Teams Arizona Cardinals - The Buzzsaw

[A11dAtP0w3R]

If they trade Hopkins you may as well get rid of Murray too...I'll look up Murray's numbers without Hopkins gut feel is it won't be good.

I did acknowledge this above, doesn't mean you cant find a great receiver in the draft. Seen plenty of them of late.

 

[Brasher]

I did acknowledge this above, doesn't mean you cant find a great receiver in the draft. Seen plenty of them of late.

I don't think it so much about a great WR as it is that Hopkins and Murray have a bit of chemistry. Cards WRs beyond Hopkins aren't all world but should be good enough if Murray is even close to as good as the hype.

That early exit from the pocket and diagonal backwards escape has been worked out by the league.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

Love Budda, hope there are no lingering issues

 

[A11dAtP0w3R]

Love Budda, hope there are no lingering issues

Had a disappointing year for his standards imo, im not sure why, but it seemed they were using him further off the line of scrimmage at times than previously in games I saw. Thats just my fan observation in the Cards games I saw.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

Kyler Murray makes weak closing argument for second contract​

Posted by Mike Florio on January 18, 2022, 3:36 PM EST

The primary goal for Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray on Monday night was, obviously, to win his first ever NFL playoff game. An important secondary objective lingered just below the surface.
With Murray eligible for a second contract, he needed a strong performance to position himself for a major deal in the 2022 offseason.

Last night’s showing will make it very difficult for Murray to get Josh Allen money or Dak Precott money or Patrick Mahomes money or any money close to the money paid at the top of the market. The most jarring aspect of Murray’s performance came from the lack of runs. Two carries, six yards.

With the season on the line, two carries for six yards can’t be the final stat line for the most dynamic running quarterback in football.

Look at what the Bills did on Saturday night. Josh Allen set the tone with a 26-yard sprint on the opening drive. Utilizing the run threat gets defenses on their heels, opening up the passing game just a little bit more because they’re watching and waiting to be gashed again by a fleet-footed quarterback who decides to tuck and run, either by design before the snap or on the fly.

Two carries. Six yards. It can’t happen, especially with receiver DeAndre Hopkins not present to draw extra attention.

Murray generally ran less in 2021, with his averaging attempts per game falling from 8.3 in 2020 to 6.2 in 2021. Before last night, however, he never had fewer than four attempts on the season. He last had only two attempts in the final game of the 2020 regular season, an 18-7 loss to the Rams.

Perhaps his ankle is still bothering him. Or maybe the game plan was to zig when the Rams expected a zag. Regardless, coach Kliff Kingsbury was expecting Murray to play the biggest game of his career. The end result was a far cry from that.

It creates a real question as to whether the Cardinals will offer him a contract now, or whether they’ll wait until after he completes his fourth season. If it’s the latter, the question then becomes whether Murray will be happy with that development, given that he’s still playing under a CBA-limited rookie deal when he has shown he can perform at a high level.

For 99.9 percent of all NFL quarterbacks, the unhappiness of a player under contract for multiple years doesn’t matter. For Murray, who was a top-10 pick in the MLB draft and who is still only 24, he continues to have a solid alternative for making big money as a pro athlete.

The baseball element is overblown IMO.

He's not giving up NFL money to go and ride the bus for multiple years whilst he tries to work his way into a side that's notorious for not paying players big money. He'd have to make the team, prove that he's a great player and then move elsewhere for a big payout. Don't the A's hold his rights for several years too?

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Had a disappointing year for his standards imo, im not sure why, but it seemed they were using him further off the line of scrimmage at times than previously in games I saw. Thats just my fan observation in the Cards games I saw.

We were thin at CB so the theory was that our safeties were playing deeper to help with pass cover

Exposed us to the run and I don't think it was the best thing for Baker personally

Jalen Thompson had a good season though. He's pretty versatile.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

There's been improvement

3 wins the season prior to Kliff/Kyler
5.5 wins Year 1
8 wins Year 2
11 wins Year 3

However at the end of the last two seasons when there's been something on the line and against hardened teams we've been exposed massively.

Not just beaten but brushed aside, made to look timid and inept.

Don't know if Kliff or Kyler are the types to study what goes wrong and improve on weaknesses. Seem to just roll with their gut and talent, hope it goes better next time.

Kyler even proudly boasted in a nytimes interview that he doesn't have to watch much game film because he "sees so much" on the field, such is his gift. Hopefully the manner of this playoff loss takes him down a notch or two and the reality of playing in the NFL dawns on him. The other teams are going to watch lots of game film of him and plan accordingly, meticulously.

 

[A11dAtP0w3R]

There's been improvement

3 wins the season prior to Kliff/Kyler
5.5 wins Year 1
8 wins Year 2
11 wins Year 3

However at the end of the last two seasons when there's been something on the line and against hardened teams we've been exposed massively.

Not just beaten but brushed aside, made to look timid and inept.

Don't know if Kliff or Kyler are the types to study what goes wrong and improve on weaknesses. Seem to just roll with their gut and talent, hope it goes better next time.

Kyler even proudly boasted in a nytimes interview that he doesn't have to watch much game film because he "sees so much" on the field, such is his gift. Hopefully the manner of this playoff loss takes him down a notch or two and the reality of playing in the NFL dawns on him. The other teams are going to watch lots of game film of him and plan accordingly, meticulously.

Very well said.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

 

[Brasher]

Whenever you feel you need to make a change yiu should at least have some idea how you are going to make it better.

A lot of these franchises don't but still fire someone...at least the Cards probably know where they are at keeping him.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

 

[Exe Gesis]

Cardinals dysfunction prompts conflicting reports regarding aftermath of playoff loss​

Posted by Mike Florio on January 20, 2022, 7:45 PM EST

For nine straight seasons as a head coach at Texas Tech and then Arizona, a good-to-great start for coach Kliff Kingsbury became a bad finish.

This year, 10-2 became 1-5 and a one-game exit from the postseason. Three days later, conflicting reports have emerged regarding whether owner Michael Bidwill has met with Kingsbury regarding the disastrous end to a promising season.

Kyle Odegard, who previously worked for the team’s official website, reported on Thursday afternoon that a “tense meeting” occurred on Wednesday between Bidwill, Kingsbury, and G.M. Steve Keim. Odegard added that “shit hit the fan” during the meeting.

Ian Rapoport quickly contradicted that report, claiming that “there has been no meeting.”

Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic adds that, while an unnamed source “didn’t hear of this meeting,” Bidwill is “very, very upset” with the manner in which the regular season ended and with the team’s one-game flameout in the postseason.

After an 8-0 start, the Cardinals lost a close Thursday night game against the Packers. Two weeks later, the Cardinals were blown out by the mediocre Panthers. The Cardinals also were outclassed by the lowly Lions, and they lost a Week 18 game against the Seahawks. For Arizona, the division title was on the line. For the Seahawks, nothing was on the line.

The Cardinals lost five straight home games to end the season, and they were outclassed on Monday night against the Rams.

Frankly, the fact that a meeting hasn’t already happened (if Rapoport’s report is accurate) seems very odd. Why wouldn’t a meeting have already occurred, given the manner in which the season ended?

It’s not crazy to wonder whether Bidwill is evaluating and thinking and strategizing before he meets with Kingsbury. When that meeting happens, it’s entirely possible that the poop will hit the propeller.

And that the Cardinals will be looking for a new coach.

 

[Exe Gesis]

The Arizona Republic confirms Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill is "very, very upset" with the team's fade down the stretch this season.​

We have gotten into a "he said/he said" with former team employee Kyle Odegard's report that the "(bleep) hit the fan" during a meeting between Bidwill, GM Steve Keim and coach Kliff Kingsbury, but it's probably just semantics. Whether or not a meeting went down the technical way Odegard reported, clearly something is rotten in Denmark in Arizona. Kingsbury's teams have imploded in embarrassing fashion each of the past two years. Keim, meanwhile, continues to hold on longer than 99 percent of the GMs with his draft record. We wouldn't close the door just yet on changes coming to the desert.

SOURCE: Kent Somers on Twitter
Jan 20, 2022, 5:48 PM ET

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Isaiah Simmons (Pick 8) and Zaven Collins (Pick 15) - two ILBs taken in the last two drafts. Having minimal impact, both struggled for snaps in their first season. Feeling that both were under-utilised.

Keim announces after the draft that Collins will start from Day 1. Jordan Hicks nearly ends up elsewhere but circles back to the Cardinals. Then is preferred to both 1st round picks. He's a smart player and knows the defense which I assume is why Vance Joseph likes him but is slow as molasses and gets run past for fun.

Bad draft picks by Keim? Joseph unwilling/unable to find ways to implement and develop them into his schemes quickly? Players ultimately not good enough?

Draft watchers were frothing over the Simmons pick in particular when he was first drafted. He made a handful of important plays but had something like one tackle for loss this season. Collins barely got on the field in the second half of the season. Players who ultimately got cut that week were getting more game time.

There's a breakdown somewhere.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

 

[Exe Gesis]

Playoff bonus checks for Cardinals coaches are being issued​

Posted by Mike Florio on January 25, 2022, 11:18 AM EST

No, Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill isn’t happy with the way his team’s season went. No, Bidwill won’t be blatantly violating the terms of his coaching staff’s contracts by refusing to pay them money they have earned by taking the team to the postseason.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweeted earlier today that he’s “hearing” that Cardinals coaches have yet to receive their playoff bonuses. The claim appears as the second sentence to a tweet regarding the notion that Bidwill is “definitely not pleased.”

A source with knowledge of the situation called the report “complete BS,” pointing out that the coaches are “absolutely” getting the checks.
The Cardinals, who weren’t contacted by La Canfora before he posted his tweet, said that the playoff bonus checks are in the process of being issued. The Cardinals pointed out that the team was eliminated only eight days ago.

Unless these are completely discretionary bonuses, the payments were owed and absolutely must be paid. The notion that Bidwill (a trained lawyer) would blatantly violate applicable wage-payment laws in Arizona by withholding money earned and owed to the coaches is, frankly, ridiculous.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Huge news potentially....

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Kyler Murray unfollows Cardinals on social media​

Posted by Charean Williams on February 7, 2022, 3:10 PM EST

Kyler Murray has not publicly expressed any displeasure with the Cardinals. Yet, the Pro Bowl quarterback unfollowed the Cardinals on Instagram and Twitter.

Johnny Venerable of PHNX Cardinals first pointed out the change to Murray’s social media accounts on Monday. Murray also deleted Cardinals’ related photos from his accounts.

Murray’s motivation is unclear.

He talked to a team beat reporter last week before the Pro Bowl about the need for the team, individually and collectively, to “just get better.”

Murray, who has made his second Pro Bowl, is eligible for a contract extension this offseason. The Cardinals have until May to decide whether to exercise the fifth-year option on his contract if they don’t sign him to an extension before then.

Murray always has baseball to use as leverage.

The Athletics gave him a $4.6 million deal after making him the ninth overall choice in the Major League Baseball draft. But after winning the Heisman Trophy and becoming a top NFL prospect his senior season, Murray opted to play football and returned the signing bonus after the Cardinals made him the No. 1 overall choice.

Murray has not won a playoff game in his three seasons.

The Cardinals were blown out by the Rams 34-11 in the wild card round of the 2021 postseason as Murray had the worst game of his career. He had a 40.9 passer rating in completing 19 of 34 passes for 137 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.

 

[Brasher]

I know it's shits and giggles football but that interception in the Pro Bowl didn't help him either.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Confidence at an all time low to finish the season

Getting belted by Cardinals fans on social media

Taking a time-out from all that by the looks

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Things delicately poised going into next season

Coach and a QB that had a winning season and gained a playoff appearance however finished with massive question marks over them.

Went into 2021 with an element of "all in" - acquired JJ Watt, acquired Hudson, signed Ertz during the season. Struck gold with Conner. Finally got Alford on the field. D Hop in prime plus Kyler still on rookie contract. Lots went right for us but it wasn't enough.

It's difficult to see 2022 being an improvement on 2021.

Knives are out for Steve Keim (GM). Is Zaven Collins a draft miss? Barely played under Vance Joseph's scheme as the season wore on. Two seasons in is Isaiah Simmons a miss? Looks a player at times but not sure we know how to use him effectively. Do Vance and Keim have a completed different idea of how the D should operate?

Kyler appeared to make significant progress in the first half of the season. Playing under centre more, stepping up in the pocket, going through his progressions, identifying soft spots in the zone, trusting his O line, taking the yards that were available etc.

By the end of the season he'd regressed - panicking, running for his life, taking sacks instead of throwing it away, lateral passes, trying to make up for it with splash plays.

Important off-season for him

 

[Exe Gesis]

Kyler Murray is sending a message, but what’s the message?​

Posted by Mike Florio on February 7, 2022, 9:48 PM EST

The easy part is noticing that Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray has unfollowed the team on social media. The hard part is figuring out what it all means.

There’s no way that Murray accidentally or coincidentally made that move. He’s sending a message.
We’ve tried to get to the bottom of it. For now, no one is talking.

It could be that he’s not happy with the Cardinals. It could be that he wants out of Arizona. It could be that he’s thinking about swapping football for baseball, a sport in which he was a top-10 draft pick of the Oakland A’s.

The fact that the Cardinals didn’t fire coach Kliff Kingsbury should be regarded as a positive in the Murray-Cardinals relationship. Kingsbury and Murray share an agent; if Kingsbury had gotten canned, the Cardinals could have had a problem with Murray. They didn’t, so they shouldn’t.

Is it contractual? He’s eligible for a second deal. It’s possible that he’s heard (or not heard) enough to prompt him to send a message.

Whatever it is, it’s something. Even if it’s some sort of goofy marketing ploy aimed at getting attention. Because, obviously, mission accomplished.

 

[Exe Gesis]

As to Kyler Murray’s social-media message, the silence is deafening​

Posted by Mike Florio on February 8, 2022, 9:41 AM EST

One of the most fascinating — and unexpected — Super Bowl-week stories has come from the Cardinals and the quarterback who has erased all reference to the Cardinals from his social-media accounts.

We’ve tried to find out what’s going on both from the team and from Murray’s camp. The complete silence in response to all efforts to get to the truth is becoming deafening.

It’s no accident. The changing of social-media profiles requires affirmative effort. It’s not like a hub cap coming off a wheel. Murray went in and made the changes.
He did it one day after the Pro Bowl, after days spent around players from other teams. Days spent hearing about how it is in other organizations. Days spent being recruited — in jest or seriously or somewhere in between — by older players from other teams.

His contract hovers over this, too. While it’s possible that the two sides have reached an impasse in talks on a second deal, it’s also possible that the team is trying to kick the can for another year, like the Ravens did with Lamar Jackson and the Browns have done with Baker Mayfield. Maybe Murray wants his reward now, not in a year.

Regardless, Monday’s move was no accident. In the event that it was, or that it’s simply being misinterpreted, enough of a stink has been made to prompt Murray to put the toothpaste back in the tube, if he didn’t intended his gesture to create real questions about whether he’s truly committed to his current team.

As it stands, those questions are hovering. They’ll stay there until Murray clarifies his intentions and desires.

 

[Exe Gesis]

 

[Exe Gesis]

Very good video there, the discussion on various reasons ....bucs? contract? more say in signings (ceedee lamb)? off to baseball, longer career more money? a cheap attention grab because he has some product releasing? Etc etc

Great points raised and rebutted.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]