The Cardinals had a strong season in 2015 as they passed the Seahawks for the NFC West title and then held off the Packers in the playoffs to earn a spot in the NFC title game.
Things didn’t go so well for the Cardinals in Carolina, but the team returns most of the key parts of last year’s team and has made additions to a couple of weak spots that could make for a deeper team. That would explain why coach Bruce Arians believes that anything short of a Super Bowl win will be an unacceptable end for the 2016 season.
“When you have the type of season we had, you expect to do better,” Arians said, via ESPN.com. “So, we got to do better. We got to get back to where we were first and then do better.”
The Cardinals have built up a formidable roster over the first three years with Arians and General Manager Steve Keim pulling the strings and the team’s enjoyed success on the field as a result. Failing to take the final step this year wouldn’t invalidate that work, but there are only so many bites at the apple before time and contracts force that roster to be reworked.