Skip to main content
Animated graphic with red feathered background and information about Cardinals @ 49ers
Advertising

Arizona Cardinals Home: The official source of the latest Cardinals headlines, news, videos, photos, tickets, rosters and game day information

Keim: "It's OK to take this thing personal"

Steve Keim is, admittedly, not happy.

"We have a chance to create sustainable success and I hold myself as accountable as anybody," the Cardinals General Manager said Monday during his appearance on the "Doug and Wolf" show on Arizona Sports 98.7. "It's OK to take this thing personal."

"This" is the Cardinals' 1-3 start, after Sunday's loss to the Rams. Keim, like everyone in the building, is trying to figure out how the Cardinals can fix their issues, knowing they play again Thursday in San Francisco and starting quarterback Carson Palmer is unlikely to play after suffering a concussion. The Cardinals had been winning these close games, especially at home, during the Bruce Arians era.

"Those were different teams and this is a different time," Keim said. "We will find out what we are made of quickly."

Keim did say -- and acknowledged it sounded weird -- that he saw a lot of good things against the Rams. There was a good run defense, the Cardinals were the more efficient team in total yards. But the same issues continue to plague the team. Miscommunication in the secondary. Turning the ball over. Missed tackles. Finishing drives. Those things aren't new, "which is difficult to deal with," he said.

"There were signs that let me know we have, one, a talented football team, and number two, we have time on our hands," Keim added. "At the same time, we can't mess around. We are in a position, as we all know, that it better start changing quickly."

-- Keim called it "embarrassing" the Cardinals had already lost two home games. The Cards went 6-2 at home last season.

-- Asked directly if the Cardinals were missing the leadership of former safety Rashad Johnson on the secondary, Keim said no. "I think we have enough leaders back there and have guys that can get people lined up," Keim said. "It's a matter of execution."

-- The pass rush was decent, Keim said, but he said he was bothered that when guys did get pressure they didn't keep their eyes up, allowing Rams QB Case Keenum to move in the pocket or scramble for yards.

-- Keim said his interpretation of panicking is doing things out of the ordinary, and he doesn't see the need to do that at this point. "I think we have good football players that need to play better," he said, "and guys that need to get their heads straight in terms of preparation off the field. The mental side of it."

-- There was no update on the condition on Palmer. My guess is that there won't be today, other than he's going through the concussion protocol. Again, Arians said Palmer was likely to miss Thursday's game.

-- Most of what Keim talked about was overall with the team. Few names were mentioned. He said he thought Deone Bucannon played well, but fellow linebacker Kevin Minter made some mistakes. He said he thought overall, the offensive line held up. The Rams definitely beat them a few times, but with talents like Aaron Donald and Robert Quinn, that was going to happen.

-- Keim said rookie defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche was still not 100 percent on his bad ankle, one of the reasons he remained inactive. But Keim also said Nkemdiche needs to "continue to grow" off the field, including studying the playbook.

-- Keim said he thinks Arians will be meeting with the captains and leaders, and he would guess there will be meetings among the players themselves. "There was definitely anger in the locker room after the game," Keim said. "In a good way."

Advertising