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Most importantly, the Cardinals had a chance to win on the road in the fourth quarter against a good Ravens football team.
That sure beats 2018.
“I think everybody in this locker room knows who we are,” tackle D.J. Humphries said.
But a pattern also has developed through the first two games, one that starts with Johnson and ends with the Cardinals’ inability to score touchdowns in the red zone.
Kingsbury said before the season opener that he wanted to run a balanced offense, 50 percent passing, 50 percent running. But that hasn’t happened. The Cardinals threw the ball 54 times against Detroit and ran it 23 times. That, perhaps, could be explained by the fact Arizona was down 24-6 early in the fourth quarter and had to throw on every down.
But Arizona never trailed by more than 11 points Sunday and the running game still vanished. The Cardinals ran the ball 11 times for 20 yards and Murray, as noted, threw it 40 times.
The other similarity through the first two games is Arizona’s slow starts. The Cardinals trailed Detroit 17-3 at halftime and fell behind Baltimore 17-6.
Wide receiver Christian Kirk doesn’t believe that’s a coincidence.
“I think No. 1 is just establishing the run,” Kirk said. “That’s a big thing in this offense. Playing in it before in college (Texas A&M) that was one thing that got us to start fast, establishing the run early and then kind of build on that.”
The question is whether the Cardinals can’t run the ball or Kingsbury and Murray, who has the freedom to change calls at the line of scrimmage, are too enamored of the “Air” part of the Air Raid offense. Arizona had three possessions inside Baltimore’s 20-yard line through three quarters and threw the ball eight times and ran it twice.
Six of those plays started inside Baltimore’s 10. The Cardinals came away with three field goals.
“We make those touchdowns we win this game,” center A.Q. Shipley said. “As an offense, your goal is to score touchdowns, right? The defense almost feels like they win when they hold you to three. We have to do a better job down there.”
Most importantly, the Cardinals had a chance to win on the road in the fourth quarter against a good Ravens football team.
That sure beats 2018.
“I think everybody in this locker room knows who we are,” tackle D.J. Humphries said.
But a pattern also has developed through the first two games, one that starts with Johnson and ends with the Cardinals’ inability to score touchdowns in the red zone.
Kingsbury said before the season opener that he wanted to run a balanced offense, 50 percent passing, 50 percent running. But that hasn’t happened. The Cardinals threw the ball 54 times against Detroit and ran it 23 times. That, perhaps, could be explained by the fact Arizona was down 24-6 early in the fourth quarter and had to throw on every down.
But Arizona never trailed by more than 11 points Sunday and the running game still vanished. The Cardinals ran the ball 11 times for 20 yards and Murray, as noted, threw it 40 times.
The other similarity through the first two games is Arizona’s slow starts. The Cardinals trailed Detroit 17-3 at halftime and fell behind Baltimore 17-6.
Wide receiver Christian Kirk doesn’t believe that’s a coincidence.
“I think No. 1 is just establishing the run,” Kirk said. “That’s a big thing in this offense. Playing in it before in college (Texas A&M) that was one thing that got us to start fast, establishing the run early and then kind of build on that.”
The question is whether the Cardinals can’t run the ball or Kingsbury and Murray, who has the freedom to change calls at the line of scrimmage, are too enamored of the “Air” part of the Air Raid offense. Arizona had three possessions inside Baltimore’s 20-yard line through three quarters and threw the ball eight times and ran it twice.
Six of those plays started inside Baltimore’s 10. The Cardinals came away with three field goals.
“We make those touchdowns we win this game,” center A.Q. Shipley said. “As an offense, your goal is to score touchdowns, right? The defense almost feels like they win when they hold you to three. We have to do a better job down there.”