Arizona Cardinals: 2007 Report Card

This is a post done by Mark on MVN.com

In a preview to an extended podcast that Eli and I will be doing on the Cardinals season and a look toward the off season, we now present our first annual player and coaches report card for the 2007 season. The over all season could be termed an improvement but in no way could it be called a success. 8-8 is a step up from the Denny Green/Dave McGinnis years but the fact is we absolutely should have been in the play offs this year if this team hadn’t let a couple of very winnable games slip away.

I know everyone wants to talk about the injuries, and just today Len Pascarelli over at ESPN had a list of the teams that lost the most starters over the course of the season, and the Cardinals were third on that list. However, every team has injuries and that's why drafting and shrewd free agency decisions are the difference between the average teams and those still playing at the end of the years. You have got to have quality depth in this league or your not going to make it to the end of the season being able to compete.

With all that in mind lets get started:

Front office and ownership: This was an off season where Denny Green was fired, Ken Whisenhunt was hired and Rod Graves was given a raise and a contract extension by the Bidwell family. Clearly, Denny Green had packed it in and was basically stealing money for the last 10 games of 2006 knowing he was going to get the ax so he had to go even if it meant the owners had to eat a big contract. However, the new stadium was sold out, the family is printing money compared to the years at Sun Devil and there is no longer the excuse that they don’t have the financial resources to step up and hire and pay good coaching and administrative talent. Toward that end they made a very solid hire in Ken Whisenhunt who was allowed to assemble and pay a good staff of assistants. The more questionable move in the eyes of some was extending Rod Graves after Denny was fired due to the perception that the successful drafts and personnel moves over the preceding three years were largely the work and influence of Green. However, Rod is well liked by the Bidwells and he was rewarded for, well, I’m not quite sure what as this last draft and free agency had some real head scratchers. The book is still out on his ability to find and draft quality talent and this years draft is a red letter example of how not to do it. The Cardinals whiffed on their third round pick Buster Davis, reached on their 1st and 2nd round picks of Brown and Branch, didn’t have picks in the 4th and 6th round due to questionable trades but rebounded and picked up decent prospects in the 5th and 7th round in Breaston and Patrick. Additionally, some questionable free agent signings such as Holt at FS and the $7 million deal given Al Johnson could hamstring the team next year in their bid to find cap room for other free agents. This isn’t a team that can afford to miss on ANY draft picks given the thin depth or make questionable moves in allocating bonus money to the cap, but hopefully this staff will continue to coach up the players they have, and the Bidwells won’t use the restructuring of Fitzgerald's contract as an excuse to sit out free agency and sit on their wallets. That sold out stadium is a money tree now and they need to shake it. Grade over all: B-

Coaching staff: In the first year as a staff the Cardinals made some obvious mistakes but also made some huge strides. What people don’t quite grasp is that pulling a staff together and keeping it together is crucial in the NFL

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?