Arizona Cardinals' Reason for Hope Couldn't Be Clearer

Arizona Cardinals fans are excited for the upcoming season after a massive jump in year two under Jonathan Gannon, doubling 2023's win total from four to eight.

In year three, what does head coach Jonathan Gannon have in store next? All eyes are on the playoffs, and rightfully so after a push last season, but could that have been a hoax?

In fact, could last year have just been an outlier entirely? Some kind of luck that can't and won't be replicated? Worse yet, will others see it the same way and overlook the Cardinals as just another "meh" team on the schedule?

Whatever your feeling is, there's one thing that we can be excited about every year for our favorite sports teams; one thing we can point to and say, "you'll learn this the hard way."

The Cardinals have an exciting trajectory and have the key players in place to help get them there. Each key position on offense has an answer, and the defense saw a major influx of talent. With a good, young coaching staff and a motivated team, Arizona could be dangerous this year.

You can pick and choose which is the biggest reason to be excited and buy-in plus what will make the league regret overlooking, but Bleacher Report's Alex Kay let his opinion be known for all 32 teams in the league. In a piece discussing why every NFL team shouldn't be overlooked in 2025, Kay gave Gannon some major props to start things out:

"Jonathan Gannon has been steadily building a potential contender over the last two seasons and that effort could pay off in the desert in 2025."

As far as his argument goes for not overlooking the Cardinals, Kay said it comes from the team's decision to invest heavily on defense:

"The Cardinals clearly have faith in their Kyler Murray-led offense—evidenced by just one pick, a sixth-rounder at that, being used on that side of the ball this year—and spent the offseason loading up on defensive assets.

"With Calais Campbell, Dalvin Tomlinson and Josh Sweat joining a unit that now also features first-round edge-rusher Walter Nolen III and second-round corner Will Johnson, Arizona is poised to have one of the NFL's most improved defenses, one that could lead this team back into contention."

I have sang high praises all summer about the Cardinals' commitment to retooling, reloading, revitalizing, etc., this defense. Gannon is a defensive specialist, and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis did a hell of a job last season to make the unit competitive. They played good football without many household names, but that changed this offseason.

Sweat and Campbell lead the free agent signings, while Nolen and Johnson highlighted the drafted players. They join other guys in the wings waiting to break out, and if everything works out, we may see this defense find ways to win football games by itself.

They say defense wins championships, and the Cardinals must agree considering the resources spent to improve that group. Any team headed into their game against Arizona would be wise to remember all of this or face a team ready to prove the world wrong.