Looking To The Future

Probably too soon for this, but all the teams have started preparing for next year, so I guess I can as well. While I really would have liked for Arizona to win the Super Bowl, they certainly gave me more this year than I was expecting. The trick now is whether they can build on it. Recent trends suggest they can't, since only 1 out of the last eight teams to lose the Super Bowl even made the playoffs the next year*.

It's a real concern for me, because the last time the Cardinals made the playoffs, people were predicting it could be the start of something, only to have the Cardinals go 6-10 in 1999, as everything went to hell. That team didn't seem to address the flaws they had, and also seemed to allow new ones to open up. A quick review:

- They allowed Lomas Brown, their best offensive lineman, and the man responsible for guarding Jake Plummer's blindside**, to leave as a free agent. He was replaced by one of their 2 first round draft picks that year, L.J. Shelton. Now Brown was in his late 30s, so he was due to decline, but I question the wisdom of assigning a rookie the task of keeping Strahan off your QB twice a year. Not to mention Jim Johnson's Eagle defense.

- They let Larry Centers leave in free agency. Centers is only the #1 pass receiver (in catches) in franchise history, and a valuable safety valve for Jake, so he doesn't feel so compelled to heave the ball downfield into heavy coverage. Centers was replaced by another rookie, Joel Makovicka, who was essentially another O-lineman. He was certainly not a runner or receiver***. As best I can figure, the Cardinals wanted a more physical running game, ignoring the fact their primary back, Adrian Murrell was more of a cutback runner, as opposed to a big, punishing type of running back.

- They let outside linebacker Jamir Miller leave in free agency as well. Miller was primarily a pass-rushing, run-stuffing linebacker, whom they replaced with Rob Frederickson, whose strength was pass defense.

Now beyond that, they were hampered by injuries, some unforseen (WR Rob Moore blew out his Achillies ina preseason game), some predictable (Eric Swann got hurt? Again? Shock!), draft picks that didn't pan out (Shelton and Anthony Clement, meant to be massive tackles, never became what the team hoped, Andre Wadsworth was certainly not the next Bruce Smith, Johnny Rutledge never broke through as a LB), but it doesn't feel as though that team made the necessary steps to shore up their team, or fix the gaps that were present.

So what faces the 2009 Cardinals? As I udnerstand it, the Cards have only 37 players under contract for next year, which means a lot of free agents, including Warner, Karlos Dansby, J.J. Arrington, DE Antonio Smith, and Betrand Berry. Plus you have the possibility of needing to get Adrian Wilson a contract extension, and Edge James wanting to go elsewhere, and Anquan Boldin wanting a new contract. Some of the players will be back, some will be replaced by other free agents (the Ravens' Terrell Suggs supposedly would like to go to Arizona), and some spots are going to be filled by draft picks. This is the first offseason in awhile where I'm actually very curious to see what they do. Who they retain, who they bid farewell to, if they cut players still under contract to open up more space (though they supposedly have about $40 million under the cap currently).

Offhand, the O-line almost certainly needs work. If you're going to bank on Warner, then pass protection needs to be as strong as you can make it. or conversely, I guess you could emphasize run blockers, and try and improve the running game so Kurt doesn't need ot throw so often. Hoepfully you find linemen proficient at both. I'd say the secondary could use some help, tight end and running back as well. The Cardinals have several tight ends, but none of them really seem well-rounded, except for Stephen Spach, who was injured against Carolina and wasn't seen again. I have no clue if he's viable for next year.

* Without bothering to check, I'm guessing it was the 2006 Seahawks.

** It's worth mentioning that after the '98 season, management gave Jake a 4 year, $28 million contract, with a $15 million signing bonus. How much cap space that swallowed, I don't know, but you'd think keeping that investment upright would be a priority.

*** In 4 seasons (1999-2002), Makovicka rushed a total of 17 times, and caught 47 passes. Centers, just in the six years I had been watching the team (1993-1998), carried the ball 469 times, and caught 475 passes. I guess they planned for those catches and carries to go to running backs, but I'm not sure it did.