Peter Schrager came out with a list on FoxSports.com today ranking the offseason moves made by every team so far, 1-32. Where did the Cardinals rank? Read the excerpt from his article below.
12. Arizona Cardinals
There’s a new boss in town in Arizona, and hopefully a new culture too. The joke of the draft was the fact that the Cardinals were on the clock before lunchtime for what felt like the twentieth year in a row. Ken Whisenhunt and Co. will try to reverse that trend. The defensive backfield improved in the off-season with the signings of Terrence Holt from Detroit and Roderick Hood from Philadelphia. On the offensive line, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson were signed as well. Then the Cardinals flat out cleaned up at the draft. My favorite draft class of all 32 NFL teams, Arizona had five picks and knocked each one out of the park. Levi Brown will be Russ Grimm’s offensive line anchor for the next 10 years, Alan Branch was a top ten pick who slipped because of combine scores, and Buster Davis, Steve Breaston, and Ben Patrick could all be starting on opening day. Phenomenal job for Arizona.
Biggest gain: Levi Brown, OL
Biggest loss: Leonard Davis, OL
Are they in better shape than they were in January? Matt Leinart and that offense were just hitting their stride as the season came to an end. Edgerrin James recorded his first big game of the season, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin were hauling in receptions, and the defense was playing tough. Insert Whisenhunt and Grimm — and you have the Super Bowl champion experience at the top that’s necessary to get to the playoffs and beyond. Things are all good in Glendale. For the eighth season in a row, they’ll be a sleeper pick by the experts in the season preview articles all over the Internet.
Everywhere you turn, people are taking notice of the moves that the Cards have been making. The players are excited, the fans are excited, the community is energized, and the sports world is really starting to buy into the idea of a winner in Arizona. Then you may wonder why the Cardinals only ranked 12th on the list? It’s because while many are expecting good things from Big Red this year, the Cards have been an up and coming team for so long that this has become a staple of the off season: people expect a turn around and every year they get disappointed by too many close games, too many 4th quarter let downs, too many woulda, shoulda, coulda moments…….
But I truly believe that Whisenhunt is gonna turn it around….I do…I have to!!
Mike Duggan
Post Editor