Cards are birds of a different feather

Cards are birds of a different feather
January 16
Houston Chronicle columnist John McClain
"I never thought I would be using Bill Bidwill in the same sentence with Super Bowl, but it’s unavoidable because his Arizona Cardinals are one step from Tampa, Fla., site of Super Bowl XLIII.

Through the decades, it’s been a two-horse race between Bidwill and Detroit’s William Clay Ford for worst owner in the NFL. The futility of their teams has been almost incomprehensible.

Players, coaches, general managers and scouts come and go, but the one constant has been the same owner of the Cardinals and Lions. It’s strange that when one became the first owner to finish 0-16, the other is on the precipice of the greatest achievement in the history of a franchise that has stretched from Chicago to St. Louis to suburban Phoenix.

If the Cardinals defeat Philadelphia in the NFC Championship Game at University of Phoenix Stadium on Sunday, it’ll be an incredible story.

Wrong kind of consistency

Before coach Ken Whisenhunt arrived in 2007 and led Arizona to an 8-8 record, the Cardinals were 35-70 in this decade. Not only did they not have a winning record, they didn’t finish .500 once.

The Cardinals’ incompetence was mind-boggling. From 1984, when they were 9-7, through last season, when they were 8-8, the Cardinals had one winning record. That’s one winning record in 24 seasons — 9-7 in 1998, when they upset the Cowboys in the wild-card round.

With Bidwill serving as captain of the ship, the Cardinals were 58-102 in the ’90s and 62-88-2 in the ’80s.

They’ve been a disaster since their glory days under coach Don Coryell in the mid-’70s. From 1977-2007, they put together winning records just four times .

From 1947, when they defeated Philadelphia for the NFL championship, until 1998, they had won one playoff game.

Now Mr. B, as they call the bow-tied owner, is on the verge of reaching his first Super Bowl.

These Cardinals are difficult to figure. They clinched the NFC West, the league’s worst division, so early they almost got bored. After a 2-2 start, they were 7-3, then 8-7.

From Nov. 23 through Dec. 21, they lost four of five when the schedule got tougher. Their only victory during that span was over St. Louis. No wonder everybody outside Phoenix expected them to lose their opening playoff game to Atlanta.

During the season, the Cardinals were 2-6 against teams that finished with winning records. They got blown out 48-20 at Philadelphia and 47-7 at New England. They were 0-5 in the Eastern time zone. They also ranked last in rushing."


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