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In 2013, the Arizona Cardinals had one of the league's best defenses. Their offense struggled at times early on and then averaged 26 points per game in their last nine games.
Starting in the second year with Carson Palmer at quarterback and with Bruce Arians' system in place, the team is optimistic.
"Last year our defense carried us until the last half of the season and then the offense kind of caught up," said Arians. "It'll be fun starting with both of them this year equal."
Palmer said, "it's exciting for us."
He is excited to be in a place where the team can depend on the offense to win games. Last year, the philosophy was to have a lead and they loved when the defense was on the field to end the game to close it out. Palmer relishes the idea of "(having) the ball in our hands at the end of games with everything on the line."
As a unit, the offense has a lot of confidence and Palmer went as far as saying, "we can be a top tier offense in this league and we expect to be."
The defense was one of the best last year. There perhaps will be a dropoff in performance with the loss of Daryl Washington and Karlos Dansby, but if the offense can be very good, the team might actually look like former defensive coordinator Ray Horton predicted -- winning games 30-10.
Can the Cardinals have a "top tier offense?" Can Carson Palmer be the guy to orchestrate a comeback or winning drive in the final minutes?
