Arizona Cardinals will be in the NFL playoffs in 2014 if…

And: The Arizona defense can survive all the changes this offseason. It’s safe to say that there have been quite a few.

First things first and that’s looking back at how good this group was this past season. Only five teams in the league allowed fewer total yards and no club in the NFL was stingier when it came to stopping the run. The Cards gave up just over 20 points per game for the season but allowed 14 or fewer points in five of their final nine outings.

Now the bad news and there’s plenty. The team’s top three tacklers from 2013 won’t be around for various reasons. Inside linebacker Karlos Dansby comes off a phenomenal year and signed with the Cleveland Browns. Strong safety Yeremiah Bell, who had his problems in pass coverage a year ago, wasn’t re-signed and opted for retirement. And inside linebacker Daryl Washington won’t be playing football in 2014, suspended by the NFL for the season.

Now add in the fact that earlier in August, former Pro Bowl defensive tackle Darnell Dockett was lost for the season with a torn ACL. The Cardinals recently added veteran Tommy Kelly, released by the New England Patriots within the last week. Veteran Frostee Rucker is hoping to take up the slack for the missing Dockett as well.

Still, the cupboard is not bare when it comes to this unit. Defensive end Calais Campbell is one of the league’s more underrated defensive lineman and veteran Larry Foote hopes to fill the shoes of the suspended Washington.

Finally, this is a pretty solid Arizona secondary granted rookie Deone Bucannon can eventually be the heir apparent to Bell. Perennial Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Peterson will be concentrating on his position this season opposed to receiving and punt returns. And safety Tyrann Mathieu was a solid rookie campaign before getting injured late in 2013.