Count me as one of the people who thought the Cardinals were going to have a dropoff following last year’s Super Bowl run. To begin with, since ’01, only one team has made it back to the playoffs after losing the Super Bowl the previous year. Making matters worse is that the Cardinals lost both their offensive and defensive coordinators, and there were concerns about Kurt Warner’s health following his offseason hip surgery. Despite starting the year 1-2 however, Arizona’s been on a roll winning 5 of 6 to seize first place of the NFC West at 6-3. Considering last year’s team went 9-7 in the regular season before getting hot in the playoffs, it’s not too surprising to hear Anquan Boldin tell the 2 Live Stews on Sporting News Radio that this year’s team is better than last year’s squad:
“We’re a better team than we were last year and offensively we’re a lot more balanced than we were last year. I think we’re running the ball effectively in the regular season — something that we did in the postseason but we didn’t really do in the regular season last year. I think that’s going to help us in the long run.”
While that comment wasn’t too surprising given the way the team has been playing, it was a mild surprise to hear Boldin admit that the team does miss former offensive coordinator Todd Haley who has moved on to become the head coach at Kansas City:
“To be honest with you, Todd [Haley] was a big contributor to our offense last year. I’d be lying if I said we didn’t miss him but that’s the NFL and guys are going to leave. Coaches are going to leave, players are going to go to different teams, and that’s just the way it is in the NFL. guys just have to pick up the slack and I think that’s what we’re doing.”
While many people trashed Boldin for being a bad locker room guy and getting into fights with Todd Haley last year, it’s good to know that he still looks at things objectively and gives credit where it’s due. Haley was an extremely creative play caller who really helped the team out with his gameplans and usage of flea flickers (especially in the playoffs). The supposed dislike of Haley on behalf of Boldin obviously doesn’t keep him from seeing the facts and I appreciate that. Boldin also said that the Cardinals already spread the ball around enough and don’t really need the wildcat offense too often and that he isn’t happy with the way Bobby Bowden’s being pushed out at his alma mater, Florida State. Who knows, maybe the Chiefs will end up pursuing Boldin when his Arizona contract runs out.
