The crowd is restless. I get it. Doesn't mean I'm going to post some of the rage queries I have received, but I have read every one of them. I'll do my best to answer the questions I do have here, Marvin Harrison Jr. is gone, and a road trip to play the Rams is next. Don't forget to send a question for a future mailbag with at least a first name and last initial.

From John White:

"Thanks again for your efforts in the mailbag Darren. We need some serious hope with this team. It isn't a five-game issue, it's a 5 or 6 seasons issue. It's like watching a Premier League team play a pub team when we play anyone at the moment (yes, I am UK based!). Where is the hope coming from? What have we got to genuinely be hopeful or excited for?"

First of all, love to flip on the EPL bright and early Saturday mornings. The one good thing I got out of Covid was finding a vibe watching those games.

But you are talking about the Cardinals. I still am excited to see Jeremiyah Love eventually break out. I truly believe that will happen. I am going to continue to cherish Trey McBride, because I believe he will eventually be considered one of the best to ever wear this uniform. I will be excited for whenever Carson Beck gets under center, just to see it. (And to be clear, I don't know if that is yet, and I don't know when it'll be.)

But I'll take this back to EPL. Not sure your team. Forgive me if this is a sore subject, but right now, I'll look at the Spurs. Pretty darn good over the last years with Kane and Son, but barely avoided relegation last year and early on seem to be in the same boat this year. Are Spurs fans gonna dump them? Dump them if they drop? Probably not. Fandom often is riding the wave. It stinks right now. I'm not going to act like it doesn't. But it will get better at some point. I have to believe that.

From Pascal Pierre:

"Thank you for the great content as always. Unsurprisingly I have a QB question for you this week. Why do you feel a risk-averse, monolithic, 2-16 QB like Jacoby Brissett is still a better solution than a mobile rookie with a ton of college experience? Yes, Carson Beck would go through rookie mistakes and growing pains but isn't it evident now that Brissett just cannot win? Why do people always argue Beck is just a third-round pick? This is evaluation. I don't hear people saying anything like this about Tom Brady or Brock Purdy. Thank you for your insight."

One of the reasons you don't have people saying things about Purdy and Brady is because they weren't ever gonna play as rookies. Purdy ended up with five starts, but that's because Jimmy Garoppolo wrecked his foot late in the season. (Purdy was excellent, but he wasn't gonna play.) And Brady appeared briefly in one game as a rookie.

Yes, they were seventh- and sixth-round picks respectively, but they were outliers. Look at all the QBs before drafted third round or later from 2020-25, and odds are slim for success.

OK, back to the other part of the question. If you want to say you want to evaluate, fine. But you said "solution," and I am not sure, especially against the Rams and Broncos, it is a "solution."

From Jayson W:

"I've noticed our run game has been struggling recently, and I was wondering why we haven't utilized Jeremiyah Love more in the passing game. Given his skill set, I believe he'd be more effective in space and on outside runs rather than consistently running between the tackles. Just wanted to share my thoughts as a fan. Thank you for your time!"

Mike LaFleur said on Monday when asked about Love's lack of running routes:

"I wasn't too confident in terms of getting into some of those 'scat' protections and stuff like that and five-man protections. We wanted to have that extra body in there. There were a couple of times where I wanted to get him on some choice routes and stuff like that, but like I said I didn't feel confident that we were going to be able to execute at the level that we needed to. But it is a good question."

That would seem to mean they need the pass protection from the back in those situations, whether it is Love or Tyler Allgeier, but it also underscores where they are with the offensive line right now. I know this: I would love to see Love get the ball in space through some passes and really let him explore those YAC.

From Bob Kitsos:

"Why not Beck early/midway through the fourth quarter when the game was out of hand?"

Simple answer for that, Bob. Beck was only the emergency QB, which means both Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew have to get injured before he is allowed to play.

From Jack Hills:

"Hello Darren. Just left the stadium (just another Sunday) where we sat with 30,000 Lions fans. Being season ticket holder since 1989, I live in Cardinals world of groundhog day: repeat with each rising sun. It is time to move on from Brissett. He's indecisive, prone to sacks that stops drives. We see what good QB play is from the opposing team. Let's see what Beck can do."

You are one of many who are and have been suggesting such a move. It's clear Brissett is going to start again against the Rams this week. There is a chance Beck is made the backup this week or next and allow him to come on in relief if the situation presents itself. I don't see Beck starting in the immediate future, but it does feel his time grows closer, and if the offense continues to sputter, that would be understandable.

From Drew Smith:

"Just want to take the opportunity to be the first to formally introduce No. 1 WR Michael Wilson. Which he has been since midway thorough last season, but now we can stop pretending otherwise? I'll point out Mike was a third-round pick and McBride was a second-round pick. It's not always the first-rounders who become your team's most valuable players."

I mean, if you've read my stuff or listened to Cardinals Underground, we have been there for a while. It didn't take the MHJ trade. In fact, it was one of the reasons for the trade. But yes, Wilson and McBride are the top guys. The Cardinals do need to get them loose; both are averaging less than six yards per target, much lower than the team would want.

From Harry Winston:

"I strongly believe we should delay the Larry Fitzgerald  ROH ceremony. The mood around this team isn't good. It would just be an unnecessary misstep to induct Fitz right now. It's supposed to be a celebratory event."

I can't speak to your background, Harry, but I am guessing you are not familiar what it takes to put together such an event? To begin with, I wouldn't be surprised if Fitz chose this weekend specifically, or at least in collaboration with the team. There will be a lot of former teammates coming to the game; it is also the team's annual "Legends" weekend for alumni. The Hall of Fame will be there to give Fitz his HoF ring too.

So no, it's not going to be delayed, nor should it be. To be honest, it's taken long enough to get Fitz into the Ring of Honor as it is. I can't control what's happening with the current team, and we'll see what the games turn out to be in L.A. and that first half against the Broncos on Oct. 25. But if fans want to celebrate Fitz and his legacy, they can do that. It's a choice every fan can make.

From Buddy M:

"Hi Darren. Sending this prior to the Lions game, but between Marvin, the loss of Paris, the loss of Adams, the state of our defense, and probably the record at the time of this mailbag, why not start Beck now? This season turned ugly, and unfortunately I think we can pinpoint New York as the turning point. No reason to be miserable about it, lets salvage our losses and turn our eyes to the future."

I am not naive to think there won't be question after question about Beck as we go forward. I do have a question for the start-Beck-now crowd, and it's more a thought experiment as opposed to anything I have a concrete answer for.

What if LaFleur and the coaches, watching Beck every day in practice, believe he just isn't ready? That he would be overwhelmed at this point? This isn't a knock against Beck; as I noted earlier, Brady didn't play as a rookie.

Again, I expect Beck at some point, and it may be sooner rather than later. But I do not believe this decision is made in a vacuum.

From Ray Martin:

"Trading Marvin Harrison will turn out to be a poor trade for the Cards (will not expand on my reasoning because it is irrelevant – Hope I am wrong). End of editorial.

"I need an NFL Rules 101 class. Is PUP available only prior to start of the season? If on PUP when season starts, then there is a minimum wait time or just when healthy? If a player is put on IR in training camp he is done for the season correct? What are the rules a player put on IR during the season? I believe they can return to roster after some time?? Seems like years age IR you were out for whole season. Trey Benson is still a Cardinal because he was IR when not picked up after being released? Also will the Cards salary cap be impacted by Marvin Harrison signing bonus?"

Many questions, Ray. Lemme hit them all.

• PUP is only available to players who have not practiced since the start of training camp. If you practice at any time, you can't be on PUP. If you are on PUP to start the season, you must miss four games.
• If a player is put on IR in camp, he is done for the season. Up to two players can go on IR when teams make their roster cutdown to 53 that are allowed to return that season. In-season, a total of eight players (including those first two, if you have them) can return from IR, missing at least four games.
• Yes, the IR-to-return was a change in rule in 2012, allowing one player to come back. It went to two in 2017 and then grew during Covid to current numbers.
• Yes, Benson is on Cardinals IR because he was waived/injured and no team took him. A player cannot be released injured unless he and the team agree to an injury settlement, making that player a free agent.
• According to Spotrac, Harrison will be a cap hit of about $8.8 million this season and another $5.6M next season.

From Richard Kemmler:

"I know everyone else is gonna jump all over the team's performance, but I have a different kind of question. I know the game is way different than it used to be at the safety position, but is Budda a free safety, strong safety or just a safety? The roles don't seem as defined (FS playing center field and SS playing in the box) as they once did and he's so active all over the field."

I agree, like basketball, there is more of a free flow with what safeties and Baker in particular does. I'd call him just a safety, but if I was forced to define him, I'd say he's the strong safety compared to Dewey Wingard as the free safety.

From Lad Jenkins:

"Tough question to ask, but do we pay Paris Johnson this offseason? The best ability is availability and Paris is now threatening to become one of those 'great player, he just never could stay healthy' guys who had the talent but not the durability. Makes you doubly appreciative of a guy like Joe Thomas who didn't miss a start in 10 years. I'm by no means criticizing Paris for getting hurt, football is a brutal sport and Paris is one of our best players when healthy. So what do you think is more likely, we extend Paris now or have him play out the fifth year?"

This is an excellent question. I'm not sure Paris is going to be comfortable, given his history, that he is going to want to go into his contract year without a new deal. But this injury, and PJJ losing most of this season, obviously hurts his leverage. I don't know what these injuries do to his contract demands or what the Cardinals would want to offer in such a situation. I think it's fair to say it'll be one of the bigger offseason storylines.

From Philly D:

"Sunday was interesting watching Gibbs dominate because that's what Love is suppose to be. Difference being the Lions have a franchise QB, franchise WR, franchise TE, and darn good OL. Long story short: they had the infrastructure of a good offense already in place when they pursued the luxury of an elite RB. The Cardinals have a TE and WR and that's it. So it shouldn't be surprising our elite RB is stuck in the mud. Drafting a running back third overall to this team in its current state was terrible value. On the other hand I openly recognize maybe we were stuck at No. 3. Nobody wanted to trade and Love was far away the best player available."

It's way to early to be down on what Love is or what he can bring. I understand the idea that the Cardinals might've gone in a different direction for their pick. At the time, though, as you noted, the pass rushers and offensive linemen available might not have made sense at 3. (Would've been interesting if Bailey and Love were the two available, but moot point.)

Jeremiyah Love is here. He has a ton of talent. There is a reason Mike LaFleur said he was disappointed in the run game at this point. We have every reason to expect more. Love is that good.

From Stanley Yelnats:

"Listen, I understand everyone is upset about the Marvin trade but I for one commend them for getting something for him now rather than him walking in two years for nothing. So I wish to leave the mailbag with a ray of hope. The 2027 draft is looking amazing. Lots of good QBs, pass rushers, OL (everything we need). And I'll tell you another thing. That second-round pick we got from Houston is very valuable. Guys, I know it stings, but that second-round pick might be the key to turning this thing around. I choose to be optimistic."

We like to call him Sunshine Stanley, keeper of the rainbows and unicorns.

Frankly, that's probably a good way to approach life.

From Hank Schleedoorn:

"Hello Darren. I always look forward to the mailbag. Any update on the status of Tip Reiman and James Connor? Both would help with blocking. Also, does the Cardinals' organization ever contact these supposed NFL experts when a blatantly false statement was posted, as in Josh Sweat asking to renegotiate his contract, to post a retraction?"

Let's take the latter first. I can't speak whether the team reaches out to some of the insiders, but my guess is it has happened a time or two. Whether you actually get a public retraction, that's just rarely going to happen. Too much gray area there.

As for Reiman and Conner, nothing concrete. They could use Reiman, especially in the run game, but there hasn't been much if a peep of his comeback. Same with Conner, although I don't know if there would be much of a push to get him back on the roster unless there is an injury.

From Cody Zarr:

"Hi Darren, there's a lot of finger-pointing when we start losing games. You can take just about any jersey number on the field and some fanalyst has something bad to say about that player somewhere on the internet and is convinced that player (or a group of them) is to blame for the Cardinals being perennial losers. One thing I rarely see considered by fans is how injured we always seem to be.

Aaron Schatz' adjusted games lost metric, which accounts for missed games and reduced availability among starters and key situational players, puts the Cardinals among the leagues most injured teams the past four seasons. If we go back further the story doesn't change. All the way back to 2017 we have never been lower than 12th on that list.

I understand injuries are an unavoidable part of football but given how oddly repetitive this pattern seems have the Cardinals brass and/or medical staff looked into why the team has lost so many players?"

I hadn't looked back, but I did write about last year's record issues. The Cardinals changed their strength-and-conditioning coach. Do I think the Cardinals analyze this all yearly? I'm sure they do. I am not privy to any of it, however.

But I'll say this, I am not big into the injury thing. Some guys, yeah, it's a killer. The Cardinals were crushed when Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton both went down in 2014. Palmer's finger/Tyrann Mathieu's knee messed up what 2015 might have been. I wonder if J.J. Watt would've made a difference in 2021.

Injuries are part of the NFL though. Every team has them. Good ones can overcome.

Jason W

"I have been listening to Darren and Dani these past weeks talking about there is nothing that Beck can do nothing to show the Cardinals that he is the quarterback of the future but I just don't understand your logic. If he comes in and sparks the offense and the team wins 10 out of 12, that's not enough? Dani is bringing up the stuff about the veterans and what affect it could have on them, but I thought this thing was ultimately about wins and losses. Darren keeps on defending Brissett because he has a good rapport with Wilson and McBride. That's a weak argument because we now have a big enough sample size that Brissett is not a winning quarterback. Sometimes you do have to make change just for the sake of making a change."

OK, yes, if Beck got into the lineup and the Cardinals went 10-2, that would be more than enough. I'd guess that if Beck started 12 games and the Cardinals won, say, seven, that would likely be enough (depending on the nuance of how he played in those games.)

But when Dani and I or anyone talks about Beck, we are trying to approach it realistically. Winning 10 of 12 games would essentially be unprecedented, especially for a team that has struggled in starting 1-4, wouldn't you say?

Brissett is not winning. I'm not going to argue that. But eventually you get to, make a change for the sake of making a change. OK. That's light years about Beck winning more games than he'd lose.

From Chris P:

"Good day, Darren. I am a couple weeks late asking this, but during the 49ers game a couple things on the side line stood out. There looked to be propane tanks behind the benches. What are these for? My thought was to help dry the helmets, but its already 90 degrees and making the helmet hotter would be miserable IMO. I also saw metal framed sun shades over the benches, is this something the 49ers installed or does the team travel with it? It's better than the days of PVC pipe, a tarp, and a bunch of people holding it up.

Lastly, about the Triple 7, any chance we can get a video tour or the inside? Also, tell Mr. Bidwill we need a nickname for it, like Red Sea 1 or The Bidwill Shuttle."

I believe you are talking about the helmet dryer. I don't think it's necessarily heating them; they might just be blowers of colder air in that situation just to take the sweat out of it. As for the shade, the Cardinals have learned the hard way they need to provide their own shade on the sideline.

As for the team plane, I don't know what the video would look like and inside it looks a lot like other 777 planes. You can get a sense of it here.