AZ Cardinals 2009 Outlook: Longtime Doormat Faces Many New Challenges

Prior to 2008, anyone who even thought of suggesting out loud that the Arizona Cardinals could ever make a Super Bowl appearance would have been greeted with the same response as someone suggesting that the United States would someday have an African-American President.

Keep dreaming!

What a difference a year makes. Not only did the Cardinals make a Super Bowl appearance, but they came tantalizingly close to winning. Only a bone-headed interception at the end of the first half and a miraculous catch in the game’s final seconds are preventing us from saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, your Super Bowl XLIII Champions, the Arizona Cardinals!”

But alas, as the 2009 season approaches, the Cardinals are once again just one of 32 teams vying to be the last team standing on the mountain in February 2010. Only this time, they won’t be able to sneak up on anybody.

Is it realistic to expect the Cardinals to make this year’s Super Bowl? Absolutely not. The NFL has far and away more parity than any other professional sports league. Eight of the past nine Super Bowl losers failed to qualify for the playoffs the following season.

Is it realistic to expect the Cardinals to be competitive this season, to defend their NFC West championship, and be a threat to make another Super Bowl appearance? Absolutely, provided they are able to overcome numerous new challenges, not the least of which is the grueling 16-game schedule that provides so little margin-of-error for even the most battle-tested teams.

The Cardinals’ offseason has been full of more drama than an episode of “Desperate Housewives.” Wide receiver Anquan Boldin’s squabble with the team’s front office over what he calls “broken promises” about a new contract extension, and his repeated requests to be traded, have grabbed most of the headlines, but that story only begins to scratch the surface.

Both the offensive coordinator (Todd Haley) and the defensive coordinator (Clancy Pendergast) from last year’s team are gone; Haley is now the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs and Pendergast was fired. Starting quarterback Kurt Warner briefly flirted with leaving the team for a division rival during free agency, and running back Edgerrin James was finally granted his much anticipated release.

Defensive stalwarts Adrian Wilson and Karlos Dansby are entering their final guaranteed season with the team, with the latter recently firing his previous agent for telling the media that a contract extension was nearly complete.

Defensive end Darnell Dockett, who, like Boldin is also unhappy with his contract, has also requested to be traded. Also like Boldin, Dockett is represented by the infamous Drew Rosenhaus, and recently begged out of a mandatory mini-camp because of a hamstring injury. Coincidentally, Boldin did too.

With all these obstacles and side-stories, how can any logical Cardinals fan expect 2009 to be as successful and exciting as 2008 was?

The answer may lie with head coach Ken Whisenhunt. For the first time in the franchise’s 20-year Arizona history, the team has a head coach who can not only talk the talk but can also walk the walk—one who doesn’t let his ego stop him from making wise choices. Not only has Whisenhunt been at the helm during two of the team’s three .500-or-better seasons in the desert, but he has shown a willingness to adapt.

When he was first brought on board, Whisenhunt, formerly the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers, spoke about playing a smash-mouth, run-first style of football. But he quickly realized the team’s personnel were not well-equipped for such a style, so he adapted and opened up the playbook. The result has been a two-year run as one of the league’s most prolific offenses, and a near Super Bowl victory.

Whisenhunt must not only remain open-minded, he must also prove adept at managing egos if the 2009 Cardinals are to be successful. The team is full of internal strife, not to mention that large target on their backs thanks to their recent success. That said, the core of last year's NFC champions remains relatively unchanged, so there is little doubt that the talent remains for another long playoff run.  

For the first time in Arizona Cardinals history, the team faces lofty preseason expectations. They will be tested like never before, and the fans and the media will no longer cut them any slack. It will be interesting to see how the team responds.

But if last year showed us anything, it’s that anything is possible. Perhaps the team should adopt a popular slogan that also worked quite well last year:

The 2009 Cardinals: Yes We Can!