How Good are the Arizona Cardinals in 2007?

By Tony George www.sportsaudioshows.com  

I will be breaking down some teams of interest in the NFL this season versus going with the standard conference rankings and reviews, as I look for little gems in the NFL this season that might provide not only a few surprises in terms of winning games, but more importantly from my perspective, covering some spreads, which is where the money is made. After an outstanding year in the NFL last year for myself, my follow up needs to be equally impressive so I look for little diamonds in the rough early in the season to get out of the gate quickly.

The Cards pose some eyebrow raising dilemma's in terms of how good they can be this season now that QB Matt Leinart is out of the rookie season that saw him address the learning curve from Pac 10 football to the NFL. He set an NFL rookie passing record against the Vikings with 415 yards, broke the Cards franchise record for passing yards at over 2700 for a rookie, after not starting till the 5th game of the season, a record held by Jake Plummer as a rookie. I honestly think that Leinart will be a star QB in the NFL in the near future, and he is backed up by Kurt Warner again this year, who does nothing but add depth to the roster and plenty of experience to help Leinart out. They are solid at the field general position and are only going to get better. The weapons they have on offense at Leinart's disposal rival anyone in the NFL.

Speaking of learning curves, an all new coaching staff will take some time to adjust, but I like the hire in Ken Whisenhunt, a long time Bill Cowher assistant that will bring a hard nosed, physical attitude to the team. He has been loading up on the OL and DL already in order to establish a "black and blue" mentality to this football team. This is further evidenced by their #1 draft pick in Levi Brown as the first pick in the draft, a great OL player out of Penn State. Of course having OL coach Russ Grimm to teach him the ins and out's of the NFL is always a solid start. I like the coaching staff and offensive coordinator hire Todd Haley who was at Dallas last year and ran the NFL's 5th ranked passing attack.

Like many teams, if given the time to execute plays out of a good scheme to balance an attack with a good OL, it comes down to skill players and the Cards are loaded. They have 2 Pro Bowl WR's in Fitzgerald and Boldin and I also really like Bryant Johnson as well, a big play guy with loads of speed as the 3rd WR and slot back on occasion. The tight end position is KEY in what will be a run oriented attack with Leonard Pope, off a solid rookie year, to go over the top to in numerous scenario's and he is a huge target at 6'8". They also picked up a little gem in Steve Breaston in the draft, out of Michigan, a speedster that will no doubt be a rotation receiver and special teams guy. I honestly think that if the Cards can establish a ground game, this group will be highly productive and is one of the top 3 units in all of the NFL.

Speaking of running back, the big question mark is Edgerin James. Is he that good, and will the line be improved and physical enough to open up holes? There will be a lead fullback blocking out of a pro-set type running scheme this year. If James can get near 1400 yards this year, this offense can click with Leinart pulling the strings and having the receivers to stretch the field vertically with his talent in the receiving unit. Backed up by Marcell Shipp at RB as a short yardage back and lead by FB Terrell Smith (free agent), this is solid unit. A big question mark for myself as well as Cards fans is 2005 second round draft pick JJ Arrington out of Arizona State. A great back in college and very versatile, I think he can be a great backup and playmaker and a possible hidden gem and 3rd down back in special situations in this offensive scheme. In other words, this team is also way above the curve with their running game if properly executed. The OL has 3 new starters including a rookie, but once again with Russ Grimm, who has mentored many a Pro Bowler, I think the line will play at a high level, and if they do, this offense can really click. I would think scoring 22-26 points a game is a realistic number, and when they play a team with weak cover corners, they can explode.

The question mark is defense as usual with the Cards, but they have some talented skill players and some real potential, especially in the secondary. Hold over from Dennis Greens staff, Clancy Pendergast is the defensive coordinator and the only tenured coach in the staff at 4 years at Arizona. He will switch to a 3-4 scheme this year, and due to lack of depth at cover corner I expect to see more zone coverage this year, they were burnt last year in man-to-man coverage. The secondary has potential and Pro Bowl safety Adrian Wilson is a solid deep cover guy, big hitter and playmaker who also can blitz with his speed.

The key is Antrel Rolle, first round pick of 2005, he has great speed and is a great athleticism, but has disappointed to date, but they have high hopes and the Cards also picked up Roderick Hood in free agency to play the other corner. The 3-4 scheme will also help by moving ends Pope and Okeafor to the outside and an covering up the depth weakness at linebacker, but they have 2 outstanding LB's in Karlos Dansby and Gerald Hayes, these guys are good. The defensive line picked up 2nd round pick Alan Branch and have plenty of talent and size including Bertrand Berry. This defense was a Top 10 Unit in 2005 and with 9 starters back and some renewed hope andwith a 3-4 scheme, they could be good, and that is the KEY to this team.

Overall with great special teams players, and an outstanding kicker in Neil Rackers, the Cardinals should be a feared team if overlooked. I would not be surprised to see them in the hunt for the NFC West, but the Rams are loaded and Seattle is healthy at least to start out the season. They should be able to get over on San Fran for 3rd in the division and could contend for 2nd place honors. In any event they have 2 opening games, one at Oakland to open the season and at home against Houston, and they should win them both. They won 5 games last year and I expect this team to be 8-8 by season's end or possibly 9 wins. The real showcase is their division is the Cards division opener on Monday Night at San Fran Sptember 10th, it will be a crucial test for them. The Cards will be better than average this year if you look at the talent across the board, but with all new coaches how long will it take them to gel? That is the question, along with whether RB James still has some wheels left. I expect this team to cover a ton of spreads this year in the NFL if the offense clicks, and it very well should.