Why You Can't Discount Cardinals in 2024

The Arizona Cardinals are ready to go to war for Jonathan Gannon.

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon talks to his team during training camp at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals finished with a 4-13 record last season, though majority of the league was impressed with how hard the team fought under first-year head coach Jonathan Gannon.

Gannon had his depleted Cardinals in nearly every matchup through the 2023 season, and with more talented injected into the roster ahead of 2024, Bleacher Report says '"Gannon Has a Plan" is the one reason why you shouldn't discount Arizona:

"It sort of rhymes, so it makes sense. In seriousness, Jonathan Gannon took on a rebuild with a rehabbing quarterback in 2023. The coming year should be a more accurate measure of Gannon's plan for Arizona, which knocked off Pittsburgh and Philadelphia—two playoff teams—after Murray returned to the field last season," wrote David Kenyon.

Last offseason, Gannon was a laughing point for those around the league thanks to his quirky "pew pew" interaction with Rondale Moore and his famous "bus" speech ahead of camp.

His message to the team was a little more serious this time around:

"This is how we're going to win games. This is who we're going to be. This is how we're going to operate on a daily basis. We've got a lot of work to do, and it needs to start ASAP," said Gannon when asked to describe his message to the Cardinals.

"You got to keep the main thing, the main thing. ... I want us to be a smart football team that doesn't beat ourselves and I want us to be a physical football team that plays with great effort, great intensity, great violence and let the chips fall where they fall - but that's basically our mode of play."

If Gannon and his staff can take the next step much like his players are expected to, the Cardinals should be in business in 2024.