After 10 weeks of the 2014 NFL season, the Arizona Cardinals are alone at the top with an 8-1 record. Did anyone predict this? After their 31-14 NFC West divisional win over the St.Louis Rams, the Cardinals maintained their 2 game lead over the defending Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks, and a 3 game lead over the San Francisco 49ers.
So how are they doing it? Do they have a terrific offense? No. How about their defense? Well, not really. Let’s take a look at the numbers. The Cardinals are 13th in the NFL in offensive passing yards, and 29th in rushing yards. They are 3rd in rushing defense, but 30th in passing defense.
One statistic that did stand out to me is the difference in interceptions thrown versus interceptions caught. Arizona starting quarterback Carson Palmer has thrown just 3 interceptions on the year, which are the only 3 for the team so far, while their defense has picked off 14 passes, for a net +11 in interceptions.
However, Palmer tore his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in the win over the Rams, and is out for the remainder of the season. The Cardinals will now play back-up Drew Stanton as their quarterback for the rest of their games. Stanton has played this year, while Palmer was out with injury, throwing 3 touchdowns and no interceptions, but only completed 49.5% of his passes.
Can Arizona keep winning with their back-up quarterback? With a game next week against the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions, a game against the 49ers, and 2 against the Seahawks looming on their schedule, it will be tough for them to maintain their momentum.
It’s not so much the change in quarterback that concerns me, but a combination of a few other things. First, their running game is lousy. In addition to being 29th in rushing yards per game, they are only averaging 3.2 yards per rush, well under the NFL average 4.0. With a back-up quarterback, and very little threat of a running game, defenses should load up to blitz Stanton, and dare him to beat them with his arm.
Second, it’s doubtful that the Cardinal defense will continue to produce more than a +1 per game interception differential. The heat will be on Stanton to perform, but also more pressure will be on their defense to keep games close. Arizona will make the playoffs, and they may even hold on to win their division, but I don’t think they will make it very far into the playoffs, let alone winning the Super Bowl, which is in their home stadium by the way.
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Sports With Frank Thomas
Hello there! Wonderful stuff, remember to keep me posted when you post something just like this!