Cardinals at Saints.... opening weekend... official game day thread!!! 09/07/25

[BooksOrangePlanet]

I mean he def hurt us. Missing wide open throws on at least 3 occasions. Two of which should have been rather easy completions and were drive killers. Running out of bounds 2x resulting in lost yardage instead of just throwing it away. Total rookie mistakes. Anytime you’re adding negative yardage it hurts your team. Kudos for no turnovers yes. But those things did hurt the team.

word - not arguing with any of that but as a whole - overall - he helped the team instead of hurting it - that would've been a tough game for most qbs

 

[DVontel]

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[football karma]

Kyler was B today -- not A, not C or D or F

yes -- the miss to Marvin from the endzone would have put him in A territory had he hit it.

yes -- two off target throws to Trey on a drive put them in 3rd down -- which he then converted on a good throw.

and yes -- it makes me insane to see him take a 2 yard "sack" by running out of bounds vs just flipping the ball forward.

but in a weekend where scoring 20 was the norm for winning teams and the running game constantly put the team behind the sticks, they got enough offense to win a game on the road.

fwiw: in 2024 the Saints finished the season at #5 in defensive passer rating allowed. It was their run defense that was awful. Given the changes in coaching staff there / roster, etc -- not sure if that is indicative or no. But its a data point.

 

[BritCard]

When your YPA is 5.6 you should be completing 80%+.

In fact his CPOE on next gen stats was -4%. That's 4% lower than they would expect for someone averaging 5.6 YPA.

 

[PACardsFan]

I mean he def hurt us. Missing wide open throws on at least 3 occasions. Two of which should have been rather easy completions and were drive killers. Running out of bounds 2x resulting in lost yardage instead of just throwing it away. Total rookie mistakes. Anytime you’re adding negative yardage it hurts your team. Kudos for no turnovers yes. But those things did hurt the team.

With Murray, I guess we’re expecting absolute perfection? When Murray did run out of bounds, we lost 1, maybe 2 yards. He also used his legs to dig us out of 3rd & longs numerous times. I’ll take the 1 yard losses at times as long as you get the possibility of way more of the explosion type runs. Yes, he missed a couple throws, and I believe 2 of them were to MHJ. Do we know exactly who’s at fault there? Marvin looks to have improved a bunch, but at times he’s not perfect either. They’ll keep developing their bond & hopefully it continues to improve as the season progresses. More of the drive killers were gaffes by the OL, leaving Murray on his back before he even knew what hit him. Or some really bad penalties that killed drives. Hell, the hold by Froholdt late in the 4th prevented us from pulling away & making this a much easier win. Bottom line, it’s game 1. And we get to walk away being 1-0, which is something we haven’t done since 2021. And what’s the old saying….If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. We have to continuously get better in all facets of the game.

 

[BritCard]

Kyler was B today -- not A, not C or D or F

yes -- the miss to Marvin from the endzone would have put him in A territory had he hit it.

yes -- two off target throws to Trey on a drive put them in 3rd down -- which he then converted on a good throw.

and yes -- it makes me insane to see him take a 2 yard "sack" by running out of bounds vs just flipping the ball forward.

but in a weekend where scoring 20 was the norm for winning teams and the running game constantly put the team behind the sticks, they got enough offense to win a game on the road.

fwiw: in 2024 the Saints finished the season at #5 in defensive passer rating allowed. It was their run defense that was awful. Given the changes in coaching staff there / roster, etc -- not sure if that is indicative or no. But its a data point.

How is 163 yards, 5.6 YPA, running out of bounds behind the LOS, sacking himself twice and several missed throws a B? A B?

Did you watch any other QB yesterday? If that was a B did they invent 7 new letters that goes before A and I missed it? If that was a B what the heck was Lamar and Allen?

At best it was a D, being very generous.

 

[PACardsFan]

this game is really hard to look at - if marvelous doesn't catch that deep ball we're talking serious trouble but this was week 1 - so it's hard to tell anything but they're defense front being better than ours shows our o-line is behind and our d-line isn't as all worldly as most anticipated

again- we came away with the win and have some clear issues to work on - im proud of kyler tho - no picks was everything in this game - his runs were drive saving - he contributed instead of hurting - i damn sure don't think brissett wins that game

Let’s be honest, the accolades for the long pass to MHJ go to Murray. Marv had almost zero separation, but Kyler dropped the ball in perfectly. The MHJ/KM Combo has to continue to improve if this team wants to reach its goals.

 

[BooksOrangePlanet]

Let’s be honest, the accolades for the long pass to MHJ go to Murray. Marv had almost zero separation, but Kyler dropped the ball in perfectly. The MHJ/KM Combo has to continue to improve if this team wants to reach its goals.

no

 

[WisconsinCard]

Kyler is a veteran qb. He cant miss those throws like he did against the Saints. The haters have a reason to moan. Hes just not very good under duress

He was extremely inaccurate when he was on the move yesterday. Could explain why they don't try and roll him out more. Could've just been yesterday's game. Who knows I've never thought of him to be inaccurate when on the move. Now that I think about it he is not usually looking down field when he's scrambling, so maybe that's progress??

 

[slanidrac16]

Yup. If Petzing calls a WR screen to the right and the defense lined up every single player in the right, Kyler would still throw the screen.

Seems that way.

 

[crisper57]

Was it pretty? No. But it is Week 1. Look at the rest of the League. Offenses were behind the defenses all day. I think only 2 or 3 games hit the "over" on points. Most the games came down to the final possession. And remember how the Cardinals ALMOST got the Bills in Buffalo last year in Week 1 before Josh Allen got going on an MVP campaign.

Week 1 doesn't tell us much about most teams. It is the first real action to learn from and you just hope you are learning after a W.

I'd much rather be us than the Dolphins (who got owned), or the Lions, Falcons, or the Seahawks (who lost to division opponents). Or maybe even the Ravens at this point. That kind of defeat has the potential to reverberate throughout the season.

Look for improvement in Week 2 and if we don't see it, then we can collectively go "uh oh".

 

[slanidrac16]

How is 163 yards, 5.6 YPA, running out of bounds behind the LOS, sacking himself twice and several missed throws a B? A B?

Did you watch any other QB yesterday? If that was a B did they invent 7 new letters that goes before A and I missed it? If that was a B what the heck was Lamar and Allen?

At best it was a D, being very generous.

D is a little harsh, but a B is a little to generous. I’ll give a C…which is average.

 

[slanidrac16]

Was it pretty? No. But it is Week 1. Look at the rest of the League. Offenses were behind the defenses all day. I think only 2 or 3 games hit the "over" on points. Most the games came down to the final possession. And remember how the Cardinals ALMOST got the Bills in Buffalo last year in Week 1 before Josh Allen got going on an MVP campaign.

Week 1 doesn't tell us much about most teams. It is the first real action to learn from and you just hope you are learning after a W.

I'd much rather be us than the Dolphins (who got owned), or the Lions or the Seahawks (who lost to division opponents). Or maybe even the Ravens at this point. That kind of defeat has the potential to reverberate throughout the season.

Look for improvement in Week 2 and if we don't see it, then we can collectively go "uh oh".

I think most of us would rather be the Ravens.

 

[crisper57]

I think most of us would rather be the Ravens.

Over the course of the season? Yeah. Today? Not so much.

As a fan, that had to be a huge gut punch and now they get to wonder if this loss will impact their playoff homefield advantage standing for a while.

We know the Ravens will be fine, and so do their fans, but the hangover today has got to be brutal.

I'm happier waking up today after a Week 1 win than they are right now, I think I can safely assume that at least.

 

[WisconsinCard]

I watched Adams that time. I have no idea why he’s looking back.

Silent count, he looks back and when K1 is ready for the snap he taps his foot, and Adams taps the center. I'm sure you probably know this, it just slipped your mind

 

[Adrian]

Arizona Cardinals CB Will Johnson impresses in first NFL game

Johnson broke up three passes and had an interception that was negated by a penalty.

cardswire.usatoday.com

 

[Chopper0080]

Murray’s passer rating today was 109. Burrow’s was 88. Why are people equating their play today? Kyler completed 72% of his passes, with 2 tds & zero turnovers, and used his legs to get us out of multiple jams. He orchestrated a great drive in the 4th quarter when we were backed up inside our own 10 by using his arm & legs throughout. If not for the holding penalty on Froholdt and subsequent blocked FG attempt, we win that game going away. Considering it was a road opener, I thought we played fairly well. Not great, but not many teams are great at this juncture in the season. On to week 2. We owe Carolina a butt whooping!

Kyler was 12/20 (60%) on passes beyond the LOS. Some critical context when evaluating his comp% and quality of game.

 

[Adrian]

An MHJ And McBride Offense Sounds Good, And Saints Aftermath

Arizona Cardinals Official Team Website I Arizona Cardinals – AZCardinals.com

www.azcardinals.com

 

[Chopper0080]

Kyler was B today -- not A, not C or D or F

yes -- the miss to Marvin from the endzone would have put him in A territory had he hit it.

yes -- two off target throws to Trey on a drive put them in 3rd down -- which he then converted on a good throw.

and yes -- it makes me insane to see him take a 2 yard "sack" by running out of bounds vs just flipping the ball forward.

but in a weekend where scoring 20 was the norm for winning teams and the running game constantly put the team behind the sticks, they got enough offense to win a game on the road.

fwiw: in 2024 the Saints finished the season at #5 in defensive passer rating allowed. It was their run defense that was awful. Given the changes in coaching staff there / roster, etc -- not sure if that is indicative or no. But its a data point.

I would give him a C+. The + comes from his rushing.

 

[Stout]

With Murray, I guess we’re expecting absolute perfection? When Murray did run out of bounds, we lost 1, maybe 2 yards. He also used his legs to dig us out of 3rd & longs numerous times. I’ll take the 1 yard losses at times as long as you get the possibility of way more of the explosion type runs. Yes, he missed a couple throws, and I believe 2 of them were to MHJ. Do we know exactly who’s at fault there? Marvin looks to have improved a bunch, but at times he’s not perfect either. They’ll keep developing their bond & hopefully it continues to improve as the season progresses. More of the drive killers were gaffes by the OL, leaving Murray on his back before he even knew what hit him. Or some really bad penalties that killed drives. Hell, the hold by Froholdt late in the 4th prevented us from pulling away & making this a much easier win. Bottom line, it’s game 1. And we get to walk away being 1-0, which is something we haven’t done since 2021. And what’s the old saying….If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. We have to continuously get better in all facets of the game.

The problem is these are rookie mistakes. He should be tossing the ball out of bounds instead of running OOB for a loss of yardage. No excuse. He should be stepping up in the pocket to take a sack or throw it away, at worst, not taking a giant sack for no reason with his spin INTO a sack routine. Rookie mistake. He cuts those out, completes a few of those shots he missed, and everyone here would be praising him to high heaven. Remember how happy everyone was after his Rams game? We're not seeking that all the time. Everyone here thinks he did okay and managed the game. The pushback is when he's getting high praise for a non-high praise worthy performance.

 

[Stout]

Let’s be honest, the accolades for the long pass to MHJ go to Murray. Marv had almost zero separation, but Kyler dropped the ball in perfectly. The MHJ/KM Combo has to continue to improve if this team wants to reach its goals.

Although I disagree--you cannot say MHJ had nothing to do with it--KM did drop a great pass in there. It was reminiscent of years ago. Loved it.

 

[football karma]

How is 163 yards, 5.6 YPA, running out of bounds behind the LOS, sacking himself twice and several missed throws a B? A B?

Did you watch any other QB yesterday? If that was a B did they invent 7 new letters that goes before A and I missed it? If that was a B what the heck was Lamar and Allen?

At best it was a D, being very generous.

easy: no turnovers vs 2 TD passes.

on a day where the running game constantly put them behind the sticks.

Lamar Jackson had 200 yards passing + 70 yards rushing. B. Also the benefit of Derrick Henry going 18/ 169 yards and 2 tds.

Allen -- clearly an A. Carried the entire offense on his back.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

What I notice the most watching this team versus all others week in, week out last year and the same in week 1 this year, we just lack special players. Got a solid base of good, lots of okay… but very few guys that are just major impact players.

Tough to win at an elite level with very little elite level talent.

Yup. Shocking that I agree, I know. I think we got this:

Offense:
Top tight end
Emerging very good receiver
Good running back
Solid oline (2 good players, 3 okay players)
Solid backup rb and TE
Mediocre QB
Bad receivers 2-4
Mediocre OC

Defense:
Top defensive backfield (corners and safeties and depth - young though)
Solid dline
Subpar linebackers
Very good DC

Ultimately I think it’s difficult to win at a high rate and a high level when both your QB and OC are mediocre.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Want to give a shout out to Max Melton, who looked better today vs. last year.

I actually think we saw flashes of this last year. He’s a great athlete with good anticipation. Just needs seasoning. I think he, Garrett and Will may end up being a fantastic trio for years. Add in rabbit and that’s four defensive backs that are young and can grow together.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Yes, and we can’t seem to do that. When Kyler takes the snap he always seems to take a couple of steps back and then pat the ball before he releases it.

I mentioned that same thing. Plays are designed with a specific number of steps in a drop. Ideally the QB hits that final step and lets go of the ball to his primary receiver who should be schemed open. I only recall Kyler doing that one time yesterday. There’s just no rhythm.