Arizona Cardinals: 3 Concerns for the Cardinals

Jun. 11, 2013; Glendale, AZ, USA: Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer (3) during mini camp at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

In a previous article, I mentioned there are always concerns for every NFL Franchise. Mentioning, there are 31 teams with several concerns by seasons end. In fact, even if you had won a Super Bowl there are always many concerns after the season. As every year presence a new set of issues, issues such as a loss of free agent(s) after the season or perhaps a glaring weakness that was exposure after the previous year’s disappointments.

There are sometimes many issues that franchises will try to resolve during the offseason.  However, for the sake of this article, there are three main concerns for the Arizona Cardinals that I will try to point out.

Three main concerns for the Arizona Cardinals have to be: one: Carson Palmer and the quarterback position. Two: the offensive line. Three: how the new coaching staff will mesh with the current players on their roster (chemistry).

First, how will Carson Palmer fit in new head coach Bruce Arians’ offense?

Arians claims that Palmer is a perfect fit for his offensive system.
During OTA’s Arians mentioned that he has the best deep pass in football and he has looked solid so far.

Of course, it is sometimes misleading to judge how a player will play when the real season starts when you are only in a pair of gym shorts and there is no tackling involved (during the OTA’s).  We will soon see how Palmer plays when the real darts starts flying, so to speak, very soon.

Second, do the Redbirds have enough help on the offensive line?

With the return of Levi Brown after being out for the year with a torn triceps, at left tackle; Can he finally live up to the lofty expectations of a number five pick in the draft and be a franchise left tackle? So far he has been somewhat of a disappointment, however he did show some promise during the second half of the season a year before last. It remains to be seen whether he will be able to live up to the expectations of a premiere left tackle.

How good will rookie left guard Jonathan Cooper prove to be? Will he live up to the expectations of being selected seventh of the first round in this year’s draft? Which is extremely rare to see a guard selected that high in the draft. For a guard to be picked that high, if he doesn’t become a perennial pro bowler, would be a major disappointment in its own right.

Furthermore, will Bobby Massie continue his tremendous improvement he had in the second half of last season? Will Lyle Sendlein continue to play solid at the center position? How will Daryn Colledge perform at right guard? Will Colledge even start at right guard? Or will there be a major surprise at that spot?

All these question pose major questions on the offensive line. We will soon see how all this plays out.

The third and final concern for the Arizona Cardinals: how will the new coaching staff mesh with the current players on the roster? Will they be able to gain chemistry quickly on both sides of the football?  For instance, will Bruce Arians and staff be able to install his offensive system quickly enough to get off to a fast start to the season?  Can Arians get Carson Palmer off to a quick starts and gain chemistry with his running mates?

How will new defensive coordinator Todd Bowles mesh with the defense? Will Bowles be able to keep the momentum going from what Ray Horton created the last two seasons? The last two seasons, Horton in his 3-4 defensive system’ had created one of the better defenses in the NFL.

All in all, there are simply so many unanswered questions and concerns for the 2013 Arizona Cardinals. How will all this play out? As I have said in many articles, we will soon get to see how all this plays out in anticipation of the start of the season September 8, in St Louis against the Rams.