The Arizona Cardinals face some tough decision on which of their own free agents they want to retain. From stars to role players the franchise will have to make some tough choices and in a way make admissions that some of their prior draft choices did not live up to the potential.

 Free Agents The Cardinals Will Likely Re-sign:

Calais Campbell (DE): The Defensive End had a breakout season with eight-sacks and two-forced fumbles.

Early Doucet (WR):  He had the best season of his four-year career. He finished with54-receptions for 689-yards and five-touchdowns.

Jay Feely (K):  After 11-seasons in the NFL he is still an accurate kicker and connected 19 of 24 field goal attempts.

Richard Bartel (QB): Saw limited action as the third-string quarterback

 A.J. Jefferson (CB): Started seven-games and reeled in one interception.

 Rashad Johnson (FS) The third-year pro has improved each season.

 Brandon Keith (OT): Was on IR for part of the 2011 season. Adds depth to the offensive line.

 Mike Leach (LS): A good long snapper is hard to find and this veteran is an asset to the Cardinals.

Deuce Letui (G): A solid offensive lineman, despite failing a physical that would have landed him a new home last offseason.

Richard Marshall (CB) Started nine-games in 2011 and recorded three-interceptions and two-sacks.

LaRod Stephens-Howling (RB/KR) A solid kick returner during his three-seasons in Arizona.

 Free Agents The Cardinals Will Likely Not Re-sign:

 Hamza Abdullah (CB):  The seven-year veteran will likely be replaced with a younger, less expensive option.

D’Anthony Batiste (T): Saw limited action in 2011, appearing in three-games off the bench.

Marshay Green (CB): Appeared in one-game for the Cardinals.

 Clark Haggans (OLB): Despite a solid season with three-sacks and 46-tackles the 34-year old could be released due to his age.

Max Hall (QB): The odd man out due to the Cardinals having three-quarterbacks.

 Alfonso Smith (RB) With the Beanie Wells, LaRod Stephens-Howling and the return of Ryan Williams, Smith will be the odd man out.

 Chester Taylor (RB) Like Alfonso Smith, Taylor is a casualty of too running back options on the roster.

 Greg Toler (CB) Did not play in 2011.

 Stephen Williams (WR) In two-seasons with the Cardinals he has caught nine-passes. None is 2011.

 Floyd Womack (G) Did not play in 2011 and will be entering his 12^thseason in 2012.

 Extra- Levi Brown (OT ): Brown is not a free agent but is owed $8.3 million in 2012 and the money is not guaranteed. The fifth overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft has underperformed and is a constant reminder that the Cardinals could have drafted Adrian Peterson instead.

1. Larry Fitzgerald
2. Ottis Anderson
3. Ollie Matson
4. Pat Harder
5. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
6. Antrel Rolle
7. David Boston
8. Roger Wehrli
9. Joe Namath
10. John David Crow

2010 has been a funky adventure for a Life In The DPC. I saw the Cardinals partake in a record setting playoff game against the Packers. My alma mater was sullied by an athlete that was charged with prostitution. Two members of the Pack made the NBA. But the man most responsible for Nevada basketball prominence was sentenced to three-years in prison. All in all my favorite teams were competitive but not necessarily championship caliber but there’s always next year.

DPC’s Sports Highlights From 2010:
1. January 10, 2010: Cardinals 51 and Packers 45.The Highest Scoring Playoff Game in NFL history.

2. The sad realization that Kurt Warner wasn’t coming back and that we were stuck with the three-headed monster of Derek Anderson, Max Hall and John Skelton. If you could mesh their better qualities into one uber QB then the Cards may have had a chance to win a weak NFC West. Instead we had the canon strong but very inaccurate tosses of Anderson, the heart but minimal passing ability of Hall and stature of a Fordham grad at the helm. I imagine that Larry Fitzgerald misses Kurt Warner in the same manner that Nick McCabe and Simon Jones missed Richard Ashcroft when The Verve broke up for a few years. So sad, because we are wasting the talents of one the best receivers in the league.

3. Nevada upsetting Boise State. This is the greatest Nevada Wolf Pack football team ever and I need to write Head Coach Chris Ault an apology and also state that I was wrong when I thought they should drop down to FCS.

4. Luke Babbitt and Armon Johnson getting picked in the first and second rounds of the NBA draft, respectively. Ultimately they both ended up in Portland but as of this writing Babbitt has been relegated to the NBDL.

5. Kirk Snyder was sentenced to three-years in prison for assault.

6. Devin Hester setting an NFL record for punt/kick return touchdowns.

7. Picking the Golden State Warriors as my NBA team. I am starting to waver on this decision. Not that I want another team. Mainly because I never follow the NBA. But Bill Simmons’ Book of Basketball is a must read.

8. Jay Cutler cementing his legacy as the greatest Chicago Bears’ quarterback of my lifetime. That’s not hyperbole. He beat out Jim McMahon, who was perpetually injured and a bunch of flunkies like Cade McNown and Chad Hutchinson. I realize being the best Bears QB of the last 32-years is akin to choosing Foghat’s greatest song (Slow Ride!!) but Cutler is legit and I am enjoying the simple fact that the Bears have a franchise QB for once.

9. A University of Nevada athlete getting busted for prostitution. Not soliciting a hooker but being one. Yet another reason why student athletes should receive cash stipends.

10. Matt Leinart getting released. This transaction didn’t seem like a big deal until the Cardinals’ community realized that Derek Anderson wasn’t the answer as a starter and that their backups were an undrafted rookie and 5^th round pick out of the QB chasm Fordham. Put simply, Leinart would have been the best option but now he is a Houston Texan.

11. Being reacquainted with my old friend the Montreal Canadiens. Reunited like Peaches and Herb and it feels so good.

12.The Chicago Bears hiring Mike Martz as offensive coordinator. This was similar to one of my moves in Madden Franchise mode. Pairing Martz and Cutler is like a dream being realized. The teacher/student relationship will go down in history like Socrates to Plato but with a more cerebral approach to the vertical game.

Washington quarterback Donovan McNabb has lost his starting quarterback job to the infamous Rex Grossman. Washington has three-games remaining in their 2010 season.

Simply put the Arizona Cardinals have quarterback issues. Derek Anderson, signed away from the Cleveland Browns in the off-season to be the heir apparent of Kurt Warner, is having a less than stellar showing with more interceptions (8) than touchdowns (6) and a 68.1 QB rating. His QB rating has him ranked 32nd out of 34 passers that qualify for the rating. He beat out the Carolina Panthers dynamic duo of Jimmy Clausen and Matt Moore.

Max Hall was a good story. An undrafted free agent from BYU with a ton of moxie and self confidence. Unfortunately his performance hasn’t matched his machismo. In limited action Hall has five-interceptions, one-touchdown pass and an overall QB Rating of 41.0. He is a great story but he hasn’t produced.

The Cardinals are 3-6 and in a free fall after losing their last four-games. In the wide open NFC West they are still contenders despite the poor showing. As of this writing they are two-games behind the division leading Seattle Seahawks. There is still time to make a run towards a third-straight division title but the Cardinals need help at the helm of the sputtering ship and they have a pair ideological strategies that they can work with: Find a young QB in the free agent pool or find a veteran signal call to man the ship.

For young, unsigned talent I recommend former University of Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan. Brennan was a training camp casualty of the Oakland Raiders and is readily available to plug into the Cardinals once high-powered offense. At Hawaii Brennan ran the Run and Shoot under the tutelage of Coach June Jones and set 30-NCAA passing records and unlike Anderson he is accurate.

Accuracy, Jones said, “is God-given. You can improve a quarterback’s technique, his fundamentals, all that kind of stuff. but when you get under pressure, you revert … to kind of what comes naturally to you as a quarterback and either you can hit the guy or you can’t. He is a very, very gifted player.”

Brennan was originally drafted by Washington but relegated to the lower reaches of the depth chart. He was dominate in one preseason showdown but never took a regular season snap. He was subsequently released after the 2009 season. The talent is there but he has never had the opportunity to shine in the NFL. If he was to be picked up by the Cardinals he would be a viable option to start in Arizona.

“He’s (Brennan) a combination of all of them(Jim Kelly, Jeff George and Warren Moon) and he might be the best,” said former Warriors coach June Jones. “He has tremendous competitiveness once the game starts and his accuracy … only Moon and George are in that category. I’ve never seen a guy put the ball on the money consistently as he does.”

If the Cardinals are apprehensive about going with another unproven commodity at quarterback then there is always Jeff George. George has been unemployed by the NFL since 2004, when he was a Chicago Bear backup that never took a snap. It is safe to say that George’s cannon arm is well rested since he hasn’t thrown a pass in a regular season contest since 2001.

Earlier this season George made it known that he was a viable option for the Minnesota Vikings if they were unable to sign Brett Favre.

“There has to be a fallback (if Favre didn’t comeback with the Vikings) plan,” George said. “And I’m your guy…I’m not saying I’m a savior. I’m just saying I can still do what I need to do.”

As proven by this training tape George is staying in game shape for a possible return to the NFL. Throughout the forthcoming YouTube clip he displays the cannon arm that he is known for and it looks like he has a few throws left in him.

Both quarterbacks are viable and cheap options for the struggling Arizona Cardinals. In one player you have the bountiful youth and limitless possibilities from a NCAA record setting, Heisman finalist. If you need a veteran then George can b brought aboard and plugged into an offense that he is likely familiar with because of his 14-seasons of NFL experience.

It does seem far fetched that either gunslinger will be brought to Arizona but the season is dwindling away and there is no time like the present to shore up the toughest position in football. Either quarterback would give the Cardinals a better chance to succeed in the putrid NFC West, where eight-wins may take the the division title.

The National Football League recently released their Top 100 players of all time. I have a beef with having Jerry Rice at number 1. I would have gone with either Jim Brown or Walter Payton at the top but that is neither here nor there because this list included alumni from Santa Rosa High School and the University of Nevada. Two schools that I attended occasionally and ultimately graduated from.

Santa Rosa High School named their football field after their greatest son, Ernie Nevers. He starred as a fullback for the Duluth Eskimos and Chicago Cardinals and gained notoriety after establishing an NFL record by scoring six-touchdowns in a single game. Nevers is 89th on the NFL list and is ahead such all time greats like Kurt Warner, Joe Namath and Sonoma State almuni Larry Allen.

My beloved University of Nevada hasn’t produces a lot of stellar members of the NFL. Quite frankly Nevada is not known as a feeder system for the professional ranks but they do have one member of the NFL’s Hall of Fame. Marion Motley starred at Nevada before helping to integrate the pro game with the Cleveland Browns. After an eight-year career he was enshrined in Canton, named to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary team and the 1940′s All Decade Team. Motley’s accomplishments led him to being ranked 74th on the NFL’s Top 100 players.

A recent article by Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic put forth the idea that the Arizona Cardinals should make a run at Washington Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb and this scribe concurs.

During this past offseason I remember thinking that the Cardinals should make a run at the former Philadelphia Eagles signal caller to be the heir apparent to the recently retired Kurt Warner. I assumed he had few miles left on his tires, he lives in The Valley and would likely be a good fit for a team that was in desperate need of a QB but was stocked at most other offensive positions. McNabb would have been perfect but instead the Cardinals’ brass brought in Derek Anderson and we are left to wonder how are season would turn out if we had a signal caller with a quarterback rating higher than 67.0.

It seems that Washington is losing faith in McNabb and in the coming off-season he could be on the market for the right price. It would behoove the Cardinals to put in a bid for the services of McNabb because their current quarterback rotation has produced less than stellar results in this 2010 campaign.

But alas Arizona is stuck with Anderson and for this season McNabb is in the Nation’s Capital and recently was benched, for the final minutes of a recent game, in favor of the infamous Rex Grossman. One can only imagine the embarrassment of losing your job, even for two minutes, to Grossman. To quote Dan Patrick, “If Rex Grossman is the answer, I don’t want to know the question.”

My Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie jersey arrived over the weekend and I am very pleased with my DRC purchase. Because I am a average to small sized fella the nameplate, that includes 16-letters and a hyphen, looks disproportionate across my small back. On a bigger man Rodgers-Cromartie could look somewhat normal but on DPC it is almost comical. But alas I like the jersey, despite the comical nameplate across my back.

Another reason why I purchased the jersey, besides the fact that he is an Az Cardinal and a good player, is the simple fact that DRC and DPC go by three-names. DPC is not a hyphenated affair. DPC is the somewhat pompous title that I gave myself while in college at Nevada. I used to be DC or David Castro but while in school I had a Physics class with another student named David Castro. Simply put I became Davide Patrick Castro to differentiate myself from a better student in a class I rarely attended. That was seven years ago and I still go by my full name or the simple moniker DPC.

I like going by three-names. Yes many political assassins and mass murders go by three-names but that is necessary to make sure that another Lee Oswald isn’t falsely associated with killing JFK. Having three names can ring of pomposity or other elite notions but if anything it makes one unique. Because I like to stay somewhat unique or ironic when shopping for jerseys this why I am thinking of buying a Darrius Heyward-Bey jersey.

Heyward-Bey has DPC Madden All Star written all over him. He is a speed burner with marginal receiving skills at best. In fact a little research on Wikipedia showed that Heyward-Bey had the second fastest 40-yard dash time since 1999. As a side note the Oakland Raiders drafted four out of the nine fastest players, based on 40-yard dash times since 1999.

Courtesy of Wikipedia:

This is a list of 40-yard dashes below 4.3 seconds since 1999, the first year electronic timing was implemented at the NFL Scouting Combine.^[4]

Time	Name	Height	Weight	Position	Year	Draft
4.24	Rondel Melendez	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)	178 lb (81 kg)	Wide receiver	1999	#247 overall by Atlanta Falcons
4.24	Chris Johnson	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)	197 lb (89 kg)	Running back	2008	#24 overall by Tennessee Titans
4.25	Fabian Washington	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)	188 lb (85 kg)	Cornerback	2005	#23 overall by Oakland Raiders
4.25	Darrius Heyward-Bey	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)	210 lb (95 kg)	Wide receiver	2009	#7 overall by Oakland Raiders
4.28	Champ Bailey	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)	184 lb (83 kg)	Cornerback	1999	#7 overall by Washington Redskins
4.28	Jerome Mathis	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)	181 lb (82 kg)	Wide receiver	2005	#114 overall by Houston Texans
4.28	Jacoby Ford	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)	186 lb (84 kg)	Wide receiver	2010	#108 overall by Oakland Raiders
4.29	Stanford Routt	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)	193 lb (88 kg)	Cornerback	2005	#38 overall by Oakland Raiders
4.29	Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)	184 lb (83 kg)	Cornerback	2008	#16 overall by the Arizona Cardinals

Like I mentioned Mr. Al Davis has drafted four of the nine fastest players since 1999 but missed taking a trio of Pro Bowlers, Champ Bailey, Chris Johnson and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie respectively. The Raiders choice have produced but not necessarily for the Raiders.

Heyward-Bey has shown flashes of the talent that led him to be a first-round draft pick in 2009. Given a proper quarterback he could excel. Fabian Washington, like Heyward-Bey, was a first-round draft pick but was dealt to the Baltimore Ravens for a fourth-round draft pick. He is currently a starter for the defensive back depleted Ravens.

Stanford Routt, who has been a DPC Madden All Star, has started four out of five-games for the Raiders in 2010. For his career he has 5-interceptions and 150-tackles.

Jacoby Ford was a fourth-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft and is currently a kick returner for the Silver & Black. As of this post he is averaging 22.9-yards per return.

Once again I am shopping for a jersey. Two of my last four posts have involved my attempt to buy a Matt Leinart USC jersey and how I ended up with a Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie jersey. I take my jersey shopping quite seriously, as proven by devoting my latest entries to the shopping process. To me a man must put in the proper thought into his jersey purchases because if one makes the wrong decision he may find himself the victim of a StraightCashHomey.net entry.

I already own a few football jerseys (Walter Payton, Brian Piccolo and now Rodgers-Cromartie). So I have decided to replace my ill-fitting Montreal Canadiens jersey that I have had since Life In The DPC was in the Rincon Valley Junior High School chapters. The Habs recent playoff has rekindled my love for hockey and I feel it is now the time to show off my true feeling for the 24-time Stanley Cup champions but the question remains: Which player will adorn DPC’s jersey?

The reason I am Habs fan is because of the netminding mastery of Patrick Roy. As an impressionable younger DPC Roy dominated the NHL in leading the Canadiens to their last championship in 1993. His digital doppelganger was equally as dominate in the Sega Genesis. But the same man that made me a hockey fan is also the reason why I stopped watching the game from 1995 until 2010.

In December 1995 Roy demanded to be traded from Montreal and had his wish granted in a lopsided trade with the Colorado Avalanche that turned me off from hockey. Because of the trade I currently have a love/hate relationship with the great goal tender. Hate because the trade was completely one sided and it destroyed the Canadiens. Love because he got me into hockey and he essentially won the 1993 Stanley Cup by himself.

I have one other Canadien that I hold dear and that man is Le Demon Blonde, Guy Lafleur. Guy’s career was essentially over by the time I started watching hockey and he was playing for the Quebec Nordiques after coming out of retirement in 1988. In all honesty I am not absolutely sure why I am fan of the man known as The Flower but he is one my all-time faves despite excelling for the Habs before I was born. The Sega Genesis version of Lafleur was actually on the Quebec Nordiques, which is ironic because that team evolved into the Colorado Avalanche and stole Patrick Roy.

Because it is heavy decision, picking between Roy and Lafleur jerseys, I consulted my father via email and he said I should go with Guy. He was right because Roy left the Habs high and dry with his juvenile shenanigans. A part of me will never forgive him for destroying the Habs and by extension taking away my love of hockey for nearly 15-years.

Lafleur it is. He’s an all-time great and he always represented the Canadiens in a positive manner, which is something I can’t say for Roy.

On Monday September 20th I posted on Life In The DPC that I had ordered a Matt Leinart USC jersey to wear at future Arizona Cardinals games. During Sunday’s Cardinals and Raiders game Mrs. DPC received an email from the jersey supplier that stated that they were out of the Leinart jersey and that I would need to pick out another selection. I was bummed by the email and for a brief period at the game I was a melancholy fan that hardly cheered on the Cardinals.

But a last second Cardinals victory dulled the pain of losing a Matt Leinart USC jersey with a 2005 Orange Bowl patch and by the time we were navigating the post game parking lot I was optimistic about picking a new jersey. In my mind nothing could replace the Leinart jersey but the supplier’s website offered a few selections and maybe one would suit my needs.

Ultimately, though the website was somewhat limited in their Arizona Cardinals jersey selections. I was left with Beanie Wells, Larry Fitzgerald, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Matt Leinart. Logically speaking I should have gone with a Leinart jersey. He’s my main man and I support him despite being currently employed by the Houston Texans. Like I good fan I will continue to search for a Leinart USC jersey but until then I selected a Rodgers-Cromartie jersey.

I am a DRC fan. I agreed with the Cardinals using the 16th pick in the 2008 NFL Draft to select the Tennessee State University cornerback. He has responded to the high draft status by being selected to the 2010 Pro Bowl.

Like I said, I am bummed out by not getting my first choice for Cardinals game day apparel but DRC is a fine player and a proper selection to be worn by DPC. As noted in my previous post I often buy jerseys for irony but DRC is a current all star and is beginning the prime of his hopefully long, stellar career in Arizona. I will wear his number 29 with some pride as I cheer on the Cardinals from the upper reaches of University of Phoenix Stadium.