Arizona Cardinals 2009 Preview: New Expectations in the Desert

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

After what seemed like about 15 straight seasons heading into the year as the trendy "sleeper" pick of the NFL, the Arizona Cardinals finally realized their potential, winning a home playoff game for the first time in the life of many football fans (myself included) and heading to the first-ever Super Bowl. Now, all of a sudden, expectations are at an all-time high. Can the team thrive, or will they disappoint?

Offense: Do you really need me to inform you of their offensive firepower? The Cards ranked fourth in the NFL in total offense last regular season and tied for second in touchdowns. In the postseason they were even better, as Larry Fitzgerald became a bonafide household name. With Kurt Warner and Anquan Boldin back, Steve Breaston having another year under his belt and the offensive line marginally improved, there's no reason to expect more than a small handful of teams -- if that -- to be better at throwing the ball than Arizona. An achilles heel for the offense last season, though, was the ground-game. The Cards have said sayonara to Edgerrin James and drafted Beanie Wells in the first round. They are hoping the combination of Beanie and Tim Hightower will be enough to keep defenses honest. Considering the Cards ranked 32nd in the NFL in rushing last season and still fourth in total offense, any added help on the ground is a bonus. The offense is already elite. Heat Index: 9


Defense: The Cards ranked 19th in total defense, but only four really dreadful teams allowed more points (Chiefs, Broncos, Rams and Lions). They need to find ways to hold down the scoring, as to not put all the pressure on the offense this year. Replacing Roderick Hood with Bryant McFadden at corner will aid what appears to be a very strong secondary -- assuming the continued growth of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The defensive line starters are solid enough, but depth is lacking. Karlos Dansby is one of the better linebackers in the league, but he doesn't have a ton of help on that line of defense. I expect this to be a more consistent group in 2009, but they still aren't above average. Heat Index: 5

Special Teams: The Cards were actually pretty bad on special teams last season. Neil Rackers is a good kicker, but most of the rest of the team leaves something to be desired. Both kickoff and punt coverage units are among the worst in the league. They are pretty bad on both return games also, although they've been trying a bevy of possible new returners this preseason who could inject some life into the return game. They weren't good in punts last year, either, but Ben Graham can be a quality punter with a full season. Heat Index: 3

Coaching: Ken Whisenhunt is a darn good football coach, and it's hard to say anything negative about a guy who took a team to the Super Bowl after just two seasons. His assistant, Russ Grimm, is also one of the more respected coaches in football. Of course, the Cardinals also lost both of their coordinators, and the departure of Todd Haley from the offense is going to hurt. The offensive personnel is now in place, but we'll see rather quickly how big of an influence Haley was on the offense. New defensive coordinator, Bill Davis, has had that job before with little success. He was the defensive coordinator for the 49ers in 2005 and 2006. The Niners were awful defensively in those two seasons. Davis has helped with the growth of Dansby as the Cardinals' linebacker coach the past few seasons, but he's got to prove himself in the new gig. Overall, Grimm and Whisenhunt will have to carry the load. Heat Index: 6

Intangibles: Fortunately, the team doesn't have to deal with the contract demands of Boldin this year, who seems to finally be content -- or at least quiet about his discontent. They obviously are riding high, following the Super Bowl run, but they have to be worried about the ability of Warner and Boldin to stay healthy for different reasosn (Warner is old, Boldin always misses games). The departure of Haley could have an effect on the offense, though Warner's leadership should thwart some of that. You do worry about a Super Bowl hangover, and the Cards have looked pretty despondent at times in the preseason. Were they simply content with heading to the big game, or are they determined to get back and win it this time? You know Warner can handle it, but we need to see the rest of the team deal with success and follow it up. Until then, we just can't be sure. You know they aren't hurting for confidence, though. Heat Index: 7

Total Heat Index: 30/50 That's a low score for a team coming off a Super Bowl loss, but they are fairly one-dimensional. Look for them to be around 9-7 (again) or 10-6. If they make the playoffs, there's definitely a chance of them getting hot and running the table again, but with having to rely so heavily upon the offense to win them football games, it's going to be tough to sustain long stretches of success through the regular season. Plus, while their division isn't exactly the AFC South or NFC East, it's not nearly as bad as it was last year. They'll need to shape up during the regular season, or they'll be watching the playoffs from home -- which would be a falling drastically short of their now-heightened expectations.