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Handing out mid-season grades to the Arizona Cardinals

Halfway through the 2014 season, the Arizona Cardinals are in pretty good shape.

They have an NFL-best 7-1 record and a two-game lead over the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West, all while being without starting quarterback Carson Palmer for three games.

Asked to give his team a grade at the midway point, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said an ‘A.’

“Other than one quarter of football in Denver we’ve played pretty solid every quarter.”

Arians, who also said he would have been a teacher if not a football coach, might have been a pretty forgiving grader. How many of us wouldn’t have minded him going over our midterms?

Anyway, here’s how I grade the team.

Coaches What can be said about the coaching staff that hasn't already been mentioned? In less than two years, Bruce Arians has instilled a culture and attitude that this team desperately needed. His no-nonsense, all-out mentality has led to an impressive turnaround, and it is obvious how much people love playing for him. On the defensive side, Todd Bowles' performance with what appeared to be less talent has made him a short-timer in the Valley. If he's not a head coach somewhere next season, something is very, very wrong. If a coaching staff's job is to maximize the talent it is given, then you could not ask for more here. Grade: A+ Special teams Going into the season the questions were about rookie kicker Chandler Catanzaro, who Arians tabbed to replace veteran Jay Feely. Eight games into the season, those questions no longer remain. Catanzaro set a rookie record by making 16 consecutive field goals to start his career, has made all 18 of his PATs and has consistently put his kickoffs deep into the end zone. As for the team's punter, however, what was expected to be a strength has been a little iffy. An injury to stalwart Dave Zastudil landed him on season-ending injured reserve, opening the door for young Drew Butler to take the job. Butler has been OK, for the most part, though he is no Zastudil. In the return game, Ginn, Jr. has not been great, though his punt return for a score against the Giants in Week 2 was the play of the game. Oh, and the Cardinals have blocked two field goal attempts this season, which is never a bad thing. Good special teams can win games for you, while poor performances there can lose them. So far, the Cardinals have been plenty more good than bad. Grade:A- Cornerback The Cardinals put a lot of money and resources into upgrading this position, and it appears to have worked. Antonio Cromartie has been a revelation, intercepting three passes and generally being very effective opposite Patrick Peterson. Peterson, a three-time Pro Bowl choice, has had his struggles, but played well in Sunday's win over Dallas and is finally healthy, according to his coach. Jerraud Powers has three interceptions and has done well as a slot corner, while Justin Bethel has been fine when asked to play corner. This group would be even better if Peterson played like the guy who was made the richest CB in league history, but it has been pretty good as-is. Grade: B+ Linebacker This group was expected to struggle without Karlos Dansby and Daryl Washington, and then John Abraham, and to some extent it has. But for the most part, the linebackers have been outstanding. Led by Larry Foote, who has 41 total tackles, one sack, one interception and four tackles for loss, the Cardinals have received solid-if-unspectacular play out of a bevy of players. Kevin Minter, Alex Okafor, Lorenzo Alexander, Matt Shaughnessy and Sam Acho have all contributed to varying degrees, though none have really stood out in any way. Last year's group offered more flash (and pass rush), but this year's linebackers have done their job well. Grade: B- Defensive line Just wow. The team lost Darnell Dockett during the preseason but has not missed a beat. Free agent pickup Tommy Kelly has been a godsend, while Calais Campbell has been his dominant self (even if the stats don't necessarily show it). Dan Williams and veteran Frostee Rucker have also stepped up in Dockett's absence, while rookie Ed Stinson has very quickly established himself as a key member of the team. The team would surely like to get more out of Kareem Martin, but overall it would be tough to be displeased with what this group has accomplished. Though the stats aren't there, the impact certainly has been. Grade: B Offensive line How do you know an offensive line is playing well? When nobody is talking about it. The goal was to upgrade the unit in the offseason with the addition of left tackle Jared Veldheer, and he's no doubt helped. Along with the improved Bobby Massie, the Cardinals now have a pair of tackles whom they can rely on. Cardinals QBs have been sacked just 13 times this season -- tied for 25th fewest in football -- usually having enough time to go through their reads and find an open receiver. And while not great, the running game has been good enough. The group that also consists of Ted Larsen at left guard, Paul Fanaika at right guard and Lyle Sendlein at center has been together for the entire season, which has helped to keep 2013 first-round pick Jonathan Cooper on the bench. It's possible the former North Carolina Tar Heel will supplant Larsen at some point -- if there was a weak link, it would appear to be him -- but the coaching staff seems reluctant to make a change. Then again, if Cooper is as good as the team thought he was when it chose him seventh overall, his insertion into the lineup could help a solid line take another step forward. Grade: B+ Tight end All throughout the offseason we heard about the team's much-improved tight end room. Often times, Arians called it an Receiver Going into the season there was a lot of talk of how Michael Floyd was ready to take over as the team's top option in the passing game while rookie John Brown was about to set the NFL world on fire. In the meantime, veteran Larry Fitzgerald would take a back seat and fade into the abyss. Nope. After a slow (and controversial) one-catch performance in Week 1, Fitzgerald has responded to lead the team in targets (55), receptions (35) and receiving yards (513). Brown has been every bit as good as advertised, with 24 catches for 326 yards and a team-leading four touchdowns, and Floyd has caught 23 passes for 389 yards and two scores. Ted Ginn, Jr., one of the big offseason acquisitions, has been mostly quiet, with just six catches for 96 yards. Jaron Brown, who earned a roster spot after a strong training camp, has contributed five catches for 37 yards and one touchdown. The star power is still there, and the depth isn't too bad, either. Grade: B+ Running back During the offseason, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said the goal was to get Andre Ellington 25-30 touches a game. While the number may have been a bit hyperbolic, the point was the team was going to center its offense around the second-year pro. And center the offense they have. Ellington has carried the ball 149 times, compared to just 42 for every other running back on the roster. He has gained 559 yards and scored twice, and while the yards-per-carry average isn't as high as it was last year, his work in the receiving game, where he has caught 32 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns, has him among the league leaders in total touches and yards. He's done all this while battling a foot injury this season. After Ellington, though, the team has struggled to find consistency. Jonathan Dwyer was removed from the team after Week 2 due to allegations of domestic abuse, Stepfan Taylor has been inconsistent and is now injured, and Marion Grice got his first career touches in Sunday's win over Dallas. Thus far it has been a very top-heavy group. Grade: B Quarterback Carson Palmer was expected to build off his finish to the 2013 season, and he's done exactly that in every game in which he has played. The veteran has completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 1,385 yards and 11 touchdowns with just two interceptions in five starts, posting a QB rating of 99.3. In the three games Palmer missed, backup Drew Stanton performed admirably, earning a pair of wins while not turning the ball over. Rookie Logan Thomas threw his first career touchdown pass in relief of an injured Stanton in the team's loss to Denver, but that was the only pass he completed in eight attempts. Overall, could one have expected better? Really? Grade: A