Have the Arizona Cardinals overtaken the Carolina Panthers?
By Jim Koch
A position by position breakdown between the Arizona Cardinals and the team that knocked them from the playoffs the past two seasons
The two playoff games were brutal to watch for Arizona Cardinals fans. Both for different reasons.
The first one, in January of 2015, may have had a different outcome if Carson Palmer, or even Drew Stanton for that matter, had been able to suit up for the contest. Instead we had to suffer through Ryan Lindley who struggled to hit even wide open wide receivers on that day.
The game this past January was never really competitive, a mixture of falling behind early to a great defense on the road and then pressing to get back into the game.
The fact of the matter is that the Carolina Panthers are the reigning champions of the NFC. There’s a decent chance that the road to Super Bowl LI will go through North Carolina once again.
The following is a position by position breakdown matching up our Arizona Cardinals and the team we most likely will have to beat to get to the Super Bowl :
Quarterback – Palmer and Cam Newton were pretty much neck and neck the entire season for the NFL MVP award. Palmer is more accurate but Newton’s mobility and ability to gain yards on the ground is a nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators. For now the edge goes to the reigning MVP of the NFL. Edge: Panthers
Running Back- The Cards have a youngster on the cusp of greatness in David Johnson backed up by a crafty veteran in Chris Johnson. Andre Ellington provides speed and pass-catching ability as a change of pace back. Carolina’s Jonathan Stewart is a good back who’s aging and extremely injury-prone while Cameron Artis-Payne and Fozzy Whittaker are his backups. Edge: Cardinals
Wide Receiver – The Cardinals boast a receiving corps that may be the best in the NFL with Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, John Brown and newcomer J.J Nelson. While Kelvin Benjamin and Devin Funchess show promise for Carolina the rest of the squad is mediocre with Ted Ginn Jr., Philly Brown and Stephen Hill. Edge: Cardinals
Tight End- Jermaine Gresham should have a better season with a full offseason under his belt. Darren Fells shows ability while Troy Niklas and Ifeanyi Momah are works in progress. Greg Olsen is one of the best in the league at his position, having topped 1000 yards the past two seasons. Veteran Ed Dickson and rookie Beau Sandland provide depth. Edge : Panthers
Offensive Line- The Cards line features top-notch starters with Jared Veldheer, Mike Iupati and Evan Mathis but has question marks at both center and right tackle. Carolina’s line is a mixture of solid vets with Ryan Kalil and Michael Oher along with youngsters Andrew Norwell, Trai Turner and Mike Remmers. Edge: Cardinals
Next: The defense