1988 Phoenix Cardinals and their 7-4 start

[CSKreager]

One of the very few times they weren’t essentially a free win for the rest of the NFC East in their Sun Devil years.

They beat WSH/NYG/SF, put up good fights against Cleveland/Cincinnati

Looking back at how well they started off at Sun Devil Stadium, one would think they could have been a classic good at home/bad on the road team (I.e. Houston) or use the hot weather to their advantage (September/October Miami)

But Sun Devil soon became essentially like a 9th home game for the rest of their division once they leveled up.

[7DnBrnc53]

The beginning of the end for that team was when Neil Lomax suffered a knee injury in Week 11. He returned late in the year, but he was too banged up to succeed, and he retired in 1989 from a chronic hip condition (which led them to take Timm Rosenbach in the Supplemental Draft).

[ChrisBabcock]

Lomax was one of my favorite players as a kid. He was great, but never really had the supporting cast to get to the Montana/Marino/Fouts/Moon/Kelly level of that era. I was able to pick up his autobiography at a WNYPFRA conference book exchange a few years ago.

[74_75_78_79_]

What are your takes on Gene Stallings as HC for the Cardinals? School of Bear Bryant (a 'Junction Boy', in-particular) and School of Landry alum!

I think the 13-0 National Champ-to-be ('Bama over 'the U' in '92) wasn't bad. The Lomax injury didn't help in that 0-5 finish. The following year, '89, they weren't doing too terrible at 5-6 after 11 weeks. But Gene ends up getting fired because of he giving his resignation, and another 0-5 finish it'd be (onto Joe Bugel).

If Lomax is completely healthy down the stretch, do the Cards get past the Eagles & Giants? Hard to tell with me. I lean on they just missing out, finishing 3rd in the division instead though actually FWIW having a winning season.

The previous year, Cards' last season under the Arch, though they were at 6-5 going into that finale in Dallas, I don't think they were as good as any of the NFC playoff-qualifiers anyway; losing to a now-fallen Cowboys team (a must-win game, mind you) making them undeserving all the more.

Playoffs in 1989 if Stallings doesn't announce his retirement until the very end? No, not at all IMO.

But not a bad NFL HC with me. Perhaps coaching in a better organization and likely mere playoff-caliber at the very least.


PS - '88 Cardinals WERE the last team to hand San Fran a road-loss (actually coming back from being down, 23-0) until Ray Handley doing so opening week three years later! Tim Ryan & Dan Jiggetts...I really enjoyed hearing them that '88 Eagles/Steelers game! They both announced the SF/PHX '88 game as well and just as enjoyable!

[CSKreager]

What are your takes on Gene Stallings as HC for the Cardinals? School of Bear Bryant (a 'Junction Boy', in-particular) and School of Landry alum!

I think the 13-0 National Champ-to-be ('Bama over 'the U' in '92) wasn't bad. The Lomax injury didn't help in that 0-5 finish. The following year, '89, they weren't doing too terrible at 5-6 after 11 weeks. But Gene ends up getting fired because of he giving his resignation, and another 0-5 finish it'd be (onto Joe Bugel).

Phoenix being 5-5 (same record as the Cardiac Pack at that point) was miraculous considering their rash of injuries beyond Lomax

They had 6 other starters out for the year before playing week 5 at Washington and 6 players got injured in week 9 vs the Giants