The 2002 Arizona Cardinals: Reaping Since the Realignment

When the Arizona Cardinals were moved to the NFC West for the 2002 season it triggered a change that gave the franchise some air under it's wings. It was a move that would change the direction of the team for the better.

While the Cards finished the season at 5-11—last in their division—the team seemed to find it's identity and began to make the necessary strides to becoming a consistent competitor.

The talent was there for this team.

Offensively, the team was led by quarterback Jake Plummer, who showed signs of potential and promise in his previous five seasons with the Cardinals.

Marcel Shipp was the featured running back, however, Thomas Jones also got a decent amount of touches.

Plummer's main receiving targets were wide-outs David Boston and Frank Sanders as well as tight end Freddie Jones.

Defensively, the team struggled to stop opponents, allowing an average of 26.1 points per game, third most in the NFL.

But it wasn't significant that the Cardinals struggled in 2002, because they did as they had in many previous seasons before. And it wasn't the fact that their last place finish surprised anyone, because no one expected anything more out of them.

To be honest, nothing extremely positive came out of the games that year. Sixteen games later, the same typical results were yielded by the Cards.

What was significant about the 2002 Arizona Cardinals is how the team has changed for the better ever since. The realignment not only moved the team to a new division, but underneath it all it moved the team's mindset. Ever since the 2002 campaign the Cardinals have become a significantly better ball club.

Yes, in the four seasons following the Cardinals managed only 20 wins, but wins and losses don't tell the whole story.

It was the pieces that Arizona began to put in place. The team let go high priced players who weren't performing like Jake Plummer and David Boston. And through the draft, trades and free agency the team was able to add intricate pieces such as Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, Matt Leinart, and Levi Brown.

Change came not only with personnel but attitude and appearance as well. A new, more aggressive team logo was unveiled in January of 2005 and in 2006 the team moved to it's brand new stadium.

Most recently the Cardinals did the unthinkable and made it to the Super Bowl. No longer were they the cellar dwellers but the team had transformed themselves into consistent competitors.

No one would have believed that six short years after the 2002 season that the Cardinals would be in the Super Bowl. But it happened. The change didn't occur overnight, but it happened.

The catalyst was the divisional move in 2002 and the personnel and franchise decisions made from that point on that now have the Cardinals flying high.