Pro Football Talk has started up what will likely be a trend around the Internet. They got the Arizona Cardinals, ranking them 11th overall in the league.
This is quite the change over a year ago. Last year, some considered the Cardinals to be one of the worst teams entering the season, but a 10-win season and a Top-10 overall defense has earned the respect of many.
The Arizona Cardinals should be legitimate contenders for a playoff spot this season if they can recapture the momentum they finished with in 2013. The Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers will enter the season as the favorites to win the division, but the Cardinals aren't far behind...
The Cardinals reside in the best division in football but they appear to be up for the task of challenging for a playoff spot alongside the Seahawks and 49ers.
PFT is on point. They should enter the season considered one of the league's better teams. However, the only issue is that even being the 11th-best team in the league, they still could end up third in the NFC West and out of the playoffs.
That's the cruel reality of their division.