We’ve talked about it so many times, but the point is worth repeating when talking about the Arizona Cardinals. In a salary cap system, franchises only have a small window to win a championship. The drop-off will come sooner rather than later and will sting so much more if they can’t finish the deal.
After two straight seasons of winning the NFC West championship, making the Super Bowl two years ago and losing in the divisional round to the eventual Super Bowl champions, the Cardinals find themselves in a position where they could be in for a big drop-off in 2010. Key players are gone and were never really replaced.
The biggest change will come at quarterback as Kurt Warner retired, leaving Matt Leinart anointed as the starter. Derek Anderson was brought in from the Cleveland Browns to backup. However, Leinart never showed enough work ethic to convince head coach Ken Whisenhunt to give him the starting job. This left Anderson to be the number one with rookie Max Hall to be the backup.
Another big change comes at the wide receiver position as Anquan Boldin was allowed to sign in Baltimore, leaving Larry Fitzgerald as the only big-time receiver left from what once was a lethal passing attack. Steve Breaston will be asked to be the number two receiver and Early Doucet moves up to take the third spot. The downgrade at the quarterback position combined with the downgrade at wide receiver should cause this offence to be much worse.
The running game was never a factor with Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower combining to be in the bottom five for rushing yards in the NFL. The offensive line is pretty talented, so it stands to reason that the running backs may be the problem here and not the blocking or play-calling.
Defensively, they made some big changes as well, but they aren’t really better or worse. They were right in the middle of the pack of all major defensive categories. There are some talented pieces on the field, but there are just as many holes as well.
The defensive line is solid with Calais Campbell and Darnell Dockett both collecting 7 sacks last season. The linebacking corps improved with the addition of Joey Porter from Miami. The rest of the linebackers are also pretty experienced, but there are question marks about what any of these veterans have left in the tank after solid careers. The secondary is decent, but if they have to rely on their backups because of injury, they will be in a lot of trouble.
Two players to watch out for in camp are Derek Anderson and Greg Toler. Anderson was brought in to merely be someone to fill out the depth chart and bring veteran experience off the bench, but with Leinart now gone, can Anderson find the form that allowed him to be a one-season wonder in Cleveland? Toler is the second cornerback with Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and will be picked on throughout the season as the opposition will test him over and over again. How does he handle these repeated tests?
2010 Prediction: 7-9