NFL.com’s Week 1 power rankings have the Cardinals almost right in the middle of the league.
In one set of new NFL power rankings, as we prepare for the first week of the 225 NFL season, the Arizona Cardinals were viewed quite optimistically, nearly landing in the top 10. However, in the Week 1 NFL power rankings from NFL.com’s Eric Edholm, that was not the case.
He ranks the Cardinals much more modestly.
Cardinals middle of the pack in Week 1 NFL power rankings
Kicking off the season, the Cardinals come in at No. 17, moving up a spot from the last set of rankings.
I’m more bullish on the Cardinals than others might be, mainly because I still believe in the potential of Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr. and I think the defense has a chance to go from a middling or slightly below-average group to a top-12 type of unit. I think you can call their defensive front a strength, at least when Walter Nolen gets healthy. They’ve added layers of depth and talent up front. If the secondary holds up, this group could be vastly better overall. Murray remains an enigma in some ways, and Harrison’s rookie season wasn’t quite what we all hoped it would be, but I’ve seen this team’s incremental progress the past few years and expect the picture to sharpen this season. I think the playoffs are within reach, even in a tough division with all four teams nominally in contention, but finishing stronger is a must.
This seems to be what most people think of the Cardinals — a team that has potential but not one to be believed in until they show it.
Last season, they were perfectly mediocre, with all but one of their losses coming to teams with at least 10 wins. Aside from their loss to the Carolina Panthers, they beat teams that were even with them or below them in talent.
Their first game of the season is against the New Orleans Saints, a team expected to be bad, so a win won’t likely help the Cardinals much in their ranking next week.
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