Arizona Cardinals: Week 2 Power Ranking Round-Up
By Erich Becker
All around the web, everyone has a different opinion on where the Cardinals should be ranked (along with every team) when you directly compare each of the 32 teams to each other.
First, take a look at our Power Rankings and see that the Cardinals break into the top 5 at number 5:
"…the defense is lights out (when you don’t run screen passes) and when it counts in the fourth quarter you won’t find a team as stout on the line as Arizona. The Cardinals shouldn’t overlook the Bears next week…"
Elliot Harrison over at NFL.com has the Cardinals ranked five as well:
"The Chris Johnson signing now looms large, as the artist formerly known as CJ2K will have to pick up serious slack for however long Ellington is out. Carson Palmer performed well running that offense; he looked pretty mobile on that rollout touchdown pass. #encouraging"
Mike Florio at ProFootballTalk tries his hand at comedy in making a crack at the Cardinals re-soded field, but has the team at number eight:
"Maybe if they keep winning they can afford to re-sod the whole field and not just the middle of it."
Sean Tomlinson at Bleacher Report has the Cardinals at number 7:
"But perhaps the most threatening development for opposing defenses going forward came from how the Cardinals sealed their win…Arians has a new toy—and a healthy quarterback."
Frank Schwab at Shutdown Corner on Yahoo has the team ranked the lowest at 11:
"The Cardinals appear convinced that Chris Johnson can be the lead back while Andre Ellington is out for perhaps a few weeks with a PCL sprain in his right knee. Maybe Bruce Arians sees something that wasn’t apparent in Johnson the past few years."
The hive mind at ESPN (maybe they are the borg) have the red birds at six:
"Carson Palmer threw two touchdowns in the fourth quarter in Week 1. Palmer has an 88.0 Total QBR in the fourth quarter the past two seasons, best in the NFL."
The opinions are in and the Arizona Cardinals all firmly in the top 10 just about everywhere you look, as high as five, as low as 11, but that Schwab guy is always a little cranky. Overall, the Cardinals are getting some respect here and there, as long as they continue to take care of business (and apparently hire a new gardener) they’ll be fine.