FanHouse KarlosDansby

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- They flew all over the field all night, racing to the ball, harassing the opposing quarterback with a variety of aggressive blitzes. The defense was disruptive, deep and energetic, and the main reason its team won the game. All of this was to be expected, of course...just not from this particular team.

On this night, it was the Arizona Cardinals beating the New York Giants at the latter's own game, forcing four turnovers and out-muscling Big Blue 24-17 on national TV in the swamps of Jersey.

"We definitely fed off our defense tonight," Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner said.

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Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

After what seemed like about 15 straight seasons heading into the year as the trendy "sleeper" pick of the NFL, the Arizona Cardinals finally realized their potential, winning a home playoff game for the first time in the life of many football fans (myself included) and heading to the first-ever Super Bowl. Now, all of a sudden, expectations are at an all-time high. Can the team thrive, or will they disappoint?

The Cardinals trailed the Steelers 10-7 when linebacker Karlos Dansby intercepted quarterback Ben Roethlisberger at the Pittsburgh 34-yard line with two minutes to go in the first half of Super Bowl XLIII.

Seven plays and 1:42 later, Arizona had a first-and-goal from the 1. Best case: the Cards headed to the locker room with the lead. Worst case: a tie. Unimaginable case: NFL Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison pick-six'ed Kurt Warner (video after the jump), resulting in a 10-point swing that had as much to do with the game's ultimate outcome as the Big Ben-to-Santonio pass-and-catch in the back of the end zone during the last drive.

But here's the thing: Harrison was supposed to blitz on the half-ending, game-changing play. If he had, Boldin would have been wide open, Warner would have hit him in stride and the Steelers might still be sitting on five Super Bowl titles.

The difficult contract negotiations between disgruntled receiver Anquan Boldin and the Arizona Cardinals took an interesting turn Tuesday with the news that Boldin has filed paperwork with the players' union to fire agent Drew Rosenhaus and seek new representation.

It's unclear who Boldin's new agent would be as he seeks a restructured contract or a trade from Arizona. The rules require him to wait at least five days after firing his agent to secure a new one. It's also unclear what this means in terms of where Boldin will play in 2009. Heck, it's not even really clear that he's through with Rosenhaus for good. At least not if you believe Rosenhaus's prolific and popular Twitter page.

Anquan Boldin and Darnell Dockett are both a little upset with their current contract situation. Dockett's situation is a little less exposed because of the constant mention of Boldin's deal, but they're both looking for something new.

And they both have injured hamstrings. Which may or may not be true, but it wouldn't appear that coach Ken Whisenhunt is buying into the injury excuse.

With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.

After a Cinderella run to the Super Bowl -- and nearly winning the thing -- the Cardinals will look to continue building momentum as a franchise. They have a gaping hole in the backfield, because there is no true every-down back on the team anymore. Also, Anquan Boldin's situation really needs to be resolved, and the team could struggle to replace dearly departed offensive coordinator Todd Haley.

Apparently, it has been a rough month for NFL agent Kirk Wood.

The Arizona Republic reported that Cardinal linebacker Karlos Dansby fired Wood last weekend. Dansby has been trying to get a long term deal for a while, but has been franchised two years in a row.

And then on Wednesday, John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reported in his blog that Texans linebacker DeMeco Ryans has fired Wood too. Ryans and CB Dunta Robinson are sitting out voluntary workouts, hoping to get the Texans to negotiate again. Ryans is under contract but was hoping to renegotiate to receive a longer term deal with the team.

Logic dictated that, after the Cardinals hit Karlos Dansby with the franchise tag, Arizona had some sort of unspoken agreement to sign Kurt Warner quickly after he became a free agent.

Additionally, it's widely known that Warner told the team he wanted to stay with the Cardinals after this year. But that didn't stop the Arizona from, presumably, leveraging Warner's wishes into him taking less money. One problem: Warner hasn't caved. And now Adam Schefter is reporting that there won't be anything done by midnight either, making the quarterback an unrestricted free agent.

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

After astonishing everyone and heading to the Super Bowl last season, the Arizona Cardinals now face truly raised expectations for the first time in memory. We all remember the magical postseason run, when Larry Fitzgerald established himself as the NFL's premier wideout (even if Andre Johnson wants to argue), Kurt Warner polished his legacy, and the defense showed its capability -- one we had not seen much in the regular season.

The Arizona Cardinals had a decision to make with their franchise player designation. Quarterback Kurt Warner, who led the team to their first-ever Super Bowl berth, is set to become a free agent on Feb. 27. So is star linebacker Karlos Dansby.

Warner came out rather quickly and ruined his chances of making a killing on the open market said that he would either stay in Arizona or retire. The Cardinals appear ready to take him at his word.