Chiefs: Strengths and Weaknesses of the Arizona Cardinals
Laddie Morse
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Arizona Cardinals? That is the question that the Kansas City Chiefs OC and DC have asked themselves and they certainly have come up with the answers. So, let’s take a look at what some of those strengths and weaknesses may be.
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Cardinals Offense
QB Kyler Murray
The Cardinals QB was taken 1st overall in the 2019 draft which makes this his fourth season as their man at the helm (on the field). Murray was the Cards starter right out of the box, but lets’ not forget that the Cards had taken QB Josh Rosen with the 10th pick the year before. While the Cards kept denying that they were going to take Murray with the first overall pick, ultimately, that’s exactly what they did and that has as much to do with their new head coach, Kliff Kingsbury, as it does with anything else.
In Murray’s first season, he started the year with a 3-and-3-and-1 record and ended up with a 5-and-10-and-1 record. In his second season, he started 6-and-3 then finished the year with a 8-and-8 record. Then, last year he started out on a 7 game winning streak but finished the year with a 11-and-6 record. So, while Murray often starts the season strong, he finishes up with a higher number of losses. His overall record is 22-23-1, which means he’s very beatable.
One possible misgiving about Murray is that he is more of a runner than a passer. Murray has averaged 104.6 yards rushing per year, or 6.8 yards per game. Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes has averaged 57.7 rushing yards per year, or 3.6 yard rushing per game.
While there’s not much of a difference in the rushing yards of trhe Chiefs and the Cards QBs per game, the same can not be said for the points they’ve scored when roaming outside of the pocket:
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Wide Receivers
WR DeAndre Hopkins is suspended for the first 6 games of the 2022 year, for violating the league’s PED policy. Fair or unfair, that’s not to be, discussed or determined here, but what is significant is, Hopkins, one of the best WRs in the NFL, won’t be playing in this game.
Rondale Moore, a wideout with 4.29 – 40 speed, may be able to run the ball with nearly the same velocity as Tyreek Hill, but he doesn’t have the same side-to-side quicks. Moore was drafted in 2021 in the second round and has already had the following list of injuries: hamstring strain, a concussion, a neck injury and an ankle injury. He’s coming off of an undisclosed injury but is said to be ready to go this weekend. He’s listed as Questionable.
Zach Ertz, a TE who has the same “Questionable” designation has been at practice this week and I’d expect him to play this coming Sunday. Unlike Travis Kelce, who has had one-thousand yards season in each of the last six season, Ertz hasn’t had a 1,000 year since 2018.
A.J. Green is a WR who’s best days are behind him at age 34. Still, at 6-foot-4 and weighing in at 207, he could be a mismatch challenge for some of the Chiefs smaller CBs.
Marquise Brown is a WR with 4.32 – 40 time. He played for the Baltimore Ravens for his first three years in the league and had 91 receptions with 1,008 receiving yards last year. He likely is their number one receiving option in this game, and returned to his QB in college, much as Davante Adams has done. We’ll see if this experiment works, just as we’ll be keeping our eyes on the Raiders reunion. He is also known as, “Hollywood” Brown, if you’re unfamiliar with his name.
Running Backs
RB James Conner played his first four years for the Steelers before jumping ship last year to the Cardinals. He had 752 yards rushing for a 3.7 YPC average, but had 15 TDs on the ground and 3 more TDs through the air. At 6-foot-1 and 233 lbs. he looks like a load to bring down. I remember looking into him when he came out in 2017 but I ruled him out because of his 40 time being so slow – 4.65. With 375 yards through the air last year, he may be more of a release valve threat than a rushing menace.
RB Eno Benjamin isn’t going to be a threat for K.C..
RB Darrel Williams may sound familiar to most Chiefs fans. Just because he used to play for K.C. is reason enough for the Cardinals to use him more in this game.
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Cardinals Defense
Defensive Line
DE Zach Allen is a little man’s J.J. Watt, as he stand 6-foot-4 and goes 281 lbs. while Watt is 6-foot-5 and weighs 288 lbs.. Allen had 4 sacks last year and Andrew Wylie or Orlando Brown should be able to handle him easily. Especially with the help of eight Joe Thuney on the left or Trey Smith on the right side.
DE J.J. Watt is Questionable for this game which means… he’ll play. When he was in Houston, Andy Reid knew how to deal with him by either running right at him or using much fast WRs or RBs to run around him. I don’t foresee this Watt being much of a problem in this game.
DT Rashard Lawrence is the NT in the Cardinals 3-4 defense. He had zero sacks last year and should have no pressure value in this game.
Linebackers
SLB Markus Golden had 11 sacks last year and may be the one strength up front that the Cardinals have on defense.
LB Zaven Collins was someone who I coveted when he came out last year (2021), however he was only in on 20% of the Cards defensive snaps last year so we’re still waiting for him to break out.
LB Isiah Simmons has been a different case. While Zaven stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 260 lbs. Isiah Simmons is 6-foot-4 and weighs 238 lbs.. I doubt that it’s the weigh that makes the difference, but the Cards have been hoping the two of them together would produce great results, we just haven’t seen that yet, especially from Zaven Collins.
Cornerbacks
CB Byron Murphy is the Cardinals best corner and he had 4 INTs last year. He may be the one strong suit they have on the defensive backfield. He is paired with
CB Marco Wilson who has zero INTs in 2021, and was a fourth round pick last year as well. He’s someone that I expect Patrick Mahomes to go after frequently on Sunday.
Safeties
FS Budda Baker is where the the Cardinals deep coverage begins and ends. He ran a 4.47 40 yard dash but that’s not going to keep Patrick Mahomes and his speedy receivers from going deep on a regular basis. Baker signed a four year deal in 2020 making him the highest paid Safety at that point. He is excellent in the box and rushing the passer, but he’s not the best in coverage and Mina Kimes of ESPN says, he’s not even among the top tier Safeties in the league. While Baker is not very good in coverage, that responsibility goes to…
SS Jalen Thompson, who had 3 INTs in the 2021 season. He ran a 4.47 (as well as a 4.56), in the 40 yard dash.
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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