The Cardinals looked poised for another playoff run before the postseason ever began. They won ten games, featured a more complete offense, and finally had the solid defense they lacked in 2008.
They also won the division and hosted a home playoff game for the second year in a row. In the opening round, Kurt Warner and the offense looked unstoppable, but the defense clearly had its question marks. Nevertheless, our team took part in one of the greatest postseason games in NFL history and prevailed.
Then the Arizona Cardinals were trounced by the New Orleans Saints on Saturday - ending any hopes for another Super Bowl appearance. Yes, they lost 14-45 and never appeared to be in sync, but they were severely under-manned and played in perhaps, the most hostile environment of the playoffs. It's no excuse but remember that the playoffs have featured blowouts in almost every game up until this point. The average playoff score has been 32.2 - 15.1 - let's not feel too bad.One thing I can say is not to be disappointed. I'll admit that I was hoping destiny was on our side and that we'd get back to the Super Bowl only to see Kurt Warner end his career on a high note, especially after the way they won against Green Bay. Unfortunately, things happen and 2009 wasn't the Cardinals year.
That's not to say that we have nothing to be proud of. That marks three straight non-losing seasons that we as Cardinals have experienced under the Ken Whisenhunt era. During that time we saw one of the most explosive offenses in the league that won the division twice, won four playoff games and one NFC Championship game. We've also seen countless records broken and more national recognition that we've ever been accustomed to before. The Cardinals have the pieces set in place to be a competitive team for a long time. With some tweaking to both sides of the ball, the Cardinals may be ready to make another Super Bowl run in 2010