Happy Thursday! We’re nearing the end of the week, and I sure hope yours is going well.

I’ll get to the Cardinals below, but first, true to form, I wanted to provide an update on the Arizona Rattlers playoff situation, because there were more developments yesterday. Quick recap: Rattlers coach Kevin Guy lost his mind following a controversial finish in which the team’s season ended, and eventually filed a protest.

Welp, the league has responded, and they admitted they got the call wrong, but will not overturn the result of the game. TLDR: “In alignment with the practices of other professional sports leagues — and consistent with the NCAA, whose rules the IFL often mirrors — the league will acknowledge the error but will not overturn the outcome of the game,” the IFL said in a statement.

Think that explanation was good enough for Guy? Guess we’ll find out.

What do you think? Should the IFL have overturned the erroneous call, or does that set a bad precedent moving forward? Email me at patrick@gophnx.com or by simply replying to this email and let me hear it!

On to the show!

How the Cardinals Will Fare in the NFC West

Cardinals football is just two days away.

We are so back.

Arizona kicks off its preseason slate against the Chiefs at State Farm Stadium on Saturday, and the recent revelation from coach Jonathan Gannon that the team will play its starters has only added to that excitement.

Expectations are higher in Glendale than they have been in recent memory, and for good reason: The Cardinals came up short in an up-for-grabs NFC West last season after a disappointing 2-5 finish to end the year, but Arizona has a few things going in its favor as it looks to bounce back:

• The Cardinals have the fifth-easiest schedule based upon their opponents’ 2025 winning percentage (.457)
• A retooled defense that features championship DNA (Josh Sweat) and a boatload of young talent (Walter Nolen, Will Johnson), though Nolen has been sidelined for camp due to a calf injury.
• Big things are expected from receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who is entering his sophomore season and has been making highlight-reel catches throughout camp.

What National Outlets Are Saying About the Cardinals’ Chances

Fox Sports: They went all defense in the draft, adding Walter Nolen, Will Johnson, Jordan Burch and a couple of key pieces from the Ohio State defense (Cody Simon and Denzel Burke) that just won the National Championship. That wasn’t the only champion they added, as Josh Sweat, a key cog in last year’s Eagles defense, now calls the desert home.

With a soft early schedule, the Cardinals can get off to a hot start against the likes of the Saints, Panthers, Titans, Colts and Seahawks early on … look for a Cardinals team that was 6-4 at one point last year, and went 3-5 in one-score games, to improve enough to surprise in the NFC West.

USA Today: They went from bad (4-13) in HC Jonathan Gannon’s first year to quietly middling last season (8-9). If QB Kyler Murray and the young players around him can take another collective step forward, a postseason return seems very much in play – especially if they can leverage a schedule that opens against six teams that didn’t reach the playoffs in 2024.

CBS Sports: I’m a big fan of how the Cardinals attacked the offseason and I see their defense as having potential to be among the most surprising units in the league thanks to all the additions they made up front.

With an above-average offense and defense, I expect the Cardinals to not have much issue with the AFC South and NFC South, and I think there’s even a chance they could win all eight of those games, though road trips to both Houston and Tampa make that unlikely. At any rate, this feels like a nine-win team that could be much closer to the Rams than futures odds suggest.

NFL.com: The Cardinals (who open the year at New Orleans and at home against Carolina) have the best odds of starting 2-0 in the NFL in my model, edging out the Bengals by about two percentage points. Weeks 16 (vs. Atlanta) and 17 (at Cincinnati) could prove to be an important stint in terms of Arizona’s win total.

Ouch: The Diamondbacks fell to the Padres in last night’s rubber match, as San Diego rallied for two runs in the ninth to ultimately come away with a 3-2 win. Corbin Carroll homered and Alek Thomas added an RBI, but the Padres’ depth was simply too much to overcome in the later innings.

Arizona is back in action on Friday, kicking off a three-game set against the Rockies at Chase Field.

Jordyn Rules: Add another preseason honor for receiver Jordyn Tyson, who was named to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List (top WR/TE) yesterday. It’s another feather in the cap for the sensational wide receiver, who is also listed on the Walter Camp Award (most outstanding player), Maxwell Award (outstanding offensive player) and the Walter Camp Preseason All-America Team (Second Team).

WyNot?: Wildcats wideout Luke Wysong was also named to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List, nice recognition for the first-year Wildcat. He began his collegiate career with four seasons at New Mexico where he started 25 games while catching 134 passes for 1,465 yards and three touchdowns. He actually finished with eight receptions for 129 yards and one touchdown against Arizona last season.

Much nicer to have him on this side of the aisle!

Tip Of The Hat By Branded Bills

Just doing what he does!