Kent Somers

Arizona

Columnist at The Arizona Republic

Retired columnist for The Arizona Republic/azcentral sports. Not bored yet.

Articles

Review: ESPN has a new Pat Tillman documentary. It’s gut-wrenching.

Nov 7, 2024 | phoenixnewtimes.com | Kent Somers

His journey — his football stardom at Arizona State University and with the Arizona Cardinals, his decision to leave the NFL and become an Army Ranger, and ultimately his death by friendly fire in Afghanistan — has been well chronicled. At least six books have been written about Tillman. Numerous documentaries and other television specials have been produced. A bridge, an elementary school and probably at least a few hundred kids are named after him.
Kent Somers: NFL MVP Not A QB? Perhaps In 2023

Nov 1, 2023 | azcardinals.com | Kent Somers

The Associated Press started picking selecting an annual NFL most valuable player award in 1957, and over time, the selection has become the most predictable thing in sports: Just give it to the best quarterback. Running back Adrian Peterson in 2012 was the last non-quarterback to win it, and the last defensive player was outside linebacker Lawrence Taylor in 1986. This make sense, of course, because there is no more important position in sports than quarterback.
Kent Somers: Caleb Williams Path Isn't Difficult To Figure

Oct 25, 2023 | azcardinals.com | Kent Somers

Since the start of football season, there have been questions about whether USC quarterback Caleb Williams, the likely No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, would return to school if he didn't like the team set to draft him. Williams' father raised that possibility in comments to GQ Magazine. This week, FS1 football analyst Emmanuel Acho said Williams should consider leaving USC now, not later, given that the Trojans' two losses likely eliminated them from making the college football playoffs.
NFL Defenses Dominate as Browns, Jets, Ravens, and 49ers Shine

Oct 18, 2023 | bvmsports.com | Kent Somers

Key points: Defenses have been dominant in the NFL this season, with many teams struggling to score points. The Browns, Jets, Ravens, and 49ers have particularly strong defensive units. The Cardinals' offensive line will face tough challenges in upcoming games against the Ravens and Browns. NFL teams are putting up strong defensive performances in the 2023 season, resulting in lower scoring games.
Kent Somers: NFL Getting Understandably Defensive

Oct 18, 2023 | azcardinals.com | Kent Somers

After watching the 49ers need just five plays to cover 84 yards and score on their first possession last Sunday, Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz had a simple message for his players. "That's their only one."Defensive coordinators say such things all the time, especially when facing the 49ers, who have scored touchdowns on opening possessions in five of their six games. But last Sunday, Schwartz's words were prophetic.
Kent Somers: Parallels Between 2008 Cardinals And Current Diamondbacks

Oct 11, 2023 | azcardinals.com | Kent Somers

Two moments in 2008 taught me not to roll my eyes when a coach expresses what appears to be misguided optimism. The first came between Weeks 3 and 4 of the Cardinals season. They had just lost to a mediocre Washington team, and with a game against the Jets in New Jersey next up, the Cardinals stayed in Virginia rather than return home between games. At the team's hotel, Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt told beat writers that the week away from home would be good preparation for a Super Bowl.
Kent Somers: Knowledge Can Be A Dangerous Thing

Oct 4, 2023 | azcardinals.com | Kent Somers

NFL history is filled with examples of why we should be careful in drawing conclusions from the first month of the season. On Sept. 24, after a 70-20 victory over the Bills, the Dolphins looked unstoppable. On Oct. 1, the Bills made them looked stoppable, beating them by four touchdowns. Those are the same Bills that lost to the Jets in Week 1. The Bills haven't lost since; the Jets haven't won again. Cardinals history is filled with cautionary tales, too, the most recent coming just two seasons ago.
Kent Somers: Miami Nice, After Historic 10-Touchdown Game

Sep 27, 2023 | azcardinals.com | Kent Somers

The beauty of sports, and life in general, is that you never know if you're going to wake one day and see something that happens once a generation, like your kid returning your car washed and with a full tank of gas. The NFL version of that happened last Sunday when Miami beat Denver, 70-20.
Kent Somers: Digging Out Of The 0-2 Hole In The NFL

Sep 20, 2023 | azcardinals.com | Kent Somers

After only two weeks, the playoff hopes of nine NFL teams have diminished greatly, at least if statistics mean something, and they usually do. Nine teams are 0-2, and history tells us that's like being in a deep well with no ladder. Since 1990, only 11.5 percent of the teams that started 0-2 made the playoffs. Adding two additional playoff teams in 2020 should have improved those numbers, but it hasn't happened.
Kent Somers: Empathy If Not Sympathy, And That NFL Week 1

Sep 13, 2023 | azcardinals.com | Kent Somers

Sympathy, actually feeling sorry for someone else, has always been scarce in the NFL. Empathy, however, sharing the same feeling as others, sometimes is abundant. It certainly is after week one of this season when numerous teams, including the Cardinals, played as if the end zone was a gated community to which they had no pass code. "In Week 1 you normally see a lot of points being scored," Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said.