Arizona Cardinals got worse on defense, could improve in standings per ESPN

It is the offseason which means everyone has an opinion of the Arizona Cardinals and what they did during the free agency and draft.

That also means they are going to give their opinion on what they think the Arizona Cardinals will be in the 2017 season.

ESPN asked a six person panel of their NFL Insiders to name the team they believe got worse in the 2017 offseason and one insider, Mike Sando, picked the Arizona Cardinals.

The Arizona Cardinals seemed to get measurably worse on defense. Losing Calais Campbell is especially going to hurt.

I think that is a fair if overly harsh assessment of the situation. They got worse because you lost one of the five best interior lineman in the NFL, so it is basically impossible to replace that player.

However, they will rely on a bevy of players, not an individual player, to carry the weight of Campbell’s play from last season.

Yet, Sando wanted to make sure he hedged enough to wiggle out of the idea if the Cardinals are better.

Despite the talent exodus, Arizona could actually improve in the standings. The 2016 team lost so many games through special-teams miscues that are unlikely to recur.

Maybe Sando sees the Cardinals defense being the team that allowed 31 points per game in their last eight, even with Calais Campbell in the lineup.

What do you think?