2005 Record: 5-11 (3rd in NFC West)
2005 Rankings
Offense: 7th (1st pass; 32nd run)
Defense: 8th (12th pass; 10th run)
Head Coach: Dennis Green (108-83, 4-8 in post-season); Entering 13th season as NFL head coach (Minnesota 1992-2001); Entering 3rd season as Arizona Cardinals head coach.
2006 Draft Class
1.10 – QB, Matt Leinart (USC)
2.41 – G, Taitusi Lutui (USC)
3.73 – TE, Leonard Pope (Georgia)
4.107 – DT, Gabe Watson (Michigan)
5.142 – LB, Brandon Johnson (Louisville)
6.177 – DT, Jon Lewis (Virginia Tech)
7.218 – WR, Todd Watkins (BYU)
Arrivals
Edgerrin James, RB (Indianapolis)
Milford Brown, G (Houston)
Kendrick Clancy, DT (NY Giants)
Departures
Josh McCown, QB (Detroit)
Russell Davis, DT (Seattle)
Quentin Harris, S (NY Giants)
Team Overview
The Arizona Cardinals failed to live up to the lofty expectations many had for them in 2005. Many predicted the Cardinals would win the NFC West, and were definitely playoff-caliber. For the 17th time in the 18 years the Cardinals have played in Arizona, the Cardinals failed to crack the .500 mark, finishing 5-11 and well out of playoff contention.
This year, the expectations are again high, as the Cardinals open up a state-of-the-art stadium. From the outside, it looks like a spaceship. That’s appropriate, especially since winning football games in the desert is an alien concept. Since making the move from St. Louis, Arizona has gone 100-188, and made one (1) trip to the playoffs.
To change the franchises fortunes, the Cardinals have signed former Indianapolis Colts running back Edgerrin James to lucrative contract. After ranking dead last in rushing a year ago, Dennis Green hopes that James can give the running game a boost and take some pressure of their passing game, which ranked #1 in the NFL in 2005.
Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin are as good a wide receiving duo as you’ll find in the NFL, and with former league MVP Kurt Warner at QB, ranking #1 shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. Don’t be fooled by the numbers, though. The Cardinals ranked #1 in passing because more often than not, they were trailing and couldn’t afford to even attempt to run the ball.
Edgerrin James does give them something that they’ve been missing the last few years. He’s a strong runner, is adept at picking up blitzing defenders, and is an excellent receiver out of the backfield. He’d be even more effective if the Cardinals could actually block someone for him.
The defense also ranked in the Top 10…in yardage. When it came to allowing opponents to score, Arizona didn’t fare too well. Some of that can be attributed to opponents playing on such a short field, but some of that can also be attributed to sloppy play. This unit has built up talent through the draft (Antrell Rolle, Darnell Dockett, Karlos Dansby) and free agency (Chike Okeafor, Bert Berry). The question is whether or not this unit can play together and reach its potential.
Arizona is once again the chic pick in the NFC. The perception is that the conference is weak, the division could be theirs if Seattle suffers the “Super Bowl loser” slump, etc…With the talent that the Cardinals have one can see where the optimism comes from.
But the offensive line and the linebackers are, to me, not good enough to get this team into the tournament. They can win 8-9 games, and they probably will. But is Arizona headed for the playoffs? I don’t think so.
Three & Out
- Arizona will be happy to have DE Bertrand Berry back this year. Berry was injured for much of 2005, where he was coming off his first trip to the Pro Bowl. Beyond Berry and Chike OKeafor, and tackles Darnell Dockett and Kendrick Clancy, the defensive line isn’t deep enough to absorb a significant injury.
- Since guiding the Rams to the Super Bowl in 2001, Kurt Warner has played in 29 games, never more than 10 in any season. During that stretch, Warner has thrown 21 touchdown passes, and 25 interceptions. With the Cardinals offensive line shaky at best, they’d better get Matt Leinart ready to play, ASAP.
- Watched quite a bit of the Cardinals-Patriots game the other night, and the one thing that amazed me was how ordinary this linebacking crew is. They appear to be fast, but they missed quite a few tackles and looked absolutely lost in pass coverage. On paper, this is a talented group. The reality might be much different.
Fantasy Island
Don’t let the addition of Edgerrin James scare you away from taking an early draft pick on either Larry Fitzgerald or Anquan Boldin. They are the strength of this offense, and with James a better decoy than JJ Arrington, they both could put up numbers close to the 100-catch seasons of 2005.
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