Loss of Johnson stings the Cardinals
Arizona’s star running back may not be able to play again until mid-December
After the Arizona Cardinals’ abysmal performance in a 35-23 loss to the Detroit Lions last Sunday, quarterback Carson Palmer predicted brighter days ahead. “The sky is not falling,” he said. On Monday, however, a large chunk of it landed on the Cardinals’ heads when an MRI confirmed running back David Johnson suffered a dislocated left wrist.
Surgery is required, and Johnson is expected to miss two to three months. He won’t be eligible to come off injured reserve until mid-November, and he might not be ready to play until midDecember.
Can the Cardinals stay in playoff contention until their best offensive player returns?
It’s possible, but it won’t be easy. Johnson gained 2,118 yards from scrimmage last season, 36% of the team’s total. He scored 20 touchdowns, 39% of the total.
Johnson doesn’t have a weakness, and much of the offense was constructed to take advantage of his varied skills.
So how do the Cardinals remain relevant for the next two to three months?
First, by not whining. Injuries are like our fantasy teams and golf games. They matter to us, but no one else wants to hear about them.
Everyone has them. The New England Patriots lost receiver Julian Edelman. The Jacksonville Jaguars are without receiver Allen Robinson. The Kansas City Chiefs lost safety Eric Berry and running back Spencer Ware. The Miami Dolphins are minus quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
No one, including their fans, expects any less from those teams.
The maturity of this Cardinals team, especially on offense, and the experience of coach Bruce Arians and his staff should serve them well in dealing with the emotional impact of losing a great player.
Five offensive starters are older than 30. There isn’t much guys such as receiver Larry Fitzgerald,
34, and Palmer, 37, haven’t dealt with in their careers.
What would help in this situation is if one of those prominent players stood up in a team meeting, or maybe publicly, and said, “We got this.”
It worked for the Green Bay Packers in 2014 when they started
1-2.
On his weekly radio show, quarterback Aaron Rodgers made this pronouncement: “Five letters here just for everybody out there in Packer-land: R-E-L-A-X. Relax. We’re going to be OK.”
Granted, Palmer is not Rodgers as a player. But sending a message that no one is panicking after Johnson’s injury could do no harm.
In many ways, coaching in the NFL is about managing crises, and Arians has proved capable in these types of situations. He’s usually at his best when outsiders expect the least.
He helped the 2012 Indianapolis Colts make the playoffs after head coach Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia.
He believed in the 2013 Cardinals when no one else did. That team started 3-4 and finished
10-6.
Actually playing football without Johnson will be the biggest challenge. The beauty of having Johnson in the backfield is that defenses didn’t have a good idea of what was coming.
Were the Cardinals going to run
“23 Double,” their favorite inside running play?
Were they going to pitch to Johnson? Line him up at receiver? Throw a screen to him?
With Johnson out, no doubt we will hear Arians’ mantra of “next man up” a few hundred times this week. The problem with that is the next man up is the next man for a reason: He’s not as good as the guy he is replacing.
Chris Johnson, whom the Cardinals are bringing back, has plenty of experience, is strong in pass protection but was perceived to be expendable after a pedestrian preseason.
Kerwynn Williams is an excellent runner but not great as a receiver or pass blocker.
Andre Ellington is great in space but hasn’t proved he can run inside.
Elijhaa Penny played in his first NFL game last week and didn’t touch the ball.
D.J. Foster, expected to be signed off the Patriots practice squad, played in three games last year as a rookie.
So for the Cardinals to be successful, at least one of those running backs will have to do something he hasn’t done recently — or ever — at this level: produce over an extended number of games.
Most likely, the Cardinals offense will look more like the 2013
14 versions. Those teams didn’t rush effectively, but the passing game made up for it.
The onus is on Palmer to play better than he did last weekend, but that was going to be true even if Johnson hadn’t been injured.
With Johnson out, the Cardinals need the Carson Palmer who passed for 34 touchdowns and
4,671 yards in 2015, the one who had 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions from mid-2013 through
2014.
Is Palmer still capable of that? It didn’t look like it in Detroit on Sunday, but that was one game. He’s had bad games before and bounced back.
He didn’t play well in the first half of last season but improved dramatically over the final seven games.
Palmer also needs more help than he received Sunday. Johnson fumbled twice. Fitzgerald failed to make a catch for a touchdown we’ve seen him make numerable times. J.J. Nelson dropped a pass that would have gained at least 45 yards. The blocking by the offensive line and tight ends was poor. The defense gave up three touchdowns in the final 18 minutes.
The Cardinals don’t need a bunch of guys to suddenly become heroes, although it wouldn’t hurt. They just need guys to do their jobs, something only a handful of them did Sunday.
If that happens, the sky might stay where it is until Johnson returns.
Somers writes for The Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network.