Flying Around the Round Table: When Will the Cardinals Become Super Bowl Contenders?
By Baily Deeter
Jun 5, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh (right) presents President Barack Obama (left) with a football jersey at The White House. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports
The Arizona Cardinals went 5-11 in 2012, but their future is bright.
After adding about 50 players this offseason, the Cardinals are poised for a solid 2013 campaign. Thirty-three-year-old quarterback Carson Palmer isn’t extremely young, but the future is still bright for the new faces on the Cardinals.
However, the Cardinals reside in the NFC West, one of the NFL’s hardest divisions. In addition, they are in a conference with great teams around them, like the San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers. Going to the Super Bowl won’t be easy for the Cardinals.
It’s likely to happen sometime, though. When will that be? Here are some answers from our staff.
Edgar Valenzuela
Maybe I’m biased, but I believe this team will make the playoffs this year. We saw in 2008 how everything started clicking for the Cardinals that year in the playoffs and shocked the world by making the Super Bowl! We saw it again this past year with the Ravens nobody expected them to get passed the Broncos. While the division is a whole lot tougher altogether one big difference is the Cardinals defense which was ranked 28th that year.
Now they have one of the best defenses in the league. Hoping that Carson Palmer will have a career year and the O-line steps up this team is a Super Bowl contender to me. Obviously as fan this is coming from my heart and not my head, but in the NFL you just never know anyone can win on any given Sunday all it takes is a key turnover and a swing of momentum. The Cardinals made fools out of almost every single analyst picking against them because they went off the paper, and good thing they aren’t played on paper.
Earl Burnett
Simple, when they get a franchise quarterback. Carson Palmer only has 3 maybe 4 years left in his career, and they need to be grooming a young 1st round quarterback during 2 or 3 of those years. That is where we start, then get one more high rounder on the offensive line.
I think they are young enough on defense and at the running back position to be dynamic in a few years. the next draft should land them an opportunity to get that franchise quarterback, I hope. but if they get these pieces and 2 to 3 years under the Bruce Arians system they should be contending in about 4 years. Especially because of the way Steve Keim is doing things in getting talent in the draft.
Rich Cantrell
The Cardinals will be Super Bowl contenders again in 2015. This will give head coach Bruce Arians and general manager Steve Keim a couple of years to install the offense and overhaul the current roster. The Cardinals will need to draft a quarterback in the 2014 draft so the young quarterback can study and learn from Carson Palmer for a year before taking over in 2015. Who ever this young quarterback is, he will be counted on to lead the Cardinals back to Super Bowl contention in 2015.
Matthew Gay
Every Arizona Cardinal fanatic will say they think the Cardinals are Super Bowl contenders this year and I agree, but not because I am a fanatic. The Cardinals have the talent on the field, new scheme that is a proven winner plus player friendly and a new regime in the front office to support success. The reasons above and my hypothesis that the 49ers will take a step back help create the opportunity for the Cardinals to sneak into a wild-card spot and make a entertaining play-off run to the super bowl this year.
Cyle Gill
This question really isn’t that hard when you think about the team the Cardinals already had and with Arians and Keim believing that the group of guys they brought in, are just as good or better then the guys they let go. If Arians and Keim hit the nail on the head right from the get go, this team can do wonderful things right away.
After this season, if Arians believes he found his core group of guys and can get them to resigned, then I don’t see why they can’t be contenders next year. On the other hand, if they can’t find or keep players by the end of 2015, then we as fans, will have to wait until they find another quarterback to build a team around, if Stanton hasn’t figured out how to play the position by then.
Baily Deeter
It will take some time. I love what Steve Keim did this offseason, but I think it’s not going to come with Carson Palmer at the helm. I see a playoff berth and some exciting moments coming in the next few years, but the Cardinals will need the next Tom Brady or Peyton Manning to win the Super Bowl. The Cardinals are a good, well-rounded team, but to say that they’re Super Bowl contenders seems to be a bit of a stretch.