Boldin also may be able to suit up, giving Warner another huge weapon to go to.  The Cardinals ran the ball well against the Packers too, and with the Saints giving up 122 rushing yards per game they should continue a strong running game.  They are definitely going to need another huge game out of their offense, since I don’t see the Cardinals defense slowing down the Saints enough.  It could be another exciting, high-scoring affair but I think the Saints will be too much for the Cardinals to keep up with the whole game and I’m taking the Saints by a touchdown.

PREDICTION:  Arizona Cardinals 31, New Orleans Saints 38

Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals got into a gun-slinging offensive shootout against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.  Warner had one of the best games in postseason history, throwing for 379 yards and 5 touchdowns on 29/33 (88%) passes.  Warner has had more than a few great postseason games, and he is looking more and more like a Hall-of-Fame candidate.  His favorite targets were Steve Breaston and Larry Fitzgerald.  Breaston had 7 catches for 125 yards and 1 touchdown, while Fitzgerald had 6 catches for 82 yards and 2 touchdowns.  The running game was great as well, which was an added bonus to such a stellar passing game.  Beanie Wells ran hard, gaining 91 yards on 14 carries for an average of 6.5 yards per carry.  Breaston had one big rush for 28 yards, and the Cardinals finished with 156 rushing yards as a team.

The Cardinals defense was going up against a passing game almost as good as their own.  Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers nearly matched Warner’s phenomenal passing stats, going 28/42 for 422 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 1 interception.  The Packers had 493 total yards, while the Cardinals had 531 total yards.  It was also the highest scoring game in postseason history.  The defense was torn apart by Rodgers most of the game, but they made two huge plays on the first and final play of the game.  Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie picked off Rodgers on the first play of the game, giving the Cardinals some big momentum on their way to a 17-0 first quarter.  Rodgers brought the Packers back into the game, but in overtime Karlos Dansby grabbed a Rodgers fumble out of the air and ran 17 yards for a game-winning touchdown.  Michael Adams had the big hit that forced the fumble, and in a game dominated by offense it was the Cardinals defense that ultimately decided the outcome.