Anquan Boldin is in a bad position regarding his contract with the Arizona Cardinals. The team wants to re-sign him and he wants to get out. For whatever reason, he doesn’t like playing for the Cardinals and wants out. He has a contract that he doesn’t like, for one thing and perhaps that’s helping to make him more upset about this. He has been playing well for the team, having helped lead them into the Super Bowl last year, and has cemented himself as one of the most impressive players in the league at Wide Receiver. Is this going to continue? Perhaps Boldin will be traded? Maybe, on the other hand, he’ll get a new contract that fits his wants more than the current one. One thing’s for sure, Kurt Warner is really hoping to get him back because he doesn’t really have many other WRs to use!

When the Detroit Lions try to get themselves back from the deepest depths the NFL has, they will probably be riding on the back of Matthew Stafford. But they should reconsider their reliance on him quickly. He is a young man without much experience. He doesn’t have too much to work with, it would seem. There isn’t much offensive line or wide receiver ability. It will be good to see a new face there, but he might not be ready. Perhaps they should go with Daunte Culpepper, who is one of the better QBs around, though he’s never been a banner player. He would at least give some experience, mentoring and general help to Stafford and the rest of the team.

The NFL Draft gets bigger and bigger every year. It wasn’t that long ago that most people had no idea when the draft even was. In fact, I hardly knew there was a draft, because it was pretty low profile. But like in almost every sport, the draft has become a big part of it, just like any game day and a large television event. It seems odd, because there isn’t a lot of action and all the players involved are mostly unknown players who haven’t played in any major games (though some are from Notre Dame or other famous college teams). But some people sit down in front of the TV with the pork rinds and soda and watch the draft to see what kind of players their team is going to take. And it lasts for three days; at least it will next year, so that will be extra fun!

There is a big debate going on right now about whether Michael Vick should be allowed to come back into the NFL since he was released from federal custody yesterday. There are many who say that getting back into the league is the best way for him to redeem himself and earn money, etc. He has paid for his crimes, this argument goes, and with time he can bring himself back. The other side is also a compelling discussion of whether people should be allowed to return to a job after a major crime; whether competing in the NFL is his right just because he’s so good at it. Even though a previous occasion saw a man who killed a woman while driving drunk get an 8 game suspension, it’s certainly possible that Vick could get a more major punishment for this. It’s going to be a problem for the commissioner, but it may be a moot point if he can’t play as well anymore or if he has trouble getting onto a team.

Brett Favre will be leaving it to the last moment this year. He’s been working out with a high school football team and this is supposed to get him in shape for a possible return to the NFL. He’s been contemplating a return with the Minnesota Vikings. But he had a strong injury last season that pushed him into bad plays and such. He’s decided that he can get back in and maybe stick it to those Packers this year. But for whatever reason, he will be waiting until the start of training camp for the Vikes on July 30 to make a final decision. I might have mentioned the difficulty this puts the Vikings in if they can’t actually start working on their offense intensively until he makes a real decision. The decision is on the way, and we’re all waiting with baited breath!

Brian Griese has been released by the Tampa Bay Bucs after a long career quarterbacking for a lot of different teams. He has been having a lot of trouble over the last several years and most teams seem to be happier without him. He was inconsistent with the Chicago Bears, which I remember a little more clearly, but he did some amazing things. But it turns out that with the Denver Broncos he went to the Pro Bowl with a high passer rating. He was a good starting quarterback at that time and has remained good all this time. Does this mean that he’s retiring or that he’s going to show up somewhere else as a backup? It will be fun to see what happens.

The Minnesota Vikings are probably none-too-happy at the moment. The fans are probably quite entertained and hopeful for Brett Favre to come to town and rescue his former nemesis team. But the organization can’t be particularly pleased at the moment. Why not? Because Favre doesn’t seem to be able to make up his mind about whether he wants to return or whether he’s in good enough shape to return. This puts the offense’s plans on indefinite hold because they don’t know who will be at the helm or what kind of offensive scheme they will be utilizing. They can at least train all their backup quarterbacks to make sure they’re on the same page. But it takes awhile for a team to get used to a new QB and with mere weeks before preseason starts, it seems like some kinds of definite decisions will have to be made in the near future. Meanwhile, the Vikings are surrounded by other player controversy, with players being suspended for banned substances and other such issues.

Steve McNair was perhaps the most celebrated quarterback in Tennessee Titans history. Some people even said that he was one of the best quarterbacks of his time, having led the Titans to a Super Bowl appearance in the early part of the decade. This weekend, a sad story came out that McNair was found dead in the condo that he shared with a friend. He had been shot four times and his friend/girlfriend had been killed with one gunshot as well. They have ruled that McNair was killed by homocide, but they haven’t classified the girlfriend’s death. This sheds light on many aspects of this man’s life that are not as wholesome as his public image would have suggested. The story keeps changing all the time and it will be interesting to see what happens. In the meantime, our thoughts can go out to both families.

2008 was a top year for the Arizona Cardinals, both as an organization and as a team. Kurt Warner proved that he still has it. Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin were shown to be two of the best players in the league in catching. This is where the team stands. There haven’t been too many changes this offseason, which suggests that the team feels better keeping with the plan that worked last season rather than changing the formulation in some way. The defense was shaky, but improving. The offense is outstanding. Don’t miss a single game this year, and see your favorite team in person. Arizona Cardinals tickets are already on sale, so make sure that you are ready for a fun time!