Alright, so get this: Mike LaFleur, one of the ten fresh faces taking over as head coach in the league this year, just got slapped with a brutal ranking. NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks ranked him ninth out of those ten new HCs, putting him just barely above Miami’s Jeff Hafley. The kicker? His Arizona Cardinals are already projected to win the fewest games in 2026. Yeah, you read that right. Fewest games. For those of us living in the Emerald City, that’s definitely a stat worth paying attention to.
LaFleur’s Mountain To Climb is Straight Up Everest
Dude’s got his work cut out for him, no doubt. LaFleur’s mission is to basically resurrect a team that’s seen a grand total of one playoff appearance in the last decade. That’s a rough stretch. He’s trying to instill this “demanding culture with positive vibes,” which sounds cool on paper, but can it actually translate to wins against the beasts in our division? The offense actually looks a little better in their two preseason games, which is a start. They’ve got some dynamic playmakers to build around, like rookie RB Jeremiyah Love, young WRs Michael Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr., and first-team All-Pro TE Trey McBride. That’s some decent firepower, for sure. But here’s the absolute truth: LaFleur’s gotta find and develop a real franchise quarterback to even *think* about climbing the ranks in the NFC. That’s the biggest piece missing, and without it, all that positive vibe talk is just noise.
The Defense Is The Real Horror Show, And We’re Watching
Here’s the problem that screams “fewest wins”: their defense. It was straight up one of the worst units in the NFL last season, and they didn’t exactly go wild in the offseason to fix it. They kept defensive coordinator Nick Rallis, and there weren’t any significant additions to make you think things are magically gonna turn around. LaFleur’s gotta get that defense playing with actual fundamentals and “fanatical effort” to limit explosive plays and force turnovers. Without that, they’re just going to get gashed, week in and week out. The Cardinals look seriously short-handed on paper, and in *this* division? Come on. We’re talking about the reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks, plus the seriously talented Rams and 49ers. That’s a gauntlet, and if your defense is Swiss cheese, good luck.
So, yeah, LaFleur’s “juice and enthusiasm” might help them exceed some low expectations in Year 1, but “few wins” is the cold, hard projection. They might be an “exciting bad team” with those offensive playmakers, but that doesn’t win you games against the heavyweights in the NFC West. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this one, not because we’re worried, but because it’s always fun to watch our rivals try to keep up. LaFleur has a long, long way to go before the Cardinals are anything more than an interesting footnote in our division. Go Hawks!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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