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2008 Team Preview by RotoExperts.com Staff Writer Mark Strausberg
OVERVIEW
The Cardinals came into 2007 on nearly everyone’s list of sleeper teams, including Regis Philbin’s. But maybe Regis should have phoned a friend, because once again Arizona finished with a losing record. Despite their record, there was an oasis or two of fantasy talent in the desert. Matt Leinart got injured early in the season and Kurt Warner stepped in and threw 27 touchdown passes. Larry Fitzgerald was often on the receiving end of Warner’s passes and proved to be well worth the early pick those owners invested in him. Even though the ratio of pass plays to running plays ran counter to Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt's intentions of a run-heavy team, Edgerrin James still had over 1,000 yards rushing. There are a number of a variables such as whom the starting QB may be, and just how much sand is left in the hourglass for James, but don’t expect 2008 to be too different from 2007 for the Cardinals. |
 | ENGEL EYE ON: THE ARIZONA CARDINALS | Matt Leinart is strictly a boom or bust fantasy prospect in 2008. The skills are there, but he has yet to make it all come together in terms of timing, accuracy and confidence. The NFC West is winnable for the Cardinals, so Leinart must use the preseason to show he has indeed progressed. If not, Arizona may have a short leash with him, as they know they can win with Warner. I am avoiding Leinart in most drafts unless I wait too long for a backup quarterback. I want my reserve QB to be stable in his starting slot if I can ensure that for my team. |
PROJECTED DEPTH CHART Players listed in order of fantasy relevance. Recommended round to draft in standard 10 to 12-team leagues with 16 rounds in parentheses. Quarterback: Matt Leinart (11), Kurt Warner (14) Running Back: Edgerrin James (6), Tim Hightower, J.J Arrington Wide Receiver: Larry Fitzgerald (3), Anquan Boldin(5), Early Doucet, Steve Breaston, Jerheme Urban Tight End: Leonard Pope, Ben Patrick Kicker: Neil Rackers (16) NOTABLE PLAYER MOVES Additions: DE Travis LaBoy, LB Clark Haggans, TE Jerame Tuman
Subtractions: WR Bryant Johnson, LB Calvin Pace, S Terrence Holt  | | Nice Stadium, annually mediocre team. Photo Credit: Diz28 |
2008 ROOKIES TO WATCH
Round Three: Early Doucet, WR, Louisiana State University
Round Five: Tim Hightower, RB, Richmond TOP POSITION BATTLE Quarterback: Kurt Warner vs Matt Leinart 2008 SCHEDULE Top matchups in bold Sept. 7: at San Francisco
Sept. 14: Miami
Sept. 21: at Washington
Sept. 28: at New York Jets
Oct. 5: Buffalo
Oct. 12: Dallas
Oct. 19: BYE
Oct 26: at Carolina
Nov. 2: at St. Louis
Nov. 10: San Francisco
Nov. 16: at Seattle
Nov. 23: New York Giants
Nov. 27: at Philadelphia
FANTASY PLAYOFF MATCHUPS
Dec. 7: St. Louis
Dec. 14: Minnesota
Dec. 21: at New England
Dec 28: Seattle 2008 FANTASY POSITIONAL OUTLOOKS Quarterback
Matt Leinart has the slight edge going into training camp as the starting QB. The edge is slight enough that one should be giving serious draft consideration to Kurt Warner. Warner did have 27 TD passes last season, a five-year high for him. Leinart has had more interceptions than TDs each of the last two seasons. Still, the Cardinals did not draft Leinart to hold a clipboard. Leinart has tremendous upside and would make a valuable QB2, especially in a keeper league. A 3,000-plus yard season and/or a 20-plus TD season for Leinart are certainly conceivable.
Neither Warner nor Leinart are guarantees to start 16 games, so should Leinart and Warner both get injured, Brian St. Pierre is the third-string QB, though he has seen very little action during his five-year career. Rookie Anthony Morelli should be ignored except in the deepest of dynasty leagues.   | | If Matt Leinart falters again, Kurt Warner will be ready. Photo Credits: John Trainor and the theDIRTY.com |
Running Back
The decline of Edgerrin James continued last year, as he averaged less than four yards per carry for the second year in a row. You’re probably ready to ignore him on draft day, right? Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t be interested in his seventh-ranked 1,222 rushing yards in 2007, which was his fifth straight season over 1,100 yards. And did you know that only Clinton Portis had more carries last year than James? But let’s not get too excited about James. Many RBs begin to decline once they hit age 30, which James will turn this month (August). His big play making ability is gone, as his longest rush last year was 27 yards. That wouldn’t be so bad if he was effective at the goal line, but James has been horrible in such situations as well. He had 59 rushes in the red zone last year and you don’t have to be a mathematician to realize that seven total TDs is not a good ratio. His 204 receiving yards last year was his lowest receiving total as well. After the release of Marcel Shipp, rookie Tim Hightower now slides up the depth chart. The 225-pound Hightower could be a sleeper for goal-line work. J.J. Arrington is the likely third-stringer and may only see some situational duty. He has no true fantasy appeal. Wide Receiver Depending whom you ask, either rookie Early Doucet or Steve Breaston is the front-runner for the third WR spot in a battle that also includes Jerheme Urban and Ahmad Merritt amongst others. Breaston is the one I would take in a very deep league because he is probably the fastest WR on the team, and for leagues that score for return yardage, he’ll also be handling those duties once again. I’m mentioning the third WR spot foremost because the winner could be a valuable sleeper who sneaks into the WR2 spot should the Anquan Boldin contract situation become too cantankerous. However, one should assume that Boldin suits up to play in Week One and builds on his 71 receptions for 853 yards and nine TDs from 2007. If all parties make peace in the desert, don’t be surprised to see Boldin return to a 1,000-plus yard season, like he did in 2006 and 2005. The real stud here, of course, is Larry Fitzgerald who caught 100 passes for 1,409 yards and 10 TDs. It wasn’t the first time he’s done this either, eerily having had the same exact numbers in 2005 albeit three more catches. He might have done the same thing in 2006, but he played only 13 games, so he had “only” 69 catches for 946 yards and six TDs. If Fitzgerald is still available in the fourth round of your draft, please invite me into your league next year. Tight End
Leonard Pope might have been a sneaky under the radar TE pick in deep leagues, but he is recovering from an ankle injury He had five TD catches in 11 starts last season, but he’s not an every down player. Now with the injury, its best to just bypass the TE position in Arizona on draft day. Ben Patrick has been threatening Pope for the starting job, but Pope would still be Arizona's main pass-catcher at the position even if he drops on the depth chart. Kicker
Let’s review some ideal kicker qualities: Powerful offense that struggles in the red zone? Check. Optimum conditions at home? Check. Led the league in scoring? Check (2006). So, what’s not to like about Neil Rackers? How about the fact that he’s five of 18 from 49 or more yards over the past two seasons? If you’re in a league that does not give bonuses for longer kicks, Rackers is a perfectly acceptable pick. Even in leagues that do give bonuses for long kicks, you could do worse. But if you’re one of the first to pick a kicker (“in the last round of course”, the voice of Ben Ice said in my head), Rackers should not be one of your choices. Defense/Special Teams:
The Arizona defense could be a sneaky bye-week replacement choice. In addition to a league-leading six interceptions returned for TDs (tied with Minnesota), the Arizona defense was ninth against the rush last year and continues to improve. DT Darnell Dockett led the team with nine sacks and could be an under-the-radar lineman to get in your IDP league. However, there is not too much talent worth drafting as they ranked Tied-13th, Tied-10th and Tied-16th in sacks, interceptions, and fumble recoveries respectively. Antrel Rolle and Roderick Hood each led the team with five INTs but combined to return half of those for TDs. Breaston is the return specialist again this year, having averaged over 22 yards a return on kickoffs in 2007 (1,391 yards total), as well as punt return duties where he took one punt return 73 yards to the house. Offensive Line:
The line of LT Mike Gandy, RT Levi Brown, RG Deuce Lutui, LG Reggie Wells, and C Al Johnson did not allow any sacks in five games last season, and allowed only 24 sacks in 2007, well below the league average of 34. With the questions at quarterback for Arizona, at least one can rest knowing the protection will be pretty good. Mark Strausberg wishes he was cool enough to be at the same parties as Matt Leinart, but as a father of three he’d probably pass out before they even started. But if you got an invite (or just a fantasy question), let him know at
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