Culture My Ass

[Chopper0080]

I agree. Many that blast Brissett as a “ loser” and a “career backup” usually follows that up with the o-line sucks, Petzing sucks, JG sucks, we can’t run the ball, yada yada yada.
If that’s the case( which it is) then Brissett has overperformed.

A great qb can overcome to some degree a less talented roster. An average qb needs a better surrounding cast. Two examples would be Daniel Jones who “stunk” with the Giants but he was pretty effective with Indy.

A better example is Sam Darnold. I would say neither one of these two would be considered great. But they proved to be functional with a proper supporting cast and coaching staff.

I don’t see a superstar qb within reach. So what’s the alternative? See Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones.

I think it would be wrong to count on Brissett to be the guy. He will be on the roster, no doubt. Because FA is before the draft, you have to sign another vet to compete with him. Then, at the draft, you have to have your roster in a position that you can draft a QB as well depending on how the chips falls.

If Brissett becomes the Cardinals Geno Smith (Seahawks version), great. If the other vet who is brought in beats him out, great. If the rookie is the best option

 

[Chopper0080]

How are they not? If you consistently shoot yourself in the foot, that's an issue.

Because the Cardinals could choose to use liquid assets as you call them, but they don't. It's a self imposed restriction of a poverty owner. It's not a valid excuse. Do better or own the result.

 

[Chopper0080]

Insanity. He's JAG. They should have traded him a long time ago - most overrated Cardinal vs. actual production ever.

He is better than just a guy. In the end, you can't trade him and 5 mil is not going to get you a better S. Cutting Budda to save 5 mil is stepping on your own dick.

 

[slanidrac16]

I think it would be wrong to count on Brissett to be the guy. He will be on the roster, no doubt. Because FA is before the draft, you have to sign another vet to compete with him. Then, at the draft, you have to have your roster in a position that you can draft a QB as well depending on how the chips falls.

If Brissett becomes the Cardinals Geno Smith (Seahawks version), great. If the other vet who is brought in beats him out, great. If the rookie is the best option

I get your point. But who are you going to bring in? Let’s say for the sake of discussion it’s Mariotta. He’s going to get offers and is not coming here to play for 8m because someone like the Colts are going to pick him up as a starter.
And with the shape this roster is currently in can we afford spending 10-12m or more for him to compete with Brissett? And just how much of a difference would he make?
I can see the Cards drafting an o - lineman with our first pick. Then we have to cross our fingers and hope a guy like Jaxon Dart surfaces for our second pick . We may even have to trade back up into the first round to get “ him”.
He sits and learns. While Brissett gets his brains beat in. However, IF IF IF the other parts are fixed I think Brissett can keep us around .500. If not the newbie gets installed around game 12 and a new era begins.
Any hope for the playoffs are slim to none in 2026.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Because the Cardinals could choose to use liquid assets as you call them, but they don't. It's a self imposed restriction of a poverty owner. It's not a valid excuse. Do better or own the result.

I'm with you, and I have argued that same point. It's just at a point that we know by now that he chooses not to, so we shouldn't be surprised that he doesn't.

 

[kerouac9]

Other teams let players play on their last year of their contracts. We freak out because we are convinced if our player hit free agency they will leave.
The Rams let a guy like Kupp walk and get comp picks in return.
Do any of our players we have on their last year aren’t worth anything.

Baker has two years left after this one at about $20 million annually.

 

[Crimson Warrior]

I mean...it depends on who the GM and HC are tbh. I think the path to 7 wins is pretty easy with better coaching/GM IMO. Whether Bidwill can bring in anyone competent is another discussion.

If the plan is run it back with Monti and Gannon, it is a bit tougher because they have to produce a high number of wins which means the aggressiveness gets ramped up.

Being that we're in the ultra-competitive NFC West, in what universe can we win ten games next season?

Reasonably healthy, maybe the defense will be good enough to win ten. To steal a division win or two at home. Maybe. We better upgrade the ILB group though.

But on offense? I'm not sure it's possible to make the 2026 group a ten win unit.

I love Jacobi's big heart, truly. God bless him. He's earned every penny we've paid him and I want him as QB2 for 2026. But, he's not going to QB the 2026 Arizona Cardinals to ten wins. Not facing NFC west defenses six times next year. No way.

And unless we pay a steep price to trade up, I don't see us upgrading the QB1 position from a sheer talent perspective.

So we're screwed for 2026 at QB1, which pretty much dooms the season from the jump considering our OL and RB rooms are currently an absolute mess, and there's all kinds of uncertainty with the WR Group

I think it will take MO at least two years to fix the offense. Five year rebuild in progress!

 

[slanidrac16]

Being that we're in the ultra-competitive NFC West, in what universe can we win ten games next season?

Reasonably healthy, maybe the defense will be good enough to win ten. To steal a division win or two at home. Maybe. We better upgrade the ILB group though.

But on offense? I'm not sure it's possible to make the 2026 group a ten win unit.

I love Jacobi's big heart, truly. God bless him. He's earned every penny we've paid him and I want him as QB2 for 2026. But, he's not going to QB the 2026 Arizona Cardinals to ten wins. Not facing NFC west defenses six times next year. No way.

And unless we pay a steep price to trade up, I don't see us upgrading the QB1 position from a sheer talent perspective.

So we're screwed for 2026 at QB1, which pretty much dooms the season from the jump considering our OL and RB rooms are currently an absolute mess, and there's all kinds of uncertainty with the WR Group

I think it will take MO at least two years to fix the offense. Five year rebuild in progress!

I think we can build this offense to be better than average but we need to be aggressive and lucky.
This team was going to be a run based offense. Everything was going to work off the running game. If we were able to run the ball like last year I believe Brissett could steer the ship.
Unfortunately, it’s going to take some change of coaches too. Just the OC? The o-line coach? All of them?
It can’t simply be bring all the boys back.

 

[Weenus O'Baggins]

Being that we're in the ultra-competitive NFC West, in what universe can we win ten games next season?

Reasonably healthy, maybe the defense will be good enough to win ten. To steal a division win or two at home. Maybe. We better upgrade the ILB group though.

But on offense? I'm not sure it's possible to make the 2026 group a ten win unit.

I love Jacobi's big heart, truly. God bless him. He's earned every penny we've paid him and I want him as QB2 for 2026. But, he's not going to QB the 2026 Arizona Cardinals to ten wins. Not facing NFC west defenses six times next year. No way.

And unless we pay a steep price to trade up, I don't see us upgrading the QB1 position from a sheer talent perspective.

So we're screwed for 2026 at QB1, which pretty much dooms the season from the jump considering our OL and RB rooms are currently an absolute mess, and there's all kinds of uncertainty with the WR Group

I think it will take MO at least two years to fix the offense. Five year rebuild in progress!

We are in worse shape than 3 years ago because the Rams and Seahawks nailed their drafts and we just didn't.

So the roster can be better but the situation is much worse.

Best you can do with Brissett is hardcore invest in offensive line. He's great in a clean pocket with time to go through his reads.

 

[Weenus O'Baggins]

I think we can build this offense to be better than average but we need to be aggressive and lucky.
This team was going to be a run based offense. Everything was going to work off the running game. If we were able to run the ball like last year I believe Brissett could steer the ship.
Unfortunately, it’s going to take some change of coaches too. Just the OC? The o-line coach? All of them?
It can’t simply be bring all the boys back.

League Average is about 23.3 ppg. Cardinals are at 21.7 this year.

For the last five years, we have averaged 22.6

Really the only times we had an above average offense in the last 12 years would be Palmer and the peak Kyler / Kingsbury year.

For this particular style of offense, as you said, it is run focused and ball control heavy. The lack of the big shots down field really limits the upside.

 

[Cardsfaninlouky]

Man our fan base just struggles spotting QB talent.

“2 years at least” for a career backup that has looked below average while winning a total of 1 game out of 10.

Dear lord

Totally not what I'm saying bro. I was being hypothetical in knowing how cheap MB is & that's probably what will happen, no QB worth drafting this April & if we get one in 2027 he'll have to wait behind JB for a year, there's the 2 years I was talking about. I meant nothing towards JB being a great QB, this will probably happen knowing how MB operates.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Being that we're in the ultra-competitive NFC West, in what universe can we win ten games next season?

Reasonably healthy, maybe the defense will be good enough to win ten. To steal a division win or two at home. Maybe. We better upgrade the ILB group though.

But on offense? I'm not sure it's possible to make the 2026 group a ten win unit.

I love Jacobi's big heart, truly. God bless him. He's earned every penny we've paid him and I want him as QB2 for 2026. But, he's not going to QB the 2026 Arizona Cardinals to ten wins. Not facing NFC west defenses six times next year. No way.

And unless we pay a steep price to trade up, I don't see us upgrading the QB1 position from a sheer talent perspective.

So we're screwed for 2026 at QB1, which pretty much dooms the season from the jump considering our OL and RB rooms are currently an absolute mess, and there's all kinds of uncertainty with the WR Group

I think it will take MO at least two years to fix the offense. Five year rebuild in progress!

I disagree. The OL can be fixed relatively quickly. Just last year it was a top ten unit. The RB room doesn't really need a lot of work either.

Wilson's play magnifies the fact that the talent that is on the team isn't being optimized. With McBride, Wilson, and Harrison whoever is QBing the team has some targets.

The issue for me is that the Bidwill family has shown over and over again that they aren't good at hiring football people.

 

[Harry]

What went wrong with Murray is twofold IMO. The league, as they always do, adjusted to Murray’s style, Murray didn’t change enough and grow. Things like using progressions, reading defenses and pulling up to throw when scrambling. The second failure was the Cards were of little help. They did finally put him under center, but never designed effective rollout plays or hot reads. They never learned to execute a screen pass. Playing calling was atrocious. Route designs were amateurish. The Oline couldn’t sustain a pocket.

Things looked better when Brissett came in. He used progressions and could read defenses to ID single coverage, which he wasn’t afraid to throw into. Years of playing in tough situations taught him to navigate poor pockets. There initially was no film on how he’d change the offense. He’s a good backup, but not a long term starter.

 

[Harry]

Baker has two years left after this one at about $20 million annually.

I think he only has about $17mil guaranteed

 

[kerouac9]

I think he only has about $17mil guaranteed

Yeah a ton of it is salary only which makes it easy to cut or trade him.

I just don’t think another team is gonna give up a real asset plus $17 million a year for A+ leadership and C playmaking.

 

[Stout]

I disagree. The OL can be fixed relatively quickly. Just last year it was a top ten unit. The RB room doesn't really need a lot of work either.

Wilson's play magnifies the fact that the talent that is on the team isn't being optimized. With McBride, Wilson, and Harrison whoever is QBing the team has some targets.

The issue for me is that the Bidwill family has shown over and over again that they aren't good at hiring football people.

The only thing I disagree with is in the RB room, because they need a starter. Otherwise, yeah. This. OGs shouldn't be hard to find, and we should be able to sign or draft a decent OT (we hope).

I just saw that Cleveland's center Posic is a FA. He wouldn't break the bank and, from what I recall, is a very good player.

 

[Chopper0080]

Baker has two years left after this one at about $20 million annually.

I know you know better. His deal is basically 19.2 mil in 2026 with a cut year in 2027 which results in 3 mil of dead money and opens up 17.8 mil in cap space.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Yeah a ton of it is salary only which makes it easy to cut or trade him.

I just don’t think another team is gonna give up a real asset plus $17 million a year for A+ leadership and C playmaking.

Budda is well respected around the league. There would be multiple teams interested in him. However I don't believe that other teams would give up anything more than a 3rd for player with as much wear and tear as Budda has on his body.

 

[Chopper0080]

I get your point. But who are you going to bring in? Let’s say for the sake of discussion it’s Mariotta. He’s going to get offers and is not coming here to play for 8m because someone like the Colts are going to pick him up as a starter.
And with the shape this roster is currently in can we afford spending 10-12m or more for him to compete with Brissett? And just how much of a difference would he make?
I can see the Cards drafting an o - lineman with our first pick. Then we have to cross our fingers and hope a guy like Jaxon Dart surfaces for our second pick . We may even have to trade back up into the first round to get “ him”.
He sits and learns. While Brissett gets his brains beat in. However, IF IF IF the other parts are fixed I think Brissett can keep us around .500. If not the newbie gets installed around game 12 and a new era begins.
Any hope for the playoffs are slim to none in 2026.

Everyone is not the guy until they are the guy. Darnold. Baker. Geno. DJones.

People have said on here, bring in Zach Wilson. Trade for Davis Mills or Mac Jones. Trade for Jameis. Look at Trey Lance. There are lots of guys who fit the profile of game manager, but you have to have the pieces around them. Brissett hasn't been great, but he has put up production that the defense is kinda squandering. It doesn't get you to the playoffs but it should be able to get you to 8-9 wins without a ton of luck.

At least this way when you get to the draft you have the ability to grab a QB at whatever point you can, and you can adjust accordingly.

 

[Chopper0080]

Being that we're in the ultra-competitive NFC West, in what universe can we win ten games next season?

Reasonably healthy, maybe the defense will be good enough to win ten. To steal a division win or two at home. Maybe. We better upgrade the ILB group though.

But on offense? I'm not sure it's possible to make the 2026 group a ten win unit.

I love Jacobi's big heart, truly. God bless him. He's earned every penny we've paid him and I want him as QB2 for 2026. But, he's not going to QB the 2026 Arizona Cardinals to ten wins. Not facing NFC west defenses six times next year. No way.

And unless we pay a steep price to trade up, I don't see us upgrading the QB1 position from a sheer talent perspective.

So we're screwed for 2026 at QB1, which pretty much dooms the season from the jump considering our OL and RB rooms are currently an absolute mess, and there's all kinds of uncertainty with the WR Group

I think it will take MO at least two years to fix the offense. Five year rebuild in progress!

Only 6 games are played vs division opponents. The most the Cardinals have lost to non-division opponents is by 4 points. They are 3-5 in those games. In theory, that is not a huge mountain to climb if you think the coaching is bad and there have bene a lot of weird things happening this year.

 

[Chopper0080]

Budda is well respected around the league. There would be multiple teams interested in him. However I don't believe that other teams would give up anything more than a 3rd for player with as much wear and tear as Budda has on his body.

I agree that Budda is well respected. I think a lot of teams would sign him is the Cardinals cut him. I don't believe any real assets are going to be given up for a 29 year old S with a 19 mil cap hit and a cut year in 2027.

Maybe you get a 6th or a 5th with a swap, but no one is giving up assets that are able to offset the loss in his skills. Getting rid of Budda in 2026 is just making things harder on yourself without getting anything meaningful in return.

 

[MadCardDisease]

I agree that Budda is well respected. I think a lot of teams would sign him is the Cardinals cut him. I don't believe any real assets are going to be given up for a 29 year old S with a 19 mil cap hit and a cut year in 2027.

Maybe you get a 6th or a 5th with a swap, but no one is giving up assets that are able to offset the loss in his skills. Getting rid of Budda in 2026 is just making things harder on yourself without getting anything meaningful in return.

There is no way the Cardinals are cutting Budda in 2026. Which I think is what you are saying.

So if the Cardinals want to move off of Budda in 2026 to create some cap space the only option is to trade him. To get the most cap space it would have to be done after the draft so the Cardinals would be looking at some Mid/Late round 2027 draft picks. IMO Budda will most likely be on the team to start the 2026 season. If by some miracle the Cardinals have a decent record he may finish the season with the team. More likely the Cardinals are sellers at the 2026 trade deadline and Budda would be trade target #1 from the Cardinals that contending teams in need of help at the safety position would look at.

 

[Chopper0080]

There is no way the Cardinals are cutting Budda in 2026. Which I think is what you are saying.

So if the Cardinals want to move off of Budda in 2026 to create some cap space the only option is to trade him. To get the most cap space it would have to be done after the draft so the Cardinals would be looking at some Mid/Late round 2027 draft picks. IMO Budda will most likely be on the team to start the 2026 season. If by some miracle the Cardinals have a decent record he may finish the season with the team. More likely the Cardinals are sellers at the 2026 trade deadline and Budda would be trade target #1 from the Cardinals that contending teams in need of help at the safety position would look at.

I think either way, your roster is closer to competing in 2026 with Budda vs whatever compensation you would get for him in a trade or by cutting him.

I do agree that if the Cardinals are bad at the 2026 trade deadline, trading Budda for a 6th round pick makes sense because you are going to cut him in the 2027 offseason anyways.

 

[Harry]

Yeah a ton of it is salary only which makes it easy to cut or trade him.

I just don’t think another team is gonna give up a real asset plus $17 million a year for A+ leadership and C playmaking.

Maybe a third

 

[kerouac9]

I agree that Budda is well respected. I think a lot of teams would sign him is the Cardinals cut him. I don't believe any real assets are going to be given up for a 29 year old S with a 19 mil cap hit and a cut year in 2027.

Maybe you get a 6th or a 5th with a swap, but no one is giving up assets that are able to offset the loss in his skills. Getting rid of Budda in 2026 is just making things harder on yourself without getting anything meaningful in return.

Budda couldn’t find a trade for himself three years ago; why would a meaningful trade market appear now?