Super Bowl takeaways for the Cardinals
With the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl win on Sunday over the Kansas City Chiefs, cohost Seth Cox and I recorded new episode of the podcast to react to it and how we can put a little bit of an Arizona Cardinals lense to it.
In this episode, we react to what happened in the Super Bowl and how it was that the Eagles were able to take down the Chiefs and, for the second time in eight years, keep a team from winning three consecutive titles.
We also look at how the Eagles have constructed their roster and how the Cardinals can emulate that. We discuss what is missing for the Cardinals and how they are in the process.
Finally, we talk about a group of Eagles free agents and their potential fit on the Cardinals.
Enjoy the show!
Enjoy the show with the embedded player above or by subscribing to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or your favorite podcast platform, so you never miss a show. Make sure as well to give it a five-star rating!
Times and topics:
(1:00) Super Bowl LIX reactions
(14:20) Takeaways for the Cardinals as they continue to develop and build their roster
(31:55) Some Eagles free agents the Cardinals could potentially target
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New York Times
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- New York Times
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MILWAUKEE — With two on and nobody out in the top of the ninth, the bottom three hitters for the St. Louis Cardinals had a prime opportunity to stop their team's worst skid of the season. Jordan Walker, Victor Scott II and Masyn Winn all had chances to drive in at least the tying run against Milwaukee Brewers closer Trevor Megill. All three struck out, stranding the tying run 90 feet from home. The Brewers beat the Cardinals 3-2, besting their division opponent in three of four games to take the series. The Cardinals, who held the best record in baseball in May at 19-8, have lost seven of their last eight games and have just four wins in June. Advertisement St. Louis (37-35) knew coming into the month that June would present several challenges. The lack of scheduled off days, the strength of the opposing schedule and various minor injuries to key players have contributed to their slide. 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That has not left Marmol with many options to switch up playing time. 'That's the challenge,' Marmol said. 'You have guys that aren't in good spots who you're trying to stay away from and get some time off to and then other guys that are in a similar spot, where they're trying to finish out, but they have to plow through it, especially in a spot like this.' The Cardinals received a boost when Walker (left wrist inflammation) returned from the injured list Saturday, and they expect to have Nootbaar back in the starting lineup Tuesday (though they'll debate whether he stays in the leadoff spot). But perhaps their biggest aid will be their off day Monday. St. Louis played 14 consecutive games and will play 16 straight beginning Tuesday. Already, the team is contemplating when it will return to a temporary six-man rotation, with Michael McGreevy again the leading candidate to take that spot when he's eligible to be recalled on June 24. 'We knew this would be tough,' Marmol said. 'When you look at May, we were able to run out our guys almost every day, with every Thursday being (a scheduled off day). We've had to mix and match a little more and give guys opportunities to see what they can do with it. But we knew it was going to be a tough stretch. The guys are playing hard. Tomorrow's off day is a timely one; we'll get to regroup and then get back at it.' (Photo of Victor Scott II: Jeff Hanisch / Imagn Images)
USA Today
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A popular debate was whether Belichick or all-world quarterback Tom Brady meant more to the Patriots' dynasty. The discussion skewed toward Brady when he won another Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Belichick struggled without him. Advertisement Belichick's reputation as a lockdown overlord hasn't subsisted since he undertook the University of North Carolina program and his 24-year-old girlfriend has become popular fodder for celebrity gossip magazines and sports outlets alike. 'It's kind of funny,' former Bills captain and defensive end Chris Kelsay said. 'It's not very reflective of the person we always thought him to be, competing against him and his teams for, in my case, 10 years. He's one of those guys that you would never expect to change, right? It worked for him for so long. 'I don't follow the media a ton as far as college football goes, but some of the headlines are unavoidable.' We didn't know much about Belichick's depth charts, let alone his ex-wife or his subsequent, longtime girlfriend. Hardcore NFL fans couldn't pick them out of a lineup. But right in front of Belichick at 'The Roast of Tom Brady,' players made lewd jokes about the May-December romance with Hudson. We've seen red-carpet photos of Belichick and Hudson all over the place. She posts candids on her social media to get people talking. A recent example showed them on a Florida beach, Belichick on his back, her in a swimsuit and propped on his raised feet for an airplane ride. She placed third in the Miss Maine USA pageant last month. That publicity is purposeful and authorized. Belichick and Hudson have generated a lot of unintentional attention too. There was the 'CBS Sunday Morning' clip of an off-camera Hudson interrupting an interview to promote Belichick's book, 'The Art of Winning.' She objected to co-host Tony Dokoupil asking Belichick how he and Hudson met in 2021 (she would have been a Bridgewater State University student at the time). Podcaster and TV host Pablo Torre reported significant friction between Hudson and North Carolina's athletics department and that Belichick's children (all of them older than Hudson) have grown increasingly worried the relationship is damaging Belichick's legacy. TMZ Sports reported last month that Hudson and Belichick's ex-girlfriend/former foundation director, Linda Holliday, had a confrontation when Hudson surprisingly turned up at Holliday's annual charity Christmas gala on Nantucket Island. Advertisement 'Before, he had it locked down in New England and it built that level of mystique,' said Byrd, who also played for the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers. 'You wondered what you didn't know about. 'I would hope he's judged on the merits of what he's done. But it has to do with where we are right now in time. People might think first about him having this 24-year-old girlfriend. His image has changed.' Belichick tolerated zero nonsense; now he seems knee-deep in it. Consider how opposing colleges will greet Belichick on their campuses and in their stadiums. All-Pro edge rusher Shawne Merriman played for UNC rival Maryland and knows ACC fans won't be kind to Belichick or Hudson. 'People are going to have T-shirts and signs,' said Merriman, the San Diego Chargers star who spent his final two seasons during the Bills' drought. 'I would let him have it pregame, for sure. I would've talked trash about the picture of them at the beach and him holding her up, something to get under his skin at some point. 'But I don't know if you can ever get to somebody like him. You have to be so thick-skinned. To win like he did, I don't want to say you have to be a psychopath, but you've got to be a little deranged to spend that much time in the office, breaking down film, meetings. It's got to be your life, and you don't get there without being locked in totally.' Belichick's tunnel vision was evident when he coached the 2006-07 Pro Bowl. Merriman missed fellow drought defensive end Aaron Schobel by two years in Buffalo, but they started together for Belichick in what is supposed to be a casual exhibition. Schobel, barely suppressing a laugh, declined to discuss Belichick's newly public life. Schobel said little can change his opinion of the coach who beat him 15 times and then somehow turned the Pro Bowl into a dogfight. Advertisement 'That game got real,' Schobel said. 'By the end, it was full-speed. We were going.' We remember that's the game Washington safety Sean Taylor detonated Bills punter Brian Moorman on an unsuccessful fake, but it was a remarkable contest that Belichick insisted his roster practiced hard for in Honolulu. In the fourth quarter, Schobel tackled running back Tiki Barber for a 3-yard loss, stuffed quarterback Tony Romo for no gain on fourth-and-goal from the 1 and, after the NFC recovered an onside kick, sacked Romo on the next snap. Two plays later, Merriman forced a Romo fumble. AFC kicker Nate Kaeding made a 21-yard field goal as time expired to win 31-28. 'The way Belichick talked to us was something I'd never heard,' Schobel said. 'He went in there at halftime and corrected every position. 'We need to do this with our tight ends up the middle. The pass rushers are running upfield too much. You're hurting us because of this, this and this.' 'I was in my sixth season by then but hadn't had a lot of that kind of talk from a head coach. We would hear individualized feedback from our position coaches, and the head coach would be more like 'Let's go out there and play hard.' What Belichick said was simple, but it was impressive. It was honest and accurate at every single position.' Belichick was that obsessed with winning. His biggest professional scandals – spying on opponents' sidelines and deflated footballs – dealt with exploiting tiny details to gain an edge. Belichick's genius was augmented by the intimidating image he created. He relished being painted as a sinister force, his invisible hand working the NFL's levers and haters spitting his name. Frustrated opponents, meanwhile, mostly admired the hell out of him. 'Anything goes,' Byrd said. 'Whatever it takes to win. That's what made them special.' Advertisement Will all the tabloid sneering seriously impact Belichick's legacy? 'This is going to be a surprising answer even for me: I hope not,' Kelsay said. 'As much as we really disliked the Patriots and the success they had against Buffalo during my tenure there, I'd never guess I'd say 'I hope not' to that question. 'With social media and the talking heads out there and fans who are younger than us and don't fully understand what he accomplished in New England, their opinions and perspective will be different. But he'll always be known as one of the top two or three coaches in NFL history.' Kelsay's NFL debut was a 31-0 victory over New England on opening day in 2003. Then he lost to Belichick each of the next 17 times they played. Among position players, Kelsay ranks second only to former Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams' 21 defeats against Belichick. Schobel lost 15 times, tied for fourth with cornerback Terrance McGee, defensive end Jerry Hughes and four longtime New York Jets. Scott conceded the theater surrounding the Belichick-Hudson relationship has punctured the coach's mystique balloon, but offered another point to ponder. 'Look, let's keep things in perspective,' said Scott, a 12-time loser to Belichick, including once with the Atlanta Falcons. 'One of the struggles, whether you're a coach or a player and you leave the game – or the game leaves you – is to find happiness in other things. That's true whether you only got a chance to play one year in the league or you were there for 50. 'I'm happy to see him loosen that necktie a little bit. Or, should I say, take off that hoodie.'
