Heading into Week 12, the Arizona Cardinals were the hottest team in all of football, boasting a 9-1 record under second-year head coach Bruce Arians. Following two consecutive road defeats to the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons though, speculations as to whether this team is really elite can be posed. Let’s look at the facts for a second.
The Arizona Cardinals rank 23rd in total offense, which includes a ranking of second-to-last in rushing yards per game (74.8). Defensively, this is a team that has been decimated by injuries, but they still manage to be a top-10 defense against the run. However, Arizona’s pass defense is 27th in the NFL, despite featuring Patrick Peterson and Antonio Cromartie, two of the game’s elite cornerbacks.
The loss of Carson Palmer for the season was tragic for this Cardinals squad. Palmer has never been an elite quarterback in the NFL, but he has a more than capable arm, as well as very good instincts and pocket presence. Drew Stanton has done an admirable job as Palmer’s replacement, but 6 touchdowns and 5 interceptions doesn’t cut it in the NFL. In addition to those numbers, the former Michigan State Spartans quarterback is only completing 55% of his passes.
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Like the Cleveland Browns, the Arizona Cardinals are beginning to recognize their deficiencies now that they are losing more games. Drew Stanton, like Brian Hoyer of Cleveland, won’t win a team games by himself, but he won’t necessarily lose them either, which is why they have been masked for most of the season. The fact that the Cardinals’ rushing attack has been a bismal as well, doesn’t make things any easier for Stanton.
For me, this Arizona Cardinals team resembles the Kansas City Chiefs of 2013 in more ways than one. Alex Smith is very similar to Drew Stanton at the quarterback position. Neither man is flashy, but they are capable of managing games. While the Cardinals haven’t played an easy schedule, their schedule hasn’t exactly been daunting either. In 2013, the Kansas City Chiefs played one team (Philadelphia Eagles) in their first nine games, who ended up making it to the postseason.
The team’s two biggest wins thus far in 2014 came in Week 1 against the San Diego Chargers and in Week 8 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Both match-ups were at home though, and decided by four points or less. The Cardinals still have to play every team in the NFC West one more time down the stretch, as well as a date with the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. It seems hard for me to believe that this team will go better than 2-2 in their final four games, and will likely be passed by the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles for seeding purposes.