#is full octane yikes

[cringefaecompilation]

which is more "feudal lord and handmaiden" coded, people saying making imogen muscular is "making imodna heteronormative" or people saying that shipping fearne with an old man is more queer-positive than shipping her with a canonically bisexual nonbinary person

[lobalovebot]

What are your headcanons about how Wattson gets along with the other legends? Mainly asking about Octane and Mirage. ((If this isn't what you meant by hc requests, you don't have to answer this!! I just like hearing other people's thoughts))

wattson with the others ༄

coming right up! since you were most curious about octane and mirage i put them as the first two!

≻───── ⋆✩⋆ ─────≺

☁️ OCTANE

natalie and octane are like a candy high toddler and a babysitter in training. octavio is always asking her to do some dumb stuff with those stupid puppy eyes and she just can’t say no. sometimes he even manages to get her to take part in some of his stunts without her fully knowing how dangerous it is.

☁️ MIRAGE

the two of them surprisingly don’t talk much despite having a common friend. they are actually rather awkward with each other when alone and only really have full conversations when wraith is around with them.

☁️ LIFELINE

ajay is definitely one of the legends she gets along with more. being similarly aged, they have a lot in common to talk about. sometimes natalie goes on a ramble about something heavily science related and all lifeline can do is sit there with a smile on her face and nod.

☁️ BANGALORE

actually natalie is a little scared of anita. she knows that she is a genuinely nice person, but something about her seriousness makes her intimidating. they do have small little chats every now and then, but she doesn’t think bangalore has caught on to the fact that she scares her.

☁️ WRAITH

renee is one of natalie’s closest friends among the legends. even though they have a rather noticeable difference in personality, they get along rather well and see eye to eye on many things. natalie also loves to see renee smile!

☁️ CRYPTO

of course these two get along! they spend their time making science puns that most of the other legends don’t understand. sometimes she even teases him about her slight advantage when it comes to knowledge of things.

☁️ CAUSTIC ( yikes )

before finding out what he did, natalie looked up to him more than anyone. she could even go as far as to say that she inspired to be more like him in some ways. however now, she can barely stand being in his presence. she isn’t the type to be openly rude so she simply just ignores him.

☁️ REVENANT

she doesn’t even want to hear the name. wattson tried her best to say clear of him at all costs. he reminds her of villains she would see in tv shows that her father used to play when she was little.

☁️ LOBA

at first they were at little awkward, but slowly natalie started to like being around loba. she kinda sees her as a cool older sister type. on occasion, loba sits her down and braids little sections of her hair for fun.

☁️ BLOODHOUND

they are on okay terms with each other. it’s not like they’ll spend hours together, but there is no problems of any sort between them. if in a group natalie can naturally hold conversations with them like everyone else.

☁️ PATHFINDER

these two get along great, but then again who doesn’t pathfinder get along with. one of their most fond memories together was when they spent hours making flower crowns for the rest of the legends and insisted on taking a group photo.

☁️ GIBRALTAR

gibraltar definitely sees wattson as a younger sister. he doesn’t want anything to harm her in any way. there had been many times where he was caught staring at her with a loving smile as he remembered what it was like to be that age.

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this actually took more brain power than i thought it would 😔

[anghraine]

@sulfin-evend replied to this post:

The idea that Elrond is against Gondor somehow is a reoccurring idea in the tumblr fandom. So I went back to reread the Council of Elrond to make sense of it, and I can barely find one phrase that could be considered anti Gondor. Am I missing something?

I think we must be interpreting Elrond’s description of modern Gondor very differently. For me, going on about how they’ve dwindled from imperial heights through intermarriage with inferior races is high octane Yikes and certainly negative towards modern Gondor. Especially given that it’s said with a Gondorian right there.

(It’s partly Tolkien being Tolkien, but only partly IMO: we later hear that the inclusion of non-Númenóreans in Gondor has contributed to the strength of Gondor’s people and is a way in which the Stewards were wiser than the kings.)

Love the commentary on the names. Also i love that Elured is supposed to be a Taliska and Sindarin mixed name. The half elves do honour the human side of their heritage

Thanks! I think Tolkien ultimately decided Taliska had died out by that point (since “The Problem of Ros” didn’t work out). But yeah, the peredhil are pretty consistently respectful towards their human heritage.

re: this post

Headcanon; Gondor is full of various languages and bilingual people. Everyone knows Westron, but some speak Sindarin or one of many native ancient languages, words from dead languages come up in regional dialects.

Total agreement! We know there are at least some place-names that have elements derived from indigenous languages, so it’s possible to extrapolate from that, and of course, many of the soldiers in Minas Tirith shout at each other in Sindarin. When we hear that people burst out singing in “all the ways of the City,” I like to imagine that it’s not just musical styles but all these different languages at once.

[aowanders-blog]

Its hard to become a savvy traveler when you only take one family vacation a year.  This becomes even more challenging when you try something new.  Like renting an RV for a family road trip.  It takes most RVers years to figure out how to navigate the pitfalls of life on the road.  Like campground fees, full RV hookups, camper maintenance, RV memberships, boondocking or even how to pack your camper.  Let alone choosing a destination that your whole family can enjoy.   Even simply refueling your RV can be a bit confusing on your first attempt no matter how many RV gas saving tips you read.   With all the different tanks and their own doors its easy to confuse which one is the fuel tank, blackwater tank, fresh water tank or even the propane tank.  Unfortunately, I just met a lady who filled her fresh water tank with diesel fuel.  Wouldn’t want to be her husband right now. Might have to talk to her about more than just RV gas saving tips.  Yikes!!!   

When refueling your motorhome you need to pay attention.  Not just on which tank your filling, but what gas station your using. You can find all kinds of RV gas saving tips on the internet.  From lowering your RPMs to driving under 55 mph.  Using high octane gas along with fuel additives to even how much weight you are packing in your camper.  There are even apps like TruckMap to help you plan a fuel efficient route.  Then there are farfetched urban myths that claim if you drive at night you get better gas mileage because the pavement is harder.  I had a guy in Wyoming tell me I would get better RV gas mileage driving in elevation because there is less wind resistance since the air is thinner. Theoretically I suppose that is true, but I am not going to plan my route driving mountain passes in a rig that is notoriously known for awful gas mileage. 

The number one RV gas saving tip I can provide from personal experience is avoid refueling your motorhome camper at truck stops like the black plague! Because neighborhood gas stations only authorize $1 before refueling, but truck stops authorize $150-$500 depending on which pump you use.  Passenger car gas pumps usually get hit with a $150 pre-authorization charge, and trucker gas pumps pre-authorize $500 at each refueling stop. These pre-authorization holds can tie up you RV road trip money for up to a week!  So when refueling your RV, Camper or motorhome always use the car pumps or a neighborhood gas station.  Or better yet go inside and pre-pay for your fuel to avoid unwanted bank holds on your travel funds.

Truck Stop Gas Saving Tips for RVers

Truck stops can destroy a family vacation in less than a second because filling up at the wrong pump can cost you thousands of dollars a day?  Up until a few years ago I used to rely heavily on routes that supported truck stops for all my RV gas saving tips.  While traveling from one destination to the next in my travel trailer.  Until one day when the gas pump declined my card.  Attempting to pay for fuel inside the cashier also informed me my card was declined.  A bit nervous and scared someone had gotten a hole of my card number I quickly logged into my bank account to see the previous 10 truck stops at placed a $500 hold every time I refueled my rig for a measly $50!!!   I was completely cut off from my road trip funds until the truck stops closed their credit card batches and my financial institution processed the transactions. 

After the initial shock and rage wore off I found a spot to post up and call home in the parking lot while I waited for the world of finances to do what they do.  I assumed by morning everything would be finalized, but what I was unaware of was that Monday was a banking holiday and my small mountain bank was going to take their sweet time.  For 7 days I was denied access to my travel money because $500 worth of gas had put a freeze on $5,000 of my road trip money!

How does this happen?  By refueling your RV at the wrong gas station, wrong pump or wrong point of sale.  Technologies a pain in the ass sometimes!

RV Gas Saving Travel Hack History

I used to road trip across the country with less than $20 in my bank account, and brag about my RV gas saving tip.  You can still do it today if you’re a savvy traveler like myself, but most people who try are going to incur NSF fees from their bank.  Or worse, find themselves stranded in a destination they don’t want to be.  Years ago, I had a broke travel friend who needed to drive from Alaska to Florida, but only had $100 to his name.

I told him about the RV mistake I made years ago and the RV gas saving travel hack when low on road trip money I learned from this experience.  Where you pay at the pump, and drive as far as you can before the charges catch up with you.  Starting on a Friday gives you one free day with no banking transactions.  In 5 days he navigated 4,700 miles across two countries and only spent $37!  Banks, fuel stations and technology has caught up to this travel hack.  Which brings me to how truck stops can ruin a family vacation in less than a second. 

How Can Bank Holds Destroy a Family RV Trip

Because of people like me, or others who took my RV gas saving travel hack a step further by disputing fuel charges and not paying for any of the gas they purchased we now have bank holds.  I recently had the pleasure of interviewing a retired operations manager (lets call him Bob) for a major gasoline chain about RV gas saving tips, but instead found myself in a conversation about pay-at-the-pump bank holds.  Bob was in charge of fielding customer complaints from around the country regarding their companies policy on bank holds from fuel purchases.  Mainly from road tripping RVers who were following RV gas saving tips they found on the internet.  

While Bob has no affiliation with Pilot the gas station at the center of heated RVers debates and complaints he explains Pilot has no ability to place holds on your money.  They can only request your bank to actually place a temporary hold on available funds until that branch closes their credit card batches for the day.  Once this happens the responsibility shifts to your financial institution to process the transaction.  Depending on the size of your bank, day of the week and even time of the year this process can take up to a week to finalize.  In most cases the bank hold on your money will be cleared up in 1-2 business days.  If you have a small town bank, like I did, that is behind the times of technology this bank hold from purchasing gas for your RV could last even longer than a week.  The same inconvenience can occur for nationwide banks with branches across the country on busy holiday travel camping weekends like Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day.  Don’t forget about other weekends like Sturgis, Burning Man & Coachella who draw massive crowds of people from around the country. 

Combine this with the inherently awful gas mileage of your camper you might become an unsuspecting victim during your family RV road trip.  Because while the normal bank request hold for fuel purchases is between $50-$75 for passenger cars.  Pilot Fuel Stations has adopted a new company policy to request a financial hold on fuel purchases of $100-$150 for passenger cars, and $500 for semi-truck pumps.  Most RVers fill up 2-3 times a day.  So you can see a bank hold of $100 each time can add up fast, and if you make the mistake of filling your RV up at the semi-truck pumps you could rack up thousands of dollars of bank holds in one day! With no options but too wait for the bank to finalize the transaction of your RV fuel purchase. 

Don’t use the semi-truck gas pumps to fill up your RV or you will incur a $500 hold on your bank account!

In addition to being out of your normal travel areas while refueling your RV several times a day across vast distances may trigger fraud alarms at your financial institution forcing them to shut your card off!  Before interviewing Bob I met a lady who was stranded in Eastern Montana because she refueled her RV 7 times at Pilot gas stations using the semi-truck gas pumps in one day.  Each fuel purchase was less than $100, but Pilot requested a $500 hold each time for a grand total of $3,500!!!  She started out with roughly $3,800, and now had less than $200 her name while she waited for her financial institution to process the transactions.  Luckily for her she ran into me because I knew of a free campground less than 10 miles away she could stay at for 10 days.  Complete with showers, bathroom & even free firewood in Columbus, Montana.  Needless to say she was pretty thankful to not only run into me, but that she wasn’t on a time frame either. 

How To Avoid Bank Holds When Refueling Your RV

From my backing packing days I learned all kinds of financial travel hacks.  My favorite is using an alternative payment method.  When traveling I have always had some form of online wallet that I only load a limited amount of traveling funds too.   Whether that is Paypal, Netspend or prepaid credit cards, and I usually only load up a couple hundred dollars at a time.  This way if someone steals my wallet or I use an unscrupulous credit card reader thieves don’t have access to all of my travel money.  The same travel hack can be used when road tripping in your RV.  Using a secondary payment method or online wallet guarantees that your road trip travel funds won’t be tied up in bank holds because instead of putting a hold on your finances they just limit the amount you can purchase.  Usually $50-$75. 

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Another RV travel hack method to keep your finances available when refueling your motorhome is to not pay at the pump.  Walk inside the store and tell them the amount you want to charge.  If you come up short guessing how much your RV needs when refueling the difference gets refunded to you.  Instead of waiting on credit card batches to be processed to lift bank holds for 3 or 4 times the amount of what you actually needed.  Now you’re simply waiting for banks to process your transactions and refund you the couple of dollars here and there that you didn’t use.  Which would you rather be waiting on?  $20 in refunds or $1,500 in bank holds for refueling your RV.

One other way to avoid these vacation killers is to use your debit card.  When using your debit card and entering your pin number at the point of sale all transactions occur in real time.  I was a holdout for a long time before embracing this type of transaction.  Who knows where those numbers are being stored and who has access to them, and while that’s not an unfounded fear.  Hear in the states things are pretty secure, and banks are quick to side with you regarding any fraudulent charges. 

If you are low on funds or want to avoid bank holds when refueling your RV during the family road trip go inside and prepay.  This stops the hold and lessens the risk of credit card fraud.  Leaving you access to all your travel funds.

Stop Refueling Your RV At Truck Stops

Truck stops are great for what they are, but if your new to RV life on the road truck stops are not where you want to learn your RV lessons.  Truck stops are great for one night stand boondocking sessions, filling up on road trip supplies, quick bite to eat, showers and even navigation tips.  But when it comes to refueling your RV truck stops are a budget killer.  Because truckers pump $500 worth of a fuel easily, and some motorhomes take $300-$400 to fill their gas tanks.  Taking that into account truck stops have had to implement a policy to protect themselves from getting burned by people who can’t pay for the fuel they pump.  So most truck stops authorize $500 to refuel your RV if you choose to pay at the pump.

Remember when I told you I have a friend who traveled from Alaska to Florida on only $37?  He was able to do that because your local gas station authorizes a trivial amount just to make sure the card is active.  Then submits the actual amount at a later date to sort it out with your bank.  Truck stop and other commercial refueling stations have been burned one too many times so they have chosen instead of place holds on customers finances until the transaction is finalized to ensure they get their money.  Most gas stations only authorize $1 instead of preauthorizing $500!!  Which is how my friend was allowed to drive 4,700 on only $37!!!!

  You can find RV gas saving tips and other RV tips by simply following this link to my RV Life category or clicking on this photo

RV Gas Saving tips – Truck Stops Will Ruin Your families First RV Trip Its hard to become a savvy traveler when you only take one family vacation a year.  This becomes even more challenging when you try something new. 

[junker-town]

Mascots playing basketball? WELCOME TO MASCOT MADNESS!

We simulated mascot games on NCAA March Madness ‘05 because... why not?

It’s that time of the year again. THIS IS MARCH! As a basketball fan, I decided not to fill out a bracket this year. However, I decided to put the mascots that made the tournament in NCAA March Madness 2005

Here’s how I did it.

Since there was only a fraction of mascot teams in the NCAA Basketball game I had to rearrange the bracket. The #1 seeds in each region of the real-life bracket received a bye, while the rest of the teams were randomized.

THERE IS NO SYRACUSE. When I made this bracket I didn’t know if Syracuse would make the round of 64 or not at the time. Look, If Jon Bois says he doesn’t care about the First Four games then I don’t either.

ANYWAY... LET’S GET TO THE HIGHLIGHTS!

Kentucky vs Alabama

10-9 at half

It was an absolute dunk fest in the second half of the game as both teams were about to get out in transition.

Late in the second half, however, fans were upset about a controversial play late in the game. If you look at the replay it seems as if this player somehow dunked the ball while being out of bounds.

Impressive

Despite the justified cries of Wildcat fans everywhere, the basket still counted and the Tide were able to take the game to overtime.

However, OT was ALL Kentucky due to Alabama’s defense breaking down. Look at this GORGEOUS dime from SG #32!

Final: Kentucky 40 Alabama 32 OT

Texas vs Auburn

The Longhorns were able to defend the paint fairly well

However, Auburn was able to get their shots from outside.

The game was down to the wire and the Longhorns had the ball up one when SF #2 decided to END THE GAME WHILE BEING TRIPLE TEAMED!

THIS IS MARCH MASCOT MADNESS!

Texas 25 Auburn 22

Missouri vs Oklahoma

The Tigers start this game off with some exceptional team defense as they hold the Sooners to 8 points in the first half. Too bad they only scored 10 themselves.

Oklahoma fought back with some paint defense of their own. NO EASY BUCKETS

Missouri had the chance to dribble out the clock and end the game...

WHY WOULD YOU GIVE IT TO THE BIG MAN TIGER. OKLAHOMA WITH A CHANCE TO CAPITALIZE.....

Oh wow. You hate to see that on the biggest stage. 0-4 in a crucial possession is never good. Ballgame.

Missouri 20 Oklahoma 16

Texas Tech vs Purdue

This was a defensive BATTLE in the first half. Purdue only scored twice and one of them was THIS!

Texas Tech stuck with their inside game, as their motion and off-ball cutting set up some easy baskets. Everything seemed fine for the Red Raiders until the game got SLOPPY.

There was this controversial no call.

Followed by Texas Tech not being able to BUY A BUCKET.

Texas Tech is the first team I’ve simmed that didn’t clear double digits. The offense just wasn’t there for them. That’s tough.

Purdue 13 Texas Tech 8.

Ohio State vs Arizona

The Wildcats jumped out to a 7-0 run thanks to a versatile offensive attack.

Their center was getting anything he wanted down low as the Wildcats took a 19-9 lead to the half.

This is a well-disciplined Arizona team that seems to be primed to make a deep run. It’s hard to run around an off-ball double screen in a mascot costume, but these ain’t no ordinary mascots.

This game wasn’t close.

Arizona 33 Ohio State 15

Tennessee vs Gonzaga

Gonzaga started the game unconscious from the three-point line starting off 4-4 from beyond the arc and jump out to a 16-5 lead.

Gonzaga’s stifling defense also lead to some exciting fastbreak buckets!

The Vols looked lost on offense.

and had no answers for Gonzaga on defense.

YIKES

Gonzaga 26 Tennessee 8

Duke vs Cincinnati

Cincinnati used their athleticism early

While Duke countered with 3-point shooting.

The Bearcats took a 12-10 lead at the half. Duke made a halftime adjustment. The Blue Devils switched to full-court man and upping the tempo. The game went into the final minute tied at 14.

Duke had the chance to capitalize on these opportunities late with this transition play

Duke was playing defense straight up but had some sort of mental lapse as the shot clock wound down.

Duke had one final shot to tie up the game

What WAS THAT?! Doesn’t matter. Duke lost.

Cincinnati 17 Duke 14

UNC vs Florida

Two high octane teams face off here. The Tar Heels have weapons and highflyers

However, the Gators were able to scrap and claw.

To take a late lead.

The Gator got a crucial stop and were able to turn DEFENSE INTO OFFENSE

DOWN GOES UNC!

Florida 27 UNC 21

Arkansas NC State

Arkansas did a great job at getting their shots off

and causing NC State to turn the ball over for easy buckets.

The Wolfpack cleaned up their act in the second half, but the defense wasn’t there.

Arkansas 22 NC State 17

Here’s the Updated Bracket!

TILL THE NEXT ROUND

[yahoo-shutdown-corner-blog]

Five bold predictions for NFL Week 11

Week 10 of the NFL season may not have been the most exciting slate of games, but it did help us learn a few important things: Atlanta — with its 27-7 beatdown of Dallas — is far from done, and sticking with that game, the Cowboys are in serious trouble without Ezekiel Elliott. Perhaps we knew both to be true, but between Matt Ryan’s resurgent play and the struggling Dallas offense, we were left with no doubt.

With that in mind, let’s dive into our Week 11 bold predictions.

Jared Goff faces a stiff challenge on the road against the Vikings. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Matt Ryan goes for 300 and four scores versus Seattle

You called me crazy when I made a similar prediction about Deshaun Watson against the Seahawks defense. Ryan though, has been steadily improving of late, totaling 782 yards, along with six touchdowns and just two interceptions over his last three games. The Seahawks have now lost two hugely important players for the season to their elite defense, first in Pro Bowl defensive end Cliff Avril and most recently in perennial All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman. As a result, expect a steady diet of Tevin Coleman to open up the play-action to Julio Jones and Taylor Gabriel. Ryan should thrive, despite playing in the league’s toughest road environment.

2. Jared Goff flops versus Minnesota Vikings defense

I traded Goff for Ryan in my fantasy league, so this is a bit touchy since Goff has been so good. In fact, the high octane Rams are now undefeated in all six of their games when they have eclipsed the 30-point barrier. However, Sunday in Minnesota is an awfully difficult spot for the second-year quarterback. The Vikings’ defense ranks sixth in passing yards per attempt and 11th in passing defense, as well as fifth in total defense. It’s a very sound group that relies on the strong secondary play of Pro Bowlers Harrison Smith and Xavier Rhodes. Goff, to his credit, has been masterful in making the right reads and delivering an accurate ball, but I hate this matchup for him.

3. Another team violates the NFL concussion protocol

This has become an increasingly serious issue for the league, both because the football community now has an immense knowledge of CTE and because teams are not taking concussions seriously enough. The Seahawks have been slandered because they did not handle Russell Wilson properly after he took a significant shot to his head in last Thursday’s win over Arizona. With such laser focus attention on head injuries, it seems hard to believe that Wilson merely missed one play in that game. Additionally, it feels like we are bound to see another violation this weekend.

4. Jacksonville versus Cleveland and Baltimore versus Green Bay combine for fewer than 40 points

Blake Bortles, DeShone Kizer, Joe Flacco and Brett Hundley. Yikes! Those are your four starters in these two early games Sunday, which means we can expect a boatload of punts and announcers saying things like “boy, they just did a great job of flipping the field.”

Kizer, who has endured one of the worst rookie seasons in NFL history, gets a Jags defense featuring an elite duo of young corners in Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye, the reigning AFC Defensive Player of the Week — and hence the league’s second-ranked total defense. On the flip side, we know how bad Bortles has been — Jacksonville has reached the six-win mark for the first time since 2010, in spite of him. Flacco, for his part, has actually been worse. The 32-year-old ranks dead last in yards per attempt and only Kizer has a worse touchdown-to-interception ratio. Meanwhile, Hundley — making his fourth career start — faces off against a Ravens defense that ranks third against the pass and makes a living off of creating turnovers. While Hundley (212 yards and a touchdown pass) showed promise last week against the Bears, this could be a full fledged nightmare.

5. Tennessee Titans upset the Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh — winners of four straight — comes off a disappointing offensive performance (20 points) against Indianapolis, proving once again that the 7-2 Steelers play down to their competition. Remember, they lost to Chicago and nearly lost to Cleveland. Now, the Ben Roethlisberger faces a Titans third-down defense that ranks second in the NFL during the past six weeks, allowing a 27 percent conversion rate, according to ESPN.com. There is also the fact that Pittsburgh is averaging fewer than two offensive touchdowns per game for the first time in more than a decade.

Better yet, despite having the NFL’s top ranked defense, I’m hardly convinced that the Steelers can hold off the visiting Titans come Thursday night. Marcus Mariota has certainly not had the type of season we’d hoped for, but he’s fully recovered from a hamstring injury and has led the streaking Titans to four straight wins.

– – – – – – –

Follow Jordan Schultz on Twitter @Schultz_Report

More from Yahoo Sports: • Vice president’s Colts stunt cost police $14K, showed ‘disregard for ethics’ • Here’s how Jameis Winston went from darkhorse MVP candidate to massive disappointment • Carolina Panthers wide receiver Devin Funchess caught two touchdowns in honor of a fallen soldier • Feud grows between NFL, Cowboys’ Jerry Jones over Goodell

[junker-town]

Cardinals are running out of time to win with Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald

The Cardinals have enough talent to rebound from a disappointing 2016. But do they have enough to get to the Super Bowl?

The Arizona Cardinals entered the 2016 season with high expectations. Carson Palmer was leading a high-octane offense surrounded by talented weapons, including the ageless Larry Fitzgerald and ascending running back David Johnson. The defense had opportunistic playmakers all over the field, with genuine stars like Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu, and Calais Campbell.

It seemed like all the pieces were in place to dethrone the Seattle Seahawks for good and make a serious run at a Super Bowl title.

Unfortunately, that never came to fruition. Injuries and inconsistent play doomed the Cardinals, who could never put together a strong stretch and finished with a 7-8-1 record. It was a bitter setback just one year after going 13-3 and reaching the NFC Championship. With the core players one year older and some key talent leaving in free agency, Bruce Arians suddenly has more questions than answers heading into his fifth season in the desert.

How much does Carson Palmer have left in the tank?

Palmer had an MVP-worthy campaign in 2015, but his momentum came to a screeching halt in the NFC Championship, when he threw four interceptions and lost two fumbles in a lopsided loss to the Carolina Panthers. Palmer was playing through a finger injury, which might have explained his struggles.

But it’s hard to explain away much of what went wrong in 2016.

Palmer still managed to throw for 4,233 passing yards, but the rest of his numbers showed a troubling downward trend from 2015. His touchdowns dropped from 35 to 26, interceptions jumped from 11 to 14, yards per attempt plummeted from 8.7 to 7.1, and QB Rating went from 104.6 to 87.2. He also took 40 sacks — up from 25 the previous season — and generally looked haggard in the pocket, forcing throws and not looking nearly as composed as he normally does.

Now 37 years old, Palmer is keenly aware that the end is near. He took some time off after the season ended before confirming that he will return for a 15th season.

“My intent was to take some time after the season to get away and see where I was physically and mentally," Palmer said. "On both fronts, I can say I’m ready to get back to work and prepare for the 2017 season.”

Despite Palmer flirting with retirement, the Cardinals didn’t do much to find his successor. They didn’t get anyone in the draft, though they signed undrafted free agent Trevor Knight. Their only other free agent signee was Blaine Gabbert, who put up a paltry 68.4 QB rating last season and was benched for Colin Kaepernick.

Drew Stanton has been Palmer’s backup for the past four years and is still on the roster. Stanton has filled in for an injured Palmer before but hasn’t done much to impress. He completed just 51.8 percent of his passes and threw nine touchdowns to 10 interceptions in those nine games.

So if Palmer gets hurt again, the options are two quarterbacks with a combined starting record of 17-36 and a rookie who wasn’t drafted. Yikes.

If the Cardinals have any hope of reaching the mountaintop this season, they need to commit to protecting Palmer and taking pressure off him with the running game.

Fortunately, they have a hell of a running back to fall back on.

David Johnson has arrived, y’all.

A third-round pick out of Northern Iowa in 2015, Johnson spent his first season splitting time with veteran back Chris Johnson. The rookie showed tremendous potential in limited action, so in 2016, Arians took off the leash and rode Johnson as a full-time back.

The result was one of the most electric running back seasons we’ve seen in a long time. Johnson looked like the natural successor to LaDainian Tomlinson, destroying opposing defenses on both the ground and through the air:

He not only has strong vision and deceptive power, but Johnson has incredibly fast wheels, capable of flipping the scoreboard on any given play.

Johnson led the league with 2,118 yards from scrimmage, piling up 20 touchdowns and 80 receptions in the process. He also had 14 straight games with at least 100 yards from scrimmage, an NFL record. He’s on the shortlist in the “best running back in football” debate, and the Cardinals should continue building their entire offense around him.

They’ll need Johnson, too, because that vaunted wide receiver group is suddenly looking thin these days.

Age, injuries, and question marks at WR

Larry Fitzgerald is a surefire Hall of Famer and led the league with 107 catches last season. He also turns 34 in August and, like Palmer, thought about retirement before coming back for another season. The sooner the Cardinals can find his successor in the passing game, the better.

This situation would look more stable if John Brown returns to form. After a breakout year in 2015 (65 catches, 1,003 yards, seven touchdowns), Brown was hampered by hamstring injuries due to a sickle cell issue last season, ending up with just 39 catches and two touchdowns. Michael Floyd fell out of favor in the offense before a DUI arrest led to his release. J.J. Nelson showed flashes of promise but is still unproven as a starting receiver.

The Cardinals drafted Grambling State’s Chad Williams in the third round this year. So far, he’s drawing rave reviews from Fitzgerald.

“He’s extremely explosive,” Fitzgerald said, via Revenge of the Birds. “He reminds me of Anquan Boldin in terms of the strength of his hands. Once [the football] touches his hands, it doesn’t move.”

But full practices haven’t even started yet, so it’s too early to tell how much of a role Williams will have as a rookie.

There is some promise among this group but also a lot of risk — especially if Brown’s sickle cell problems flare up again.

So who’s protecting Palmer up front?

There’s a changing of the guard at left tackle, where Jared Veldheer played the past three seasons. Veldheer is moving over to the right side to make way for 2015 first-round pick D.J. Humphries, who played on the right side last year. Humphries wasn’t particularly impressive, but there’s hope that he’ll be better at his more natural position on the blind side. Still only 23 years old, it’s possible we haven’t seen Humphries’ true ceiling yet.

The rest of the line is mostly the same, with Mike Iupati holding down left guard and A.Q. Shipley at center. Given the hellacious pressure Palmer was under last year, it’s arguable that Arizona should’ve done more to upgrade this unit.

The Cardinals didn’t make any notable additions in free agency, though they did draft guard Dorian Johnson in the fourth round and tackle Will Holden in the fifth. There’s youth and potential along this line, but the starting five probably won’t be settled until deep into training camp.

Defense has some important pieces to replace

The defensive side of the ball was particularly hurt by free agency. Calais Campbell, Tony Jefferson, D.J. Swearinger, and Marcus Cooper all departed for other teams, leaving the Cardinals without key role players. Their only major additions in free agency were safety Antoine Bethea and linebacker Jarvis Jones, but general manager Steve Keim did a good job replenishing the unit in the draft.

First-round linebacker Hasson Reddick and second-round safety Budda Baker should be immediate contributors, with Baker in particular bringing some position versatility just like his new teammate Tyrann Mathieu.

There is still a ton of talent on this defense. Patrick Peterson remains a top-level cornerback, while Chandler Jones revived the pass rush with 11 sacks after coming over in a trade with the New England Patriots. The Cardinals smartly gave him a big extension in March.

Mathieu wasn’t quite the same after suffering a torn ACL in 2015, but he should be close to his usual self a year removed from surgery.

There’s another injury concern with Deone Bucannon, who’s recovering from ankle surgery and might not be ready for Week 1. That’s giving Reddick, who played defensive end in college, more first-team reps at linebacker early this offseason.

In addition, defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche could be in line for extended playing time after barely seeing the field in his rookie year. If last year’s first-round pick plays up to expectations, he could fill in the void left by Campbell’s departure.

For a unit that finished second in yards allowed per game and 14th in points allowed, the hope is that there won’t be too much of a drop-off. But the defense is still facing some not-insignificant turnover.

Clock is ticking on the Palmer-Fitzgerald era

Despite some holes and question marks, this Cardinals team remains supremely talented. It has the right mix of promising young players, elite stars in the middle of their prime, and seasoned veterans who can still play. It would not be at all surprising if Arizona bounces back to challenge the Seahawks in the NFC West.

But the big question is if the Cardinals have enough to get to the Super Bowl. So far in their careers, a Super Bowl ring has eluded Palmer and Fitzgerald. How much longer do the Cardinals have before the veteran duo rides off into the sunset?

Keim has proved to be a good GM, but finding a quarterback of the future will be his main challenge over the next couple of years. That could make the difference between the Cardinals finally getting over the hump or seeing their contention window slam shut in a hurry.