Chopper0080
2021 - Prove It
This is another post that I almost kept in the chamber as most of these things have been discussed a ton. I can tell you that we will likely disagree on some things (maybe a lot) but that makes a fun board.
All in all. I had this team 3-1 at this point prior to the season and we are 2-2. Not the end of the world and I was pretty aggressive in how I believed the Cardinals could take advantage of a weak schedule.
What is working?
Right now...it doesn't seem like a lot. That said, free agency worked and worked really well as I will include the trade for Hopkins in that assessment. Jordan Phillips...hit. Devondre Campbell...hit. Devon Kennard...hit. Re-signing Humphries...hit. Trading for Hopkins...hit. Transition tag for Drake...hit. Beachum and Kirkpatrick...hits. Outside of Isaiah Simmons, this might be the best offseason Keim has had as a GM. Also, Special Teams seems to continue to be a strong area for the Cardinals. The revamping of the defensive line looks promising even coming off a down game vs Carolina. It is tough to tell with the defensive players due to the scheme which I will cover later.
What is not working?
For all of the woes of the offense, the defense is the most dysfunctional area of the Cardinals team. There are many threads that provide insight to the Vance Joseph issues, but what is clear is that his system is antiquated and he doesn't seem to be able to adjust it for injuries or to counter what opposing teams do to exploit it. It is one thing to concede throws to backs out of the backfield and it is another to let it happen over the course of a game and week after week. Unlike the offense, I don't believe our defensive issues can be solved with better personnel or better execution, I think this is a bad process resulting in bad results.
The other thing that is not working is the offense. Where I know many of you will disagree is that I don't believe the scheme as a whole does not work. I think there are parts of the scheme that should be dialed back or refined, but as a whole, I see a good scheme. For those who scoff, we are #4 in the NFL in TD scoring % in the red zone at 78.57%. You can't have success in the red zone with a broken scheme. Same for 4th down conversions which we are 3 for 3 on. Secondly, I see WR running wide open multiple times every game. This is another indicator that the scheme is creating opportunities even if those do not result in a successful outcome. The miss to Fitzgerald vs Carolina is a prime example of that and it is happening every game. So if we are good situationally and good at getting WRs open, why is the offense struggling? Well, execution by the QB and a lack of a running game which at this moment are one in the same. Defenses are daring Kyler to complete passes in the intermediate areas by allowing short throws and taking away deep passes. This aggressive coverage approach also impacts the running game because defenders are just playing downhill and it creates more bodies close to the LOS. The nice part of this is it is a Good process resulting in a bad result. Kyler starts attacking that area of the field, the defense will back off and things will get easier.
Units
QB - Kyler has been average to below average so far this year. His lack of snaps in college is showing and he is seeing things by NFL DCs that he has never seen before on a weekly basis. They are making him uncomfortable and taking away the things he likes to do. His game lacks refinement which is highlighted when he is being asked to do things he has never traditionally had to do to be successful. I had questions about his work ethic pre-draft which many deemed as unsubstantiated, and I feel like that is correct so far. So, as long as Kyler has the internal drive perfect his craft, this should just be a bump in the road.
RB - One of the best moves Keim made this offseason was giving Drake the transition tag. Drake seems to be reverting back to the running style of early in his career where he would not press the hole and hit the cutback lane and instead just gets strung out to the sideline. He does not look as quick or explosive to me and it may be because he put on weight in the offseason. Either way, Drake has looked off and the struggles of Kyler also have a part to play in that. Edmonds looks like a nice change of pace back. I am not convinced he will be more than that, but not every back needs to be that guy. If he can be our version of Austin Eckler, we have to be happy with that.
TE - I have enjoyed the usage of this unit so far this year. Kliff seems to have identified the mismatch that TEs create in the NFL and has tried to exploit it. Maxx Williams being hurt may be impacting the running game, but it doesn't sound like we will find out this week. Dan Arnold has disappointed a bit, but some of that also seems to be due to an inability for Arnold and Murray to hit a stride. Murray tends to throw high to Arnold and even overthrows him which is crazy as he is 6'6. As Kyler works out some of his issues, I think Arnold plays better because the opportunities have been their every game. Daniels and now Thomas are making the most of their shots as well. Nice to see Kliff find ways to get the 2nd and 3rd TEs involved to keep defenses guessing while keeping their role appropriately small as well.
WR - Outside of Kirk's injury and KeeSean Johnson's role, I have been pretty happy with this unit despite sub-par results. Fitz still finds ways to get open even if it is in the intermediate areas of the field where Kyler has struggled. Hopkins has been nearly unstoppable with only Kyler's desire to spread the ball around as the means of doing so. Isabella has found his niche and, similar to Arnold, just seems like he is close to being a legit threat if he and Kyler could work out some kinks. KeeSean had a terrible game back, but you can question whether he shoulld have been put in that spot to begin with. Kirk being limited has limited his impact. No reason to give up on him yet, but it always seems to be something.
OL - This unit has mostly stayed healthy and played to their talent. They are an average unit in terms of talent and have produced a league average result. Nice to see Humphries staying healthy as that has long been his knock. He does his job at LT with little help provided. Pug hand Sweezy are largely the same players they were last year. Tough to see the team re-signing Sweezy. There seems to be a battle at C between Cole and Gaillard. Hopefully by the end of the year one player emerges at the spot. Beachum has played to his abilities as well.
DL - Jordan Phillips and Corey Peters form a nice duo. I would love to see Peters play another year after this one. Allen has been meh. I thought he would be a better interior rusher, but has not showed that yet. Fotu and Larence are getting worked in, and seem to be doing well enough respective to their draft positions. As stated above, this unit is a positive for the team.
LB - Chandler Jones has not been dynamic and it is tough to tell why as the scheme always has to factor in. Hicks and Campbell have been good. Kennard fills a role and even Reddick has shown that he can be productive if only in a limited role. Isaiah Simmons has been a disappointment and I have been on record since week 2 that it isn't his fault. This group has talent. The scheme limits them.
DB - Byron Murphy has been progressing nicely. He has limited QBs to a 52.2% completion rate on 23 targets. It seems that it is when and not if he starts creating turnovers as he is around the ball a bunch. Dre Kirkpatrick is what he is. He is allowing 68.8% completion % despite a sub package role. That said, he stays in position and generally makes the tackle. For a street FA, he is fine. Peterson has been meh to bad. We have been playing more zone and he struggles in that area. Teams have been avoiding him as he has not been targeted a ton, but I expect that to change. He has allowed 57% and 83% comp% in games he has been targeted more than 5 times (2). Teams will start to get after him. I had high hopes for Jalen Thompson and injuries has put the kibosh on that so far this year. I still expect him to do well when he returns. Budda Baker's absence vs Carolina showed why people talk about his tackling so much. It will be tough for him to justify his contract if he doesn't start creating turnovers, but he limits big plays and tends to tackle opponents short of the 1st down often. Riley sucks. he had no business playing. We missed Banjo and not because Banjo is good.
That is it for the review. I am still mostly positive on the direction of this team. It really comes down to two areas for me. Kyler Murray elevating his game and playing better on offense. Getting rid of Vance Joseph as DC. I am more confident on one of those than the other. Either way, this doesn't remind me of the Wilks/McCoy fiasco as we don't seem to be hemorrhaging everywhere. This team has talent.
All in all. I had this team 3-1 at this point prior to the season and we are 2-2. Not the end of the world and I was pretty aggressive in how I believed the Cardinals could take advantage of a weak schedule.
What is working?
Right now...it doesn't seem like a lot. That said, free agency worked and worked really well as I will include the trade for Hopkins in that assessment. Jordan Phillips...hit. Devondre Campbell...hit. Devon Kennard...hit. Re-signing Humphries...hit. Trading for Hopkins...hit. Transition tag for Drake...hit. Beachum and Kirkpatrick...hits. Outside of Isaiah Simmons, this might be the best offseason Keim has had as a GM. Also, Special Teams seems to continue to be a strong area for the Cardinals. The revamping of the defensive line looks promising even coming off a down game vs Carolina. It is tough to tell with the defensive players due to the scheme which I will cover later.
What is not working?
For all of the woes of the offense, the defense is the most dysfunctional area of the Cardinals team. There are many threads that provide insight to the Vance Joseph issues, but what is clear is that his system is antiquated and he doesn't seem to be able to adjust it for injuries or to counter what opposing teams do to exploit it. It is one thing to concede throws to backs out of the backfield and it is another to let it happen over the course of a game and week after week. Unlike the offense, I don't believe our defensive issues can be solved with better personnel or better execution, I think this is a bad process resulting in bad results.
The other thing that is not working is the offense. Where I know many of you will disagree is that I don't believe the scheme as a whole does not work. I think there are parts of the scheme that should be dialed back or refined, but as a whole, I see a good scheme. For those who scoff, we are #4 in the NFL in TD scoring % in the red zone at 78.57%. You can't have success in the red zone with a broken scheme. Same for 4th down conversions which we are 3 for 3 on. Secondly, I see WR running wide open multiple times every game. This is another indicator that the scheme is creating opportunities even if those do not result in a successful outcome. The miss to Fitzgerald vs Carolina is a prime example of that and it is happening every game. So if we are good situationally and good at getting WRs open, why is the offense struggling? Well, execution by the QB and a lack of a running game which at this moment are one in the same. Defenses are daring Kyler to complete passes in the intermediate areas by allowing short throws and taking away deep passes. This aggressive coverage approach also impacts the running game because defenders are just playing downhill and it creates more bodies close to the LOS. The nice part of this is it is a Good process resulting in a bad result. Kyler starts attacking that area of the field, the defense will back off and things will get easier.
Units
QB - Kyler has been average to below average so far this year. His lack of snaps in college is showing and he is seeing things by NFL DCs that he has never seen before on a weekly basis. They are making him uncomfortable and taking away the things he likes to do. His game lacks refinement which is highlighted when he is being asked to do things he has never traditionally had to do to be successful. I had questions about his work ethic pre-draft which many deemed as unsubstantiated, and I feel like that is correct so far. So, as long as Kyler has the internal drive perfect his craft, this should just be a bump in the road.
RB - One of the best moves Keim made this offseason was giving Drake the transition tag. Drake seems to be reverting back to the running style of early in his career where he would not press the hole and hit the cutback lane and instead just gets strung out to the sideline. He does not look as quick or explosive to me and it may be because he put on weight in the offseason. Either way, Drake has looked off and the struggles of Kyler also have a part to play in that. Edmonds looks like a nice change of pace back. I am not convinced he will be more than that, but not every back needs to be that guy. If he can be our version of Austin Eckler, we have to be happy with that.
TE - I have enjoyed the usage of this unit so far this year. Kliff seems to have identified the mismatch that TEs create in the NFL and has tried to exploit it. Maxx Williams being hurt may be impacting the running game, but it doesn't sound like we will find out this week. Dan Arnold has disappointed a bit, but some of that also seems to be due to an inability for Arnold and Murray to hit a stride. Murray tends to throw high to Arnold and even overthrows him which is crazy as he is 6'6. As Kyler works out some of his issues, I think Arnold plays better because the opportunities have been their every game. Daniels and now Thomas are making the most of their shots as well. Nice to see Kliff find ways to get the 2nd and 3rd TEs involved to keep defenses guessing while keeping their role appropriately small as well.
WR - Outside of Kirk's injury and KeeSean Johnson's role, I have been pretty happy with this unit despite sub-par results. Fitz still finds ways to get open even if it is in the intermediate areas of the field where Kyler has struggled. Hopkins has been nearly unstoppable with only Kyler's desire to spread the ball around as the means of doing so. Isabella has found his niche and, similar to Arnold, just seems like he is close to being a legit threat if he and Kyler could work out some kinks. KeeSean had a terrible game back, but you can question whether he shoulld have been put in that spot to begin with. Kirk being limited has limited his impact. No reason to give up on him yet, but it always seems to be something.
OL - This unit has mostly stayed healthy and played to their talent. They are an average unit in terms of talent and have produced a league average result. Nice to see Humphries staying healthy as that has long been his knock. He does his job at LT with little help provided. Pug hand Sweezy are largely the same players they were last year. Tough to see the team re-signing Sweezy. There seems to be a battle at C between Cole and Gaillard. Hopefully by the end of the year one player emerges at the spot. Beachum has played to his abilities as well.
DL - Jordan Phillips and Corey Peters form a nice duo. I would love to see Peters play another year after this one. Allen has been meh. I thought he would be a better interior rusher, but has not showed that yet. Fotu and Larence are getting worked in, and seem to be doing well enough respective to their draft positions. As stated above, this unit is a positive for the team.
LB - Chandler Jones has not been dynamic and it is tough to tell why as the scheme always has to factor in. Hicks and Campbell have been good. Kennard fills a role and even Reddick has shown that he can be productive if only in a limited role. Isaiah Simmons has been a disappointment and I have been on record since week 2 that it isn't his fault. This group has talent. The scheme limits them.
DB - Byron Murphy has been progressing nicely. He has limited QBs to a 52.2% completion rate on 23 targets. It seems that it is when and not if he starts creating turnovers as he is around the ball a bunch. Dre Kirkpatrick is what he is. He is allowing 68.8% completion % despite a sub package role. That said, he stays in position and generally makes the tackle. For a street FA, he is fine. Peterson has been meh to bad. We have been playing more zone and he struggles in that area. Teams have been avoiding him as he has not been targeted a ton, but I expect that to change. He has allowed 57% and 83% comp% in games he has been targeted more than 5 times (2). Teams will start to get after him. I had high hopes for Jalen Thompson and injuries has put the kibosh on that so far this year. I still expect him to do well when he returns. Budda Baker's absence vs Carolina showed why people talk about his tackling so much. It will be tough for him to justify his contract if he doesn't start creating turnovers, but he limits big plays and tends to tackle opponents short of the 1st down often. Riley sucks. he had no business playing. We missed Banjo and not because Banjo is good.
That is it for the review. I am still mostly positive on the direction of this team. It really comes down to two areas for me. Kyler Murray elevating his game and playing better on offense. Getting rid of Vance Joseph as DC. I am more confident on one of those than the other. Either way, this doesn't remind me of the Wilks/McCoy fiasco as we don't seem to be hemorrhaging everywhere. This team has talent.
