Why do the Cardinals always suck, Robert Griffith?

[superpunk]

Ex-Cardinal Griffith rips team in interview

Matt Simpson, Tribune

Robert Griffith has seen a lot in a 13-year career with three different NFL clubs.
What he believes he saw in two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals was a franchise that has not altered its penny-pinching ways.

In an interview with Michael Silver of SI.com, Griffith disputed reports that his former team has embraced a more aggressive approach to its finances in recent years.

“They’re all show,” Griffith said. “They’re a facade. They say, 'We’ve got the nicest stadium in North America’ — and they do. But everything else is to the penny.”

Griffith, who was not offered a new deal after his contract expired in February, said the organization skimped on meals after road games and locked a refrigerator containing sports drinks on the team’s off-day.

He also referred to the Bidwill family as “these cheap-(expletive) owners” and said the cost of express mail was deducted from his paycheck.

“That’s what happened when I signed my deal in ’05,” Griffith told SI.com. “The Fed Ex cost $14.11 or something, and when I got my check, they’d deducted it — the check was for like $499,985.89, or whatever. That’s how they do (stuff) in Arizona. That’s how they run their business!”

Griffith played eight years with the Vikings and three with the Browns prior to joining his former coach Dennis Green in Arizona in 2005. At age 36, he’s seeking to sign a minimum contract with a Super Bowl contender.

This is not the first time Griffith has ripped into an organization on his way out the door. As his final season in Cleveland wound to a close, Griffith regularly criticized the policies of Browns coach Butch Davis, who had resigned earlier in the season. In an interview with the Cleveland Plain Dealer he even implied the Browns’ bad luck with injuries was a result of bad karma surrounding Davis.

Cardinals media relations director Mark Dalton said he considers the organization’s business practices to be similar to those employed by the Bills and Eagles with whom he served in a similar capacity.

“We would dispute the accuracy of a lot of those statements,” Dalton said. “It’s not uncommon for a player to be disgruntled after he leaves any team. I don’t know that our practices are drastically different from any other team.”

EXTRA POINT: The Cardinals agreed to terms on a three-year contract with seventh-round draft pick Ben Patrick, a tight end from Delaware. He’s the first of the team’s five draft selections to sign.

It'd sure be nice if they pinch pennies on Boldin and Fitzgerald in a few years.

 

[THUMPER]

There's a reason why the Cardinals are the least successful franchise in NFL History and it begins and ends with their ownership.

They haven't won a championship since 1947 and haven't even played for one since the year after. That's 59 seasons since they contended for a title! How they have any fans at all is beyond me.

 

[WoodysGirl]

No lie, I literally laughed at the Fed Ex deduction.

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

I mean you're talking about franchises stuck in mediocrity.. so you should expect those kind of things.

 

[jackrussell]

"Fed Ex....when you absolutely, positively have to be a cheap bastad!"

But before we start throwing stones...don't forget...it was the Cowboys that deducted someones boots I believe, from his contract, back in the day.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

What is his favorite cheese?

 

[5Stars]

"Fed Ex....when you absolutely, positively have to be a cheap bastad!"

But before we start throwing stones...don't forget...it was the Cowboys that deducted someones boots I believe, from his contract, back in the day.

That was Charlie Water's alligator shoes. When Gil recruted Waters, Waters saw Gil's slick alligator shoes and liked them. So, part of the negotiation was that Gil would give Waters a signing bonus of $5000.00. Charlie said he wanted alligator shoes like Gils and Gil said, "OK..I get you some of these shoes".

Well, 2 weeks later Waters got a box with the alligator shoes and his signing bonus check in it. Gil got Waters the shoes, but he deducted $250.00 from the $5000.00 for the shoes!

:laugh2:

 

[burmafrd]

That was almost 40 years ago= but the Cards are still doing the same thing, only worse. That really is pathetic- locking the fridge so that you don't lose $20 or so of drinks to your OWN PEOPLE.

 

[5Stars]

That was almost 40 years ago= but the Cards are still doing the same thing, only worse. That really is pathetic- locking the fridge so that you don't lose $20 or so of drinks to your OWN PEOPLE.

Yeah, they are a pretty cheap lousey FO. I mean, Jerry has even been know to let a player use his private jet for various things...

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Yeah, they are a pretty cheap lousey FO. I mean, Jerry has even been know to let a player use his private jet for various things...

ah, mid-air trysts which reminds me of the story about my cousin's last flight

anyways, he's on a flight to Cleveland, they hit some turbulence and the plane starts going down, everyone is screaming and yelling, they think they are about to die, so my cousin whips out his thingy and starts beating it, the fellow passengers take the cue, and they all start beating it, so everyone is beating off to their most certain death, when suddenly *snap* the plane rights itself

after the plane lands, and debarks, everyone puts back their, you know, pieces and what not, get off, and noone ever speaks about the event again...

akjfkladsjfkldsjflsdjkldsjfsjdfjsfkjdsklfjdsk;lfjdklsfjlkdsjfkldsjfalksfjld

 

[5Stars]

ah, mid-air trysts which reminds me of the story about my cousin's last flight

anyways, he's on a flight to Cleveland, they hit some turbulence and the plane starts going down, everyone is screaming and yelling, they think they are about to die, so my cousin whips out his thingy and starts beating it, the fellow passengers take the cue, and they all start beating it, so everyone is beating off to their most certain death, when suddenly *snap* the plane rights itself

after the plane lands, and debarks, everyone puts back their, you know, pieces and what not, get off, and noone ever speaks about the event again...

akjfkladsjfkldsjflsdjkldsjfsjdfjsfkjdsklfjdsk;lfjdklsfjlkdsjfkldsjfalksfjld

Yeah, umm...OK.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

guess you never seen mall-rats

 

[5Stars]

guess you never seen mall-rats

No. What is mall-rats?

 

[Bob Sacamano]

a movie

 

[jackrussell]

That was almost 40 years ago= but the Cards are still doing the same thing, only worse. That really is pathetic- locking the fridge so that you don't lose $20 or so of drinks to your OWN PEOPLE.

You're forgetting about 20 years ago when Bum Bright would deduct weekly leotard cleaning from Herschel Walker's paycheck.

 

[stealth]

do you think teams even pay for the gatorade?

hell gatorade baths are part of nfl lore now, gatorade cups and giant gatorade cooler screaming orange on every sideline every sunday broadcast nationwide...
no way they pay for gatorade.

 

[5Stars]

do you think teams even pay for the gatorade?

hell gatorade baths are part of nfl lore now, gatorade cups and giant gatorade cooler screaming orange on every sideline every sunday broadcast nationwide...
no way they pay for gatorade.

Not only that, stealth...but, I would not doubt that if the Birds ever won a SuperBowl and a player dumped a big bucket of that gatoraid on the coach...he/they would get docked for the cost of it!

 

[ZeroClub]

There's a reason why the Cardinals are the least successful franchise in NFL History and it begins and ends with their ownership.

They haven't won a championship since 1947 and haven't even played for one since the year after. That's 59 seasons since they contended for a title! How they have any fans at all is beyond me.

Yup. Other than that decent little stretch in the 70's with Terry Metcalf, Jim Hart, etc. and the year the Jake Plummer's team beat the Cowboys, there hasn't been much.

 

[DallasEast]

Does anyone remember Neil Lomax? He wasn't a great quarterback, but I always wondered how good he might have been IF he hadn't been drafted by the Cardinals.

 

[DanTanna]

They are who we thought they were.