Arizona Cardinals Information
The state of Arizona is one of the most beautiful states in the nation with a warm climate and breathtaking views all around. It also offers some of the best golf courses and resorts you can’t find anywhere else. Over the last 15 years, the city has picked up team in football, hockey, and baseball to join the Phoenix Suns of the NBA. The Phoenix Coyotes have been very competitive in their first few seasons, and the Arizona Diamondbacks have already won a World Series, but the Arizona Cardinals have been a disappointment since moving to the area in 1988. Since the 1988 season, the Cardinals have posted a dismal .348 winning percentage and have made only one playoff appearance going back to the mid-1980s (1998). Only twice in that time have they finished higher than 3rd in their division, but things are looking better for the team. They have a new coach in Dennis Green who has proven to be a winner as a coach in the league. They’ve moved out of the competitive NFC East where Philadelphia and Dallas have reigned supreme and into the new NFC West with a growing Seattle team, a somewhat unstable team in St. Louis, and a team trying to rebuild in San Francisco.
The team also has made a lot of progress through free agency and the draft. Young QB Josh McCown was drafted in 2002 and made strides in 2003 that showed he could be the quarterback of the future. All-time rushing leader Emmitt Smith and Marcel Shipp will compete for playing time and carries at the running back position. Anquan Boldin earned Rookie of the Year honors after catching 101 balls for 1,377 yards and eight touchdowns last season, and he’ll get more help in 2004 after the team drafted star wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald out of the University of Pittsburgh. Fitzgerald was far and away the top receiver during the 2003 college season and has a close relationship with Dennis Green going back to the days when Fitzgerald was a ball boy for the Vikings when Green coached there. Tight end Freddie Jones is one of the better tight ends in the league and should give the young McCown another target to throw at next season.
Ronald McKinnon led the team in 2003 with 105 tackles (83 solo), 11.5 tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles. Dennis Johnson and Ray Thompson tied for the team lead with three sacks each and Dexter Jackson and Renaldo Hill combined to record 11 of the team’s 13 total interceptions on the season. Jackson finished with six picks and 122 return yards while Hill had five picks and 119 return yards including a long of 70 yards and a touchdown.
All seven picks the Arizona Cardinals selected in the 2004 draft played at “BCS” schools out of one of the six major power conferences. The star of the bunch will undoubtedly be Fitzgerald who will step in and contribute immediately. Karlos Dansby, a linebacker from Auburn, and Darnell Dockett, a defensive tackle from Florida State, should also make an impact on the team in 2004. The big pick might be John Navarre, a quarterback out of the University of Michigan. Navarre was taken with the first pick in the seventh round and definitely had his ups and downs in college, but he’ll likely look at the model set by Tom Brady for support. Brady also graduated from Michigan and was selected late in the 6th round of his draft. Brady backed up All-Pro QB Drew Bledsoe before stepping in as the team’s starter and winning two Super Bowls including an MVP in both. Navarre was actually slightly more successful than Brady in college, so he could surprise people some day in the NFL.