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2008 Team Report: Arizona Cardinals

Quarterbacks

Starter: Kurt Warner
Backup(s): Matt Leinart, Brian St. Pierre

Starting QB: The door was wide open for Matt Leinart all preseason, but he failed to grab the brass ring. As a result, Kurt Warner will be under center in Week One. Whether Warner will remain the starter is to be determined, but for now he's earned a spot throwing to one of the NFL's best tandems. Warner proved that he still has what it takes with his performance in 2007. The Cardinals started running a no-huddle offense that really suited Warner's quick-read/quick-release style. Warner responded by throwing for over 3,400 yards and 27 TDs.

Backup QB: Matt Leinart needs to get his act together and the sooner, the better. Last season, Leinart started off slow, his confidence was shaken and then he was put in a rotating QB system with Kurt Warner. After only a few weeks of that, he broke his collarbone and watched from the sideline as Warner led the team to an 8-8 record. This offseason, Leinart didn't use good judgment when he was caught beer-bonging with some girls. The main knock on Leinart is his laid-back southern California persona. Many wonder if he will ever take the game seriously. Confidence could be the biggest key for Leinart's season. The Cardinals will be able to move the ball through the air whether it's Leinart or Warner. Brian St. Pierre knows Coach Whisenhunt well as they are both Pittsburgh transplants.

Running Backs

Starter: Edgerrin James
Backup(s): J.J. Arrington, Tim Hightower [R]
Fullback(s): Terrelle Smith, Tim Castille

Starting RB: The Cardinals believe that Edgerrin James can still be an effective every-down runner. Many people speculated that the Cardinals would address the RB position early in the draft, but they did not. So that means it's going to be James once again lining up for most of the carries in Arizona. For the last two seasons, Edge has played all 16 games and racked up around 1,200 yards, but averaged less than 4.0 YPC. Edge did improve his YPC last season, but don't expect him to break 4.0 YPC any time soon. If healthy, there's no reason to think that James couldn't duplicate his numbers from the past two seasons.

Backup RBs: Marcel Shipp, considered a coaching favorite, apparently lost his sheen and was released early in camp. That leaves underachiever J.J. Arrington and rookie 5th rounder Tim Hightower as James' principal backups. Arrington may never be the game-changing back that some envisioned when he came out of California, but he's not a complete bust either. With the emergence of Steve Breaston, Arrington's return numbers went down in 2007. He did play a valuable role as a receiver out of the backfield in Arizona's aggressive passing attack. Tim Hightower was the Cardinal's fifth-round pick out of tiny Richmond. Hightower is a willing power back between the tackles, but he is not creative or elusive. The coaching staff sees something in Hightower that the draft scouts did not, and he appears to have earned a role as a short yardage specialist.

Fullback: Terrelle Smith will once again lead the way for the ground game. He is a traditional fullback because he doesn't see many carries during the season and doesn't catch many passes either. Smith is used almost exclusively as a lead blocker and has little fantasy value.

Wide Receivers

Starters: Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin
Backups: Steve Breaston, Early Doucet [R], Jerheme Urban, Sean Morey

Starting WRs: Fitzgerald and Boldin are two of the most dynamic receivers in the league and together they form a very effective combination. They combined for 171 receptions and over 2,400 yards with 19 TDs. This offseason, Larry Fitzgerald signed a four-year, $40-million deal making him one of the highest paid WRs in the league. Fitzgerald should once again be a top fantasy WR in 2008. Anquan Boldin is dissatisfied with his own contract status and maintains a desire to be traded. Boldin missed four games in 2007 with a bruised hip, but he came back after the injury and looked good. Fantasy owners of Boldin will undoubtedly remember his big Week 16 performance where he scored over 28 points. Boldin has that type of ability and, if healthy, should be a more consistent force for the Cardinals.

Backup WRs: Steve Breaston was fourth on the depth chart last season, but he will step up to the No. 3 role this year. Coming out of Michigan, everyone knew that Breaston would be a fantastic return man and he did not disappoint. With his speed/quickness combination, Breaston could develop into a great slot receiver and a fantastic complement to the dynamic duo. He needs to become more of a polished route runner, so he is a work in progress with good upside. Early Doucet could become the next Anquan Boldin since the two have similar size and styles of play. Doucet had a somewhat disappointing senior season at LSU. He may be best served playing in the 195-pound range. Doucet has a tendency to round off his routes and must become better at the sell before he can truly make a big impact. If the dynamic duo is healthy, then Doucet provides great depth on a team that needs it. Doucet looks to play a big role in this offense, but more than likely it won't be until 2009. Jerheme Urban was a nice surprise for the Cardinals in 2007. He had an especially nice game against his former team, the Seahawks, in Week 14. Urban has good size but needs to stay healthy.

Tight Ends

Starters: Leonard Pope
Backups: Ben Patrick, Jerame Tuman

Leonard Pope really started to come into his own in 2007. Pope is one of the largest TEs in the league, but some questioned his overall athletic ability thinking he may be best served as a blocker. With the insanely talented WR corps, the TE doesn't get many chances in the Cardinals offense. But, in passing situations, the defense is only concerned with stopping Boldin and Fitzgerald, which leaves the TE with a great coverage situation. Pope made the most of his opportunity and caught five TD passes, including a two-TD performance against the Lions. Despite his TD productivity, 2nd year Ben Patrick appears to be gaining on Pope in the race to start. Patrick is a superior athlete and has a focus this year that he lacked as a rookie. Jerame Tuman is a Pittsburgh transplant that is used almost exclusively as a blocker.

Place Kicker

Neil Rackers : After a stellar 2005 when the Cardinals were first in kicker scoring, Rackers came back down to earth in 2006 (8th), and then slipped to the middle of the pack in 2007 (17th). He has struggled from long range the last two years, hitting only 4 of 16 on 50+ yard field goals. The offense performed well under the new coaching staff last year; however that meant more PATs and fewer FG attempts for Rackers. He still has the range for the longer kicks, if not the accuracy, and still piles up touchbacks on kickoffs. For 2008 things look stable, so similar or slightly better production compared to 2007 is a reasonable expectation.

Kick and Punt Returners

Kick Returners: Steve Breaston; Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie; J.J Arrington; Roderick Hood; Early Doucet

WR Steve Breaston, one of the fastest players among last year's draft class, was selected by the Cardinals to hopefully serve as their return specialist. During his rookie year that is precisely what he did. He returned 62 kickoffs for 1389 yards (22.4 avg.). First round pick CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is a speedster that also ran on the track team for Tennessee State. During his college career he averaged 23.9 yards on kickoffs. RB J.J. Arrington (11 returns, 22.8 avg. last year) was the team's primary kickoff returner in 2006 (67 returns, 22.7 avg., 1 TD), but is now a backup. CB Roderick Hood provides another experienced backup. He returned kickoffs for the Eagles in 2004 and 2005 (38 returns, 23.7 avg.). Third round draft pick WR Early Doucet is another speedster. On limited touches, he averaged 16.9 yards on kickoff returns at LSU.

Punt Returners: Steve Breaston; Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie; Early Doucet; Anquan Boldin

Steve Breaston handled every punt return for the Cardinals last year (42 returns, 9.4 avg.) and scored once. With his combined KR and PR numbers, he was the 3rd ranked fantasy returner for 2007. Between punts and kickoffs, he totaled 104 returns last year. That was the most in the NFL (Josh Cribbs was second with 89 total returns). Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie averaged 7.3 yards on six college career punt returns. Early Doucet averaged only 5.0 yards on his four college career punt returns. WR Anquan Boldin was the team's primary PR in his rookie year in 2003; however has not returned any punts since then. The Cardinals have ranked 10th, 14th, and 8th in fantasy returns points the last three years.

Offensive Line

Projected Starters: LT Mike Gandy, LG Reggie Wells, C Al Johnson, RG Deuce Lutui, RT Levi Brown
Key Backups: Elton Brown, Elliot Vallejo, Scott Peters

Commentary coming soon.

Team Defense

The Cardinals finished among the top 10 fantasy defenses in some scoring systems last season, but did so largely on the strength of six defensive touchdowns. Arizona ranked in the middle of the pack in every other relevant category with average finishes in takeaways and sacks, and bottom half finishes in both points and total yards. Despite an inconsistent 2007 season, the Cardinals are likely to improve in 2008 as they continue to adapt and become more comfortable in Ken Whisenhunt's multiple-front scheme. The loss of OLB Calvin Pace in free agency will be lessened by the return of a healthy Chike Okeafor, who should provide similar production. The addition of Travis LaBoy could also improve their outside pass rush. Moving Antrel Rolle to free safety will give them another playmaking presence in the middle of the field with Darnell Dockett, Karlos Dansby and Adrian Wilson. The Cardinals aren't likely to finish 2008 as a stud fantasy defense, but they should provide a strong backup with upside that can be picked up late in your draft.

Defensive Line

Starters: DE/OLB Bertrand Berry, DE Antonio Smith, DT/DE Darnell Dockett, DT Alan Branch
Backups: DE Calais Campbell [R], DE/OLB Travis LaBoy, DE Bryan Robinson, DE Kenny Iwebema [R], DE Cris Harrington [R], DE Bo Schobel, DT/NT Gabe Watson

Starting DL: DL positional designations are fluid here with the Cardinals mixing in 3-4 fronts with the 4-3 alignment. Berry can put his hand on the ground as a 4-3 DE and stand up as a 3-4 OLB. His best work came in Denver (26 sacks combined in 2003-2004), but the former Colt and Bronco turns 33 in the pre-season and may be breaking down. Berry has missed nearly half of the past three seasons (with a DNP in 21 of 48 contests), and took a pay cut to return in 2008. Smith has better size (6'4" 280) than Berry and can remain at DE in the 3-4. While he doesn't have the speed to be a playmaker (5.5 sacks in 2007 a career high), he has the power to set the edge and stack up blockers so the LBs can run to the ball carrier and make plays. Dockett has the rare combination of size (6'4" 285), quickness and athleticism (an INT in 2004-'05-'06) to be effective as a 4-3 UT and 3-4 DE. The former Seminole star also has the explosiveness to live behind the LOS and set the Florida State record for career TFL (tackle for loss). Dockett shattered his career high with 9 sacks in 2007, though he appeared to wear down with only one in the second half of the season. He reportedly wants a new contract, but needs to stand in line as he just signed an extension in 2006. Branch has prototypical 3-4 NT size (a gargantuan man mountain at 6'5" 330). In 2007 the Cards traded up to get him at the top of the 2nd round after he surprisingly tumbled out of the 1st. Branch could start due to Gabe Watson's broken kneecap from a freak treadmill mishap.

Backup DL: Rookie Campbell, like Dockett, has the unusual blend of size (a behemoth 6'8" 280), power, quickness and athleticism to provide positional flexibility and scheme versatility in DC Clancy Pendergast's hybrid 4-3/3-4 scheme. If he had played as well as he had his previous year in Miami, he might have been a 1st round pick, so the Cards may have gotten a bargain at 2.19. Former Titan LaBoy has better size for a 4-3 DE (his position in Tennessee), and could stand up in the 3-4, retracing the steps of earlier Arizona free agents Bertrand Berry and Chike Okeafor. He flashed playmaking ability in the passing game last season with 6 sacks, 4 FFs and 1 INT, but doesn't bring a lot to the table against the run (a kicker-esque 8 solo tackles). Rookie 4th rounder Iwebema has good size, strength, ability to shed blocks and can deliver jarring tackles, but had trouble staying healthy and his motor was questioned. He will benefit from familiarity with his new position coach (they worked previously together at Iowa). Schobel has NFL genes (cousin of Bills Pro Bowl DE Aaron). Watson could still start, but was set back by the unfortunate fluke broken knee cap injury suffered while training.

Linebackers

Starters: WLB/ILB Karlos Dansby, MLB/ILB Gerald Hayes, SLB/OLB Chike Okeafor
Backups: MLB/ILB Monty Beisel, OLB Clark Haggans, OLB David Holloway, LB Ali Highsmith

Starting LBs: Dansby set career highs in tackles (99) and FFs (4), as well as tying his best in INTs (3) in 2007, despite missing two games with a knee injury, after setting a personal mark in sacks (8) the previous season. After failing to come to agreement on a long-term extension in the off-season, the Cards slapped a cap-straining $8+ mil. franchise tag on the up 'n coming playmaker. One difficulty the front office may have in committing to a massive contract extension is that he has been dinged all four years in Arizona, though missing just six games total in that time (with never more than two in a season). A physical specimen (6'4" 250), Dansby was a nationally recruited prep WR endowed with the rare combo of size, strength, speed, explosiveness, athletic versatility and well-rounded game to effortlessly shuttle between OLB and ILB responsibilities. He is a critically important piece of the puzzle in Pendergast's kaleidoscopic, ever-morphing scheme. Hayes is a thumper who also set career highs in 2007 (with 98 tackles and 4 sacks). Best suited on the inside as a MLB or ILB, he has deceptive athleticism (3 INTs in 2006). While he doesn't have the flashy star power of Dansby, the Cards rewarded his consistency and upside with an extension in 2006. Former SF/SEA DE Okeafor was looking comfortable in his OLB conversion with a team-leading 8.5 sacks two years ago (surging with 7 in the final eight games), but a torn bicep injury aborted his 2007 season.

Backup LBs: Ex-Chief Beisel is a journeyman who can be a competent backup and provides depth at MLB or either of the two ILB spots, depending on the alignment. He is an athletic and talent downgrade from Dansby and Hayes, and the overall defense would suffer if he was pressed into action for any length of time. The Cards lost OLBs Calvin Pace and Daryl Blackstock in free agency (the former to a blockbuster deal from the Jets). They reloaded at OLB with former Steeler Haggans, who HC Ken Whisenhunt was familiar with during his preceding stint in Pittsburgh. The 31 year old late bloomer did his best work as recently as 2004-2006, averaging 7 sacks and nearly 3 FFs. Haggans has the burst and pass rushing ability to be a weapon in the 3-4, though its unclear how much he has left in the tank. Pass rushers (much like LBs), rely on their wheels, and he is rapidly approaching an age when many of his predecessors and counterparts have hit the wall hard.

Defensive Backs

Starters: SS Adrian Wilson, FS Antrel Rolle, CB Roderick Hood, CB Eric Green
Backups: SS Aaron Francisco, FS Oliver Celestin, CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie [R], CB Ralph Brown

Starting DBs: Like Dansby, Wilson is a physical specimen and stellar athlete arguably even closer to the top of the food chain at his respective NFL position. His mix of MLB size (6'3" 230) with a safety's range and ball skills is a potent combo. Also like Dansby (and Dockett), Wilson wants a new contract. After missing the second half of last season with a heel and Achilles injury, he may have to first prove he is all the way back and flash his Pro Bowl form, before the front office coughs up Polamalu/Reed/Sanders money. In recent years a big play machine (broke the NFL record for sacks by a DB with 8 in 2005), even before going on IR midway through 2007, Wilson was having an uncharacteristically quiet season with no sacks or FFs, though a respectable 2 INTs in his abbreviated stint. Coveted top 10 pick (2005) Rolle had an up and mostly down career in Arizona before breaking out in 2007. After a promising debut was derailed by knee injury five games into his rookie year, he was widely (and prematurely) labelled a bust after a seriously underwhelming sophomore slump effort saw him lose his starting CB gig. Relegated to nickle back detail, instead of sulking, Rolle made the most of his limited opportunity, vindicating himself with a sparkling 5 INT, 3 return TD campaign. Back in the coaching staff's good graces, he will be deployed at safety (which some scouts suspected would end up being his most natural pro position). Hood and Green are borderline, marginal starting caliber NFL CBs, but haven't exactly set the league on fire.

Backup DBs: Francisco has an outside chance to unseat Rolle, otherwise provides veteran depth. Celestin is a journeyman previously with the Jets and Seahawks, and has never had a big play in four NFL seasons. The Cards opted to pass on other needs by selecting prized 2007 1st rounder Rodgers-Cromartie, who fills another pressing need at CB, with Rolle expected to be shunted to FS. Despite his small school pedigree (Tennessee State), he proved he has the physical tools to belong by blowing up the Combine, and addressed level of competition concerns by faring very well at the Senior Bowl. He has NFL bloodlines (cousin Antonio Cromartie led the NFL in INTs despite not starting much of the 2007 season), and like his more famous relative, is a freakish athlete and playmaker that is extremely dangerous in the open field once he gets his hands on the ball. Dominique is also expected to begin his NFL career in a nickle role, but should quickly emerge as the Cards top CB. Coverage has been an Achilles heel of the franchise extending past the Whisenhunt regime, and DRC has a chance to be the best Arizona CB since the great Aeneas Williams. Brown could see time in the dime, and makes up for a lack of size (5'10" 185) with feistiness (3 FFs in 2007).

Last modified: 2008-08-30 20:06:51