Arizona Cardinals - Division Sleeper?

by David Fucillo on May 10, 2007 9:34 AM PDT in San Francisco 49ers News

Sfgfan pointed out the new power rankings over at CBS Sportsline. In the rankings, Pete Prisco ranks the 49ers 19th overall and 4th among NFC West teams. I don't want to get into the insanity of that decision here. Considering the highest NFC West team is 13th and the lowest is 19th, it clearly shows the parity and competitiveness the division should have this year. I would actually like to address the Arizona Cardinals. Prisco has them 13th and says, "They've added a lot of good football players to a team that had talent to begin with. They just might be the best team in the NFC West."

Personally, I don't think they're the best team in the NFC West. However, I do think they've made enough improvements to build on last year's 5-11 finish. I plan on doing a more in depth preview of the Cardinals closer to the season. In the meantime, I wonder what everyone here thinks of the Cardinals heading into 2007? They had a solid draft nabbing Levi Brown and then having Alan Branch fall into their laps in the 2nd round. They didn't have a lot of picks but I think they could have some winners on their hands. Ben Patrick could give them a solid alternative to Leonard Pope and Buster Davis could help shore up their linebacker corp. They didn't make many major splashes in free agency, but Roderick Hood could definitely help out in the secondary.

The Cardinals schedule provides plenty of opportunities for them to remain competitive in the division if they continue to improve. They get the Bucs, Lions, Browns and Redskins, which are all seemingly winnable games. While they might not improve much and finish 6-10 or 7-9, I think they could just as easily surprise people and finished 9-7 or 10-6 if the chips fall the right way. If that happens, this division becomes a legit 4-way race down to the wire. Arizona finishes the season at home against St. Louis, in a matchup that could affect the playoff race.

I'm of the belief that the 49ers and Seahawks are the teams to beat in this division. The Seahawks are the defending champs and the 49ers have obviously improved as much as anybody on paper. However, there will be no gimmes this year when it comes to intra-divisional matchups.

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Yeah.

I was going to write something similar as a response to Fooch's comment in the other post (regarding Power Rankings).

Arizona definitely is the big wildcard of the division. They could just as easily go 9-7 or 10-6 as they could go 5-11, again. This has been true of them for the last 3 to 4 years (at the very least). Their primary problem (at least from what I see) is lack of depth. They lack depth on the offensive line, and pretty much everywhere on defense (except maybe linebacker). Injuries have hindered any chance for success the past few seasons, and MAYBE this season is different.

I, too, feel that the Seahawks and the 49ers are the team to beat. The Seahawks are the incumbents, who really should be better if Alexander's foot is okay and Hasselbeck stays healthy. The 49ers are probably the second most complete team in the division, now. They have solid starters up and down the roster, and quality depth pretty much everywhere (except runningback).

This should be a great season the for NFC West. Maybe for once, two wild-cards can come from the West. Like Fooch says, no gimmes this year.

by sfgfan on May 10, 2007 10:24 AM PDT reply actions

Honestly

Here are my rankings of the NFC West:

Seattle
Arizona
San Francisco
St. Louis

Seattle's the #1 just because they're the incumbant and a healthy Alexander will make they tough. I've got us tied with Arizona because I think both team have a lot of upside but some fairly large concerns as well. With all the additions both teams might be a year out from battling it out as the best team in the NFC West. While the greatest show on turf is just getting older and has a pretty suspect defense.

by methodrampage on May 10, 2007 12:57 PM PDT up reply actions

eh, Zona still has work to do

They got just as many holes on their team as the Niners do. There linebackers flat out suck and you can get under and move Branch. Running should be affective. Plus, they are an O-fence team with a loser mentality. They lost one tough one to the bears and then folded like a house of cards. The Niners lost a crusher to St. Luis late and then went out and kicked the shit outta Denver. They got bigger issues than talent. Plus, the Niners are built to stop the pass which was the achilles heal last year. This year the Niners can go three deep in man coverage no prob. If they can get pressure on pretty boy Lienart then no prob. He hates getting hit and it affects him. I see the team built to compete with these types of teams this year. Seattle is coming back strong, but Zona gotta do something to even get in this conversation.

by The Roach on May 10, 2007 2:50 PM PDT reply actions

Also

They couldnt run the ball last year. Levi Brown doesnt make it so they can this year. Maybe that coach will help a little, but they just dont have the personel to be good on the ground, yet. Now if they get Faneca from the Steelers. Then we got probs. Cause he fills a big hole. But, as things are now. They got a tired finese back and weak lineman. Running should be a non issue. AGAIN.

by The Roach on May 10, 2007 2:58 PM PDT reply actions