Getty Images
Budda Baker celebrates with teammates after an interception during the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers on November 7, 2021.
We are already more than halfway through the season and the Arizona Cardinals have the best record in the NFL.
The Cards posted a convincing win over the San Francisco 49ers with saves galore, on the road, in dominant fashion.
ALL the latest Cardinals news straight to your inbox! Join Heavy on Cardinals newsletter here!
Join Heavy on Cardinals!
They are a perfect 5-0 on the road this season and have scored over 30 points in all of their games. Three of their road victories have been against playoff teams in 2020.
It’s hard to criticize this team.
While the team has had some criticism over the course of the season, those same critics have now chosen to do so in the quietest way possible.
Cardinals Call Sports Illustrated
This won’t be the first or the last time Sports Illustrated turns to the Cardinals and their fans.
In Week 7, the Cardinals were an impressive 6-0 and just beat the Cleveland Browns on the road without their head coach. Sports Illustrated’s Gary Grambling ranked the Cardinals seventh, with a team like the Kansas City Chiefs, 3-3 at the time, ahead in fourth.
Here’s what NFL writer Gary Grambling said on October 19:
“What is worrying is an offensive system that requires the quarterback to maintain an MVP level over 17 games. They’ve been great, but they’ve also been lucky along the way.
The Cardinals’ social media team had a problem with this, referencing Michael Jordan’s “and I took that personally” quote from the last dance and replaced MJ with Big Red.
It’s almost a month later and the cardinals still have the same unbelievers.
The Sports Illustrated staff have compiled their power rankings after Week 9. Kudos to SI for finally placing the Cardinals in the top five. But fourth?
Once again, the Cardinals’ Twitter account added to the beef, trolling Sports Illustrated.
The funny part is that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had a week off, did nothing and went from fifth to first.
Unlike last time, Connor Orr posted a blurb on the Cardinals and apparently gave them credit.
“The most surprising and dominant team in the NFL in the first half of the season just proved they could beat a quality opponent without their two most important players, including a paced starting quarterback. of MVP. Kliff Kingsbury’s team went from a dangerous situation to a legitimate Super Bowl contender in the experiment’s third year. Can they keep pace throughout the stretch? »
But fans had none of it on Twitter.
A Twitter user also mocked their blurb.
But let’s not twist it. Analytics love cardinals.
According to Football Outsiders’ Aaron Schatz, the Cardinals are first in DVOA, which “measures a team’s effectiveness by comparing each play’s success to a league average based on situation and opponent.”
Of course, power rankings shouldn’t matter to anyone. Even the writers say it because it mostly changes every week, every opinion is up for debate and no matter what will always leave fans upset.
Praises from other outlets
While Sports Illustrated still needs time, NFL Network’s Dan Hanzus has the Cardinals in mind.
Pro Football Talk also agrees with NFL Network.
Christian Kirk spoke with NFL Network’s Andrew Siciliano on Nov. 9 about the Cardinals still feeling like underdogs.
“Once a few guys went down and we had injuries, everyone was quick to count us out and say we weren’t able to do it.”
