Arizona Cardinals 2011 Season Odds
(The Spread) – The Cardinals knew that they needed to upgrade at quarterback, so they made a trade this offseason in hopes of righting the ship.
With Kurt Warner under center, the Cardinals were legit playoff contenders, if not Super Bowl contenders. But when he retired after the 2009 season, the team failed to find a suitable replacement and the Cardinals sunk to the bottom of a terrible NFC West division.
So they got aggressive this offseason. They traded cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a second round pick in 2012 in exchange for former Eagles’ quarterback Kevin Kolb. In four seasons with Philadelphia, Kolb only threw for 2,082 yards and 11 touchdowns with 14 interceptions, but he stands to be a massive upgrade over Derek Anderson, Max Hall and John Skelton in Arizona.
View Current 2012 Super Bowl Odds
That said, it doesn’t appear as though oddsmakers are buying into the Cardinals’ revival. Arizona is currently a 60/1 long shot to win the 2012 Super Bowl and 28/1 to win the NFC. They’re also +275 to win the weak NFC West and carry an over/under win total of just 6.5 games in 2011.
That said, if you’re looking for a sleeper than look no farther than the Cardinals, who also had a pretty good draft on top of being active in free agency. In LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson, they selected arguably the most talented prospect in April’s draft with the fifth overall pick and also nabbed running back Ryan Williams in the second. Then they went out and added tight end Todd Heap (Ravens), linebacker Stewart Bradley (Eagles) and cornerback Richard Marshall (Panthers).
The Cardinals may not be legit Super Bowl contenders but the NFC West is certainly up for grabs again this year, so don’t rule Arizona out for making the playoffs. If Kolb can play consistent and give them the shot in the arm at quarterback that they so desperately needed, the Cards could take back the NFC West crown from Seattle.
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