Larry Brown Sports

If ever there were a person who could have their Twitter rights legally stripped from them, it would be Marcus Vick. The younger brother of Michael Vick tweets out some of the most ridiculous things you will ever read, and his homophobic remark about the Arizona Cardinals earlier this week was a prime example.

Those Arizona Cardinals got a brunch of Fruit Tarts on there team….. Watch out for the pile on pumps this year!!!

— Marcus Vick (@MVFive) April 15, 2013

As for what Vick is referring to, we have no idea. There has been some speculation surrounding the sexual preference of free agent safety Kerry Rhodes this week, who played for the Cardinals last season. I suppose that could be what Vick is trying to reference, but we really have no way of knowing. Marcus has put Michael in some incredibly uncomfortable positions in the past with the stuff he tweets, so this isn’t exactly a surprise.

What is somewhat of a surprise — even for Marcus — is that Vick currently has a warrant out for his arrest after failing to appear in court in Virginia over a week ago. He has skipped multiple court dates since promising to pay $40,000 to a woman who sued him in 2008 claiming psychological trauma following an alleged relationship Vick had with her when he was 19 and she was 15. Would you be tweeting under those circumstances?

On second thought, I’m not surprised at all.

H/T Deadspin

Why would the Arizona Cardinals have fired a good coach like Ken Whisenhunt following the team’s 5-11 season? Maybe because they knew they would have a suitable replacement in line.

Multiple reports say the Cardinals are close to hiring Andy Reid as their next head coach. Tim Ring of KTVK-TV first reported that the Cardinals were “very close” to hiring Reid. Eagles beat reporter Jeff McLane reports it’s already a done deal. ESPN’s Adam Schefter says Reid could be named as the team’s new coach by the end of the week.

Kenny Roda of WKNR adds that former Cleveland Browns GM Tom Heckert will join Reid in Arizona, though Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, who is much more in touch with the team, disputes Roda’s report.

The Cardinals already satisfied the Rooney Rule by interviewing their current defensive coordinator, Ray Horton, who is a minority. Horton could be retained as the team’s defensive coordinator, and additional reports say former Browns head coach Pat Shurmur could be brought in as the team’s new offensive coordinator.

Reid would be reunited with Kevin Kolb in Arizona. Reid drafted Kolb out of Houston in the second round of the 2007 draft. The Eagles traded Kolb to Arizona before the 2011 season for a second-round pick and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Kolb has disappointed in two injury-filled seasons with the Cardinals.

Reid, who anticipated being fired by the Eagles, reportedly has said he wanted to coach again next season. This would give him a landing spot where the expectations and pressure to win are not as high as they are in Philly. Reid went 130-93-1 in 14 years as head coach of the Eagles.

Arizona Cardinals fans may have officially given up on their team in the wake of its humiliating 58-0 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, but God has not. At least, that’s what the folks at the West Greenway Bible Church in Glendale, Arizona would like us to believe.

As you can see, the place of worship recently realized how much fun everyone is having by taking shots at the Cards — which have lost nine straight games — and decided to get in on the act.

“No one is beyond God’s help — not even the Cardinals! Luke 18:27,” the sign reads as Sports 620 KTAR in Phoenix pointed out.

That’s much friendlier than the stuff Larry Fitzgerald’s dad said about the team on Sunday, but it’s still a reminder of how just how bad things have gotten for Arizona this season. God may be able to help the Cardinals in the long run, but nothing is going to help them make the playoffs or put a smile on the faces of their fans this season.

H/T SI Hot Clicks
Photo via KTAR’s John Gambadoro

Like many other fans, players and people associated with the Arizona Cardinals organization, Larry Fitzgerald Sr. has seen enough. Arizona’s 58-0 loss at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday was one of the most embarrassing in team history. I’m not sure anything would have helped the Cardinals with the way their defense played, but their offense was unable to put a point on the board en route to a ninth-straight loss.

As we mentioned before, Larry Fitzgerald is an amazing talent lost in a sea of incompetency. The star wideout has six catches for 67 yards and no scores in his last four games — that’s right, four games. The team’s most recent struggles inspired Fitzy’s old man to take them to task.

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Larry Fitzgerald could be the best wide receiver in the NFL, but he’s lost in the Arizona Cardinals offense. The Cardinals have not had consistent play at quarterback since Kurt Warner retired, and the fact that Fitzgerald has been able to produce in the meantime is amazing in itself. He has averaged 54 yards per game this season, despite a constant carousel of below-average quarterbacks under center.

Following the Cardinals’ 7-6 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday — their eighth in a row — Fitzgerald tried to explain the emotions that go along with playing for a team that ranks dead last in the NFL in total offense.

“I have no words,” Fitzgerald said according to the Arizona Republic. “I have to laugh to keep from crying.”

Rookie quarterback Ryan Lindley certainly hasn’t been the answer for Arizona, but it’s not like the team is missing much with John Skelton and Kevin Kolb watching from the sidelines. The Cardinals’ defense has played well for much of the season, but the offense is simply incapable of putting points on the board.

Fitzgerald signed a contract last year that could pay him up to $120 million and will keep him in Arizona until 2018, so it’s tough to feel too badly for him. That being said, the Cardinals have to find a solution at quarterback if they don’t want the money they spent on Fitzy to go to waste. The former Pitt Panther is not one to complain (his brother takes care of that), but there’s only so much a player of his caliber can take with no pieces around him.

H/T Rotoworld

The Arizona Cardinals opened as a 2.5-point favorite against the Seahawks for their Week 1 game, but the line has switched by five points — the most of any other Week 1 line — and Seattle is now favored in the game. The Seahawks are favored by 2.5 points most sports books, and favored by 2 points at other places. The line change can be attributed to factors related to each team.

Arizona has gone 1-3 in four preseason games, and their first-team offense has been unimpressive. Kevin Kolb and John Skelton are competing for the starting quarterback job and neither player has fared well. Their offensive line also seems porous, which is not making the job of the quarterbacks any easier.

Seattle has gone 3-0 in the preseason and looked impressive scoring 101 points. Third-round draft pick Russell Wilson (pictured) has played brilliantly and was named the starting quarterback after going 35-of-52 (67.3%) for 464 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception. He’s also run for 150 yards and a touchdown and appears to be a dynamic playmaker.

Bettors are so high on Seattle and down on Arizona that they’ve flipped the line five points. Arizona (8-8) actually finished a game better than Seattle last season, but the sports books still thought Seattle was the better team entering this season. We know that based on the opening line that favored Arizona by 2.5 points; home field advantage is worth at least three points in NFL games.

H/T Covers

The Giants beat the Cardinals Sunday 31-27 after capitalizing on a controversial ruling by the referees. Taking over the ball down 27-24 with 3:10 left in the game, Eli Manning threw a pass to Victor Cruz for a gain of 19. Cruz saw several Cardinals defenders in front of him and decided to go down. He wasn’t touched, meaning he could have gotten up and kept running. Cruz went down, gave up the football, and the Cardinals jumped on it. It appeared to be an absentminded fumble by Cruz, but the referees bailed him out.

The referees ruled that Cruz voluntarily gave himself up, thereby negating the fumble. Their ruling also prevented Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt from challenging the play. NFL.com has video of the play for you to take a look. That sure looked like a fumble to me because the play was not dead. But here’s what the rule book has to say about dead balls:

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