LAST SEASON: 7-9, 4th in NFC East
PROJECTION: 4th in NFC West

	It's good financial sense to have Davis in front of you.

The Cards won seven games last year, but they didn't have to play the Rams and 49ers four times. Now that they've moved to the NFC West, they do. Hello, 5–11.

STRONG SIDE

OL: For their suspect D to avoid being mauled in the NFL's best offensive division, the Cards' only hope is to eat up the clock. They have the O-line talent to do it. Guards Leonard Davis and Pete Kendall played so well last year that RB Michael Pittman got a fat contract with the Bucs. This year the line has to do the same for Thomas Jones, even though RT Anthony Clement will miss the season with a torn right triceps. Davis opens big holes but needs to improve his pass blocking. The other T, L.J. Shelton, shows great promise but struggles with his weight. Together, these guys are big, agile and, the Cards hope, have an appetite for clock.

WEAK SIDE

DL: Dave McGinnis is the NFC West's only head coach from the defensive side of the ball, but you wouldn't know it by last year's No. 28 overall ranking or NFL-worst 19 sacks. The D-line needs a pass rush and must at least slow runners down. But where will it come from? No. 1 pick DT Wendell Bryant was playing third-string in camp. It's not a good sign when your top pick can't beat out the likes of Russell Davis and Barron Tanner.

OTHER UNITS

QB: Jake Plummer has a lot going for him: mobility, good arm, charisma. He took every snap last year and, for the first time, threw more TDs (18) than INTs (14). He's learning how to be a QB at the right time, since backup Chris Greisen has thrown just 16 NFL passes and No. 3 Josh McCown is a rookie.

RB: Thomas Jones couldn't win the starting job outright in his first two seasons, but with Michael Pittman gone, it's Jones' by default. He's put on weight to handle the extra work and says all he needs is 25-30 carries a game to prove himself. No other RB on the roster has a single NFL carry.

NFC West

1. Rams

2. 49ers

3. Seahawks

4. Cardinals

Scouting Report Index

WR: What a young, rising team does not need is a star like David Boston (98 catches, 1,598 yards) with a big negative stat (one DUI arrest). What a rising team does need is a great safety valve like TE Freddie Jones (35 catches, 388 yds), a FA pickup who'll help Boston, Plummer and the running game.

LB: Rush the passer, contain the RB, cover the TEs in the flat, deliver towels to winded linemen. With LBs Rob Fredrickson, Ronald McKinnon and Ray Thompson covering for an awful D-line, they needed relief. They got it in second-round pick Levar Fisher, a hard-hitting, pass-rushing LB from NC State.

DB: Duane Starks signed for big money -- and he'll earn it. His coverage skills alone make this defense better, and that's good, because CB David Barrett is unproven. The safeties are for real, though. Adrian Wilson is an emerging playmaker, and Kwame Lassiter had 9 picks last year, third-most in the league.

ST: Everyone's seen the tape of K Bill Gramatica injuring his right knee celebrating. He'll be okay -- if he calms down. KR MarTay Jenkins is a threat, but he may be too valuable as a WR to risk on kickoffs.

This article appears in the September 16 issue of ESPN The Magazine.