Clark Judge of CBS Sportsline has a hunch about which teams will be most improved next season. At the top of the list? The Arizona Cardinals.
The Cardinals? Say what?
Actually, I’m inclined to agree. The Cardinals showed a little improvement last year under head coach Dennis Green — until he lost his mind and put Shawn King in the lineup, anyway — and they’re in the NFC West, the worst division in the NFL. The Rams and Seahawks are .500 teams at best who didn’t seem to improve much in the offseason, and the 49ers are going to be a joke for at least another two or three years.
So it’s not much of a climb for Arizona from third to first, especially when you consider the Cardinals added Kurt Warner and J.J. Arrington in the offseason. If the offensive line is any good, those additions could pay big dividends early on. The jury may be out on Warner, but don’t forget that he went 5-2 with the Giants before outside pressure pushed Eli Manning into the starting role.
Who else does Mr. Judge dig? Yep, it’s the Panthers…
They’re one season removed from the Super Bowl, so they’re not exactly emerging out of nowhere. But the Panthers lost seven of their first eight in 2004 and finished with their fourth losing season in five years.
That changes this year for all the right reasons: 1) They made strong free-agent moves, including the signings of cornerback Ken Lucas and offensive lineman Mike Wahle; 2) They hit it big in the draft, with the addition of safety Thomas Davis; 3) Wide receiver Steve Smith is back after missing all but one game and; 4) so is one of their top running backs, DeShaun Foster.
Judge is also downplaying the role of rookie RB Eric Shelton, who’s looking more and more like he’ll be a major factor this season, especially if Wahle improves the offensive line as much as everyone thinks he will. There’s even talk of cutting He Hate Me for lack of roster space…
