This preseason, the Arizona Cardinals have done little to instill much faith within their fanbase. The offense looks shoddy, with both quarterbacks refusing to take the reins. The offensive line couldn't block a Pop Warner football team, even if they wanted to and for all the inept ability on that side of the ball, the defense absolutely can't stay on the field the entire time.
I took another look at the schedule yesterday and realized, once again, that if the Cardinals want to have some semblance of a decent season, they will need to come out of the gates running.
Six of their first seven games are very winnable in my eyes. The only one that I just can't see them doing too well in is the game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough against the Patriots. Other than that, they will start four of the seven at home and for the most part, all of the team had sub-.500 records in 2011.
Once you start scrolling down the list, that is where I began to worry. The 49ers, Packers and Falcons all in a row? Ouch. That is going to be a tough stretch. Then, at the end of the season, the Cards will host the Lions and Bears and take a trip to Candlestick to finish it all off. I just don't know how many of those games they can win... if any.
As is the case every season, Arizona will win some games they shouldn't have and they will lose some games they should have won. That is the way it always goes. But they can't rely on luck to push them through the latter portion of their season.
If they want to win and avoid another 5-11 season as they had two years ago, they will need to start racking up the wins in the beginning of the season. That means that they will need to start hot and carry that momentum with them. Otherwise, well, you get the point.
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