Why I’m excited about the Cardinals this season

With change comes uncertainty.

That is the easiest way to put the media and analyst predictions on the Arizona Cardinals.

Gone is Bruce Arians and the winningest five year stretch in Arizona Cardinals history. In steps Steve Wilks, a defensive coach, coming in to coach a team with a great defense and changing the entire scheme and culture.

And yet, that is where for me the excitement of the coming 2018 NFL season stems. The Cardinals are not a known commodity anymore.

There offense and defense, both top units during the Bruce Arians era, are now completely revamped from a strategy standpoint.

The defense is moving from James Bettcher’s complex and exotic 3-4 scheme to Steve Wilks and Al Holcomb’s attacking, one-gap 4-3 scheme.

It plays to the draftees of the last couple of seasons, Deone Bucannon, Robert Nkemdiche and Haason Reddick.

It gives a player like Patrick Peterson, already one of the best in the game, a chance to be more aggressive, take more chances and change his career.

Yet, more than the defense that will feature a potentially ferocious pass rusher lead by Chandler Jones and a hopefully dynamic Robert Nkemdiche, it is the offensive scheme and changes that have me the most excited.

Bruce Arians bash and bomb offense is gone. With it will be the long developing, offensive line stressing passing game, in comes Mike McCoy’s adaptive game planning and more importantly, a renewed focus on quick passing and an offense revolved around David Johnson.

McCoy has changed his offensive scheme in each of his stops to fit the personnel he has at the time, something that was a constant frustration with Arians, despite the high level of regular season success.

Now, with McCoy in charge of the offense, you see a potential change the way the game flow plays out.

Yet, even with the reality and likelihood of Sam Bradford as the starting quarterback, nothing has me quite as excited as the future.

Josh Rosen’s presence on the team changes the excitement level from nervous optimism to a swelling dam, waiting to burst.

It’s not even about the 2018 season, whatever happens is just gravy, no what the excitement is about is the potential of Josh Rosen. The looming change and the chance to have a young, franchise quarterback makes the 2018 exciting, even if we don’t get much Rosen.

It is a win-win in this instance.

If Bradford starts 14+ games, the Cardinals are likely a good team with playoff aspirations. If not, we get Josh Rosen.

I like it when I can’t lose, even if my team is losing a bit this year.

What are you excited about for 2018 and the Arizona Cardinals?

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