Raising Arizona??

The Arizona Cardinals. The first thing that comes to mind when I think about the Cardinals is their status as a perrenial doormat in possibly the weakest division the entire NFL has to offer. This team, in a 20-year Arizona history, has finished last 9 times and only made the playoffs once - 1998 - the same season in which the Cardinals posted their only winning record.

But yet, that doesn't keep some NFL beat writers from touting them consistently in recent years as "up and comers." The latest being Len Pasquarelli of ESPN.com.

As a disclaimer - I think Len always has a lot of good insight and being that he is a guy from Pittsburgh, I pretty much automatically respect his opinion. So I was a little alarmed by his headline "Cardinals a team on the Rise," although to his credit, he tempers his enthusiasm for their new "situation" with the necessary amount of "but still, they're the Cardinals."

Anyways, in his recent story on ESPN.com, Pasquarelli writes "With a new and inspiring coach, a state-of-the-art stadium, a young quarterback around whom to build for the future, an oasis of proven playmakers on offense and a defense with legitimate potential for improvement, Arizona might be ready for a change." Implying that Matt Leinart's success towards the end of last year coupled with The Whiz calling plays and Russ Grimm's instruction on run blocking (something that offensive line needs more than anything in the world) means the Cardinals might actually not finish in the NFC West's basement next season.

I think there's almost a 100% chance the Cardinals will improve, however to say they are up and comers, I'll reserve judgement. The NFC West, aside from Seattle, hasn't exactly wow'd anyone lately. But that didn't stop San Francisco from significantly upgrading it's roster this off season. And don't count St. Louis out completely either. Bulger's a good QB who can hit just about any receiver (and he's got a bevy to choose from now - Holt, Bruce, Bennett) and Stephen Jackson can run with the best of them, amassing over 1500 yards and 13 TDs last season.

All in all I guess you could say I'm skeptical...