Green still building his high-powered offense

[Nick]

Green still building his high-powered offense
Odeen Domingo
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 4, 2005 12:00 AM


Starting quarterback Kurt Warner completed two deep passes to receiver Bryant Johnson against the first-team defense on Thursday.

Cardinals coach Dennis Green is known for offense, and he wants it to stay that way.

With the Minnesota Vikings, Green's offense, a hybrid of the West Coast offense and a vertical passing offense, reached its peak in 1998 with an NFL-record 556 points.

So it was no surprise when Green grew increasingly irritated last season with the Cardinals' production. The team finished 27th in the league in total offense and scored just 17.8 points a game in Green's first year as coach.

Through the first week of team voluntary workouts, Green has watched the Cardinals' seven-on-seven drills closely.

The defense is still ahead of the offense, he said earlier this week, but there were signs that the offense is making progress.

Starting quarterback Kurt Warner completed two deep passes to receiver Bryant Johnson against the first-team defense on Thursday.

However, the first-team offense did not complete a single deep pass against the defense Friday.


Surprise team?


In the past two weeks, at least six publications around the country featured the Cardinals as this season's surprise team.

Two Sports Illustrated writers and one from CBS Sports- Line predicted that the Cardinals will win the NFC West Division title.

The stories touted the team's 2005 free-agent signings and draft class.

Defensive tackle Russell Davis, a seventh-year veteran who has been with the team since 2000, said a little notoriety is always good, especially for the Cardinals.

"As you know, in the past the Cardinals were synonymous with losing, and you definitely want to get away from that," Davis said.


Bills help Dobler


The Buffalo Bills have offered to help Conrad Dobler, a Bills and St. Louis Cardinals offensive lineman in the 1970s, with his wife's medical bills.

Dobler's wife, Joy, is paralyzed from the neck down after a fall in 2001. Her medical expenses have topped $500,000, forcing the Doblers to put their home near Kansas City, Mo., up for sale.

Dobler was featured on a 1977 Sports Illustrated cover as "pro football's dirtiest player" and his now-troubled life was featured on an ESPN SportsCenter broadcast last month.

[jkramsfan]

I Would Be A Little Worried About This Team, They Will Score Some Points But I Dont Know How Good There Defense Will Be.