The Cardinals wanted to get quarterback Peyton Manning this off season to go from a potential playoff team to a Superbowl contender but Manning decided to go to the Broncos and the Cardinals’ fans were left disappointed. Many had bought their Cardinals tickets early in the hope to see this start athlete on their team.

The Cardinals decided to give their Quarterback Kevin Colb his $7 million dollar bonus, making him the projected starter for next season. Colb has shown in the past that he has the potential to be a good quarterback on a good team and next season he will have to put up great numbers if the Cardinals want to make the playoffs. Last season he played in just 9 games, he had almost 2,000 yards, 9 TD, 8 interceptions and a solid 81.1 quarterback rating. The team was just 3-6 in the games he played in. The team and Kolb are working on restructuring his contract.

The Cardinals resigned wide receiver Early Doucet to a 2 year deal. Doucet had a career season last year, his fourth in the NFL. He had 54 receptions for 689 yards and 5 touchdowns and he showed that he can be a starting wide receiver. It was good to hear that when I decided to use my Cardinals tickets, I would see Doucet in the game.

The team also resigned Kicker Jay Feely agreeing to terms on a 2-year contract. Feely has been a key contributor to the Cardinals for the past 2 seasons, he has never missed a PAT while with the team, and has converted 81% of his field goal attempts. The Cardinals need all the points the can get and Jay Feely will continue to be a solid kicker for the franchise. Feely had discussions with other teams but he decided to come back to the Cardinals.

The Cardinals also brought back special teams player and offensive lineman D’Anthony Batiste on a one-year contract. Batiste has been with the Cardinals since 2010, and he gives the team depth in the offensive line.

Draft bust Levi Brown decided to come back to the team after being released. The Cardinals released him because he was expected to make $17 million next season and they weren’t willing to pay that kind of money for a disappointing player.

The Cardinals released wide receiver Chansi Stuckey and were expected to release Guard Rex Hadnot who was in the final year of a 3-year, $9 million contract these moves were made to give the Cardinals salary cap flexibility.

Free agent defensive back Jarret Bush opted to go back to Green Bay. The Cardinals showed a lot of interest in him because he’s a versatile player that can play multiple positions on the defensive end. It was a shame to see this player go to another team. I would have really like to use my Cardinals tickets and see this guy play.

Safety Sean Considine, who played with the Cardinals last season decided to leave the Cardinals and joined the Baltimore Ravens.

If the Cardinals want to go to the playoffs next year they need to make more moves. They need to have a solid draft and they also need their wide receiver, Larry Fitzgerald to put up the numbers that made him one of the best players in the NFL. This team showed at the end of last season that they have a lot of potential and next season could be the year that they go back to the playoffs. Quarterback Kevin Kolb has to be motivated by the Peyton Manning situation, and he has the chance to prove that he can be a quality staring quarterback. Buy your Cardinal tickets now to see what this team can do in the upcoming season!

Kolb threw for 242 yards with a 52-yard touchdown pass to LaRod Stephens-Howling to seal the deal in overtime.  There wasn’t a whole lot of action in the game as it was tied at 13-13 for quite a while.  However, that quickly changed on the last drive when the Dallas Cowboys were marching the ball down the field to get within field goal range with just 6 seconds on the clock. Those that bought Cardinals tickets believed that this would be an the end of their team wining streak.

As they were driving down the field the Cowboys were met wit a costly penalty to move the ball back even further for kicker, Dan Bailey.  On the kick to win the game Bailey split the uprights on the 49 yard field goal and the game was over.  Unfortunately for Bailey, Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys team, and fans everywhere, head coach Jason Garrett called a time out right before Bailey punches the ball through the uprights.

Bailey, having missed a short field goal earlier in the game was at it again.  This time however, Bailey when wide to the left on the kick and the game was going into overtime. Electrifying those that bought Cardinals tickets to this game! Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt was quoted as saying, “I am glad they iced their kicker so I didn’t have to”.  According to Dallas head coach Jason Garrett, there were certain Cowboys’ players that weren’t set and ready to go on the field goal attempt.  This is why he called the timeout which would eventually seal the Cowboys and their fate.

To start overtime Dallas had the ball at first but they were stopped by a tough Arizona defense.  Arizona had the opportunity to seal the deal again on their home field.  Arizona was calmly marching down the field when on a big play, LaRod Stephens-Holwing caught a short pass that ended up being a 52-yard gain for a touchdown due to many missed tackles and great blocking.  This sealed the victory for the Cardinals and made it so the  Cowboys still can’t get the monkey off of their backs. This match-up could soon turn into a rivalry if the Cowboys continue to lose. I am sure many people will buy Cardinals tickets to this game to make sure that their team continues to beats the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cardinal’s coaching staff were well aware that Wallace was a prime threat to go deep, they had been studying game film in preparation for him. Time and time again, they watched as Wallace blew by defenders to get open, and yet they were still unable to find a way to stop him.

In the second quarter, pinned deep at the Steelers 5 yard line, Roethlisberger dropped back to pass from his own end zone. He found Wallace sprinting down the sideline behind a Cardinals defender. Wallace caught the ball in-stride and broke a couple of tackles for the franchise record completion and the score.

“We knew that was coming,” Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “We did everything we could to work to prevent that.”

The Cardinals pass defense is 30th out of 32 teams in the league. On the bright side, you have to give Arizona credit for holding the Steelers to under 100 yards rushing. The game probably would have been a blow out, if not for the Cardinals rushing defense.

In the opening quarter, Pittsburg got on the scoreboard first after they intercepted a pass from Cardinals QB Kevin Kolb. Kolb was trying to find TE Rob Housler on a crossing pattern. But the ball bounced off Housler’s helmet into the arms of Steelers safety Ryan Clark, who returned it to the Arizona 31 yard line. Five plays later Roethlisberger found TE Heath Miller wide open in the end zone for a 12 yard touchdown. With the extra point that gave the Steelers an early 7-0 lead.

It was in the second quarter after the Steelers 95 yard TD pass, that Arizona mounted it’s first scoring drive. Down 14-0, Kolb engineered a 13 play – 80 yard drive that ended with a 1 yard TD run by RB Alfonso Smith. The drive was kept alive by two key penalties on Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor, who was defending Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald is a two-time all-pro and gives defensive backs fits when trying to cover him.

That made the score 14-7 with 1:43 left to go before half-time. But Pittsburg tacked on a 41 yard field goal by kicker Shaun Suisham just as half-time expired, extending their lead to 17-7.

In the third quarter Arizona cut the lead to 17-14 with a nice 73 yard touchdown pass from Kolb to RB LaRod Stephens-Howling. Kolb was 18-34 passing, with 272 yards and 2 TDs – 1 INT. But the Cardinals just couldn’t keep pace with the Steelers as their pass defense failed them multiple times.

Pittsburg scored what was to be their last touchdown of the day in the third period, on a 4 yard pass from Roethlisberger to WR Emmanuel Sanders to make the score 24-14. The game was never really in question after that. The Steelers added 2 points late in the third period on a safety, when the Cardinals QB Kolb was called for intentional grounding in his own end zone.

In the fourth quarter Pittsburg added two more field goals, and the Cardinals got a late touchdown pass from Kolb to WR Early Doucet. The Cardinals 2 point conversion failed, making the final score 32-20. Something has to change with this Cardinals team if they want to continue selling out of Cardinal tickets for the rest of their season.

In 2011, Cardinals fans were hoping for a resurgence. The Cardinals brought in free agent quarterback Kevin Kolb from the Eagles in the hopes of finding someone to fill Warner’s shoes. Fans bought up Cardinals tickets with the thought that emerging running back Beanie Wells and superstar wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald would help Kolb lead a strong offensive attack.

In week one, the Cardinals faced the Carolina Panthers and highly touted rookie quarterback Cam Newton in his first start. Despite a spectacular first outing by Newton, the Cardinals rallied from a 7-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to win 28-21. Kolb had a great first game as a Cardinal, throwing for 2 touchdown passes and no interceptions. Beanie Wells rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown.

In week two, the Cardinals traveled to Landover, MD to face an upstart Washington Redskins team. The Redskins withstood another solid game by Kolb and a second consecutive 90+ rushing yard day by Beanie Wells to edge the Cardinals 22-21. The difference in the game was a 34 yard field goal with 1:45 remaining. Arizona fell to 1-1 on the season.

Arizona traveled to Seattle in week three to face the Seahawks. For the first half, Arizona looked like the stronger team. Larry Fitzgerald had 5 catches for 64 yards and a touchdown in the first half alone, and Arizona led 10-6 at half time. Seattle quarterback Tavaris Jackson struggled in the first half and went into the locker room being booed by the home field fans. In the second half, however, Seattle righted the ship and shut Larry Fitzgerald down completely. Kolb ended up throwing two interceptions in the game while Jackson put the Seahawks ahead 13-10 in the third quarter with an 11-yard touchdown run. That’s where the score would stay, and the Cardinals would drop to 1-2.

The Cardinals’ old foe, the New York Giants, came to town in week four. Beanie Wells had a tremendous game, rushing for 138 yards and 3 touchdowns, and the Cardinals led 20-10 after three quarters. But Giants quarterback Eli Manning led his team back, and the Giants had the game-winning score with 2:39 left when Manning threw a 29 yard touchdown pass to Hakeem Nicks.

The week four loss was a devastating one. The game seemed to be well in hand, and a win would have put the Cardinals at 2-2 and alone in second place in the NFC West. The loss dropped them to 1-3, but the good news is that they still share second place in what has been one of the weakest divisions in the league for the past several years. Thus, the Cardinals are still in the hunt for their division title. With a game against win-less Minnesota coming up, they still have time to get back on track for the season or any chance of fans lining up for cardinals tickets will be lost.

The Cards leaned on reserve running backs Alfonso Smith and Chester Taylor to shoulder the load against the Seahawks.  They were both largely ineffective, as both running backs combined for a total of 74 yards on 25 carries.  Arizona did not get the production they needed out of the running game this past Sunday, as they continually faced third and long situations that resulted in punts all afternoon.

On Thursday of this week, Coach Whisenhunt explained to the media that Wells should return this weekend against the Giants.  While it is too early in the week to know for sure, we should be able to determine if Wells will play by the number of reps he receives in practice on Friday and Saturday.  The Cardinals will need to get Wells back if they want to have a good chance to defeat the New York Giants in Week 4.  Without the presence of Wells in the backfield, the Giants will likely double and triple team star wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, forcing the Cards to run the ball with second tier running backs. Cardinals tickets will also likely drop in value without Wells in the lineup.

In other Cardinals injury news, tight end Todd Heap was limited in practice on Wednesday.  Heap was targeted often in Week 3 by quarterback Kevin Kolb, and he hauled in six total catches for 61 yards.  The nature of the injury is unknown at this time, but if Heap misses more practice, expect Whisenhunt to notify the media of the issue.  Heap will likely be used early and often this week against the Giants if he can play because the Giants have been very susceptible to the tight end this year.  In Week 1 against the Redskins, Fred Davis torched the Giants secondary for 105 yards on 5 catches.  The Cardinals would love to see this kind of production from Heap, so the coaching staff is hoping he can back to practicing in full on Thursday.

Finally, running back LaRod Stephens-Howling, who has missed time with a hand and biceps injury is tentatively expected to play on Sunday as well.  With Smith and Taylor struggling in the backfield, Stephens-Howling could provide an added boost to the Arizona running game.  In fact, it’s quite possible that if he returns, he could take the backup role from Taylor permanently.  If he and Beanie Wells can return, Stephens-Howling will likely fill in as the third-down back.  With his amazing speed, Stephens-Howling is always a threat to take it to the house when he touches the ball.

Despite their longevity, the Cardinals have been bounced around throughout the country before landing in Arizona. As mentioned, they began as the Chicago Cardinals, then moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1960. There, they remained until 1987, when the team was moved to Tempe, Arizona, where they became the Phoenix Cardinals. The name was changed to the Arizona Cardinals simply because it was a change advocated by fans, and owner Bill Bidwell was eager to please his loyal fan base. After a good stay in Tempe, Arizona(18 years), the team decided to move in 2006 to Glendale, Arizona.

The Cardinals have won two NFL championships, but they both occurred well before the modern era of the NFL. The first came in 1925, and the second in 1947, twenty years before the first Super Bowl. The modern Cardinals have rarely been a contender, with an exception occurring just in the past several years. Superstar quarterback Kurt Warner joined the team in 2005 and re-emerged as one of the best passers in the league during the 2008 season, when he led a surprising Cardinals team to the Super Bowl. They lost one of the more entertaining Super Bowls of all time to the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-23.

This led to a 2009 season where Cardinals tickets were in high demand, and expectations for the season were higher than the Cardinals had seen in recent memory. The team made the playoffs again behind the stellar play of Kurt Warner and star wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. They beat the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card game 51-45 in the highest scoring playoff game in NFL history. They then played the Saints, who routed them 45-14 on their way to winning the Super Bowl.

The Cardinals today are coached by former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt. They still possess one of the best wide receivers in the game in Larry Fitzgerald, but the rest of the team is lacking in standout talent. Going into the 2011 season they have hopes to make a strong showing in the NFC West, a division that really is up for anyone’s taking. Quarterback Kevin Kolb was their major off-season free agent acquisition, and Cardinals fans hope he will be able to effectively deliver the ball to one of the game’s best wide outs. Young running back Beanie Wells shows the promise of one day being an effective runner in the NFL. The team holds a lot of promise, but it may be a couple of years before they find themselves again in the discussion of real playoff contenders in the NFL.

All their charity actions are done through Cardinals Charities, an organization founded by the football team back in 1990, two years after the moment when the team celebrated its centenary. Their mission statement is to support programs which aim to improve the quality of live and offer new opportunities for kids, women and any minorities from Arizona. The whole process functions like this: any non-profit organization from Arizona whose programs meet Cardinals Charities’ mission statement may apply for an annual grant, then the best programs are selected and they receive full founding from Arizona Cardinals Charities, with the only condition that at least 75% of the allocated founds should be spent within Arizona state.

Numbers look impressing, but what’s even more impressing are the stories behind these numbers, all those people that managed to get a better live because of the help they received from Arizona Cardinals football team. And let’s take a look at two real examples of such charity programs that took place in 2011.

You probably know about Cardinals Charities Celebrity Golf Classic, an annual gold competition where regular people have a chance to register and play with their idols – players and coaches of the Arizona Cardinals football team. Last year’s edition took place on December 13th at the Whirlwind Gold Course and brought together: 230 golfers, fans, players, coaches and business partners. From the funds collected at the event, Cardinals Charities and their partner Albertson’s food chain, $21,250 were donated to Ronald McDonald House, a non-profit organization offering free or very cheap accommodation for families of the kids that undergo medical treatment at Valley hospitals. That’s equivalent to 1,450 nights of free accommodation for some poor families!

Another event that took place earlier this year was “Making the Cut.” Here, the Arizona Cardinals players and cheerleaders teamed up with hair stylists from Rolf’s Salon to give selected customers and Cardinals fans, customized haircuts and hair treatments. At the end of the event a silent auction and raffle took place and more than $30,000 were collected, money that will be used in one of the future projects sponsored by Cardinals Charities.

The last event of this type took place just a few days ago, with the occasion of pre-season game against San Diego Charger when, after the game, the whole team of Arizona Cardinals went for lunch with more than 350 of their fans, managing to collect around $5,000 for some sick kids from Arizona.

On Sunday the Cardinals will face a team in the Giants who are facing struggles of their own this season. In their last game against the highly touted Eagles, the Giants looked impressive in defeating a team considered to be among the best in the NFL. But just a few weeks ago this same Giants team looked terrible in a loss to the Redskins. Despite their more recent success, this is still a team facing uncertainty, a team that is a very beatable opponent for a hungry Cardinals team. This is a Cardinals team that is different from those of the past, the change in culture brought about by Ken Whisenhunt and Kurt Warner has carried over giving this organization a new sense of pride. No longer is this a team known as frugal, as underachieving, this is now a team that has tasted success. The magical run to the Super Bowl a few seasons ago, and the impact of Ken Whisenhunt has changed the attitude of a team, in fact an entire community. Having tasted success, many long suffering Cardinals fans expect more, and this is a team that is posed to deliver it. The obvious frustration exhibited by the players and their fans shows that this is a team that is expected to win. In spite of their poor start the Cardinals players remain confident and determined to meet the weighty expectations that have been placed upon them. This Sunday the team plays at home, were a true home field advantage would mean a great deal to a team that is fighting to improve itself. Hopefully fans will purchase Cardinals tickets and cheer their team on to a victory! This would go a long way to validating some of the expectations that have been placed upon them.

This week they face a big test when the New York Giants come to town. Kolb faces a Giants defensive line that can be dominant at times, and a secondary that limited Michael Vick to 176 yards and an interception last week. The Giants have the ninth best defense in the league as judged by yards allowed. The Cardinals, however, boast the eighth best defense, and their four interceptions this year puts them near the top of the league in this category as well. Their defensive line has nine sacks on the year to the Giants eight. So, it seems that when looking at defenses, the Cardinals are comparable to the Giants. With their respective pass rush and opportune secondary, they may be able to coerce Giants quarterback Eli Manning into making some costly mistakes.

Offensively, both teams hover around the middle of the pack this year. When the Giants’ offense has looked good, it has looked very good. The case in point was last week when Eli Manning torched the Philadelphia Eagles’ secondary for four touchdowns. The Giants tandem backfield of Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs combines a quick slasher with a power runner, and can be lethal. The Cardinals, however, have played very efficient offense at times this year as well. Kolb boasted a 130.0 quarterback rating in his week one game against Carolina. Kolb has one of the best receivers in the game in Larry Fitzgerald to throw to, and when his passes are accurate Fitzgerald is close to unstoppable. The effectiveness of the passing game against the Giants pass rush depends on the viability of the running game, however, and Arizona Cardinals – primary running back Beanie Wells is questionable for this week due to a hamstring injury. That would mean the rushing duties fall to fourth string running back Alfonso Smith. Smith struggled a bit last week, rushing for only 54 yards on 17 carries.

The Cardinals kicking game must also be more effective, a tough feat in windy Giants Stadium. Last week, Jay Feely missed from 49 and 51 yards. In this upcoming battle of two tough defenses, field goals may make the difference.

This is a key game for both teams. The Giants are already locked in a battle for first place in the NFC East that may involve all four teams in the division for the remainder of the season. The Cardinals are surrounded by mediocrity in the NFC West, but must come back with a win after last week’s loss in order to keep up with the division leading San Francisco 49ers. Cardinal Tickets will continue to slide in value unless something changes fast. That change has to be victories and against average teams, they better be by a wide margin.

The franchise has been able to clinch two NFL championships both while it was in Chicago. The first which occurred in 1925. The second one occurred in 1947 through a championship game. This was two decades before the Super Bowl was played. This team has used red jerseys since 1898. For most of the games they have played, they have used the same basic uniform design of white helmets, white pants with red stripes on the sides and red jerseys. They came up with a logo in 1947 where they had logo of a cardinal bird perched on the stitches of a football. They did not use the logo on their helmets until in 1960 when they moved to St. Louis from Chicago. In 2002, they debuted a new alternate black jersey. They had been the only team without a throwback jersey playing in the league.

The Arizona Cardinals have maintained a very good performance throughout the years. This has led to them having a very big number of fans who regularly don their jerseys and cheer them along as they play. They have a very well arranged ticketing system, go to azcardinalstickets.com to purchase your Cardinals tickets for the next game. Fans have a variety of Arizona Cardinals tickets options to choose from. One can choose to become a permanent member where he/she will be entitled to watching the Cardinals play all season. One can also enjoy the party lofts option where one can enjoy the games from all club levels and it’s amenities. The other option is the stadium lofts where one is entitled to viewing the game with access to the best in terms of amenities, benefit and also budget requirements.

The Cardinals boast of the best in terms of management. They have an efficient medical team that takes care of all their player’s medical needs. There have been serious injuries to the team’s players but thanks to the efficient service delivery of the members of the medical team, all have been well. Players continue flying the Arizona state flag high in every game they play. No wonder the fans keep growing in numbers every single day. The doctors release a medical report after every season. However, if any serious injury happens, fans are kept abreast on the latest developments. This is what makes the Cardinals who they are today – the best that will only keep getting better!