With Fitz's name tangibly cemented into the Cardinals Ring of Honor, the team is back on the road, with back-to-back games in Dallas and Seattle. The Cardinals did have a nice game in Dallas last year, so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out. In the meantime, let's see how this mailbag plays out. Don't forget to send a question for a future mailbag with at least a first name and last initial.
From Sebas Quiros:
"Kind of a Carson Beck question but kind of not. How much do the Cardinals look into the future? I mean, even within the organization it must be known that we will very likely not go to the playoffs and that we don't have a franchise QB right now. It's also looking like we will have a high pick which for a team with no franchise QB of course brings up the question of if to use that pick on a QB. So methinks 'the more you know of what you have in Beck, the better idea you have of what to do with your picks.' How much more do you value winning now as opposed to setting up as best you can for the future?
Haven't asked a question in some time, so I felt like asking a more packed one. A look-who's-back-kinda thing."
Well, always nice to hear from you Sebas. And this kind of question is always hanging over a team, regardless of the team. OK, not necessarily whether you have a franchise QB, but all teams are always looking at the future. The front office is always considering not only the roster currently but where it could go; Steve Keim used to have a system in which the roster was considered in the moment and also three years out.
Make no mistake, winning is valued first. Does that change during a year? Sure. Through what prism do you see it? Great question. The Cardinals are not eliminated from anything right now. How much does that make a difference in decision-making, in trades, in which QB to play?
From Robert B:
"The Giants were winning games and switched off Winston for a guy who was traded for in season. The Raiders are considering moving off Cousins when they are doing better than the Cardinals. How does the team sell the fans on sticking with Brissett?"
From Cameron Cole
"It was well established before the season ever started that we would eventually need to see Beck for sake of 2027 draft planning, so this isn't some anti-Jacoby issue. We are entering Week 8, the record is 2-5. The question is when do we see Beck? I would argue a long look at him would be best, so put him in now. I would also argue too short of a look, say week 15, wouldn't benefit us at all. So where the sweet spot in your estimation?"
These are the direct Beck questions that have been and will continue to be numerous, and I get it.
I'll take Robert's question first: Winston was benched because a) he was the backup in the first place and b) the Giants traded for McCarthy to play. It's not apples to oranges. As for the team "selling" who is playing QB, I think what the team wants to ultimately sell is good football. If Beck goes in, that'll pacify fans for a game or two, but I watched the fans get upset as Josh Rosen's rookie season went on even after begging for him to play. Why? Bad football. If Mike LaFleur doesn't think it's right to make a change yet, he's the guy trying to guide this team. That's why you hired him, to make such decisions.
As for Cameron's query, I also understand those saying put Beck in for as many games as you can. But I wonder, seriously, how many games are not enough? Let's say Beck starts five games. Most are going to say, not nearly enough, right? But I am thinking as you watch that month-plus in real time, over 20 quarters, you'll probably think differently.
My opinion, and strictly my opinion, I'd think about the Rams home game. Get past Seattle on the road. That's still eight games. But if you do, for example, Washington, I still think six games is a lot of sample size to get the answer you are trying to figure out before the draft.
This is assuming the Cardinals don't find a way to get some wins, which would change the equation for me.
*waits for Beck boosters to flame him for such an opinion*
From Tim F:
"Darren, with all the injuries in the past two years, what about accountability from the strength and conditioning coach? The team seems injury-prone compared to the rest of the league."
Here's the thing, Tim. The Cardinals changed their strength and conditioning coach this past offseason. So maybe it's not that?
And while I understand the frustration about injuries, there are a lot of injuries to a lot of teams. I say this a lot: it's football. Guys get hurt. Mostly it's bad luck.
From Ken Foust:
"Do you think the Cards will be smart enough to draft Sam Leavitt???"
Ken, we are absolutely not talking draft specifics in October.
Besides, you are assuming Leavitt won't be broken before then.
From Kayleigh Becker:
"Now that Fitz is officially in the Ring of Honor, what's next for him? Will he stay in Arizona? Such an outstanding person and my favorite player! Sure miss watching him play!"
Will he stay in Arizona? C'mon Kayleigh, he just said it, right? "Arizona, you gave me something far more than a career. You gave me a home." He'll be here. Maybe not 24/7/365 -- he's a world traveler, mind you -- but one of his houses will be here.
As for what's next, the man has made and continues to make a lot of connections with several bigwigs in the business world. He says often the best way to learn how to make money is to learn from the guys who have done it. I know people talk about him being in an NFL front office, but to me, the only job Fitz would want with a team is ownership.
From Khalid Burfiq:
"The Cardinals back-slid on defense this week. Noticed Budda barely blitzed at all. This is exactly what we were talking about. This defense is not talented enough to scheme, they got too cute Sunday and gave up 30, again. We live or die by the blitz. There's a chance we could've beat Denver if we just stuck to the winning formula: BLITZ. Budda needs to live in the box like Schrodinger's cat."
Major points by working Schrödinger's cat into a mailbag question. Assuming we are calling this a question.
According to Trumedia, Baker blitzed three times on Sunday, down from seven times against the Rams. So it wasn't as much. I'll give you that. I'll also point out that one the Broncos' touchdowns came on a blitz, as Sean Payton sniffed it out and burned the Cardinals with the right play call. We'll just have to agree to disagree that blitzing all the time every week is the right answer.
From Elliot H:
"Hi Darren, big fan of the mailbag. I don't want to be a Debbie Downer but it's bleak being a fan at the moment. I think I'm pretty balanced when considering our QB position and align closely with what you and the Underground podcast team have said recently. Nevertheless, given the other results in our division, it seems pretty hopeless that we're going to sneak into a playoff position. We need to change something. I want to see how QB2 and QB3 get on running this offence. If it's even worse, then we need a complete overhaul of the position. If it's a tiny bit better, I'd take that even if it means we're still losing. Time to break glass in an emergency."
I addressed the Beck situation pretty in-depth above. I don't get the sense, barring injury, that Gardner Minshew is going to be under heavy consideration. I am someone who is going to defer to what the coaches are thinking; without seeing what/how Beck looks every day, I just wouldn't know what that might mean in context of putting him in the lineup. I still believe missing the final month of preseason really stunted Beck's timeline. !
From Ken D:
"I have a question about third-string right guard Hayden Conner. From what I could see on TV he did a pretty good job. Do you have a grade on his performance? Darren your thoughts?"
Pro Football Focus had him at 48.9, for what that's worth (and I have veered hard away from PFF grades to be honest.) The offensive line overall had some issues against the Broncos, although many teams do. I don't know what the status of Jon Gaines will be right now, but I wouldn't be surprised if Conner has to play another week, and a game under his belt can only help. (Plus, the Cowboys defense is not the Broncos defense.)
From Robert Malicki:
"Hi, Darren, What's your take on a report I read earlier this week highlighting Cardinal players that could be traded? Budda Baker was listed and I am bothered by this. I know contract limitations are a huge pothole for retaining our stars later in their careers and ownership truly helps these players by trading them or seeing them leave in free agency to contending teams while they still have market value, like O.J. Anderson, Aeneas Williams, Patrick Peterson and Calais Campbell. But it's gotta stop. Budda should be our next Larry Wilson or, even, Larry Fitzgerald when it comes to letting him play out his career with us."
Stories like that right now are just analysis and/or speculation. That's part of it. But if you go back to that first question of this mailbag, and looking at the future, those things are part of the equation. I don't know what will happen at the trade deadline, which is two weeks from today. The Cardinals will have two more games in the books. They will have a better handle on the season. But guys like Fitz -- playing their whole career with one team -- are few and far between these days.
From Matt W:
"It's going to be a tough week for questions around fans not coming out for Larry Fitzgerald's ceremony. My question is it why was it announced so late that it was the game to celebrate him? Everyone has their reasons why they didn't or couldn't like I sold this ticket long before it was announced they were celebrating him because the team did nothing to inspire confidence for this year."
Everyone has their reasons for why they were going to not keep tickets for a particular game. But I'll also say that it was a certainty Fitzgerald was going to be honored at some game this season -- I talked and wrote about it multiple times once he went into the Hall of Fame.
In terms of the timing, I am pretty sure the Cardinals did not want to step on Fitz's Hall of Fame moment by talking about a Ring of Honor/number retirement date ahead of the Canton induction. That's one factor. I do not know the timeline of deciding the date exactly, but I can tell you it wasn't decided, for instance, as soon as the schedule came out. They needed to work out how it fit within all the NFL initiative games, and more importantly, they needed to work out the right date for Fitzgerald. I would think, if you sold your ticket "long before" the announcement then the date wasn't yet set.
From Sidney Sexson:
"Darren, thanks for putting together the videos of all of Larry's catches and touchdowns. I know Larry, unlike so many other Hall of Fame receivers, played with a lot of different quarterbacks. Would you happen to have a list with how many touchdowns each threw to Larry? Thanks as always for the mailbag."
As a matter of fact, I do:
From Vince Trosino:
"Darren, I don't miss Kyler (no hate), I agree with getting value for Marv, and I can stomach being careful with Love. I am also grateful for gifts like McBride, Wilson, Budda, and Ryland. Jacoby has a decently high floor (solid completion percentage, manageable sack rate, not a turnover machine) but that comes with a fairly low ceiling. What is your take on the offensive strategy? We DID have Wilson's end-around and Trey's TD was a slick play, well executed.
"But are Jacoby's skills the constraint? We seem allergic to downfield throws. That's not a sin. Dink and dunk has worked. But can we throw in a hook and lateral/flea flicker to keep the defensive backfield honest? Ornery comment: At six minutes to go in the fourth was the moment we became late in getting Beck's feet wet. #Larryforever"
You seem to know ball, so I am guessing that last Beck comment is done with the understanding he couldn't have gone in at that point, as an emergency QB.
There were a bunch of downfield throws on Sunday. They didn't connect, but there were attempts. And they threw in the hook and lateral, but it didn't work (and LaFleur noted that was because of breakdowns in execution.) To your main question: I agree with LaFleur that the offense is moving the ball, even using dink and dunk. The last two weeks they aren't getting in the end zone. That's crippling. I saw enough Brissett last season that I don't think he is, as you said, the "constraint." I still see a team not running the ball enough to create needed balance.
Touchdowns are everything. They have struggled mightily the last two games with that. But it feels like had they not, many of these offensive questions wouldn't be as intense.
From Ken D:
"Inside the TV and Radio both the announcers have a spotter. That person usually confirms who made the tackle, penalty etc. How do they communicate that quickly to the play by play announcer? Of course sometimes there is no need but when it's done, how?
Also, on the comments section that so many of us use can we take away the sort category BEST and only have the newest posts appear at the top? Thanks for your consideration."
I'll take the second part first. The comment section should this week default to "newest" when people open the article (although to reiterate, you can toggle yourself between best and newest.
As for spotters, J.P. Shadrick uses one at home games, but on the road the Cardinals have for a while don't, mostly because finding quality spotters is difficult. Radio producer Jim Omohundro can help some of the time. As far as how it works, essentially the spotter points at a spotters board they have at each game, wordlessly letting the announcers know what's what.
From Ian McMechan:
"Hello from storm-afflicted Wales. Between 2005 and 2024 (because it is too early to judge the 2025 and 2026 candidates) and excluding Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Patrick Peterson and, perhaps, Kyler Murray, which first-round draft pick has been the most effective Cardinal? Thanks."
Under those parameters, I'll do this as my top 3:
- DB Antrel Rolle 2005
- LT D.J Humphries 2015
- RT Levi Brown 2007
Paris Johnson hasn't played as long as Levi yet (and Levi was a starting tackle for a Super Bowl team.) Zaven Collins has been solid too. Do you wish the list was more substantial? Sure. Guys have had moments -- Haason Reddick had a great last season in Arizona, Michael Floyd had a good stretch from 2013-15 -- but this would be my list.
From Jetson V:
"Hey guys, I've been listening to all the podcasts everyday as I get ready for work, and you all do an amazing job! The question I have isn't so much a question but a request. Me, my younger brothers and my family wanted to go to the ROH game against the Broncos because Larry Fitzgerald has been such an important part of our lives and helped shape us to be the good people we hope we are.
"We didn't have the means to make it so can ya'll just let Larry know how much we really love him and appreciate everything he's done on and off the field for our state and ball club from fans that can not make it? I'm into football and a Cardinals fan because of him and I will die on a hill defending Larry. When anyone ask who inspires me, who is my role model, or what made me the person I am today, I'd have to always say it's Larry.
"Growing up and watching how to be a good baller and person he is with such consistency, conviction and passion on and off the field when no one's watching or when times seem dark. I wanted to send in my appreciation before I lose the chance. Thanks for your time and everyone's hard work! I'd really appreciate if somehow you guys can let Larry know how much he means to the people of the state of Arizona."
I think you just did that yourself.
