With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all. Meet the ...
Defending NFC champions. A few inches either way, and we could say the Super Bowl champions. Soak that up. The Arizona Cardinals almost took home a title. It was like a bizarro world Super Bowl -- if you only looked at the NFC side, that is. Regardless, the Cardinals did it with a prolific passing attack, and you know we love that in fantasy football.
They've lost their offensive coordinator and replaced Edgerrin James' aging legs with some fresh ones. Other than that, they look pretty similar in fantasy land. And that's a good thing.
The Breakout
Beanie, baby. It's Beanie time. The Cardinals were last in the NFL in 2008 in rushing yards and only the Colts averaged less yards per carry. Yes, they have a stellar passing game, but there was a reason they were only 9-7 and then made a run through the NFC playoffs. They started to run the football with success in the playoffs. Edgerrin James had 73 yards on 16 carries (4.6 per carry) against both the Eagles and Falcons in Arizona's victories. We're ignoring the Carolina game because Jake Delhomme gave them that one. Anyway, those two solid games were enough to help the Cards score over 30 points each time against good defenses.
With a new coordinator and the inordinate amount of focus defenses will give to the aerial attack, running the ball will be important for the Cardinals. Edge is now gone. Tim Hightower proved he couldn't handle being much more than a short-yardage back. Chris "Beanie" Wells was drafted in the first round and he's a prototypical, throwback every-down back. He's a chain-mover. Expect the Cards to give him the ball enough for the 1,000-yard barrier to be broken. There is some concern he loses goal-line carries to Hightower, but Wells isn't small. He'll get his fair share of scores (we'll say six).
The Bust
Tim Hightower is being taken before Fred Jackson, Leon Washington, Julius Jones and Ahmad Bradshaw; among many others who will outscore him this season. Did we learn nothing from last season? Rookie backs (Matt Forte, Steve Slaton, Chris Johnson, Kevin Smith, Jonathan Stewart, etc.) don't need time to adjust. Wells will win this job outright, and he'll do so before the season begins.
Hightower only had 399 yards rushing, and that was with having the starting job for half the season. He only averaged a paltry 2.8 yards per carry. Sure, he scored 10 touchdowns, but there's a lot of fortune involved there and he's actually smaller than Beanie Wells. For my money, there's no reason to take Hightower as more than a handcuff to Wells. If you don't own Wells, don't bother with Hightower.
The Depth Chart
QB1 - Kurt Warner
QB2 - Matt Leinart
RB1 - Beanie Wells
RB2 - Tim Hightower
RB3 - Jason Wright
WR1 - Larry Fitzgerald
WR2 - Anquan Boldin
WR3 - Steve Breaston
WR4 - Jerheme Urban
WR5 - Early Doucet
TE - Anthony Becht
K - Neil Rackers
The D/ST
• Because of their ability to find pay dirt, the Cardinals emerged as a D/ST1 last season. Sure, they allowed points, but they also scored touchdowns six times. They were mediocre at getting after the passer (31 sacks), but only four teams took the ball away more. Antonio Smith, Travis LaBoy and Roderick Hood are gone, but Bryant McFadden was added to the secondary. Expect some growth from Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, especially with McFadden opposite him. It's tough to count on the touchdowns being there again, though, so the Cardinals should be a spot-start or bye-week replacement at D/ST.
The Skinny
• Love this team for fantasy. You've got an elite quarterback, the top-ranked receiver, another elite receiver (Boldin), a useful WR3 most weeks (Breaston), and a breakout running back on the way. The kicker is worth a weekly start, too, due to the fact that the Cardinals can rack up points. It's quite the coincidence (or is it?) Warner engineers this group, because a team so chock full of desirable fantasy options is reminiscent of the Greatest Show on Turf teams.
• One last note: I would definitely handcuff Warner with Leinart. Seriously. In order to get Warner, you'll have to use a pretty high pick. Thus, you shouldn't be using another pick on a quarterback until you get into the 20s in the rankings (someone like Shaun Hill or Jake Delhomme comes to mind). If Warner gets hurt, though, it's a decent enough bet Leinart outscores those guys, considering the ridiculously talented supporting cast. It's at least enough of a chance to grab him as a QB3 and to let him gather dust on the bench. Insurance never hurt anyone, especially when you are counting on a 38-year-old signal-caller.
