[AvengerRam]

The hype machine is running again… right on schedule.

For the third consecutive year, the Arizona Cardinals are one of the teams that it is “in vogue” to hype. “Experts” throughout the media and the web are, once again, predicting their rise from the ashes of years of ineptitude.

And why not? After all, while they only won five games last year, they did win four of their last seven. They have a rising “star” QB in Matt Leinart, one of the top WR duos in Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, and, most of all, a new Head Coach – Ken Whisenhunt – who comes from a successful run as the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

They are, by several accounts – a team on the veritable cusp of contention. They just need to build on what they’ve been developing for the past few years and they will be there, right?

Only one problem with all of this: Ken Whisenhunt is not building on the past – he is entirely reshuffling the deck.

This team was built to pass the ball. In fact, in the past three seasons, the Cardinals have only run the ball 41.8% of the time (a percentage that would make Mike Martz proud!). No surprise there, given how many top draft choices have been devoted to the passing game in recent years.

So, Whisenhunt is going to build on that area of strength, right? Well, not if he is true to his history. In three seasons as the offensive coordinator of the Steelers, he ran the ball 56.6% of the time. And make no mistake – that’s what he wants to do in Arizona. The message has already been communicated to Leinart who, at a recent mini-camp, was quoted as saying "Obviously it's an offense where we're going to run the ball first.”

In the long run, maybe this plan will work. But, why should anyone expect the Cardinals, with their inexperienced offensive line and a RB on the downside of his career, to suddenly become a team that runs the ball well? Just because Ken Whisenhunt says so?

On a similar vein, it seems that Whisenhunt wants to bring in elements of the 3-4 defense run by the Steelers, and may wish to ultimately convert the base scheme to this format. Again, that might work in the long run, but the team was not built for a 3-4 defense, and nobody should expect it to acclimate to that system overnight.

In the end, the Cardinals do have some talent, but 2007 will likely be a transition year, rather than the year it all comes together. That’s fine. I’m sure the “experts” will be happy to be able to recycle their old articles again in 2008.