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Arizona Cardinals: Can They Repeat Their Domination of the NFC West?
Published: May 28, 2009
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Without a doubt, as the NFC West goes, it’s one of the most stick-figured defensive lands in all of the NFL, which helps to explain why the Arizona Cardinals were able to carve them all up for a perfect 6-0 season against their division last year.
For a team that won just nine games to make the playoffs in 2008, to keep a stranglehold on that situation will be a key to evolution as a verifiable contender and defender of the NFC crown.
Problem is, the Cardinals’ defense hasn’t been all that much better than the St. Louis and Seattle squads. It was just that offensive tandem of quarterback Kurt Warner with his receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald that could outscore everyone, of course.
But the rest of the division, in theory at least, has experienced quarterbacks in place (Matt Hasselbeck at Seattle, Mark Bulger for St. Louis) who could put up 400 yards in passing right along with Warner on any given Sunday.
So what are the changes for the Cardinals’ NFC West competitors that point to any trends for what makes to be another season of offensive circus shows among the division rivals?
The San Francisco 49ers
Sure, they had a better record than the rest, but trends aren’t good here for the Niners. The situation in the secondary, a key thing to look at for how they might do against the Cardinals, indicates a chaotic situation, at best.
The 49ers just lost cornerback Walt Harris, a three-year starter, to a season-ending knee injury. They had already lost defensive back Donald Strickland in free agency to the New York Jets. The pass defense had been one of the team’s few strengths. But who knows what the situation will be when the Cardinals tee it up to open the season at home against these guys?
Their quarterback situation has been diffuse over the years. And if drafting Nate Davis out of Ball State is any indicator, there seems to be a feeling of insecurity annually now for those who still remember the likes of Steve Young and Joe Montana.
Add that to the fact the Niners’ coach Mike Singletary publicly gave his team a failing grade for practices in May.
Yeah, good situation for the Cardinals brewing here.
Prediction: 2-0, with one close game in San Francisco.
The Seattle Seahawks
Perhaps the one team in the division likely to give the Cardinals fits this year, if Hasselbeck can get any healthier.
That’s because if all goes as planned, he’ll have a new toy to throw to in the free-agent signing of T.J. Houshmandzadeh. He had 92 catches for the Bengals last year and scored 25 TDs in three seasons with Cincinnati, and will likely be a good solution for losing Bobby Engram.
Definitely a team in transition with championship-calibre coach Mike Holmgren safely out of the picture, Seattle is the division’s biggest wild card. Under new coach Jim Mora, a new offense in beta, there’s rumors on the web that Michael Vick will be brought in.
But that’s all speculation, all powered by the comic sensibilities that might arise when thinking about defenders having to chase the scrambling quarterback around on a wet Seattle field.
But something needed to be done for the defense, too, which had no solution last year for Fitzgerald and was ranked 30th in total yards allowed per game. It tried, drafting a linebacker, Aaron Curry of Wake Forest, as the fourth overall pick in the draft.
Other actions seem more desperate. For example, did they really give a defensive tackle, Colin Cole, who had three sacks in three years at Green Bay, $6 million per year in the free agency pool?
Reeks of desperation, doesn’t it?
Again, a nice sign for the Cardinals.
Prediction: 1-1, with the game up in Seattle being the loss, most likely, depending on the weather.
The St. Louis Rams
Since they are the worst team in the division, they are most likely to give Arizona the most problems, even more than a far better team such as Seattle, which might be favored at home.
That’s basic theory when looking at the Cardinals for many years now. Though the NFC champs are a contender in the division, a clear favorite, the whole used-to-be-from-St. Louis ironies for both franchises always find new forms of drama on the field.
But yikes, the Rams gave up 465 points last season, scoring only half as many. It drafted second in the NFL Draft for the big beef for the line, and then gave a $37.5 million deal to get a center, Jason Brown from the Ravens, to make sure they could at least get the snap count right.
Also in the off season, new coach Steve Spagnuolo released half the squad, releasing receiver Tory Holt, backup quarterback Trent Green, and offensive tackle Orlando Price.
The Cardinals get their hands on the Rams late in the season, Nov. 22 in St. Louis and Dec. 27 in Phoenix, so at that point, it all depends on either Warner or Bulger are still healthy.
Usually, a division champ might look at the Rams and say “Well, that’s 2-0, for sure, right?”
Prediction: It’s a toss-up, but shouldn’t be. A lingering ghost of that old Cardinals’ sense of futility that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong during a game. But one thing is clear. The Cardinals will continue to feed off the problems faced by the other teams in transition in the NFC West.
