Arizona Cardinals: How high should expectations be for 2018?

The Arizona Cardinals have plenty of fresh faces this season. What is a reasonable expectation for this team in 2018?

David Johnson is healthy. Sam Bradford is the Arizona Cardinals starting quarterback. The ageless one, Larry Fitzgerald, is ready to expand his legacy. What is reasonable to expect from the Cardinals in the 2018 season?

New head coach Steve Wilks and his staff have done a very good job to preparing Arizona for the regular season. The Cardinals defense will be flying around the field making plays. After finishing 8-8 last season, will they win more games?

The NFC West division is going to be a tough one to win. Arizona has the ability to play with the other three teams, if they play smart and stay healthy. However, the Cardinals are a different team than last year’s version. The Cardinals offense has a new field general. Bradford has plenty of weapons at his disposal. Most of all, Mike McCoy is the offensive coordinator.

Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com reported the following:

"Wilks has repeatedly talked about the importance of the running game, and it’s hard to envision the offense of coordinator Mike McCoy being anything but heavy run anyway."

Currently, Arizona has three running backs on their roster. Johnson is the starter but Chase Edmonds and T.J. Logan are more than capable of toting the ball. Adding Derrick Coleman as the fullback, helps establish the running attack.

Offensively, the Cardinals will be able to score more points. Also, the running game will allow the team to move the chains, early and often. This will allow the defense to rest instead of collecting snaps on defense.

The Cardinals had a top-10 NFL defense in 2017. They were ranked third by Football Outsiders according to DVOA. They were ranked sixth in total defense according to NFL.com. How does that translate for this season? If everyone stays healthy, the Cardinals could finish second in the division. The Los Angeles Rams will be tough to beat.

If they win their home games and steal a few on the road, a 10-6 record is possible. Is that a reasonable expectation? Perhaps in today’s NFL, if you believe the Cardinals have a better team than last year.