HOT TOPIC
Coach Dennis Green won't lose his job this week. That's about the only
assurances team vice president Michael Bidwill would give this week regarding
his coach's job status.
The Cardinals have lost six straight, and the heat is on Green, who has won 12
games in nearly 2 1/2 seasons with the team.
He has a year remaining on his contract, plus a team option for a fifth season.
If they fired him, the Cardinals would owe him the balance of this year's
contract plus all of next year's salary.
Green makes about $2.5 million a year.
Bidwill, in New Orleans for NFL owners' meetings, called Green and Cardinals
Vice President of Football Operations Rod Graves on Monday to discuss the
situation.
"What I asked them, frankly, was 'How in the hell did we get to 1-6?'"
Bidwill said. "Close losses don't count. We're 1-6 and we shouldn't be. I wanted
to know what we were doing to correct it."
Bidwill also asked the two men to "re-double" their efforts.
Green said he still believes he can turn things around.
"As I've said quite a bit, we've got a lot of people working together. I've
tried to play a role in helping us acquire some talent. I think we have good
talent; I just think we haven't had as good of fortune as we'd like to have."
PLAYER NOTES
--QB Matt Leinart took a beating last week in Oakland, but he is healthy heading
into the Green Bay game this week. Leinart took some hits from the backside,
where right tackle Oliver Ross struggled.
--QB Kurt Warner won't play again this year unless there are dire circumstances.
He didn't play last week when starter Matt Leinart was struggling, and that was
a good time to bring in a backup.
--RB Edgerrin James has yet to gain 100 yards in a game as a Cardinal. Last
week, he gained only 34 yards against the Raiders. He rarely had room to run.
--RB J.J. Arrington rarely plays. He has good speed and might be able to give
this team a different look, should it ever run the ball competently.
--WR Anquan Boldin didn't touch the ball against the Raiders until the Cardinals
were down 17-0. Boldin wasn't open that much, and Matt Leinart, under pressure,
had trouble getting him the ball.
--WR Larry Fitzgerald probably won't return this week from a pulled hamstring.
Fitzgerald has missed two games, and it probably would be wise to hold him out
this seek and have him return Nov. 12, after a bye.
--WR Bryant Johnson is a solid player who just doesn't get the ball much.
Johnson has good speed but he is not a focal point of the offense.
--WR Troy Walters is the No. 3 receiver with Larry Fitzgerald out with injury,
but he's not going to get more than two or three receptions a game.
--TE Leonard Pope should develop into a solid all-around player. He needs to
improve his blocking, and he's already a good receiver.
--TE Adam Bergen is an effective receiver, but he needs a lot of work as a
blocker.
--K Neil Rackers is still struggling. He missed a 49-yarder last Sunday but made
three other kicks. Rackers is changing the way he approaches the ball, which had
deviated a bit from what he did last year when he made 40 of 42 field goals.