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Arizona Cardinals Midterm Report

Alright, well the Arizona Cardinals are half way through the 2007 season and it’s time for their midterm report card. I predicted the Cardinals would be 3-4 going into the bye week. So I’m not surprised where the team is, but we all know it could and should be better.

Offense: D+

I give the Cardinals a D+ on offense for the first half of the season. Some people would give the offense an F and others would give it a C.  I don’t give them an F because of improvement in some crucial areas. The offensive line has improved greatly thanks to Russ Grimm, they’ve given Edgerrin James some room to run and allowed very few sacks. Despite a rough game last week against Tampa, Edge is still on pace to have one of the best rushing seasons in Cardinals history, although that’s not saying much. Maybe the single reason why I didn’t give the Cardinals an F on offense was due to the success in the red zone this season. The Cardinals are the best team in the league inside the 20 and that’s a huge change from other years. The reason the Cards offense doesn’t get better than a D+ is simpily because they are not producing enough points. This should be at least a top 10 offense in the NFL with the talent they have. But unfortunately things again have just not clicked. You could blame it on some injuries but I put that on the coaches to make sure they get the most out of their players.

Defense: B

I give the Cardinals defense a B. If someone in the beginning of the year would have told me the strength of the Cardinals would have been their defense I would have told them they’re an idiot. I don’t think anyone predicted a defense like this out of Arizona.  Somehow the D has done the job and kept the Cards in games. The only reason why I don’t give them an A is because of the lack of turnovers they produce. The Cards are -9 in turnover ratio, ranking them 30th in the NFL. On the positive side Darnell Dockett is having a Pro Bowl year, leading the NFL’s interior linemen with 8 sacks. The weak link for the Cards defense is the cornerbacks and they’re doing a solid job holding teams from big plays with the exception of a couple. If the defense keeps up the good work and the offense starts moving the ball a little better, this team could still be heading to the playoffs.

Special Teams: D

I give the Cardinals special teams a D. Probably the only reason why they don’t get an F is because of Steve Breaston’s game winning punt return against Pittsburgh. Breaston is a great return man and one of the toughest at the position in the NFL, he is never afraid to catch a ball or stick his nose in there. But how is he supposed to show his potential if the guy gets no blocking. On kickoffs teams are at the 15 yard line by the time Steve catches the ball. They do a terrible job blocking on Kick and Punt returns. It seems like they get called for holding on almost every play. The Special teams has also allowed their share of big plays on the other side of the ball as well. I love Neil Rackers but the guy has missed a couple big kicks that needed to be made. I still want him as Arizona’s kicker but in clutch moments he needs to improve although he did have one game winning kick this season. Mike Barr the punter seems to have a less than average leg. He is good enough for now but that’s a position the Cards need to upgrade on in the off season.

Coaching: C

I give the coaching staff a C. You have to keep in mind this is the staff’s first season with the Cardinals. It usually takes a couple years to instill a new scheme. I give the O-line coach Russ Grimm an A for turning average offensive linemen into good ones. The line has improved no question, even the players that don’t usually play came in and did a great job thanks to Russ. I give Clancy Pendergast an A also with what he’s done with that defense. Like I said before, nobody saw the defense playing this well and a lot of that is thanks to Clancy. Kevin Spencer who is the special teams coach gets a D- from me. In my opinion I don’t think he has the personnel to have a great special teams but one thing I do know is the department he’s in charge of is failing. So even though Kevin might be doing a good job, his special teams are not. Finally, I give head coach Ken Whisenhunt a C+. I give him a C+ because he runs the offense and they lack in that area right now. I feel Ken has done a great job bringing a winning attitude to Arizona and I love some things he’s done. But lately the play calling seems a little iffy and the offense just can’t get the job done. Ken’s smart, tough, disciplined approach isn’t working yet. The team leads the league in penalty yards. Obviously smart, tough, disciplined football teams don’t do that.

Overall Grade: C-

I think a C- is just about right for an overall grade. The team’s record should be a little better than it is but still they’re not out of it. The biggest thing holding the Cardinals down is penalties and turnover ratio. It’s actually a miracle Arizona is 3-5 with how bad they are in the penalty and turnover department.

The key game of the second half of the season will be against Seattle. If they lose that game I’d say they have no chance at the playoffs. If they pull one out in Seattle they might just have enough wins to take the NFC West. Hopefully we will at least see them make a run at it.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 7th, 2007 at 5:52 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.