Yes, we are a day early. Why? The players and coaches are showing up to training camp Tuesday, with the initial practice (closed) on Wednesday and the first open practice of training camp on Thursday. The season has arrived.
It'll be a season of higher expectations for the Cardinals. Hopefully there are always high expectations for the mailbag (and hopefully, I hit them.)
It's been a good stretch of downtime, but I'm diving into things now. Season No. 26 for me. 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 Andrew M:
"I am intrigued by Josh Sweat. Great name, unbelievable Super Bowl, but what about the regular season production? The Cardinals have not had much production on the edge for years and Sweat is a clear upgrade, yet he was a single-digit sack guy last regular season (8 in 16 games and only 41 tackles). He has averaged about six sacks per year throughout his career. Setting aside the mythology of his Super Bowl, how much do you actually think he adds to the Cardinals defense? Is this a situation of more than production, the Cardinals seeking a winner/leader?"
Mythology seems a pretty strong word there, tbh. It implies that the story of his play has outgrown his actual impact, and having watched the game, he seemed pretty damned impactful that day. But I understand the bigger question. Here's how I look at it: He is an upgrade of what they had. He is their best pass rusher since Chandler Jones. Does that mean he's going to have a Jones-esque 15 sacks? Probably not. But he is going to ramp up the pressure this defense puts on QBs. Yes, they want to have winners. Sweat's leadership will be more in the form of what he does and not what he says. He's not that guy. But his greatest impact will be in his production -- I believe that.
From Ken Moroney:
"I felt like our former offensive line coach did a great job with the personnel he had. Do you feel our running game will be about the same as last season in terms of success for 2025? Who will be the likely target if we throw deep passes (more than 25 yards)?"
Klayton Adams was good. There was a reason the Cowboys wanted him as their offensive coordinator. But there is belief in Justin Frye, and again, the players are the thing. The offense isn't changing much, and I fully expect a running game that is one of the best in the league. As far as deep passes, I think they will work to have Marvin Harrison Jr. more effective in that part of the game, but will there be a particular guy? Not sure about that. Fascinated to see if Xavier Weaver has made some strides.
From John Turbo:
"I see questions about Kyler playing poorly and right guard and wide receiver needs. Should we all await the first four games and then ask those questions? Kyler needs playoff wins. Kyler needs to make all the wideouts look good like Rodgers and Brady did. OK, maybe more like Purdy does? All the receivers need to also make Kyler look good. I will await the first four games to be completed and then ask a question or two about the 2025 start. Thank you Darren and welcome back!"
So is this a question about not asking questions? Or just a statement ... about not asking questions. Or actual questions? Please let me know in the comments below. (NARRATOR: He didn't really want to know in the comments below.) I am a fan of waiting to see how some of this plays out, but truthfully, if the Cardinals need a guard or receiver (and I am not sure they do, which seems to put me at odds with podcast partner Paul) that needs to be figured out early in camp so they can make a move (think center and bringing back Lyle Sendlein in 2015.)
From James B:
"Since we're running back with basically the same offense but with some extra sauce and Drew Petzing's third year as OC, do you think that we could see more hurry-up offense like the Washington Commanders ran last year? Just to put even more pressure on the opposing defenses."
I'm not going to rule it out at times because of what you said, that they have significant continuity going and that will let them build on what they have already installed. That said, I don't see Jonathan Gannon wanting much hurry-up or no-huddle because the Cardinals want to be a team that hogs the ball on offense, keeps their defense fresh, and demoralizes the opponent. You can't always be that, of course, but if you speed up and fail, that's a short possession.
From Harlan S:
"Will Kyler Murray use his legs more often and roll out of the pocket when he gets repeated pressure when trying to pass the football?"
Man, this relatively short question feels full of loaded words and phrases. "Repeated." "Trying." Murray already scrambles quite a bit under pressure, which is how you painted this question. If you want to know if there will be more designed rollouts, that's a different topic. But one of the best parts of Murray's game is his legs, so yes, he will work to make a broken play worth something.
From Nathan P:
"Any rumors on free agents the Cardinals are going after between now and preseason? Do you think we will add any first- or second-string players or is the roster pretty much set? It would be nice to get another depth wide receiver or linebacker. Also, what is your favorite moment in Cardinals history you saw in person?"
No rumors, because as I mentioned earlier, I think they are going to go into camp and see what they have before considering any significant changes. Again, who is out there who can be that guy? (I'm not saying there are not some names. But "names" and actual ability don't always match up.) Do they feel they can upgrade with whomever they look at? That's the question. It can't be anyone obvious, since you'd assume they'd have made the move already if so.
As for my "favorite" moment, it has to be Donovan McNabb's fourth-down pass falling incomplete in the NFC Championship that basically meant the Cardinals were going to the Super Bowl. Hard to top the emotion of that, especially given my job. But there have been a ton. The "Hail Larry" and subsequent shovel pass TD was pretty good too.
From Matt D:
"Hi Darren. Are there any plans to still release a video on the draft? I am extremely disappointed that there was no Flight Plan covering the draft this year. My friends and I look forward to the draft episode every year and really enjoy seeing the war-room footage as picks unfold. Several other teams, like the Eagles, release great videos within a week of the draft occurring. Please pass along notes to the content team about how much fans enjoy the draft videos."
I wish I had a concrete answer for you. I don't know if that will still happen in any form; we have undergone a lot of changes as an organization and as a content team over the last year or two. There are a lot of needs from a much larger business side, there are other things that are important (upgrading the fan experience at games, trying to create cool new apparel and other different content like the schedule release video.) I'm not saying there won't be Flight Plans and similar stuff but there are only so many hours in a day.
From Matthew Stroh:
"Hey Craig hope you are having a great offseason so far. Well I see you are born and raised in Arizona. I think. Can't believe everything you read online. I am too I'm a proud 'Criminal' myself (Yuma High School) and I moved to Tucson. Here's my question. Do you think the NFL will ever go to no preseason games and all regular season games? What is your favorite thing about being born and raised in Arizona and what do you wish was different? Thank you for your time. Go Cardinals."
OK, this missed Craig's window last week, but we will have Gri parachute in for this answer. Take it away, Craig:
Appreciate the question, Matthew. First, I was born and raised in the Bay Area so no you can't believe everything you read online unless it's Darren's mailbag of course. (Ha!) As far as preseason games go, I do believe there will always be at least one and probably two preseason games. There has been a lot of talk about an 18-game regular season. If that happens – more likely, when that happens – then I can see the league reducing the preseason to two games. I might be in the minority here, but I do feel the preseason matters; whether that's a handful of snaps for starters and key reserves to get their bodies conditioned for the regular season or to help front offices and coaches in the evaluation process of first- and second-year players.
From Gary Hilton:
"Darren, have a question I doubt has been asked and may need a bit of research. When and where did the Cardinals last play a home game in snow? Hint, Missouri or Illinois. Thanks."
Gary, thank goodness you gave me that hint. No doubt I would've been combing through the last 36 seasons -- 25 of which I was there watching live -- to recall a snow game either at Sun Devil Stadium or indoors! Anywho, to the best I can find with the time I have available, the last snow game the Cardinals played at home was the 1983 season finale, when they beat the Eagles, 31-7, on Dec. 18 in 12-degree weather in St. Louis.
That was, of course, before my time. I have been present for that 2008 bizzaro harbinger in New England, and the Fitz-saves-Rosen miracle in Green Bay in 2010. I do not expect the Cardinals to have a home snow game anytime soon. But we never say never, Gary.
