nERD: -12.58
Record: 5-11, 4th in NFC West

Interestingly enough, the Arizona Cardinals are the only franchise to appear on both the top-10 by nERD and bottom-10 lists, but it’s clear to see the difference in the 2010 and 2015 iterations of the team. This season was the team’s first without quarterback Kurt Warner since 2005, and it was clear that things weren’t going to go well.

The man stepping in to fill Warner’s giant shoes was the same quarterback who had infamously set a bottom-10 passing season for the Browns the year before: Derek Anderson. Predictably, this didn’t go well; Anderson ended up 33rd out of 34 quarterbacks that year in Total NEP per play.

Running backs Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower each put up lackluster -0.10 Rushing NEP per attempt rates, and even Larry Fitzgerald was outside the top-60 wide receivers by Total NEP per play. The 2010 Cardinals under Anderson outdid the 2009 Browns, setting the fifth-worst Adjusted Offensive NEP per play rate (-0.16) in the last decade.

The defense was also bad but not historically abhorrent. They ranked 26th that season with 0.06 Adjusted Defensive NEP per play. Strong safety Adrian Wilson and defensive lineman Darnell Dockett both had Pro-Bowl years with Wilson picking off 5 passes and contributing 10 tackles for loss and Dockett racking up 7 sacks. This would be the beginning of a four-year total mire for the Cardinals before they turned things around in 2013.