Cards at bye: Murray, offense on rise
With no game this week, the Cardinals paused, reflected and rested. That’s as it should since it’s the first extended break players and other team employees have had since opened 16 weeks ago.
The off week, however, is not a judgment-free zone, especially since it came after the Cardinals 11th regular season game. The Cardinals portfolio (a buzzword borrowed from the impeachment hearings) contains a significant amount of work, so let’s take a look at what we know about this team and what might training camp await in the final five games of the season.
What we know
❚ Kliff Kingsbury is an excellent offensive coordinator. The Cardinals have improved dramatically in every significant offensive category this season.
Granted, it would be hard to duplicate the wretchedness of last season, but what Kingsbury and the Cardinals are building on that side of the ball is sustainable.
The Cardinals have scored at least 25 points in seven games this season. They did that only once a year ago. Yards per rush and pass attempt have increased
significantly.
What I like most is that Kingsbury has been flexible and adapted his offensive system to the NFL. That’s evident in the increased use of tight ends we saw after the first month or so of the season.
❚ Quarterback Kyler Murray is going to be a star. He’s shown remarkable mastery of Kingsbury’s offense, and nothing seems to rattle him. He doesn’t make many mistakes, which is remarkable for a rookie quarterback.
Murray has had just five passes intercepted and has thrown deep as effectively as almost any quarterback in the NFL. In that category, Pro Football Focus has him tied for third with Aaron Rodgers. Only Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson rank higher.
And Murray’s doing it without proven deep threat.
❚ Good health among offensive lineman pays dividends. Only one starter, right tackle Justin Murray, has missed time because of injuries. Reasonably good health has allowed this unit to grow and learn under line coach Sean Kugler.
Is there a great player in the group? No. While no one is against adding one in the future, this year’s group is proving you can get a lot of mileage out of a bunch of grinders who stay healthy.
❚ If the Cardinals were just average on defense, they would be around. .500 now instead of 3-7-1. A lot of fans are blaming coordinator Vance Joseph, and he boosted the criticism by having pass rusher Chandler Jones in coverage at a critical point in last Sunday’s loss to the 49ers.
❚ The biggest problem on defense is the lack of impact players. Cornerback Patrick Peterson was suspended for six games and hasn’t played well over the last five. Defensive lineman Darius Philon, signed as a unrestricted free agent, was released in August after being arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault. Cornerback Robert Alford, who was expected to start, suffered a broken leg in camp and hasn’t played. Defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche, a first-round pick in 2016, was released after showing up for camp overweight. Linebacker Haason Reddick, a firstround pick in 2017, lost his starting job in the base package.
Not many defensive coordinators would succeed given all that.
❚ I’m not absolving Joseph of all blame. The Cardinals haven’t been
aable to cover a tight end all season. And their pass defense as a whole is atrocious.
They’ve given up 29 touchdown passes, eight more than all of last season. And opponents are averaging 7.83 yards per pass, which ranks 30th in the NFL.
The last five
❚ Judging solely by record, the Cardinals (3-7-1) are only moderately better than last year when they went 3-13. They’ve lost four consecutive games, and even the 2018 team didn’t lose five in a row.
But anyone paying attention knows significant improvement has been made, at least on offense.
Before the season, I thought winning five or so games and being competitive in most losses would be signs of improvement. The Cardinals are on track for that, but winning two or three more games won’t be easy.
The Browns (4-6) are the only opponent remaining that is below .500.
To be successful over the last five weeks, the Cardinals need to stand up in critical moments, not wilt like they did last Sunday against the 49ers, like they did against the 49ers on Halloween night, like they did against the Buccaneers the following week.
“I think in the beginning, every team has to learn how to win,” guard Justin Pugh said minutes after the loss to the 49ers last week. “Who’s going to be the go-to guy at the end of the game? We’re learning that, and obviously there’s some growing pains.”