Lower Expectations

[BigRedRage]

....except for when you log into asfn.. . It's what we do here.. which is why its fun. We get to bitch and moan together about a sport. Lol.

I don't think I complain much here. Moreso just discuss.

 

[cardcrazy]

With a little luck this team could be 6-4.
The Detroit tie
A last defensive stop against the 49ers
The Max Williams catch against TB
If we were 6-4 everyone wouldn’t be so pessimistic.
I don’t feel like this team is that far away.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Sometimes I think people forget how thin the margins are in the NFL. We lost a heart-breaker to Tampa on the road. Seattle won an over-time thriller where they gave up 30+ at home vs the same team. We have a rookie and they have one of the best QBs in the NFL. They are a potential division winner and we are likely to draft in the top 12.

This is what I see.

The difference is really only a handful of plays.

Having Murray is the difference in my opinion. The Cardinals finally have a long term answer at QB.

 

[Card'em]

Agree with Chopper0080 that we're probably two off-seasons away from playoff contention, but it's not out of the question that we get there next year. If we could repeat the success we had in our last draft and free agency we may have a shot.

We added two current starters from the draft in Murray and Murphy, and we also added three serviceable starters in free agency with Sweezy, Hicks, and Max Williams. That's 5 starters added from the draft and free agency, plus 5 or 6 other draft choices that may develop into starters. Of course the only problem is that we were drafting at the number 1 position last year and probably will be around the tenth position this year. Oh well...gotta have hope!

 

[football karma]

excluding defensive and ST TDs: the Cards have given up 27.4 points a game. That is amazing considering how little the offense turns the ball over.

Giants, Bucs, Dolphins, Bengals, Falcons all worse: but they also have turned the ball over wayyyy more, resulting in more short field opponent scoring. All are like -11 or -12 in turnover margin. the Cards are +4 (!!)

I don't care how good your offense is: its hard to win when you need to score 4 TDS to win.

 

[Cardsfaninlouky]

I miss Mad TV. The above was one of my favorite bits. It applies here. When I picked the Cards to go 4-12, I didn’t get very much company. Now it turns out I may have been optimistic. Looking at the schedule it’s hard to pick out that elusive 4th victory.

All is not lost long term. Murray looks like the real deal despite some rookie moments. I know this won’t be popular, but I think this coaching staff has potential. The hardest part of that staff to evaluate is Joseph. He has little to work with but they’ve been in every game. I’d like to see what he could do with a few more winners. You’d just have to go on faith for the next couple of years. Considering how bad I think the personnel is, the O-Line coach should be coach of the year. Even the special teams look professional.

That brings us to the head coach. He’s solid when it comes to play design. He isn’t when it comes the play calling and game management. I’m confident he’ll get good enough at play calling despite the red zone failures and calling the worst 2 minute drill Sunday, that I’ve seen in years. If he fails it will be because of game management. Most coaches come to the NFL with a winning history. I’ve always believed a coach has to learn how to win. Just trying to continuously score tons of points has seldom proved sustainable. You don’t always get the last possession. You can’t just call a timeout to take away the other team’s best play. I could keep going but you’ve all lived the list. The problem is we’ll have to wait until the personnel improves before we can judge improvement in this aspect. It won’t happen quickly. The best test is, does KK repeat mistakes? If not, there’s reason for hope. I think you have to give him 2 more years. He’s shown enough to like to justify that.

I’ll get more into the personnel as the season unfolds. I’ve seen the O-line congratulation posts but when I see them against a good line, like Sunday, they get exposed. They opened no running lanes, had Murray running for his health and committed careless penalties. I still see little to generate confidence.

The real measure of this season will not be wins & losses. It will be solidifying elements of the team to provide a foundation to build upon.

Great post. I still think we can beat both the Browns & Steelers at SFS, at least one of the 2 so your prediction may be spot on.

 

[Jetstream Green]

Harry, I don't have the same degree of confidence you have when it pertains to KK and play calling. I go back and look at his record at Texas Tech and what I see is a head coach who always had his team hovering around a .500 level. If KK never got better at it in college I see little that would make me believe that he can do it at the pro level. This is just a gut feeling but I see KK as being one of those coaches that can take a team to a certain level but that level is not NFC champion or Super Bowl champion level. Klingsbury needs to prove me wrong.

Wonder how Kingsbury would have done at Texas or Oklahoma where he could recruit blue chip talent to play for his defense

 

[AZCrazy]

Harry, the pessimism is unwarranted.
All of these games are one possession games, and a play or two could turn several of them.

Our offense can finally play. we need a couple of big meatheads in the front seven and we're a much better team,
flirting with the playoffs.

 

[Cardsfaninlouky]

Agree with Chopper0080 that we're probably two off-seasons away from playoff contention, but it's not out of the question that we get there next year. If we could repeat the success we had in our last draft and free agency we may have a shot.

We added two current starters from the draft in Murray and Murphy, and we also added three serviceable starters in free agency with Sweezy, Hicks, and Max Williams. That's 5 starters added from the draft and free agency, plus 5 or 6 other draft choices that may develop into starters. Of course the only problem is that we were drafting at the number 1 position last year and probably will be around the tenth position this year. Oh well...gotta have hope!

With all the players we added this season, we're currently at the same win total as last yr with 6 games left to go. I still think we have a shot at 3 games in SFS. The Browns, Steelers & Rams. Say we win 2 of the 3? That's improvement over last season. With our current record, 3-6-1, we're a handful of missed opportunities in each of 4 games away from being 7-3. Lions, Ravens, 49ers & Buccaneers. We wanted improvement, there it is. With a good offseason of FA signings & a good draft, considering how close they've been in most games this season, I see no reason why we can't be in contention for a wild card spot next season at the very least. Lots of things can mess that up though, injuries mainly at positions we can't afford to lose.

 

[Hoodhero]

I still remeber national media declaring that K1 would be broken after 3 games playing for worst roster in football. We exceeded exceptions a long time ago imho

 

[cardpa]

Wonder how Kingsbury would have done at Texas or Oklahoma where he could recruit blue chip talent to play for his defense

I'm not sure he would have done much better because I think he would still have loaded up on offensive players and pretty much treated the defense as the proverbial red headed step child.

 

[slanidrac16]

I also think we have to look at where we came from to where we are in spite of having a very tough schedule. The remainder of the schedule is also brutal.

Not making excuses But this was a transitional year and we are making strides. Expectation will and should be higher going into next year.

 

[Solar7]

I'm with you Harry. Thanks for your sensible take.

 

[CardNots]

When I picked the Cards to go 4-12, I didn’t get very much company. Now it turns out I may have been optimistic. Looking at the schedule it’s hard to pick out that elusive 4th victory.

I agree, I don’t see win number 4 on the remaining schedule.

Even at 4 wins others predicted less so there was company.

This team has exceeded my prediction for the year so I’m now in the draft positioning mode looking forward to the offseason season. Next year my expectations will be much higher.

 

[Krangodnzr]

I thought around 6 games...

 

[Crimson Warrior]

Maybe I'm crazy, but I think we have a shot at home against the Rams.

 

[b8rtm8nn]

I still think we can win two more, which puts me at -.5 what I expected (6 wins)

 

[Hoodhero]

Maybe I'm crazy, but I think we have a shot at home against the Rams.

I don't think it has dawned yet on people how bad the Rams are right now. Lost 2 more Oline starters this past game & Goff got 13 passes defensed. Steelers d is good but damn!!!