A year ago the Arizona Cardinals were coming off a Superbowl appearance that very nearly earned them their first world championship. Another division title later, followed by an absolute deluge of points scored and conceded in an overtime win against Green Bay before losing to eventual Superbowl winners, the New Orleans Saints, and the Cards are a very different team.
The face of the franchise and future Hall of fame trigger man, Kurt Warner, has retired. The highly-touted but thus far unconvincing Matt Leinart inherits this young team, but will likely have to watch from the bench while former Browns passer Derek Anderson fills-in until coach Ken Whisenhunt is sure Leinart can shoulder the responsibility of powering the league's most feared aerial attack.
But that itself has been weakened with the departure of Pro Bowl receiver Anquan Boldin. Boldin's trade to the Baltimore Ravens has impacted the level of every-down experience left on the receiving corps. They still have Larry Fitzgerald - arguably the league's best pass-catcher - and the impressive Setve Breaston, but the overall team chemistry has been dabbled with thanks to such high-profile departures.
Whisenhunt has expressed excitment at having the chance to watch this young team mould an identity of its own, but with such a short season to work with, will the fruits of Ken's solid foundations mature this year, or will the desert faithful be forced to wait?
Last year's rookie sensation, Chris 'Beanie' Wells, finally feels comfortable carrying the load. His ability to pound the rock between the tackles might see the Cardinals emerge as a run-first team while the youths occupying the skill positions bed-in. This isn't a bad strategy - the Ravens did it with Flacco, the Falcons with Ryan and the Jets with Sanchez. All three of those young guys made it to the playoffs in their first season at the healm, with Flacco and Sanchez going all the way to the AFC championship game to boot.
With Warner gone, this team will need time to hear its new leader's voice above the din of inexperience and expectation. They compete in a division that has been sub-par the last few seasons, but both the Seahawks and the 49ers believe they have the muscle to oust the two-time champs this year.
The defence has said goodbye to some of its mainstays and welcomed in some aging pros who should add a good mix of wisdom to an opportunistic and vital unit.
If the Cards get off to a good start, a rush of confidence might be all this team needs to gel, but if their offence misfires and they stumble out of the blocks, don't be surprised to witness a sad and undeserved collapse of one the league's most electrifying (if wildly unpredicatble) teams.
Pick up THE HARE newspaper at Night and Day, Bar Centro, Font or Tiger Lounge in Manchester town centre, or the Oakwood in Glossop.
E-mail theharenewspaper@hotmail.co.uk with questions, comments or contributory pieces.
No comments:
Post a Comment