The 2019 season is here. If that was unclear, it was driven home Monday when the Cardinals moved on from Steve Wilks. But while we wait to see who emerges as the Cards' new head coach, I'm guessing there will be some questions. We will see what happens from here, but for now, on to some Q-n-A. As always, if I don't answer your question I likely answered something similar. And you can leave a question for next week's mailbag here.
From Jason Weber via azcardinals.com:
"Do the Cardinals use their No. 1 overall pick on a player or should they trade down for additional picks since there are so many holes on the team? Nick Bosa seems to be the front runner but the Cards have Chandler Jones. Is trading down a better option?"
Lots to address here. To start, while Bosa is a popular name, inevitably there will be others that rise to potential No. 1 status. And that's what the Cardinals want -- because then it goes to the other part of the question, which is the more guys that are considered top picks, the more potential someone might want to trade up. As for Bosa/Chandler -- you can never have enough pass rushers. A defensive line with Jones on one side and Bosa on the other would be pretty daunting for opposing offenses.
Good question. Michael Bidwill made sure he didn't answer that question because he'd like to go through the process without tipping his hand to other teams with vacancies. But I'll say this -- the Cardinals were last in the league in most every offensive category. They need to upgrade personnel at practically every position on offense but as important they need to develop Rosen and they need to embrace some of the offensive trends that have helped in the NFL's uptick in scoring. Whether that is with the head coach or it's with an excellent offensive coordinator, it has to be done.
I realize this is a statement as much as a question, but it's a good point. And while I would doubt it would be the first question to candidates, that will no doubt be an important aspect of whatever the offensive plan will be for the new coach.
From zero nineteen via azcardinals.com:
"I was wondering how leadership changes affects the non-player/non-support staff (you, for example). Would you say your boss is Mike, and therefore all of you are secure no matter who the coaches/GM is?"
I am assuming "Mike" is Michael Bidwill, and he is everyone's boss. It's never a good idea in any job to think you are secure no matter what -- complacency is bad. But within the franchise, while the coach and GM are of course the most important part of things (the whole football side) it is separate to the point that yes, a change in that area should not impact non-football folks.
From Doug Keller via azcardinals.com
"How likely are we to keep Markus Golden? I think we should do what we can to keep him paired up with Chandler Jones. It was two years ago that he was a 12-sack guy before tearing his ACL. One more year recovered from that injury and we could have a dominate pass rush (on paper)."
Golden would like to stay. But there are a lot of things that go into that. The two sides have to agree on what's fair, and while Golden is certain he is on the precipice of getting back to that level, the Cardinals might be more cautious in that regard. It'll be interesting if Golden gets a one-year deal here or elsewhere to ramp his value back up, or if there is a multi-year agreement that can be reached. I think Golden is a great guy to have on a roster, not only with his play but his attitude within the locker room. The new staff -- and new defensive coordinator -- might have some thoughts on what personnel works too.
Um, yeah. No hidden mics. Do I have interaction daily? Yes. The vast majority of the time, that just means pleasantries when you are passing in a hallway. Most of the time we work within the same interview time frames as the rest of the media. But we do have the ability to drop down to the locker room if a particular interview is needed from time to time.
I think it's way too early to rank them. I'm not sure it's possible to give Rosen anything but an incomplete based on the personnel he played with the second half of the season. After one year, some might have had RGIII as the top or second-best QB in 2012, and that's probably changed. There's no question Mayfield was very good as a rookie. Jackson has looked good, but he also has the best defense of all those teams. Get back to me in 2020.
From Isaac from the UK via azcardinals.com:
"I think David Johnson has been quite disappointing this year, with touches and what he has done with them. Can you see the new coaching staff wanting to move on from him and on to Chase Edmonds. If so, what would his trade value be?"
No. No, no, no, no, no. David Johnson isn't going anywhere.
From Sira Hodge via azcardinals.com:
"I don't think Rosen is the quarterback of the future. He panics, doesn't read the field, and misses a lot of good scoring opportunities. He needs more time to season. I thought Glennon was far better. Why don't the Cardinals use Glennon more? Will they plan on doing that in 2019?"
No. No, no, no no, no. Josh Rosen is your quarterback in 2019.
I'd have to go back and look at the year-end rosters that I've seen. Obviously with all the IR moves and injuries this year's squad was pretty depleted. But off the top of my head, I'm going to be honest -- no, I don't think this was the worst. The end of the year in 2003 wasn't much.
From Josh Hartman via azcardinals.com:
"Darren -- Two questions: 1. With the change in coaches do you think there is any chance Deone Bucannon comes back? 2. What/ who do you think is to blame for the failure to stop the run all year?"
- Yes, I think there is a chance.
- I think there were multiple issues there. Clearly, for whatever reason, the players never fully grasped the scheme. There were some ill-fitting pieces too. Adjustments that probably should've been at least attempted were not.
From Jeshua Witt via azcardinals.com:
"If the Cardinals were to move on from Jermaine Gresham this offseason what kind of dead money would they be hit with?"
If the Cardinals released Gresham they would take a dead money hit of $3.5 million. It was interesting to see that, while Gresham was active in Seattle for the finale, he did not play a snap. Ricky Seals-Jones was injured, so the TE breakdown was John Phillips with 57 offensive snaps and Darrell Daniels with 18. The tight end position likely needs some work in the offseason.
There are a lot of things going on around here. I can't say I've heard uniforms mentioned anytime lately.
From Brad Cain via azcardinals.com:
"What do you think of Mike McCarthy or Adam Gase for the head coaching position, and possibly getting Todd Bowles back as DC. Also with all the cap space, what do think about going after Nick Foles and letting Rosen learn the game under him for a couple years?"
I think there are a lot of possibilities. I'd like to know -- no matter who the coach will be -- how he'd want to work with Rosen. That's question one. But Rosen needs to play. He's your starter. Nick Foles isn't coming. I will be surprised if the QB depth chart for 2019 isn't still Rosen QB 1 and Glennon QB 2.
That's a question for Bowles. I'm not sure. And it'll also depend on who the head coach is. But I would think the Cardinals, in the right situation, would entertain Bowles as DC again for sure.
OK, I will admit, I loved this tweet.
