3 Concerns the Cards Have About the Upcoming Season

[oaken1]

I think I have more faith in the 5th round rookie at this point than I do for BJ. At least he has some traits that could pan it.

The 5th round rookie is still like 3 years older than BJ

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

We have 2 guys with a year each at Edge, a 1st round draft pick who is going to play some Edge and a 5th round pick that was a 5 star recruit with a former 1st round grade.

Let's not pretend there isn't as much scope for growth in the Edge room.

I think Nmkediche or however you spell his name, was the #1 high school recruit in the country.
How’d that turn out?
But he had lots of potential.

 

[kerouac9]

I think Nmkediche or however you spell his name, was the #1 high school recruit in the country.
How’d that turn out?
But he had lots of potential.

Did you know Jake Locker was once projected as the #1 overall pick?

 

[cardncubfan]

I think Nmkediche or however you spell his name, was the #1 high school recruit in the country.
How’d that turn out?
But he had lots of potential.

He just didn't have a love for the game. Lazy in other words.

 

[GeorgiaCard88]

Also whatever happened to Cameron Thomas? Is he officially a bust?

What a shame- I had really high hopes for this kid but man he went from basically a none threat factor to a complete ghost last season

 

[kerouac9]

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[Harry]

Also whatever happened to Cameron Thomas? Is he officially a bust?

What a shame- I had really high hopes for this kid but man he went from basically a none threat factor to a complete ghost last season

High effort but not enough skill. Good guy but not good enough. He’s the kind that will likely kick around the league for a few years.

 

[kerouac9]

High effort but not enough skill. Good guy but not good enough. He’s the kind that will likely kick around the league for a few years.

Difficult to square this evaluation with a player who couldn’t find snaps on a 4-13 team.

 

[Outerlimits]

My main concern is the absolutely brutal schedule to start the season. The team could easily be 1-4 after 5 games.

 

[Garthshort]

I'm not worried about the OL at all, weirdly enough. KM...yeah, he's a concern overall. This is truly the last make-or-break year for him. As for the QB pressure...yeesh!

Agree with this completely. Harry said/infers that as long as Wilkinson doesn't start at LG the offseason is a success. And, he doesn't mention Brown as a possible starter at LG, showing that the OL is deep in talent.

The pass rush is a big question mark, but our success will come down to Kyler. And I'm guessing that he'll benefit from an elite running game. Think it fair to say that, if we stay healthy our offense will give defensive coordinators many sleepless nights.

 

[PACardsFan]

during that early win streak in 21 we dominated ToP... but a lot of that was due to defensive turnovers. IMO, if the WR room even somewhat meets expectations we have the offensive firepower to top 35 points a game...all the WR really have to do is produce well enough to Loosen pressure on McBride and keep the box light..early on we will see stacked fronts because everyone knows we run so Wilson and Junior should produce well

Yes, in the first half of 2021, the D created turnovers at a record pace, which in turn created many short fields for the offense. But, as is usually the case in any promising Cardinal season, injuries on both sides of the ball resulted in almost the creation of no turnovers & opposing offenses moving the ball at will. Add injuries to the OL, DHop, and Green being 100% washed, and it shouldn’t have surprised anyone how it all played out.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Agree with this completely. Harry said/infers that as long as Wilkinson doesn't start at LG the offseason is a success. And, he doesn't mention Brown as a possible starter at LG, showing that the OL is deep in talent.

The pass rush is a big question mark, but our success will come down to Kyler. And I'm guessing that he'll benefit from an elite running game. Think it fair to say that, if we stay healthy our offense will give defensive coordinators many sleepless nights.

I'd rather Wilkinson over Colon.

Evan Brown probably gets the start due to his track record.

 

[Crimson Warrior]

Yes, in the first half of 2021, the D created turnovers at a record pace, which in turn created many short fields for the offense. But, as is usually the case in any promising Cardinal season, injuries on both sides of the ball resulted in almost the creation of no turnovers & opposing offenses moving the ball at will. Add injuries to the OL, DHop, and Green being 100% washed, and it shouldn’t have surprised anyone how it all played out.

I mean I usually agree with you 100% PA, but the above still doesn't explain the week 14 blowout loss to the 2-15 lions, who ran us off the field that day.

Everything you say above is generally true, but something else happened to that 2021 team.

We handled CHI pretty easily to get to 10-2, but like you said, Dhop got hurt in that game IIRC.

Then we looked bad losing to LA to go 10-3, and then inexplicable, unforgivable loss to DET to go to 10-4.

DHop was a catalyst for the 2021 team, no doubt, but how did we then manage to beat a good DAL team in week 16?

I know it's the NFL and parity and any given Sunday, and blah blah blah, but after the CHI game, nothing about that team made sense for the rest of the year.

If you held a gun to my head and made me guess, I'd say after the 2nd LA game something went down in the locker room and it involved both Murray and Kingsbury.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

I mean I usually agree with you 100% PA, but the above still doesn't explain the week 14 blowout loss to the 2-15 lions, who ran us off the field that day.

Everything you say above is generally true, but something else happened to that 2021 team.

We handled CHI pretty easily to get to 10-2, but like you said, Dhop got hurt in that game IIRC.

Then we looked bad losing to LA to go 10-3, and then inexplicable, unforgivable loss to DET to go to 10-4.

DHop was a catalyst for the 2021 team, no doubt, but how did we then manage to beat a good DAL team in week 16?

I know it's the NFL and parity and any given Sunday, and blah blah blah, but after the CHI game, nothing about that team made sense for the rest of the year.

If you held a gun to my head and made me guess, I'd say after the 2nd LA game something went down in the locker room and it involved both Murray and Kingsbury.

We lost Max, we lost JJ. Those were the big issues in 2021.

 

[PACardsFan]

I mean I usually agree with you 100% PA, but the above still doesn't explain the week 14 blowout loss to the 2-15 lions, who ran us off the field that day.

Everything you say above is generally true, but something else happened to that 2021 team.

We handled CHI pretty easily to get to 10-2, but like you said, Dhop got hurt in that game IIRC.

Then we looked bad losing to LA to go 10-3, and then inexplicable, unforgivable loss to DET to go to 10-4.

DHop was a catalyst for the 2021 team, no doubt, but how did we then manage to beat a good DAL team in week 16?

I know it's the NFL and parity and any given Sunday, and blah blah blah, but after the CHI game, nothing about that team made sense for the rest of the year.

If you held a gun to my head and made me guess, I'd say after the 2nd LA game something went down in the locker room and it involved both Murray and Kingsbury.

I don’t disagree with you, but keep in mind that the 3-13-1 Lions played very well down the stretch. They resembled the 2023 Cardinals in that they played their butts off, but just didn’t have the weapons. But, it was that Cardinal game that turned the Lions around and they began their ascent to where they are now.

As far as DHop is concerned, he actually was injured in the GB game, which was game 8. And he was never the same until they finally sat him for good. Without DHop, that WR room was woefully inadequate.

Lastly, there was NEVER a healthy relationship between Murray & Kingsbury. And that went all the way back to HS, when Murray did his absolute best to avoid Kingsbury from recruiting him to TT. If Bidwill & Keim had done their homework, they never would have hired KK. KK was a millstone around Kyler’s neck.

 

[oaken1]

I mean I usually agree with you 100% PA, but the above still doesn't explain the week 14 blowout loss to the 2-15 lions, who ran us off the field that day.

Everything you say above is generally true, but something else happened to that 2021 team.

We handled CHI pretty easily to get to 10-2, but like you said, Dhop got hurt in that game IIRC.

Then we looked bad losing to LA to go 10-3, and then inexplicable, unforgivable loss to DET to go to 10-4.

DHop was a catalyst for the 2021 team, no doubt, but how did we then manage to beat a good DAL team in week 16?

I know it's the NFL and parity and any given Sunday, and blah blah blah, but after the CHI game, nothing about that team made sense for the rest of the year.

If you held a gun to my head and made me guess, I'd say after the 2nd LA game something went down in the locker room and it involved both Murray and Kingsbury.

Agree..could have also been cliff and vance... defense stopped getting turnovers and the entire team was disjointed

 

[BACH]

How is D Line the least of your concerns?

That’s probably still the weakest unit on the entire team.

But that is not the same. The D-Line has the probably the lowest ceiling of Any Unit, But the low bar is not bad.
D-Line works in rotations in Today’s NFL and Gannon use the rotation more than probably anyone else. There is No elite player, But there are like 5 players that would be 2nd Or 3rd in the rotation on Any other team. Low Ceiling, But incredible depth at average starter quality players. Robinson being the unproven exception

 

[kerouac9]

Low Ceiling, But incredible depth at average starter quality players. Robinson being the unproven exception

Maybe you’re counting someone I’m not, but four average to below-average quality starters doesn’t really seem like incredible depth to me.

 

[CardNots]

Maybe you’re counting someone I’m not, but four average to below-average quality starters doesn’t really seem like incredible depth to me.

Maybe thinking as a unit not individually?

 

[Harry]

When I wrote the initial post it wasn’t clear to me if Brown was brought in for Center depth or to compete at Guard. After OTA info I’m getting I agree he’s the favorite to start at LG. I think Johnson will have a brief period of adjustment then flourish at LT. Once this line gets their coordination down for pulling, I’m expecting them to challenge for the best running game in the NFC. The huge step forward in the WR corp should make this a fun offense to watch. I think preseason will be typically vanilla, but when wins start counting this could be a top 7 offense. It just depends how quickly it jells. Unlike last season, games should be more fun. Drives should be longer and more productive, taking some of the pressure off the defense.

 

[CardNots]

When I wrote the initial post it wasn’t clear to me if Brown was brought in for Center depth or to compete at Guard. After OTA info I’m getting I agree he’s the favorite to start at LG. I think Johnson will have a brief period of adjustment then flourish at LT. Once this line gets their coordination down for pulling, I’m expecting them to challenge for the best running game in the NFC. The huge step forward in the WR corp should make this a fun offense to watch. I think preseason will be typically vanilla, but when wins start counting this could be a top 7 offense. It just depends how quickly it jells. Unlike last season, games should be more fun. Drives should be longer and more productive, taking some of the pressure off the defense.

Any insight on the defensive side of the ball?

 

[BACH]

Maybe you’re counting someone I’m not, but four average to below-average quality starters doesn’t really seem like incredible depth to me.

Collier, Jones, Nicols, Lopez and Stills is a deep rotation IMO. All five would have the Second Or third highest number of snaps on the majority of D-Lines in the league

 

[Stout]

Collier, Jones, Nicols, Lopez and Stills is a deep rotation IMO. All five would have the Second Or third highest number of snaps on the majority of D-Lines in the league

That also means that we lack impact players at the position. There are no guys getting clear, consistent inside push. We need a Big John pretty badly on the IDL.

 

[QuebecCard]

Collier, Jones, Nicols, Lopez and Stills is a deep rotation IMO. All five would have the Second Or third highest number of snaps on the majority of D-Lines in the league

TONGA.

 

[QuebecCard]

That also means that we lack impact players at the position. There are no guys getting clear, consistent inside push. We need a Big John pretty badly on the IDL.

Jones and Nichols were signed because they do offer consistent inside push.

Also, once upon a time, we had a future Hall of Famer and a guy who got his bag in Denver in the middle of a four-win team.