Are The Arizona Cardinals For Real?

By Derek Lofland.

I don't consider myself a bandwagon fan. I have my teams and players I support or think highly about. I have teams and players that I am not high on. Those opinions are formed over a body of work. Once I've come to those conclusions, it’s hard to sway me with a good game here or a bad game there.

One thing that makes it hard to determine a clear-cut “surprise” team is that there really isn't a dominant team in the NFL this season. Only the Tennessee Titans remain unbeaten at 5-0.

In 2007, the Patriots went 16-0, the Colts started 7-0, the Cowboys started 10-1, and the Packers started 10-1. We knew whom the first round byes were going to belong to after 12 games.

This year there are 21 teams that have a .500 record or better, and the largest lead in any division is two games. With the exception of the Bengals and Lions, almost everyone is still in the thick of the race for a division title or wildcard.

There have been a lot of upsets in 2008.

The Browns upset the heavily favored Giants. The Dolphins looked set by beating the Brady-less Patriots and Chargers, before losing to 0-4 Houston.

The Rams were able to travel to Washington and upset the heavily favored Redskins. There just hasn't been enough consistency to get a good read on the NFL this early in the season. This may be a year where a 10-6 or an 11-5 record earns a team a first round bye. Anyone could be on just about any team’s bandwagon right now.

There were a number of ways I could have gone about with this article.
The easy thing would have been to write about my favorite player's team, Brett Favre and the New York Jets. I could have gone with the Packers seeing they have been my favorite team since I began watching football almost 20 years ago. I could have gone with the Tennessee Titans and their 5-0 start. All would have been very easy to make cases for.

However, I am going to a place where there hasn't been a lot to get excited about in recent years. I am going to a franchise that last won 10 games in 1976. I am going to a place that has a terrible history and the little bit of good history they have took place in a different city. I'm going to a place that is so terrible that they don't have a band or a wagon.

That place is the Arizona Cardinals' world...

The Arizona Cardinals are not exactly the NFL's elite. They are the oldest professional American football club in the United States. They were formed in 1898 as the Morgan Athletic Club in Chicago. They have been the Racine Cardinals, Chicago Cardinals, St. Louis Cardinals, and in 1988 became the Phoenix Cardinals. In 1994, they ceased being Phoenix and became Arizona.

That's probably the accomplishment the Cardinals can be most proud of. They have been around the longest. Despite those frequent flyer miles and that long NFL history the one thing that has been constant is poor play. The Cardinals won only one NFL Championship game in 1947 and have a franchise regular season record of 468-669-39 or a .412 winning percentage. Their all-time playoff record is 2-5. In the 80 plus years of NFL action they have made the playoffs just six times. To put that into perspective the New England Patriots have won six division titles in the last seven years.

However, this year I believe things will be different. This year I believe the Arizona Cardinals will win the NFC West, which would be their first division title since 1975 when they were the St. Louis Cardinals and Dan Dierdorf was pass blocking for Jim Hart.

Let me start by saying I've been on this team's bandwagon since I did my division previews in the offseason. I picked the Arizona Cardinals to win the NFC West with a 9-7 record. I was taking heat from Seattle fans and San Francisco fans for a good portion of the summer. If this early season success keeps up, I will be exonerated.

Here are five reasons why I believe that prediction will come true:

1) Kurt Warner is Back - Everyone knows that Kurt Warner had some great years with the Rams, which began when he became their starter in 1999. He won the regular season MVP award in 1999 and 2001 with them. He threw for 12,612 yards, 98 touchdowns, and 53 interceptions in that span. It was one of the best individual three-year stretches in NFL history. Furthermore, his 93.8 career QB rating is the fourth best in NFL history trailing only Tony Romo, Steve Young, and Peyton Manning.

From 1999-2001 the Rams went 35-8 in the regular season with him as their quarterback, compiled a 5-1 record in the playoffs, appeared in two Super Bowls, winning his only Super Bowl in 1999 in which he was the MVP of the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl the Rams lost was a 20-17 defeat at the hands of the New England Patriots.
The problem has been that up until last season he hadn't played like that guy from 1999-2001. The most touchdowns he had in a season since 2001 was 11 in 2005 with the Cardinals. The most yards he accumulated was 2,713 in the same season. His record as a starter from 2002-2006 was 8-23. The most games he started in one season were 10, which also happened in 2005. The last time he quarterbacked in a playoff game was the 2001 season.

When the Cardinals drafted Matt Leinart, it appeared that Warner was going to leave the NFL as a backup and mentor. That changed in 2007 when he had a rebirth. Matt Leinart went down with a season ending injury and Warner was allowed to be the full time starter. He responded with 3,417 yards passing, 27 touchdowns, 17 interceptions, an 89.8 QB rating in only 11 starts. He helped lead them to an 8-8 season. While that creates a panic in Indianapolis or New England that creates a parade in Arizona. Hopes were high that maybe the losing was about to come to an end.

He has carried that into this season. Leinart played poorly in preseason and Warner won the job. Warner ranks second in passing yards with 1,708, fourth in touchdown passes with 12, fifth in QB ranking at 102.8, and has only five interceptions. His 70.0 completion percentage is third in the NFL. If he can keep this up, he will be a Pro Bowler. If the Cardinals keep up their winning ways, he could enter the conversation for MVP of the NFL.

The NFL is a Quarterback's league. With a 37-year-old quarterback that is playing his best ball since 2001, has won playoff games, and won a Super Bowl the Cardinals have the type of player that can propel them to a division title. His leadership alone brings a lot to the table. If he can continue his stellar play, the Cardinals will continue to win football games. He is their MVP and a big reason the Cardinals are 4-2 early on the season.

2) Larry Fitzgerald - Every quarterback needs a weapon that he can go to for clutch plays. Larry Fitzgerald is among the best receivers in the NFL. His 36 receptions rank fifth in the NFL, his 546 yards receiving ranks third, and his five receiving touchdowns lead the NFL. At 6'3" and 225 pounds, he can make tough catches over the middle, but he has the speed to go deep and the jumping ability to go up for catches. His amazing acrobatic catch on a 4th quarter Warner bomb accounted for 30 yards and led to a touchdown that was huge in their victory over Dallas.

The Cardinals have many good offensive weapons. Anquan Boldin is among the league’s best as well when he is healthy. Getting him back will help this offense even more. Steve Breaston has been huge in relief. He has 24 catches for 301 yards in his last three games. Edgerrin James gives them tough yards on the ground. Tim Hightower has five rushing touchdowns this season. The Cardinals have a lot of weapons that have helped them rank third in points per game and sixth in yards per game. However, no one has been more important at the non-quarterback skill positions than Fitzgerald. He gives that offense a dimension that keeps defensive coordinators up late at night and will allow the Cardinals to continue putting points up on the board and winning football games.

3) An improving defense - Don't laugh before you read this point. I understand the Cardinals don't rank well defensively. They are 15th in yards allowed, 18th in pass yards allowed, and 12th in rush yards allowed. That isn't ‘85 Bear-like, but it isn't bad. They rank second in sacks with 18.

People will point to the 24 points per game, which ranks 21st in the NFL, 106.5 QB rating allowed to opposing quarterbacks, and league high 12 touchdown passes allowed. Don't allow one bad game against the Jets and future Hall of Famer Brett Favre to cloud your judgment with this defense.

Against the Jets, the Cardinals played as badly as any team has played this year against any opponent, particularly in the second quarter allowing 34 points. A large part of that was caused by seven Arizona turnovers and the absence of three key defensive members...

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