Cardinals Hope to Repair Wings

The Arizona Cardinals had a difficult offseason, losing a number of key players. They'll turn to the draft to replenish their roster, starting at No. 26 tomorrow night. KSCR 1560 AM in Los Angeles' Dave Dulberg, a Cardinals fan, believes the team has a few options in the first round.

In the valley of the sun expectations could not be higher regarding the Arizona Cardinals. Over a two year span, in which the team has won two division titles and been on the doorstep of football immortality, a franchise that was once despised for its frugal ownership, game day choke jobs, and draft day busts (yes I’m talking to you Wendell Bryant and Andre Wadsworth) has become the team of the city.

But just as the team and its growing faithful began reveling in the success of the past two campaigns, it seems the 180-degree transformation may have hit a bit of a speed bump this off-season. For an organization coming off its best statistical regular season since relocating to desert in 1987, it seemed more than plausible that the team would spend the months following their 42-14 Conference Semifinals shellacking at the hands of the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints retooling rather than reviving.

However, in typical “Cardinal fashion” anything that is too good to be true, probably is. In a less than a month, the team lost its spiritual and offensive leader Kurt Warner to retirement, its defensive punch in Karlos Dansby and Antrell Rolle to free agency, and arguably its strongest force, both mentally and physically, in Anquan Boldin, whose departure via trade was written on the wall months earlier.

While the team tried to save face with both its fans and players, bringing in an aging interior linebacker who is past his prime (Joey Porter), a one-hit wonder whose accuracy leaves something to be desired (Derek Anderson), and a tempestuous cornerback with a checkered work ethic, still leaves the Redbirds with some work to do this weekend at the NFL Draft. Even if their talent alone is good enough today to capture a third straight division title in the NFC West, which is easily the worst division in professional sports, the team’s manic makeover leaves them with an inexperienced quarterback in a league defined by the position.

Although the departure of Warner, Boldin, Dansby, and Rolle on the surface appear to have created holes in playmaking positions, the biggest loss for a team predicated on its 3-4 defense, was the retirement of Bertrand Berry. While Thursday night will be full of nose tackles and defensive ends like Gerald McCoy and Dan Williams going off draft boards early in the night, the Cards' best bet at No. 26 is to fill Berry’s role with a versatile linebacker who will: a) further along the maturation process of Will Davis and Ali Highsmith through competition; b) allow the newly-signed Porter to roam freely on the outside; or c) provide versatility both as run-stopper and third down rusher (both qualities Berry exhibited throughout his tenure).

The big names that come to mind from a linebacker standpoint are Big 12 studs Sean Weatherspoon (Missouri) and Sergio Kindle (Texas). While they both are without a doubt the two most athletic pro-ready backers in the draft, in many ways their high marks basically cancel each other out, leaving the potential that one falls to the latter part of the first round. If those two names are called quicker than expected, look for the Cardinals to go after two-time All-American Jerry Hughes from TCU. The reigning MWC Defensive Player of the Year is the ultimate DE/LB hybrid in this year’s draft and could be a more than admirable fit for NFC West champs at No. 26. While undersized, his quickness off the line combined with the uncanny amount of strength he displayed with his 11.5 sacks in 2009, makes him an instant bona fide pass rusher a la Dwight Freeney.

If all else fails the Redbirds could look to add a pass catching threat for Leinart, and if they choose to go in that direction, it most likely will come from the tight end position- in particular, Oklahoma’s Jermaine Gresham. While a right meniscus tear kept him out of playing his senior season, with his 6’5”, 251-pound frame it is no wonder he caught 25 touchdowns his final two seasons in Norman. If any early round prospect can help make up for the loss of Boldin, it is the physical Gresham, who plays more like a big receiver than a tight end.

For now it’s a waiting game, or for Cardinals’ fans, a praying game. Let’s just hope the Bidwill family doesn’t do anything stupid, after all the draft’s now in primeti