Takeaways from the first 5 weeks of the NFL season - Cardinals

[BACH]

A lot will depend on how the candidates feel/are pitched about Gannon’s future. Good guys won’t want to come to get fired after a year or two years. Retreads will.


Imma have to wait and see what the podcasters say before I’m convinced.

This was the reporter who got his press credentials revoked for reporting accurately on DRob

 

[Gandhi]

Also, I really hope Sellers stays another year. He needs more pass reps, but has some really nice tools. If he comes out in 2026, I think it will be a tough hill to climb.

He could easily end up as the #1 overall pick. He has not been bad this year (just not significantly better than last), and the NFL drafts based on potential. His potential is enormous.

 

[oaken1]

He could easily end up as the #1 overall pick. He has not been bad this year (just not significantly better than last), and the NFL drafts based on potential. His potential is enormous.

That's why I'm not too worried about Drew Allar.
He is a physical prototype, which can't be taught.
He has already proven he has all the NFL throws in his tool kit.
He has already shown basic to intermediate defense diagnosing...
So he has the tools...
And the league knows his coach is a QB killer...
So it's just a matter of whether or not he is too far gone to fix and coach up...even with a piss poor showing this season he is a first round pick...maybe even top 15.
Anything can happen if he pulls of a resurgence to end the season.


But I still have my hopes on Fernando Mendoza...improved every year at CAL...then went to Indiana and is blowing it up

 

[Stout]

He is a great guy to draft behind a Mac Jones, Sam Darnold type QB because you need a couple years to see if he can get it, and you certainly don't want to rush it. Could benefit from the Jordan Love growth plan. QBs normally require a premium so I don't mind round 2 at this point in time.

I could deal with a Mac Jones as a stopgap QB.

 

[BritCard]

I also like that he will stand and take some shots to deliver the ball. Also I like that he runs the sneak. I do need to dig a little deeper on the sacks he takes. I know Hoover isn't rated highly yet, but I expect him to be a 1st/2nd round guy when it is all said and done.

Main problem is there's not a lot of NFL routes there and very little requiring timing, which is a general college complaint TBF, but something to be concerned about.

From what I have seen I like Nussmeier. I think he has the tools to be a good NFL QB, but haven't watched a tonne of QB's yet.

 

[BritCard]

I could deal with a Mac Jones as a stopgap QB.

He's just so 40 year old virgin though...

 

[football karma]

I could deal with a Mac Jones as a stopgap QB.

somebody will pay him well beyond stopgap

Sam Darnold and now Daniel Jones will convince somebody that they can sign a true starting QB in UFA

 

[BirdGangThing]

idk - mac jones looks good and looks to be improving - last second win against us - overtime win in los angeles and he cost like $220 million less than purdy - we've seen frisco do all this before

 

[unseenaz]

idk - mac jones looks good and looks to be improving - last second win against us - overtime win in los angeles and he cost like $220 million less than purdy - we've seen frisco do all this before

Meh. Fools gold. He’s a solid NFL backup - we’ve seen what he looks like in prolonged periods of time where defenses plan for him.

 

[BirdGangThing]

Meh. Fools gold. He’s a solid NFL backup - we’ve seen what he looks like in prolonged periods of time where defenses plan for him.

:said about every recent frisco qb who ends up being a probowler superbowler:

 

[unseenaz]

:said about every recent frisco qb who ends up being a probowler superbowler:

I mean maybe, but there's a reason they can't keep a starter for more than 5 years, lol.

 

[Harry]

I just needed to get some thoughts down on what I feel I have seen so far this year.

1 - Kyler is done in AZ. I'm gonna lean in on this because there is obviously a path where he stays, I just don't feel it is likely. However you decide to rank Kyler in terms of being a QB, it all comes down to the fact that he isn't good enough t win in AZ. His career can go a lot of ways when he leaves, and we will see which it is. He wasn't a bust, but his career in AZ has been obviously a little underwhelming.

2 - Petzing has a decent playbook, but he doesn't seem to know how to use it. Brit has highlighted some aspects of the passing scheme that do work and are not being executed. The challenge is being a playcaller is more than just having a good playbook. Initial call sheet. Game flow. In game adjustments. How to get certain players involved. Manipulating defenses so you can maintain your identify. It's these other areas that Petzing seems to be deficient and why he is likely not back at the end of the year (at least as a OC).

3 - The offensive coaching staff is not good (as a whole). Too many details are being consistently missed for it to ALL be on the players. Route depth and leverage. Sight adjustments. Miscommunication. Uncertainty in pressure situations. Mental mistakes. The line has regressed. The WRs have not progressed. The QB has not progressed. Again, some of this is on the players, but you have to demand the details as a coach to see who wants to get better.

4 - Monti has kinda failed to get the offensive line where it needs to be. The "kinda" comes from the fact that these same players did better last year with a different coach. Adams has looked bad under both coaches so he may just be a future backup ala OT Josh Jones. Evan Brown was always mid at best and supposed to be a placeholder. Both Fro and Will are older players who may have peaked. Monti doesn't have any young players other than PJJ who have shown anything.

5 - On that note, many on this board have commented on the need for a vertical WR to create space for the offense. Monti has crapped the bed there. I don't know that Kyler is the guy to translate that player into yards and get the expected return on value, but it is still a need.

6 - Gannon is going to be the HC in 2026 and in 2027. There is my hot take.

7 - I have been pretty happy with the defense. I think the inexperience at the CB position has led to more soft coverage which has led to a lot of yards allowed. IMO the quality of the calls and aggressiveness has come in the key moments.

8 - So many injuries to the defensive front and CB positions. Nolen has been a huge disappointment but just because I was excited to watch him play. I can tell Rallis is having to play some players more than he wants and is trying to protect them to a degree.

9 - The EDGE room has developed nicely. I expected a little more production from Burch but he has played ok, Collins has applied a little more pressure than normal, and Browning continues to apply pressure but fails to finish. I thought Sweat would get more snaps (51.8% on the year) but he has been productive. It's not a perfect room by any stretch, but it is something to build on.

10 - A little out of sequence, but depending on the cost, I might kick the tires on Breece Hall if I could sign him to an extension. I don't think he solves the running game in 2025, but moving on from Conner feels like a given and Benson hasn't shown anything that makes you confident he can be RB1 vs 1B or 2. I like Hall's broken tackles per attempt stats (very close to Conner's) as well as his ability to break off big runs. This offense needs ways to create big plays out of the running game.

11 - Will Johnson can play in the league as a zone CB. Hopefully he can stay healthy so we can see his growth over the course of the season.

12 - So much of Monti's resume has been impacted by injuries. Stills has turned out to be one of his best picks and it is almost entirely because Stills has stayed healthy.

13 - If Monti gets fired in the next 2/3 seasons, he can look back to the 2024 season as a primary reason. It's wasn't all bad, but the production he got from FA signings Jonah Williams, SMB, Justin Jones, and Bilal Nichols along with his 3rd round faceplant ultimately was more of a step backwards than forwards.

14 - I could go on and on about the 2024 draft and the many ways Monti misjudged it. There was a real path to a franchise changing draft based on prior perception to the draft class, but Monti chose volume over quality. Such a whiff. It's a tough rant via message board, but maybe one day I will drive to see fellow Colorado resident @dreamcastrocks and subject him to it.



All I can think of right now. I will post other takeaways as they pop up in my brain.

Excellent piece of writing. U

 

[Harry]

I don’t think it will happen

But how funny would it be if he actually got with a real QB coach & turned his career around once he’s out of Arizona?

Man

Sometimes the shock of being dumped impacts a player. They may stay stubborn and just decline. Others it’s a wake up call and they completely change. Very few end up in the middle.

 

[Harry]

You would think, but we also thought Darius and now Walter would be back quick with "calf strains", right? Until he's back, it feel like an unknown to me. I'm jaded all of a sudden though. I hope hes back in 2-3 weeks abd plays like he was. Paying him is a no brainer then.

If it’s a grade 3, like Robinson’s was, he might not be back this season.

 

[Harry]

What happened to Allar? Last year everyone was "Allar would go 1st if he was eligible" but everyone seems soft on him this year (I don't watch much college ball).

Lacks poise when the game is on the line.

 

[BritCard]

Lacks poise when the game is on the line.

Seen enough of that

 

[DVontel]

Ty Simpson will be our next QB.

 

[kerouac9]

:said about every recent frisco qb who ends up being a probowler superbowler:

After they leave SFO?

 

[BirdGangThing]

After they leave SFO?

yes

what happens in frisco stays in frisco

but brock is still in jeopurdy of losing his spot

 

[GatorAZ]

Ty Simpson will be our next QB.

Only if he goes back to Bama and we tank next year.

 

[HairZach]

Meh. Fools gold. He’s a solid NFL backup - we’ve seen what he looks like in prolonged periods of time where defenses plan for him.

He looked pretty good until Bellichick hired a defensive coordinator to be his offensive coordinate. He's a starter in this league, he's unquestionably better than Trevor Lawrence or Bryce Young.

 

[kerouac9]

yes

what happens in frisco stays in frisco

but brock is still in jeopurdy of losing his spot

Who was the last QB to leave Frisco under Shanahan and be good?

 

[BirdGangThing]

Who was the last QB to leave Frisco under Shanahan and be good?

i said the qbs leave but the talent stays in frisco - never said anyone was successful after leaving frisco - if purdy leaves he'll probably suck - if purdy comes here he definitely will

 

[kerouac9]

i said the qbs leave but the talent stays in frisco - never said anyone was successful after leaving frisco - if purdy leaves he'll probably suck - if purdy comes here he definitely will

Then we shouldn’t want any of them.

 

[BirdGangThing]

Then we shouldn’t want any of them.

exactly - i'd much rather keep it cardinal and draft the wrong qb