Let’s continue the NFC West with the Arizona Cardinals, who I believe will not be repeating as division and conference champs. Everything broke right for the Cardinals last season, and they seem like the perfect candidate for the Year-After-Super-Bowl hangover. It’s almost too easy.
Does that mean to ignore them all together in terms of fantasy? No, they’re too talented to do that. But if you listen to this advice and where I rank these guys you probably won’t be drafting any Cardinals this year.
Here’s my synopsis of the 2009 season for the Cardinals. Quick start will give way to Kurt Warner busting his shoulder up in Week 4. Matt Leinart struggles through 6-8 weeks and then begins to heat up down the stretch as the Cards win a couple of meaningless games and finish 6-10. Write it down.
QB: A lot of people will pick Warner high based on last year’s numbers. But if you study the NFL and know Warner’s history you won’t touch him at all. The guy is an injury waiting to happen and he seemed to be on his last legs for reviving his career in the desert and rolling to the Super Bowl last season. The key last season was good protection, but the Cardinals offensive line isn’t really that good.
Throw in the fact there really isn’t much of a running game and teams are going to be teeing off on Warner this season. Trust me don’t draft him. Leinart, on the other hand, might be worth a flyer. I know there were reports out of camp that he was having to battle Brian St. Pierre for the No. 2 spot, but that’s for motivational purposes only. If Warner goes down, I think Leinart could be in for a fine season. Take a flyer on him if you have a deep roster and can sit a pair of QBs.
RB: Rookie Chris “Beanie” Wells is the guy here, but don’t buy into the hype. Even in a season in which it went to the Super Bowl, Arizona had a lackluster running game and Wells shouldn’t make much of an impact. He’s a better running back than either of last year’s runners Edgerrin James or Tim Hightower, but he’s constantly hurt (he already hurt his ankle a couple of weeks ago in training camp) and the team just doesn’t believe it can run the ball. Throw in the fact that Hightower may poach some goalline carries and Wells’ numbers will likely approach 850 total yards and 6 TDs.
WR: Even if Warner goes down, Larry Fitzgerald’s numbers will still be strong. He’s an amazing leaper and has the best hands in football; you can’t shut that down. I’m ranking him only behind Randy Moss and Calvin Johnson, but because of that I likely won’t get him in any of my drafts (he’s No. 1 among WRs on most people draftboards). Boldin’s got trouble written all over him. He’s not happy with his position and he really doesn’t like the team he plays for — that usually spells trouble. He also has a history on injuries, including the gruesome face injury he suffered against the Jets last season. He also missed two games to end the regular season with a shoulder injury. An unhappy receiver with a history of injuries spells stay-away to me. Steve Breaston is intriguing only if Boldin does in fact get injured or traded — he’s not recording 1,000 with Boldin and Fitzgerald healthy all season. Let someone else overpay for him.
TE: The Cardinals regularly ignore this position, so you should do the same.
DEF: Arizona’s defense was a nice surprise last season. They ranked second in the NFC with 30 takeaways and were eighth with 31 sacks. They gave up a lot of points (26.6 ppg), but they made up for it with five TDs and two blocked kicks. Don’t bank on a repeat. This squad will slide back to mediocrity. You can do better.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
