CARDINALS 2022/23 Arizona Cardinals Thread

[IE Rams]

Yep. Agree. What a dipshit. Run what back? A hot start just to crumble again??

I'm feeling quite generous today. How bout we both run it back?

 

[ottoman89]

I'm feeling quite generous today. How bout we both run it back?

Yes please!

 

[Merlin]

Pretty soon we're gonna hear the Browns are running it back too. This is gonna get out of control.

 

[oldnotdead]

“Run it back” because they played together in college.

Really I seem to be alone thinking this was a good move for the cards. This give them a very good 2nd WR who's a great compliment to Hopkins. I think people forget how much better the Cards were with Hopkins on the field. I see the Cards as our biggest NFC West rival next year.

Hopkins is overrated. He's a very good WR but not an elite WR. He puts up good yardage in his production but scores fewer TDs than you would think. With the Cardinals, he's played 26 games scoring only 14 TDs, for a total of 1.979 yds which averages out to 79 yds a game. Now remember he's getting just under $18.1M this year and it goes up to $30.7M next year with a dead cap of over $18M. He's being paid like an elite WR but he's not producing like one. Now remember Kupp is getting paid $18.6M this year. Also compare DK Metcalf who is still on his rookie deal but over the last two years has produced 2,270 yds and 22 TDs

Sure Ramsey shut him down but so did D. Williams. So to think Hopkins would have made a big difference in the wildcard game is stretching one's imagination. They still would have lost by a wide margin.

Hollywood Brown gives them another good not elite WR. Brown is faster than Hopkins running somewhere in the 4.4 range but he's a small WR. They will probably play him out of the slot but with a short QB throwing to a short WR out of the slot it's going to be a problem for Kyler to spot him consistently. If he was taller he would be their #1 WR. I'm waiting for Scott to introduce himself. I guess that the Cards didn't do their homework on Brown. He's injury prone with some predicting a 93% chance he will miss at least 2 games. It's why Baltimore was laughing when they fleeced AZ.

Injury History​

Date	League	Injury	Details
Dec 1, 2018	Non-NFL	Pedal Foot Sprain	Brown was carted off with a clear leg injury and returned to the sideline with crutches and a boot for his left foot.
Oct 6, 2019	NFL	Pedal Ankle Sprain/Pull Unspecified Grade 1	Brown suffered the ankle injury during the win over the Steelers. He missed practices in the following days and he was sidelined for to the next two games
Feb 25, 2020	NFL	Pedal Lisfranc Fracture	Brown had off-season surgery to remove a screw from his injured foot, hampered by a Lisfranc injury. He is expected to be fine by training camp.
Oct 7, 2020	NFL	Knee Patella Sprain	Brown was a limited participant ahead of Week 5 game due to a knee injury. He was active for the game against the Bengals.
Dec 24, 2020	NFL	Knee Patella Sprain	Brown missed practice ahead of Week 16 game due to the knee issue. He was available for the game against the Giants.
Jul 29, 2021	NFL	Thigh Hamstring Strain Grade 2	Brown suffered a hamstring injury during training camp practice.
Sep 15, 2021	NFL	Pedal Ankle Sprain/Pull Unspecified Grade 1	Brown sat out the first two practices ahead of the Week 2 game with an ankle injury.
Nov 17, 2021	NFL	Thigh Glute Strain	Brown missed Week 11 game against the Bears due to a thigh injury.

The first pick they made this draft was a TE who is primarily a blocking TE but who is looked at as a possession receiver, i.e. short first or second read type of receiver. Another indication of Kliff staying with his dink and dunk offense. He is clueless that dink and dunk only works if the team has a good run game and a legitimate deep threat. Yet the Cards appear to be standing pat with their RBs.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Arizona is mostly done until late.

Thoughts on these players?

ARIZONA CARDINALS DRAFT PICKS:

Round 2 (No. 55 overall) - Trey McBride, TE, Colorado State: The 2021 All-American and Mackey Award winner as college football’s top tight end is an exceptional possession receiver (91 catches for 1,125 yards last season) who’s also the increasingly rare dual threat able to serve as an effective blocker. Another gift for QB Kyler Murray, McBride will get to learn from vet Zach Ertz in 2022. Draft tracker

Round 3 (87) - Cameron Thomas, DE, San Diego State: Arizona needs to replace Chandler Jones' production, and Thomas (6-4, 267) offered up plenty in 2021 with 10½ sacks and 20½ TFLs. Draft tracker

Round 3 (100, special compensatory, from Ravens) - Myjai Sanders, DE, Cincinnati: More edge help for Arizona, Sanders will probably need to add bulk to his rail-thin 6-5, 228-pound build. Draft tracker

Round 6 (201)

Round 6 (215, compensatory)

Round 7 (244)

Round 7 (256, compensatory)

Round 7 (257, compensatory)

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Looks like the first two picks will be good additions.

 

[oldnotdead]

Both Thomas and Sanders are decent prospects. I mentioned Sanders as one that might be available when the Rams pick. But at this point neither looks more or less imposing than who they had prior. Both have the potential to be solid edges. But their ceilings will be dependent upon how they are played. AZ officially runs a 3-4 hybrid defense. But many times when facing the Rams they run a 4-5-2, i.e 4 DL, 4 CBs, 1 ILB, 2 safeties, which is their dime.

McBride runs in the upper 4.5+ range. His HH times are 4.5 ranges which are always faster than ET because of anticipation by the timer. Most analytics timed him at 4.6+. That's a decent speed for a man his size. But his play was as a classic short receiver option (Kyler's preferred style). He's a developing run blocker as well. Basically, he's their version of Hopkins.

Kliff is going to stay with his nickel and dime offense, 80% 10 yards or less, 15% intermediate out to 20 yards, and 5% deep. That kind of offense can work but it relies on YAC and a good run game. The problem is for it to be successful they need a defense to stay close because as we saw in the Wildcard game they can't come from behind against a big lead. It's the same offense philosophy that Maimi uses with Tua. That's why they struggle against the Rams.

IMO it doesn't matter who they draft as Kliff and company will screw them up. This team never stops rebuilding like they are again.

 

[KA210927]

Hopkins is overrated

This makes me laugh. You compared his injured year to DK. Hopkins is far from overrated. Dude was amazing with garbage QBs for many many years. Stop being a homer or maybe you just haven’t watched Hopkins.

Murray was in the running for MVP and Cards were a top 5 NFL team for the half of the year Hopkins was healthy.

 

[Mojo Ram]

I've been saying for years the Cards needed to address the TE position either in trade or FA...and not just a guy or an old guy. Swing for the fences. If i'm drafting a QB #1 overall(Murray) i want a stud at WR and TE, but TE may be more important to his early growth.

Instead they kept fucking around with JAGS at TE and spending money on DT's, big name old DE's, a good Safety(but he's a safety) and Centers etc. I get paying your LT. Alot of draft capital on WR's and LB's though.

They made DHop happen. Great job. Check.
Ertz is a vet and a nice try but maybe worry less about WR2 and blue chip your TE position. I would've paid Austin Hooper in FA(for example) who's a bad fit in CLE but i think could have excelled in Arizona IMO. He looked great in ATL in a wide open offense.


Murray needs a real TE who can block and get him out of trouble with beast routes and hands...like a top 5 guy. Where's your money at Keimy?

 

[Mojo Ram]

Maybe the rook is that guy. We'll see.

 

[Merlin]

I don't like the Cards taking McBride. Kind of irritating, but it's not like they weren't gonna find a TE in this particular draft.

Haven't looked at everyone's haul but seemed like the NFC West made a lot of solid picks. I suspect Seattle got a lot better but don't want to load their shitty colored website.

 

[Mojo Ram]

I don't like the Cards taking McBride. Kind of irritating, but it's not like they weren't gonna find a TE in this particular draft.

Haven't looked at everyone's haul but seemed like the NFC West made a lot of solid picks. I suspect Seattle got a lot better but don't want to load their shitty colored website.

Yeah early returns seem to be that our rivals stepped up their draft game this year. Time will tell if they got the right players for their programs though.

I still see many issues around the West no matter who they drafted though. QB issues number one which can erase all positives. Seattle won't be able to rebuild their defense in one offseason. Arizona is still a year-to year program it seems. Niners are about to lose their best player and no one can stay healthy on that team. Etc etc.

I like where we're at. We just need to get more consistent running the football and smarter in the secondary.

 

[Merlin]

Seattle isn't too far off the mark on defense. Points allowed had 8 teams (8th through 15th) in the 21's, a group that included Seattle and the World Champion Rams. They're gonna be really focused in on their team identity next year which is mashing. I think that will help Pete, strange as it sounds. Offense will be bad, they'll be a wildcard type team at best, but they're gonna be really tough.

I do think that it's gonna be Rams vs Shitters for the division crown. But this division isn't done giving us indigestion lol.

 

[oldnotdead]

The problem with building through the draft is you need to hit on 80%+ of your picks or your team will never get built as attrition will be greater than the successes. Most of your drafted players won't be starter level for a year maybe two or more. A team can't catch up which is why Snead realized that trading for hired guns is a much more efficient way to build a team quickly and maintain it.

Look at the Cardinals. They are in year 4 of Kliff's rebuild and they are back to rebuilding again. Attrition is greater than their ability to replenish their roster each year. The players they draft many times simply are a poor fit for their schemes. They will come up for air every couple of years and then sink back down.

If the Hawks are right about Lock and they might be then they can be competitive. IMO Lance is about 2 years away from either being a bust or emerging as a good QB. I think the odds are better that Lance will eventually emerge into a good QB but not for at least 2 years. The Rams will have Stafford for at least 3 more years beyond that.

The rest of the NFCW is playing catch up to the Rams much in the same way the AFCE did with the Pats when they had Brady. In other words, they may never catch up. Attrition will deplete their rosters faster than they can draft replacements. Until they change the way they build their teams, now that they are playing catchup I'm not concerned.

 

[AZRams]

Even though I think Murry is to small and can't last a whole season, I think the trade makes them better. Hollywood is pretty damn fast and he will give defenses more to think. Kinda like the Watson or Cooks affect for the Rams.

This.

Heard one analyst talking about Hopkins and that at his best in Houston there was a Fuller or some other guy with speed to help open things up for him and that AZ should be following that script.

 

[Mackeyser]

So... their plan is to beat the Rams with long developing passes late in the season???

Um... who's gonna tell 'em, cuz I'll just hurt their feelings...

 

[oldnotdead]

This makes me laugh. You compared his injured year to DK. Hopkins is far from overrated. Dude was amazing with garbage QBs for many many years. Stop being a homer or maybe you just haven’t watched Hopkins.

Murray was in the running for MVP and Cards were a top 5 NFL team for the half of the year Hopkins was healthy.

Yeah but his yearly meltdown proved his MVP consideration was greatly misplaced didn't it? Hollywood Brown is a greater threat than Hopkins in almost every way. He's now their #1 WR but Kupp and OBJ are better than Hopkins and Brown. Now add in Robinson and the Rams still outgun them. Akers, Henderson, and now Williams are better than Conner, Keaontay, and Benjamin. As long as the Rams don't beat themselves they will continue to own the Cards for a few more years at least.

If you want to be impressed and in awe of them, that's your choice. But they will be fighting the other 2 teams for the honor of being second best in the division. Be forewarned, if the Seahawks are right about Lock then he will be the #2 QB in this division until Lance emerges. Murray is on par with Baker Mayfield, as both are college RPO QBs who are struggling to become pocket passers. Neither one can go beyond their second read, after which they panic because they have to wait for coverage to be dropped or force the ball. Elite QBs know where the ball is going before the snap or soon thereafter. If defenses switch the coverage after the snap Murray and Mayfield are toast. That is how Morris beat down Murray in the wildcard and how he's going to keep playing him until Murray shows he can beat it, which he never will.

An MVP is an elite QB, and Murray isn't one. Stafford is, Wilson is, Mahomes is, Rodgers is, Brady is but not Murray. Jared Goff and the Lions kicked butt on the Cardinals last season (12/19/2021) winning 30-12, extending Goffs record vs the Cardinals to 8-1. Goff is a second-tier QB with a 3rd tier team and he beat down the Cards. Goff went 21 of 26 for 216 yards and 3 TDs with no INTS. Murray threw 1 TD and 1 INT against the 31st ranked defense. Enough said.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

A friend said that Lamar Jackson was pissed when he reacted to Hollywood Brown being traded. I guess he was tweeting a lot of F-bombs.

 

[Merlin]

A friend said that Lamar Jackson was pissed when he reacted to Hollywood Brown being traded. I guess he was tweeting a lot of F-bombs.

I'm of the mind that if Jackson was a better passer the receiver wouldn't be looking for an out like he did. Brown blamed the offense of course but the offense is the offense because the passer isn't capable of elevating his ability to read and anticipate secondaries. It's the same offense that made Krappernick look good.

I've bagged on Jackson before and even went a bit further than I should, because I think the media has kid gloves on when it comes to criticizing him. But at some point soon I am sure they will fire Roman and bring in another OC who will then realize that Jackson is limited in his processing and that he's basically a great RB with a strong arm. Then they'll finally get around to looking for a passer that can perform the way you need to in order to keep top weapons who are not just on their first contract.

 

[KA210927]

Yeah but his yearly meltdown proved his MVP consideration was greatly misplaced didn't it?

What do you expect when a QB loses his #1 target who is literally the best player on the team? If the Rams lost Kupp do you think we would have looked good last year?

Hollywood Brown is a greater threat than Hopkins in almost every way. He's now their #1

This is even funnier that your last post. You could ask 1000 NFL fans, coaches, players, scouts, players, anyone... and I guarantee close to 99% take Hopkins and laugh at you.

I’d be surprised if even 1 other person on this board thinks Hollywood is now the cards #1 WR over Hopkins