Arizona Cardinals: 2009 Expectations

Is it time to come back to the reality of the Arizona Cardinals, or is this a dawn of a new era.  As a lifelong Cardinals fan, you have to hope it is the latter and with the way Ken Whisenhunt is doing business, I tend to believe that as Buddy Ryan said many moons ago, “We got a winner in town.”   So the question is being begged, what can they do next, and what are the expectations for the 2009 season?

As we say goodbye to the magnificent end of the 2008 season, and say hello to 2009, the only thing we can say for sure is that the bar has been raised.  Are we as fans ready for the possible letdown of next season? Do we understand that one of the teams in our division won 5 of their last 8 games, and the other team is getting their best players back from a season full of injuries?  Can we deal with the idea that 9 wins may not be enough this year, and the team will need to play like they did in the playoffs in order to continue on their winning ways?  Here is an early look at the 2009 season and what we as Cardinals fans should expect from it.

First off, we should set our expectations for the Super Bowl again.   Is that too high, probably, but we have been there, and we have the team to do it.  That being said, I think the first thing we need to worry about is winning the division again.  Looking up and down the division, I honestly believe we still have the most talented team, but the gap is considerably closer than it was last year, but it is still no murderer’s row of a division.

Secondly, there are some definite hurdles along the way.  First and foremost is the health of Kurt Warner.  Coach Ken Whisenhunt joked that Warner "moved around like we should run the ball about 40 times per game." (Courtesy ESPN).  The Cardinals definitely want to get better at running the ball, but they still live and die by the throwing the ball around the yard. Warner being healthy and the O-Line keeping him upright all year will help the cause on offense.  Next, they must have some semblance of a running game.  They need to average close to 95 yards a game on the ground, and be able to run the ball in the fourth quarter when holding on too leads.  Finally, they need some consistency on the defensive side of the ball.  They need to continue to play the run well, but tighten up the on the pass coverage and not allow the big pass plays to beat them.  These are the possible stumbling points for the Cardinals this year, and this could keep them from winning their second straight NFC West crown.

Lastly, the Cardinals should be better than last year.  They have a chance to do something special, again and here are the things that will lead to it.  Kurt Warner will have another big year, he will put up worse numbers, but that will be because of a running game that will actually produce.  The defense has improved with the signing of Bryant McFadden should help keep the big pass plays to a minimum. 

The Cardinals are a year removed from their most successful season since, well since the 1940’s.  They have a coach that seems to be not just competent, but forming a winner.  He seems to have a plan for now and the future, as I will discuss in future articles.  The season is right around the corner, and winning the division and getting a top 3 seed in the playoffs are the expectations.  Anything less will be a disappointment, whoever thought we would say that about the Cardinals.