Gutted Roster Means Poor Betting Odds For Arizona Cardinals In 2010

NFL News - February 16th, 2010 - Written by John

Brace yourselves.

The dynamic of the NFC West may have shifted yet again. A conference defined by rotating reigns is in motion once again with the retirement of Kurt Warner from the Arizona Cardinals. With the San Francisco 49ers looking like a contender in 2010, the Cardinals take on a new set of questions as they move forward with Matt Leinart. His era has officially begun in his fifth season as Arizona attempts to win it's third division title in a row. If San Francisco can get over the hump and take advantage of the situation, it will mean all four teams in the division have won the crown since 2000.

Some consider it a setback to have the southpaw stepping into the starting role, while also losing severaly key players on defense. While the Cardinals would have decent odds for a championship run in 2010 with Warner under center, they are now considered longshots in NFL Betting Odds. According to Bodog, Arizona has 35/1 odds to win the 2011 Super Bowl, which puts them in the neighborhood of non-playoff qualifiers like the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans from a year ago.

Leinart only started once last season, completing 21 of 31 passes for 220 yards against the Tennessee Titans. He inherited mop-up duty in the regular-season finale against Green Bay, but had significantly weaker numbers. He finished the year with three interceptions and no touchdowns.

All eyes will be on the reigning division champs after a memorable run through the playoffs. The Cardinals reached the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time ever, and won their first round game against the Green Bay Packers. Karlos Dansby had the winning touchdown, catching a loose ball from Aaron Rodgers on a sack by Mike Adams and housing it to cap a 51-45 victory in overtime. It was the highest-scoring playoff game ever.

But even the defense was shaken up during the off-season with the free agency of Dansby, and a contract dispute by defensive tackle Darnell Dockett. Defensive end Bertrand Berry announced his retirement in January, which then eliminated three of the team's best defenders in a span of about two months.

Dansby wasn't slapped with the franchise tag for a third-straight year, which made him available to the open market.

Arizona still has the best receiver in the conference in Larry Fitzgerald, who put together a quiet 1,092 yards and 13 touchdowns in '09. But the offense was hamstrung at times because of a lacking run game that ranked 28th in the league. Beanie Wells took over the majority of the duty at the end of the year, and is poised to be the starter for opening day. He had 793 yards and seven scores, and averaged 4 1/2 yards per carry.