It's been an interesting few days, with the Cardinals winning a second game but leaving them far from satisfied. There are injuries too, although I doubt the 49ers -- the Cardinals' host this week -- are going to feel bad given how many guys banged up that team has. In any event, the mailbag. Questions have been edited for length and clarity. Don't forget to send a question for a future mailbag with at least a first name and last initial.
From Raine V:
"Yes we are 2-0 but what do you see as the biggest issues with this offense? Run game is nowhere to be seen. Passing game is inconsistent and the play calling is so conservative at times."
The way I see it, it is the running game -- which has been so good the last two years and is the backbone of what they do. Trey Benson's 52-yard run in the opener was excellent and Kyler Murray's 31-yard scramble Sunday was incredible. But aside from that, there has been no consistency. James Conner has been held under 40 yards rushing in back-to-back games for the first time since Kliff Kingsbury was still coach. Conner's production -- and the emotion that comes with it -- is so important.
From Connor R:
"Admittedly I am writing this directly after the game, so I am ignoring the 24-hour rule I typically hold myself to. However the fact that we dominated the first half, the fact it became close was just awful and uninspiring, putting it nicely. Drew Petzing's playcalling leaves so much to be desired and seems that the conservative nature of it keeps any team in the game. Honestly feels like it holds Kyler and Marv back. Thoughts? Appreciate the mailbag each week!"
I'll start here: Jonathan Gannon put the failure to close Sunday on the coaches, and himself specifically. Good coaches will do that, but it also makes sense. I understand people looking to place blame. I understand that the playcaller can be an easy target. But this is the offense they have been running for three years. The difference right now is that they are not running the ball anywhere close to the efficiency that they had in 2023 or 2024. Another point: this is the offense Gannon wants to have. He is the head coach. They have reasons for making those choices. People thinking there will be dramatic personnel changes -- especially after being 2-0 -- aren't thinking straight. (So yes Connor, you probably should give youself the 24 hours.)
From Andrew Miller:
"Hello Darren, sorry to ask the obvious questions as I doubt I am the only one to inquire. Given that the Cardinals were in control of the first two games against arguably the two weakest teams in the league, and then were within one play of overtime and then one play against a loss, it begs the following questions:
- Who is responsible for the conservative defensive tactics in the fourth quarter -- Rallis or Gannon?
- What argument for the soft coverage is there when you are ahead four scores against a poor team? While a win is a win and the style points don't count, from a fan's standpoint, it seems mind-boggling."
Here are some obvious answers:
- Nick Rallis calls the plays and he has earned the right to do that. Gannon as the head coach has the ability to override, but again, why would you doubt his decisions given how well he has done (with a mostly lesser roster) the last two seasons? That said, Gannon did acknowledge Monday he and Rallis wrestled with how to deploy the defense.
- I think if you look around the league many teams will employ something similar. The argument is, yes, they complete some passes but the clock keeps moving and they will run out of time. If Rallis knew ahead of time a) the offense would go completely dormant and b) the Panthers were going to recover an onside kick they had like a 2 percent chance of getting, then he might've approached it differently. If Kyler doesn't throw the interception, it probably is moot. If the Cardinals recover the onside kick, it's definitely moot.
From Marcy Dunn:
"Big fan of yours but I take umbrage with your snap count article and you said the defense was struggling to get off the field. It's difficult to get off the field when you're playing soft zone and giving the offense five yards per play. I put zero blame on out defensive personnel for that 2nd half and 100 percent blame on the coaches. Fans and players both should be livid at Rallis for that debacle."
We will have to agree to disagree, Marcy. Yes, they played off. But they didn't play off the field. They were right there. They could've been more aggressive. But, for instance, giving up a fourth-and-16 has nothing to do with the playcall. If you are a defender, you gotta make that play regardless of the scheme.
Umbrage is a quality word, however.
From Pete P:
"You don't switch to prevent defense at the start of the third quarter. That was very close to the worst loss in Cardinals history, I kid you not. Worse than the Seattle 58-0 loss because Seattle was just a better team. We chose to almost lose to Carolina with some of the worst coaching on record."
Then it works out for you because here was Gannon after the game: "We just really never got that stop that we needed to keep points off the board to let our offense go out there and really put the game away. Like I said, it's not the players at all. They fought their butt off. It's completely on me."
From Gary Pack:
"Hey Darren, no wrong answers, just curious about your perspective and maybe that of players. There's this idea of 'We want to beat the best.' I disagree. If we win 14 games by beating the worst teams in the league, and all of our division opponents are playing backup QBs, I'm good with that. Fans and media remember big moments from big games, but very few remember the context of most games from prior seasons, so what does it matter if you're playing a team at full strength vs a team struggling with injuries? How do you view that, and how do you think players view that?"
I think players like the idea of beating teams at full strength to prove something to themselves. That said, they don't really care one way or the other. You are correct. No one is going back at the end of the season saying, "Hey you only won that game because such-and-such was injured." If they beat the 49ers Sunday, there is no asterisk with Purdy and Kittle sidelined. No teams are downplaying beating the Cardinals the first half of 2023 because Kyler was out. And I'm the same. Just tell me who is playing, and I'll write about what happens. Is it worth noting? Sure. But big picture, pointless to dwell on.
From Matthew C:
"Why are many Cardinals fans so negative? And don't point to our poor history, I've trudged through the past couple decades too and can still make rational analysis instead of just complaining. Whether it's physically at the game, on social media, or in more private communication channels, all I hear is that we were terrible Sunday and it might as well have been a loss. I watched a well-played game for three quarters, then one play by Kyler where he tried to throw it away and got hit in the arm, one bad onside kick, and our defense being slightly too lenient with a huge lead after multiple injuries. Obviously things need to be cleaned up, but what in the world did everyone else see?"
I mean, you have to ask them directly. It's funny, I write this right after center Hjalte Froholdt spoke on Monday. Froholdt is a smart guy. He knew the majority of the questions would have a what-went-wrong bent, but (in a nice way) he made it clear he thought it was overboard, and that the Cardinals are 2-0. They need to get better. I would tend to lean into your perspective, but even games can have what-have-you-done-for-me-lately. Fans want to believe their team can be perfect. Let's face it, this is the reaction everyone expected, with the way that game ended.
From Keith J:
"With Simi Fehoko back on the roster do you think he'll find a few snaps as a WR instead of just a special teams guy? He really produced in preseason and I think a lot of fans, like me, thought he should have been on the original 53."
Well, he didn't on Sunday (13 special teams snaps though) and I don't see that changing. They have a hard enough time using the four receivers ahead of him. Fehoko will be crucial on special teams with Joey Blount down, however.
From Sebas Quiros:
"Hey Darren! Been a while since I ask a question so I thought I'd ask more than one. Do you have any inkling of why we are blitzing much less than last season? Also, why are we playing such a soft cushion coverage? On offense, what is Drew Petzing's status? Last season offense was underwhelming quite a few times and this season both games haven't been that great as far as an offensive performance goes."
We welcome questions here in the mailbag, Sebas. The idea of what the Cardinals tried to do in the offseason was give them the ability to blitz less and only bring four. Now, there is a weekly evaluation to whether that makes sense in a particular game, but yes, they'd like to rush four and not blitz. It means more guys in coverage. As for as the "soft" coverage, I addressed that on an earlier question so please refer above. As for the offense and the offensive coordinator, I don't get why this is a popular question. Yes, people want to bring it up but making radical changes to staff and/or roster after two games (two wins even) is crazy talk.
From Tim Tekulve:
"Darren, as always thanks for mailbag and your insight. It's great to be 2-0 but it doesn't feel as good as I thought it would. The game had so many disappointing moments that our tailgate crew was unusually quiet after the WIN. I felt our Cards played like they had their foot on the brakes in the second half. How are the officials graded after the game and is that grade (which all the fans will never see) shared with each team? The phantom personal foul on Sweat was hard to swallow, hopefully the postgame reviews show that."
I am not sure if the teams get specific grades but they are free to submit plays each week to essentially question what officials did on the play. The Cardinals could submit Sweat's play, and maybe the league comes back and says it shouldn't have been flagged. The problem with that play, IMO, is that it is so subjective the league wouldn't say anything other than it could've been called either way. I totally understand the many fans who are upset it was flagged.
From Pete R:
"Hi Darren. Despite the implied criticism, this is not a serious question, it's more of a curiosity. How did Trey Benson get run down by Carl Granderson? Trey runs a 4.39. You wrote that Trey said 'I was not running full speed.' Why were you not running full speed? I noticed on TV he didn't look 4.3 fast, so what's going on? He losing a step at 23?"
I don't think he lost a step. I think he was 50 yards or more into his run (counting behind the line movement) and Granderson had an angle. Benson was also eying other defenders. It's not like Benson got caught in a straight-line race.
From Jesse Arrieta:
Hello Darren. By the time you post the next mailbag, the Panthers game will be over but I still want your opinion on what I ask you. You mentioned to the troll in last weeks mailbag that Connor will be the reason we win the game. Do you think Connor will play a bigger role than our young CB Corp in this game? I loved the way you handled the troll, ha ha ha. You did that with so much professionalism."
Let me make one thing clear, Jesse. The "troll," Zach from North Carolina, is by all accounts by a person I trust a good kid. I didn't take offense to the inquiry. Just had fun with it. As for your question, man does it look WAY different in hindsight. Conner was not a big factor, not nearly the factor I thought he would be. And the young cornerbacks played a huge role, in part because the top three guys all got hurt in the game.
From John T:
"I'm sending this prior to the Carolina game. Do you think there is a game count to decide how our Cardinals will succeed this season? I am thinking four games to 'judge' our expectations. I never look at schedule or strength of schedule as the parity in the NFL is second to none. Do you believe in the 'On Any Given Sunday' any team can beat any team?"
Another fascinating question from the past but answered in the future. Yes, in the NFL, I absolutely believe any team can win a given game. I have seen in countless times covering this team over 26 years. I think after four games you'll have a good idea of what the team is going to be, but four games doesn't lock in a team either. Stuff can change. A team can get hot. A key injury could derail things. So much nuance.
From JR Banks:
"Hi Darren. The new IR rules are confusing and it's hard to track if a guy is done done or if reinforcements are coming. Can you please give us a synopsis of who is gone for the year, and who is rejoining our team at some point (and when, approximately)? Thanks."
Gone for the season are CB Sean Murphy-Bunting, CB Starling Thomas V, S Joey Blount. Eligible to return after Week 4 (although it could be later) are DL Walter Nolen III, LB BJ Ojulari, DL Bilal Nichols, OL Hayden Conner, OL Christian Jones. DL Justin Jones. We will see what happens with the cornerback injuries this Sunday or even the knee injury of L.J. Collier.
From Sidney Sexson:
"Darren no question. I just wanted to say how happy I was for Matt Prater to show up three days before the Bills played the Ravens in the opener and go 3 for 3 including the game-winner."
I'm sure there are a lot of people happy for Prater, who did well again in Week 2 for the Bills.
From Jimmy Anderson:
"I was looking at the blocked field-goal attempt against the Saints and wondering if that was an illegal play by the Saints. It's hard to tell on the replay videos but it appears that the defensive tackles pushed down and held the long snapper and the right guard while the other defensive tackle jumped over the gap in between the two which allowed him to get a hand on the ball right after it was kicked. I don't think the officials noticed because the tackle didn't take running jump."
The way it was executed, it was not illegal. (You can argue it should be but it was not.) There is no rule against pushing down on blockers that were already going low, and as long as you a) don't taking a running jump or b) use another body to launch, you can jump over the line for the block.
From Steve P:
"I've been a Cardinals fan since the mid 1970s. Thanks for keeping this guy in Pennsylvania informed with a great website, media presence, and insightful mailbag responses. I've also been a fan of professional bike racing almost as long. Just want to point out that a young Arizonan, Matthew Riccitello (from Tucson) is about to finish in fifth place in the Vuelta a Espana, Spain's equivalent to the Tour de France, and is one of the top three grand tours in the world. My question is if the Cardinals in general, or any individual players, ride bikes as part of their training regimen?"
The things you learn in the mailbag. Hoping Matthew is also a Cardinals fan. As for the bikers among us, no I don't think anyone uses bikes to train, although assistant head coach Jeff Rodgers has been known to often bike to work.
