Take on the Cardinals. And what a difference it is because it
was week 8 last year
when the Cardinals were unbeaten. Chris it's crazy.
Green Bay Packers that was that epic Thursday night game. Yeah.
With the great
GIF of Aaron Rodgers. Crazy Eyes, helmet balls can strap.
It is no strap in your face.
That that was a great game and that was the one that derailed
the Cardinal season, because that's where column erisa.
Suffered the ankle injury on the next to last play of
the game. And remember, the game was decided
by the failure of AJ Green to realize. The ball was being thrown
his way and it was intercepted in. That was that? So
it just shows you what a difference a year can make, because now
the Cardinals who started ten and two last year. Now have
twice as many losses through half as many games at two and
four.
Yeah, it's it's been a struggle, it really is, they're
not the same football team.
You know, I
I don't want to say they're not. Same football team, half
their team is not the same. The defense is
stingy and a pain in the butt
and you take away week. One, right? Which is okay to take
away week one, that's always a crazy week and you how to play
the Kansas City Chiefs. You look at the the Cardinals
defense, it's the real deal.
There are extremely well, coached,
right? The Vans Joseph's is very creative. They don't have
a really talented d-line. It's not like, oh, wow. Their front
four can get there all the time
but they're, they're not bad. Bad. I don't-- JJ, Watt stole
still a force.
I mean, Mark is Golden's not a bad player. They're just not
a dominant that way, but they're pretty good against the Run.
They got very athletic linebackers. They got two
safeties and number 34 Thompson, and Buddha Baker.
That I would put up there with the best Duo's in the game.
They got very good Corners. Marco Wilson, Byron Murphy,
Junior, their Ballers. So the defense is holding up, its end
of the bargain. All you got to do is pull up the schedule and
look at the scores and go. Oh they are.
It's the offense that sucky ducky.
I mean, they're that's pitiful
and I, you know, I don't know where you want to begin on that
subject but there's issues across the board. It's a spread
offense that can't really make any plays throwing
the football.
I mean, it's it. There there in the bottom of
almost every category.
I mean, they really are yards per play is really where
they're horrible, you know, their total yards per game is
not bad, but they don't score points right there. Not very
good on third down, Mike
and their average Yards per play
as you just watch their games. I mean, it's spread football
three yard. Pass for yard, pass three yard pass for yard pass.
Look at their drives, there's 18 play drives, 15 play drives
four field goals.
So it's the offense. That's got a lot of the assets and money.
As far as the salary cap are concerned and they're not
holding up their end of the deal for sure. And this one
and think of how last season ended because after ten and
two, they fell apart, that's
in keeping with the Friend that is proven by the cliff can't
finish graphic that we put out from time to time dating back
to 2013. His first year as a head coach at Texas Tech,
the good news is this year is busted the trend because they
aren't
starting strong. And
when you go all the way back to last year, when they beat
the Cowboys.
No, not the Cowboys the Bears. Excuse me? Yeah. Be the wires
in Chicago. I've right 33. 222 pushing the Cardinals to 10 and
2 since then
they are Three and nine,
including the playoff loss to the Rams, three wins, nine
losses. So from 10 and 2 to 3 and 9 in their 12 games,
since then something has fallen off and they can't get it back
on track on a consistent basis
in Arizona and, you know, Chris after the season ended, there
was the initial consternation regarding Kliff Kingsbury.
There was reporting that Michael Bidwell. He ordered
the team was livid
and there was a thought that maybe Kingsbury was
In trouble, I had him on the list of coaches who
needed to at least be thinking about putting a for sale sign
out in the front yard.
And then
Kingsbury gets an extension. Yeah, and GM, Steve Keim gets
an extension through 2027
and that just seemed like a long
time. Yeah. And I just wonder whether it was an effort to
stabilize, the situation for at least one year. We don't know
the terms of the extension. Yeah, that's more. She wore
these coaching contracts aren't fully guaranteed
right?
Par David are. But yeah, your hearts are, but we don't know.
Yeah, how much money?
Kliff Kingsbury is making usually,
ye hear something, right? You get some Rapport. You have some
idea where this coach Fitz.
The overall hierarchy of Veteran coaches, who have been around
and who have have taken the team to the playoffs. And that
was the big argument. Gotten better every year. They were
terrible before, Kliff Kingsbury got there. They've
gotten better every year. They were terrible before calamari
got there. They've gotten better every year,
then calamari gets his extension. And there's all that
stuff about his study Claus. There's just been this cloud of
dysfunction hanging over the team
and
Are we surprised there too? And for because of it and it all
comes down Chris, we talked about it. After Matt rule was
fired,
we've talked about in the past, about Kliff, Kingsbury other
college coaches, Urban Meyer last year, prime, example of
it. I just don't believe guys who primarily made their way
in college, when they get to the end of how, no Kliff
Kingsbury played in the NFL.
And he was with NFL teams before he became a college
coach.
I just think they lack
the understanding.
That the all in full-time
NFL coach has, as to how to properly button up everything,
how to properly self Scout, how to properly Scout, the other
team, how to properly, stay just a little bit ahead of what
you're doing
and what they're doing
to create game plans. Yeah, system and college level, I got
a great system, and I got great athletes, so it doesn't matter
if I have stuff on film that's being picked up Little nuances
that I can't even begin to grasp. And I don't have to
To spend the time
figuring out where my weaknesses are or where their
weaknesses are. I got a bunch of great athletes. Yeah I'm
just going to put the ball in the hands. I think back to
the Rich Rodriguez
West Virginia Mountaineers.
They were four plays. Yeah. And right. Everybody was faster
on one side of the ball
then they were on the other side of the ball. Yeah. So
the X's and O's fell apart because you give the guy the ball who's
really fast and he's gone. So
I feel like that's where we are.
Yeah. And the spread offense with the superior athlete.
Doesn't work in on the NFL. Right. The Gap isn't big
enough. Exactly my car going to figure out how to get to you
exactly their study in your film and they know exactly what
you're doing
before, you're even doing it, right? You're not going to be
that superior to the majority of the defensive players in
the league. Like you're talking about, this is not college
football where. Yeah, you could be at a school. You could be
coaching a Texas A & M, like Kliff Kingsbury was at one
point or even, Texas
Tech and step on the field, some games and just go, oh,
we're so much clearly better than them. We could run 3.
Is the whole game and win the football game.
It is this different Mike? I'm with you
I used to be a little bit like
forgiving for that thought but
I think over the last year and a half or so I mean you've pretty
you've nailed down or nailed home that you nailed down that
point and I'm with you in that that it's just a different
world. It's a different game. I've always known that for
sure. And I think you bring up all the right points.
It's just the specific game. Plan specific game planning
that doesn't go on with college football. Coaches for The
majority again, you know, no disrespect. I love college
football,
but even when I was working at Notre Dame,
I mean, it was, it would be, you know, I do the games right
on Saturday and fly back and you know, do all that stuff.
You remember that a few years ago,
I was always a little bored watching film and college
football. Oh, same coverage o, same coverage o, same coverage,
o, same coverage. Oh wait, I've seen this play on the offensive
side of the ball. It's the, it's the,
it's the end of the first quarter. I've seen this play
five times already. So that's where it's different. And
that's what It's showing when you look at Arizona
and and to your point would like Rich Rodriguez, Kliff
Kingsbury grew up in that same school there and he wasn't
really involved in the NFL World very much. He had a cup
of tea as a player basically
and the same thing as far as an assistant is concern.
And I, you know what, I'm looking at it. Now Chris he
never was an assistant, the NFL, no, he wasn't. I thought
he was New England for a short. He was a de facto player
like
quality control guy when he was in New. England, you know, he
was on
there. So that's where I think. Maybe you thought thought that?
Because here, right, one year, one year, right? Doesn't three.
And then I'll bring
you gotta ring, right? Right. And went right back to college,
but, you know so yeah, yeah,
hey, he played quarterback in under,
Mike Leach and Company I played against them in college. Mike
Leach had a sheet and I'm not joking you and go watch
Mississippi State. Now, this big this big
and he just would go.
What we'll do that one there was there was how to be 10, 20
plays on there. Now Kliff Kingsbury sheets bigger than
that but
the concepts are just two ordinary there to Elementary
and then like, Mike, you know, you watch the Cardinals a lot.
We both,
you know, enjoy watching Kyler Murray and what he can bring to
the table. So but you, you see it. What life is hard for them?
There's, there's no explosive plays. They're last in
the league and yards per play in the past. Game.
It's danken dunk. As it ever gets,
it's to play Reliant
and then of course, as you know, in that offense,
the Run games, really an afterthought.
It's an afterthought. So there's no attitude to Smash
Mouth and do that. They're running statistics are better
than what they really are because Kyler Murray scrambles
for some great runs every now and then, but the traditional
hands it off to the running back,
negative Ghost Rider, that's sucky, ducky too, or they don't
even really want to do it. That's that's the that's
the point. And then I think when you Couple that with
the
Cuyler Marie and the biggest flaw in his game is something
that you and I have talked about. We all saw in that
playoff game last year with the Rams.
He's he makes he does not make a lot of big throws
in the pocket with people around him
and that's the name of the game. I mean you know that
right I mean we walked Mahomes and Allen last weekend and
they're moving around and people around them and it
doesn't matter. Oh
wait there's Five Guys on me. And its third and nine doesn't
Better I'm gonna bone throw another 20-yard throw you know
Brady in his prime whoever that's what they do.
And so they got some major flaws Mike on that side of
the ball.
I'm looking at Kliff Kingsbury background. First of all.
You and he entered the NFL the same year same here. Yeah. The
light bulb finally went off in my brain after all these years,
although he
at a Texas institution
was the AP, National offensive, player of the year for 2002.
What do you have to say for yourself about that? Well, you
know, hey, that's good for him. He was a good player. He was
a good player. He, you know, they threw the ball, 70 cents a game
system.
It's that same sister, the
times a game, right? It is, and then and that's where, you
know, again, I think to your point with a college in the NFL
Are
the NFL guys, maybe not be as good on the personality
connecting with pliers level, but they're all in on all
the points. You said
football football football, I gonna do this chess. Move chess
moves, chess move here. I got a self Scout myself. Oh, wait,
last week I did this this week, I got to do that off of it.
You know, this team does this, so I got to come up with
a group of plays against that and then I feel like the college
coaches are,
you know, for lack of a better way to say there. There, Are
slit City Slickers. They're, they're, they're, they're
smooth talkers. They get the guys in there. Hey, we love
you. You the man, the oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, we could do
all that but they don't really want to coach. They don't
really want to get in
the nitty-gritty like, Urban Meyer leaving the office at
6:00 every day and so that's where I think there's
a difference there too. And I think it's showing right now,
that is for sure. I mean it's really painful to watch
a team that, you know, again shouldn't be what they are on
the offensive side of the ball. They shouldn't be this,
not that I'm Blown Away by their But it's still good
enough to be, you know, more points, more yards, everything
more explosive
than what it is, that's for sure.
But Chris the whole bet was
that the Kliff Kingsbury system would work, right?
They draft a column, are they had just used a top ten pick
traded up to get Josh Rosen the year before and he wasn't so
bad that they would have thrown him overboard
without having calamari
land in their last. Exactly.
It wasn't like Josh Rosen was a disaster, right? It
Was we can get Kyler Murray. Yeah. And that was a talking
point for a while in the 2019 offseason like really, you're
going to throw these kid overboard that you traded up to
get with the 10th overall pick. And you don't know what he is
Yet
now. Maybe they had an inkling because he hasn't done anything
since then. Yeah. But but it was controversial, right? So
the point was the system
help,
you know. And it's funny how time goes by and one year
becomes a next-gen. You forget things, he was the offensive
coordinator in the position coach for Johnny Manziel in
2012 and Texas A & M. When he
Heisman right? So he's been in this freewheeling.
Drawed up in the dirt. Exactly
ours are better than yours. Ours are faster than yours ours
can run circles around yours, college football,
spread offense mindset
that has been around for the past 20 years
and
it kind of worked in 2019. It kind of worked in 2020, it
really worked last year until it didn't and now it's just not
working and what a shock
for. Years of film
where I doubt that they make a lot of changes year in and year
out to the system. Know, that's exact out. They go to the lab
and say, what what can we do to overhaul this often. Write
often stays the same, right? So the defensive Minds
in the NFL,
get more and more Adept, at what it takes to shut down, and
slow down. And the one piece they had, the one puzzle piece,
they had
is Kyla Marie because he does have the physical ability to
outrun most
Of players, but they still figured out how to contain him.
How to how to keep him from killing you? Yes,
exactly. We haven't seen those games this year where calamari
comes out and runs for a couple of touchdowns and throws for
a couple and and he's just he's getting things in everywhere
and they can't they can't stop it. They have Solutions now for
column. ER yeah they
do well there's enough, I think there's enough like mobile,
quarterbacks and football. And and guys that can escape
the pocket to where
you know to your point you're saying it right team.
You're used to it not that they're going to stop it all
the time. But you know, every, you know, every other week
defense is applying a quarterback that can get out of
the pocket. Maybe not to the
extent Kyle and Marie Ken
but you know, they're there. It's a learned skill now. Oh
wait, we're playing a skilled quarterback. Oh wait, we gotta
go to that, you know, check the boxes of what we do when
we play that type of quarterback that runs around.
So between that and hey you know, you said it, it's
the NFL, the talent Gap is extremely narrow
and then You throw in that. A lot of these kids have seen
the spread
on a weekly basis in college football on the defensive side
of the ball and that there's some spread principles
throughout the NFL.
They've gotten used to defending that stuff, to
let alone to your point, Mike, it's for years.
They have had moments of being good.
I think people got,
you know, the inventory to look at a little bit with them and
go. All right, wait wait. When they have two receivers here
and the outside receiver runs this route, then the inside
receiver, you Usually runs a route that goes outside to
write that, you know, they can start to piece things together
and that's what you see
is just not a lot of open people, not a lot of explosive
plays, nothing down the field. I mean, it's three yards and
a cloud of dust in the spread offense, mean, last in the NFL
than yards per pass, play, 19 points a game.
I mean, feel gold, Fest, every week, you know, the offense,
that's all there is to it. When Arizona, they got to pick up
their end of Bargain
nine points against Seattle last week.
Seattle's defense.
We just with the two weeks ago, we just saw the Saints having
a highlight show running through it. I mean, everybody moves
the ball in Seattle, you know,
defense holds the Eagles to 20 points offense can only get 17,
you know, they get 26 against Carolina. I mean, it's 12
against the Rams. I mean, everything every week is
a struggle and it's
it's tough to watch. It's not very fun right now.
And as cullimore he said, rookie year is the last time
things felt this difficult. Remember, this is a guy who
lost three games total between his college and high school
football careers. He's lost three of his last four
in the NFL. And as I said, earlier, three and nine
over the last
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