King Arthur Movie Tristan

Due to the fact the Cardinals had to deal with the retirement of Kurt Warner, Arizona was one of the worst teams in 2010 going 5-11 and picking 5th in the draft. The instability at QB was the worst it has been in years for the Cardinals. At the beginning of the year Matt Leinart was supposed to be the future after sitting behind Warner for two years, but instead the Cardinals released him in the before the season. The release of Leinart led to three different signal callers starting for Arizona. Which even in the NFC West, that's bad. With new CB Patrick Peterson the Cardinals hope to improve a defense that struggled last year, finishing 29th in the league. As for their offense, they are a leading candidate to land Kevin Kolb.

Best Coach: Don Coryell (1973-1977)

For the first time in this series, the same guy is the best head coach for two different teams. Don Coryell made his name with the San Diego Chargers, but his first pro football head coaching job was with the Cardinals. To put this nicely, the Cardinals have not done a good job picking head coaches throughtout their history (whether they were in Chicago, St. Louis, or Arizona). Hiring Coryell after he left San Diego State is the best decision the Cardinals had made at head coach ever. Under Coryell the Cardinals had three straight years of double digit victories, not even Ken Whisenhunt who led Arizona to the Super Bow, has been able to do that. Coryell also led the Cardinals to their only division titles while the team was based in St. Louis, plus Arizona had not been to the playoffs since 1948, when they were the Chicago Cardinals. Whisenhunt is probably a close second to Coryell for the Cardinals best coach, but I don't think he deserves as much credit as Kurt Warner. The great job Coryell has done got him hired in San Diego and into the Hall of Fame.

Best Player: Larry Fitzgerald (2004-present)

I said it before and I will say it again; there will never be another WR like Jerry Rice. Larry Fitzgerald sure comes close though. Few players like Fitzgerald give Cardinals fans a reason to believe in the team. Fitzgerald was selected third overall by the Cardinals in the 2004 draft and started to turn this team around. In Fitzgerald's career so far he has been selected to five Pro Bowls, has been a first team All-Pro two times, and was the 2008 Pro Bowl MVP. Fitzgerald actually left college two years early, but showed from the beginning that he was going to be a great player. In his rookie season, Fitzgerald caught 58 passes for 780 yards and eight touchdowns. Also during his rookie season, Fitzgerald became the youngest player ever to catch two touchdowns in a game. The best season of this WR's career was in 2008 when he had 96 receptions for 1,431 yards and 12 touchdowns, which were all career highs thanks to the arrival of QB Kurt Warner. In the postseason, Fitzgerald and the Cardinals advanced to the NFC title game for the first time in franchise history. In that game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Fitzgerald became the first player to catch three touchdowns in a conference championship game. Fitzgerald also set a postseason record with 546 receiving yards, 30 receptions, and 7 touchdowns (this feat surpassed Rice's 1988-1989 postseason). In Super Bowl XLIII, Fitzgerald caught two touchdown passes. One of them, seemed to be the game winner until Ben Roethlisberger guided the Steelers down the field for the 27-23 win. Even though Fitzgerald has played with nine different QB's throughout his career and still puts up huge numbers. That is what makes him the best WR in the game today. Click here to look at Fitzgerald's stats.

Best Draft Gem: Larry Wilson (1960-1972)

The defensive back position is probably one of the most underrated positions in the NFL today. And this safety also flew under the radar going into the draft. Larry Wilson was selected in the seventh round of the 1960 draft, which was surprising considering his great skills in college. In 12 years with the Cardinals, Wilson made it to eight Pro Bowls, was a first team All-Pro eight times, and is the Cardinals interception leader with 52. Defensive coordinator Chuck Drulis actually named a play after Wilson, which was called "Wildcat" and was a free safety blitz. The Cardinals were actually the first ever team to run the safety blitz and DB's today can thank Wilson for making the play stick. During the 1966 season, which was Wilson's best, he intercepted at least one pass in seven consecutive games and finished the year with 10 which led the league. Wilson is probably known best for his toughness thanks to the fact he played a game with casts on both of his hands, you just don't see a player today with those kind of guts that Wilson had. Wilson was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1978 and was the Cardinals GM from 1980-1993. Click here to look at Wilson's stats.

Biggest Draft Bust: Andre Wadsworth (1998-2000)

Its the draft and either you hit or miss with players like this. Andre Wadsworth had a stellar college career at Florida Sate and was taken third overall by the Cardinals in the 1998 draft. Wadsworth held out for a long time due to the fact that he wanted a contract like Peyton Manning's or Ryan Leaf's, who were the top two picks in the draft. Despite the holdout, Wadsworth started all 16 games of his rookie season recording five sacks and 57 tackles. Wadsworth missed some of the 1999 season with a knee injury and had to have knee surgery in the offseason, which was the second of his career. Wadsworth had surgery for a third time in the 2000 offseason and was soon released by Arizona. A bust that couldn't stay healthy, I think we have heard that one all too much. Even though the best player in the 1999 draft, Peyton Manning, was taken #1 overall the Cardinals missed out on the best defensive player in the draft, Charles Woodson. Click here to look at Wadsworth stats.

Defining Moment: 2009 NFC Title Game (January 18, 2009)

Thanks to these two guys on the left (Larry Fitzgerald and Kurt Warner) the Cardinals actually have a Super Bowl appearance under their belt despite their unfortunate history. Here proof that the Cardinals have had bad history in the NFL. The Cardinals have had 36 head coaches since they entered the NFL in 1920 and only five have led them to the playoffs. One of those head coaches, Ken Whisenhunt, led the Cardinals to Super Bowl XLIII. The Super Bowl appearance isn't the franchises defining moment, however, the last step to get there is. In the NFC title game against the Eagles, Arizona had a 18-point lead at halftime but had to fight off a furious comeback after Philly scored 13 straight points. You know the old sports quote, "It's not about the destination, it's about the journey." That is not more true for any other team then the Cardinals.