👋 GOOD MORNING
Happy Friday! We made it through another week — I hope yours was a good one.
I’ll get to the Cardinals below, but first, if you missed out on our Diehard summer flash sale, have I got some news for you — we extended it through today! Don’t miss out — for 36 bucks you can join the PHNX family and stay in the know with all of your favorite Arizona teams. You get a shirt, access to a private discord server, exclusive deals, and so much more! Details are here, but if you do sign up, make sure to tag PHNX Sports on X before basking in all of the love that follows.
Can’t forget about the Friday joke, in case you need a little laugh to get you through to the weekend: Why was the strawberry crying? He was in a jam!
Let’s run it back next week. On to the show!
Will The Cardinals Live Up To Expectations In a Make-Or-Break Year?
The Cardinals seem primed for a breakout year.
Now, it’s a matter of living up to the hype.
The 2024 season brought bitter disappointment, especially after a 6-4 start offered hope of a title in an uncharacteristically weak NFC West. Alas, Arizona lost five of its last seven games en route to missing the playoffs yet again, and was left searching for more answers.
As such, general manager Monti Ossenfort set out with a clear plan this offense: Bolster a middle-of-the-pack defense that ranked 15th in points allowed per game (22.3), 20th in forced turnovers (17) and 21st in total yards allowed per game (342.5)
Mission accomplished.
Ossenfort added star edge Josh Sweat, as well as tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, in free agency. He then selected tackle Walter Nolen out of Ole Miss 16th overall at the NFL Draft, Michigan cornerback Will Johnson 47th overall and Oregon edge Jordan Burch in the third round.
In fact, Ossenfort and Co. used just one selection on an offensive player — sixth-round selection Hayden Conner, a guard from Texas.
What Pundits Are Saying About the Cardinals’ Upcoming Season
Preseason rankings are about as useful as preseason games themselves, but it’s always a fun exercise to see what the national media is saying nonetheless. Arizona’s offense put up the seventh-most rushing yards per game (144.2), 11th-most total yards per game (358.2) and 12th in points per game (23.5).
Given the return of running back James Conner and an expected year-over-year improvement from wideout Marvin Harrison Jr., who is entering his sophomore season, there are realistic expectations the team can build on its production from last year. And don’t forget about the wildly talented tight end, Trey McBride.
(Yes, as usual there are the Kyler Murray trade rumors swirling, but that’s a newsletter topic for another day).
Given that, where do the Cardinals line up heading into 2025? Here are the most recent power rankings from around the NFL stratosphere:
- Yahoo Sports: 13th overall
- Fox Sports: 15th overall
- NFL.com: 18th overall
- Pro Football Focus: 19th overall
- CBS Sports: 20th overall
- ESPN: 22nd overall
- Sports Illustrated: 23rd overall
Yeah. Pretty all over the place, which is to be expected.
My Take: Football is such a challenging sports to predict because there are so many outside factors that come into play, the biggest of which is team health. A single injury can throw a season into complete turmoil, but on paper, the Cardinals can make noise in a division that’s likely going to be much better than what we saw last season, when a 10-7 Rams team edged out the 10-7 Seahawks for the division’s only playoff spot.
The Cardinals’ schedule comes against opponents with a combined 2024 winning percentage of .457, which is tied with the Carolina Panthers for the fifth-easiest schedule in the league. Of course, the 49ers technically have the easiest schedule in the league, as their opponents have a .415 winning percentage from last season.
Once the season plays out, though, you have to think there will be some significant changes if the club fails to make the playoffs yet again.
PS – come join us in New Orleans on a PHNX road trip for Week 1! There are three or four night packages available — seriously, what a way to kick off the season!
Send-em Backs: The Diamondbacks made a few roster moves on the heels of a disappointing series loss against the Pirates, optioning infielder Jordan Lawlar and RHP Kevin Ginkel to Triple-A Reno on Thursday. Arizona is looking for a spark, and Lawlar wasn’t it after going 0-for-19 at the plate while committing two errors in the field — in just five games.
Arizona kicks off a three-game set against the Nationals at Chase Field tonight.
We’ll Be Watching: The Big 12 released the time/network schedule for the Wildcats’ first three games of the season. All of the games come at home, first against Hawaii on Aug. 30 (7:30 pm, TNT and Max), then vs. Weber State on Sept. 6 (7 pm, ESPN+) and finally against Kansas State on Friday, Sept. 12 (6 pm, FOX).
Set Your DVRs: Same story for the ASU football team: The Sun Devils host NAU at 7 pm on Aug. 30 (ESPN+), travel to Mississippi State on Sept. 6 (4:30 pm, ESPN2) and host Texas State on Sept. 13 (7:30 pm, TNT and Max).
Acing The Test: Three Sun Devils women’s golf players received All-American honors by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association: Patience Rhodes earned second team honors, while Beth Coulter and Paula Schulz-Hanssen were listed as honorable mentions.
Busy Weekend: The Mercury (4-1) are set for a heavyweight bout tonight, as they host 5-0 Minnesota at PHX Arena (7 pm, ion) while looking to remain unbeaten at home. Phoenix then hits the road for Los Angeles to face the Sparks (2-4) on Sunday at 3 pm (Arizona’s Family / 3TV) in their first of six Commissioner’s Cup games.
It’s a Little Drafty: Make sure to check out the NBA Diehard Draft Guide — Led by ALLCITY draft analysts Derek Bodner of PHLY and Will Gottlieb of CHGO, this guide is your one-stop-shop as teams across the league gear up to reshape their rosters
Note the Diehard draft guide is best viewed on desktop or tablet!
Take a Shot: Rising FC plays in its second Jagermeister Cup tomorrow, hosting New Mexico United at 7:30 pm on Arizona’s Family Sports. Phoenix dropped its first Jagermeister Cup match 1-0 to San Antonio on April 26.
Tip Of The Hat By Branded Bills
Everything you need to know from our PHNX Cardinals crew.
