WILD ABOUT CARDS
How Arizona can improve, win 10 games this season
Kyler Murray and the Cardinals are 6-4 at this point, and columnist Kent Somers sees five scenarios for how they can reach 10 wins.
Thanksgiving marked the arrival of gravy season, which also means it is now socially acceptable to discuss the chances of your favorite NFL team making the playoffs.
Doing so before now was akin to bringing up your golf score, fantasy team and digestive issues in front of company, mixed or not.
Cardinals fans are in this position for the first time since 2015, when they were 8-2 and playing like the best team in the NFC.
This year’s team is not that good, but it’s still 6-4 and over .500 after 10 games for the first time since
2015. In between, there was a lot of losing done over the first 10 games (a combined 13-25-2 from 2016 to 2019), so maybe a pause to appreciate is in order.
Sure, things can always get worse, a point 2020 continues to jackhammer home, but there are several realistic ways in which this team can improve, finish with 10 wins and make the playoffs for the first time in five years.
Here are five:
1. The passing game
Quarterback Kyler Murray is on the periphery of the MVP discussion for good reason. He’s on pace to become the first player in NFL history to rush for1,000 yards and throw for 4,000 in the same season. But there is more room for growth as a passer than his statistics suggest: 19 touchdowns, eight interceptions, 16 sacks, completion rate of 68 percent.
Our eyes tell us that Murray has missed throws that he can make. Our eyes do not deceive. Pro Football Focus has Murray graded as the ninth best quarterback this season but just the 16th best passer.
If Murray is just a little better over the final six weeks, say10 percent better, especially when throwing outside pocket, the Cardinals will become an even bigger problem for opponents.
2. Start faster
After last week’s loss to Seattle, Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury was asked he had an explanation for so many slow starts on offense this season.
“No,” is all he said.
Kingsbury likely has all kinds of ideas why this is happening but didn’t want to go into them at the time.
It’s been a problem all year. The Cardinals haven’t led after the first quarter since the Jets game on Oct. 11. They scored a touchdown on their first offensive possession just once, against Washington in week two.
Overall, they’ve been outscored by 12 points in first quarters this year. So what are the problems? Mistakes, mostly.
Four times, the Cardinals have been penalized on their first possessions. On two other occasions, they committed turnovers.
For whatever reason, this year’s offense takes longer than a landlord’s heart to warm up.
To its credit, it eventually has in most games. The Cardinals have outscored opponents 76-34 in the third quarters.
Maybe opponents do a nice job scheming for Kingsbury’s offense. Maybe it takes a while for the Cardinals to adjust. Maybe Kingsbury should take those plays he calls in the third quarter and use them in the first.
But seriously, playing well in the first quarter occasionally doesn’t seem too much to ask. The Cardinals are overdue for that to happen.
3. Get off the field
The rest of that sentence should be “on third down.”
Like most defensive coordinators, Vance Joseph preaches situational football. Win on third down. Make the opponent settle for field goals.
Through the first eight games, the Cardinals ranked seventh with a thirddown percentage of 37.9.
But in the past two games, it almost 52 percent. They rank15th at 41percent.
So what happened? Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Seattle’s Russell Wilson happened, Joseph said.
That said, if the Cardinals can revert to the form of the first eight weeks, winning at least four more games is not only possible, but also likely.
4. Clean it up
The Cardinals have done a lousy job of cleaning up their messes when it comes to penalties.
Opponents have accepted 79 of them, which leads the league, including 10 last week in Seattle.
In relation to penalties, the NFL keeps a statistic called “stalled drives.” It means exactly what you think — the number of drives that stalled with the help of a penalty.
The Cardinals have 24 of those. That leads the league. No other teams has more than 20.
The good thing for the Cardinals is they are talented enough to overcome a number of mistakes. They lead the NFL in yardage and are seventh in points scored.
But imagine how much better they would be in they weren’t the NFL’s most-penalized team?
False starts (14) are a problem. So is holding (12). So are intentional groundings by Murray (four).
This comes back to coaching. Kingsbury needs to find a way for his message to get through. It might be time to let some emotion show and let his players know this has gone on far too long.
5. Add an athlete
Isaiah Simmons made his arrival three weeks ago, and looks like he’s there to say. That should be the case with the eighth overall pick in the draft, but as Simmons stayed on the bench through the first two months, it was fair to wonder.
Injuries forced him into the lineup. Performance will keep him there. A month ago, Simmons played just five of 84 snaps in the first game vs. Seattle.
A week ago, he played 45 of 67 snaps against Seattle and played well with 10 tackles, including two for loss.
In a season noted by attrition on defense, Simmons could give the Cardinals youth, speed and some juice over the last six weeks.