Enemy Lines

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Cardinals

"Expect Jake Plummer to have a rebound year. He's thrown so many picks over the last couple of seasons, you've got to believe it's something correctable. His health is apparently better, as are his receivers, particularly David Boston....

The offensive line should be better, especially with those big suckers, Pete Kendall and Leonard Davis. Kendall is darn near Pro Bowl level. Their tackles are both good, and all together they make up for Mike Gruttadauria's lack of technique....

Thomas Jones looked bad last year, even behind a bad line. He went down easy, got banged up and never looked comfortable. I like Michael Pittman. He's a hard runner who breaks tackles and is a good receiver with a quick burst.

But he's become a bad-character guy. [He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of criminal trespassing and criminal damage after two incidents this summer in which he angrily confronted his estranged wife; the NFL suspended him for the 2001 opener.]...

Arizona is below average on every defensive unit. The line isn't good—Kyle Vanden Bosch gets overpowered, and Russell Davis stinks—the linebackers are nothing special, and the secondary is in for a long year. They'll miss Aeneas Williams, since Corey Chavous isn't a cover guy and Tom Knight is the only known quantity. Pat Tillman will be good again, in the John Lynch mold, but overall—yikes!...

Dave McGinnis is a players' coach, so it's not surprising that he was able to keep his job last year."