We’re entering a new era of Arizona Cardinals football and it’s not just because of last year’s Super Bowl. Now that the Cardinals have legitimized themselves, we’re done with the annual predictions of a breakout season. Now the question is whether they become the next Super Bowl runner-up to fall off the map.

Opinions are all over the place. CBSSports and FoxSports have them at fifth in their preseason power rankings, but ESPN and SI have them at 12. And it’s understandable why the Cards are so hard to peg. What do you make of a team that got hot at the right time last year and defied almost every commandment of successful NFL teams with their playing style?

More of the same?: At some level, you have to admire the Cardinals for staying true to themselves and playing to their strengths instead of trying to be balanced just for the sake of it. With Todd Haley in Kansas City, the new setup is kind of wacky: Russ Grimm is the running game coordinator, Mike Miller is the passing game coordinator…but Ken Whisenhunt will call plays.We’ll have to see how that one works out.

The addition of Beanie Wells could give the running game instant credibility, but he has to stay healthy. While Wells has sat out the beginning of camp with a sprained ankle, Tim Hightower has been using the time to make his play for the starting position.

One of the biggest questions surrounding the Cardinals is how much 38-year-old Kurt Warner has left in the tank and whether he can duplicate last year’s performance. The guys at Football Outsiders say no (premium story), but Warner has too many weapons to fall off the map completely. Larry Fitzgerald still has everyone pouring praise on him like they were his dad, and Anquan Boldin seems less surly than he was last offseason. Even if Warner falls off a little, any semblance of a running game should keep Arizona among the league’s top 10 offenses. But all bets are off if Warner’s hip turns out to be any sort of lingering problem.

The man with the mouth: I don’t care if he once tried to rip one of Earnest Graham’s legs off, Darnell Dockett is an entertaining man. Any athlete who has the courage to criticize ESPN on twitter for their handling of the Roethlisberger story deserves praise, and I promise to mourn Dockett properly when Roger Goodell decimates him for his shenanigans. But “NINE-O,” as he likes to be known, might be in for a transition year as the Cardinals move to a defense that features more of a 3-4 look than last year. It could be good news for outside linebacker Clark Haggans, though, who is more comfortable with the defense from his Pittsburgh days.

The Cards’ inability to stop the pass last year pretty much forced former defensive coordinator out the door, as Arizona gave up a league-worst 36 touchdown passes last year. But there’s more reason to be optimistic beyond realizing that things can’t get much worse. Second-year cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie should make a big leap forward, and Bryant McFadden was an underrated pickup in free agency.

Prediction: 9-7. This is one of the harder team’s to get a grasp on. A complete unraveling seems unlikely, but it’s hard to call Arizona the class of the NFC. The Cards went 6-0 against divisional foes last year, a feat that will be difficult for them to duplicate. But if they’re contenders come December, watch out – Arizona closes out their schedule with games against Detroit, St. Louis and Green Bay.

2009 NFL Previews

NFC East: Dallas Cowboys | Philadelphia Eagles | New York Giants | Washington Redskins

NFC North: Chicago Bears | Detroit Lions | Minnesota Vikings | Green Bay Packers

NFL South: Tampa Bay Bucs | Atlanta Falcons | New Orleans Saints | Carolina Panthers

NFL West: San Francisco 49ers | St. Louis Rams |