Draft Thoughts

[oaken1]

meh...Kyler can play very well and the team only wins 6 games. assessing him is less about win/loss and more about individual performance.
did we lose games because kyler stank it up? Or did we lose games because our rookie corners kept getting smoked by a veteran QB/WR combo? Or because we just couldnt get to the passer in under 4 seconds..
are we gonna hold it against kyler if Mike and Marv both go down for a couple weeks and the completion percentage drops 10 points as interceptions go up...because he was trying to force the ball to McBride....because there were no other options?

I just want to see Murray be the team leader and make good decisions on the field...dont even need no wow...just boring ass good QB play.

 

[GimmedaBall]

GeorgiaCard88 and FB94,

We are giving plenty of leeway for KM to be 'successful.' GC88 and I are looking for a .500 record and FB94 is going with 6+ wins. That is not a very high expectation for our QB. I guess we are good with KM getting a participation trophy for 2024.

 

[oaken1]

GeorgiaCard88 and FB94,

We are giving plenty of leeway for KM to be 'successful.' GC88 and I are looking for a .500 record and FB94 is going with 6+ wins. That is not a very high expectation for our QB. I guess we are good with KM getting a participation trophy for 2024.

Yeah I'm kinda expecting a 10 win season... but if we fail at it I'm not gonna drop it all at Murray's feet in the ultimate team sport.
Unless he earns the blame.

 

[Harry]

Harry, that's a fair assessment. Was there a QB on the market that you consider a fit for our system, that you hoped we would have gotten?

No. BTW I still think Tune can play in this league. Ridder is more ready to play if Murray is injured but I think Tune has a higher upside. Ridder could win 35-50% of his starts.

 

[Garthshort]

GeorgiaCard88 and FB94,

We are giving plenty of leeway for KM to be 'successful.' GC88 and I are looking for a .500 record and FB94 is going with 6+ wins. That is not a very high expectation for our QB. I guess we are good with KM getting a participation trophy for 2024.

Breaking News! We also have guys that play defense, and it's possible that they will contribute, either good or bad, in how we do.

 

[Garthshort]

No. BTW I still think Tune can play in this league. Ridder is more ready to play if Murray is injured but I think Tune has a higher upside. Ridder could win 35-50% of his starts.

Looking forward to the two?? PS games.

 

[GimmedaBall]

Breaking News! We also have guys that play defense, and it's possible that they will contribute, either good or bad, in how we do.

Breaking News! We don't have a #1 overall draft pick making a quarter of a billion dollars playing D. PS--We took into account the performance level of the entire team to come up with an expected .500 level play. A lot of responsibility does indeed fall on our QB---that's what happens with his draft pick and salary. He needs to elevate the team and be the difference maker.

 

[Proteus]

This is a big year for Kyler to prove he can take this team to playoff contention. KM will have a full off season, training camp under his belt. If we are lucky enough to have our starters remain relatively healthy all year and we still can’t crack 6+ wins with KM not showing a significant jump in play, then I am all for finding the next QB for this team.

Next year doesn't seem to have a good quarterback class.

I feel fairly confident though that Murray will have at least a solid season (top 15 or better quarterback) in 2024.

 

[Garthshort]

Breaking News! We don't have a #1 overall draft pick making a quarter of a billion dollars playing D. PS--We took into account the performance level of the entire team to come up with an expected .500 level play. A lot of responsibility does indeed fall on our QB---that's what happens with his draft pick and salary. He needs to elevate the team and be the difference maker.

At least admit that Kyler only affects the offense. And rather than W-L you'll take into consideration how the offense is ranked at year's end.

 

[BritCard]

At least admit that Kyler only affects the offense. And rather than W-L you'll take into consideration how the offense is ranked at year's end.

This isn't how I see it.

How the offense plays affects the offense and vice versa. If the defense just came off a 12 play series and the offense has a 3 and out that affects the defense. If the defense is holding the opposition to 4 point per drive but the offense isn't scoring it changes the way the opposition play, inviting them to be more expansive and take more risks.

 

[GimmedaBall]

How the offense plays affects the offense and vice versa. If the defense just came off a 12 play series and the offense has a 3 and out that affects the defense. If the defense is holding the opposition to 4 point per drive but the offense isn't scoring it changes the way the opposition play, inviting them to be more expansive and take more risks.

Couldn't agree more. I think it is one reason the Cards have been busy putting together a dominating OL, blocking TE, top-rated RB in the draft, and moving away from smaller WRs (bigger WRs are bigger blockers for the run game). A strong run game will move the ball down the field and keep our D off the field. It will also take some of the burden off KM.

A .500 record for the team is a reasonable expectation at this point in our rebuild and our schedule.

 

[Stout]

I'm not a die hard Kyler fan, but I do believe that Kyler can be a successful/winning QB. personally- this is a make or break year in my point of view.

Even if Kyler stinks though- id still be glad that we took MHJr. The dude is a talent that has the capacity to be the best WR in the NFL. I'll take that over penix/nix/McCarthy gamble QB prospects any day. If we have to press the reset button on QB after this year- so be it. I'd rather reset with a stud wr than without

Eh, the last 3 years have been "make or break" for Kyler on this board. To me, this is his last last chance.

 

[GimmedaBall]

At least admit that Kyler only affects the offense. And rather than W-L you'll take into consideration how the offense is ranked at year's end.

Since you quoted me with a direct question, I owe you the courtesy of a response.

KM does not only affect the offense. As BritCard pointed out, the play of one unit can impact the play of all the other aspects of the team (that's my summary of what I think was BritCard's point and not a direct quote).

The QB is the key position and sets the team culture by his leadership skills (or lack of). Sorry, but KM is a 'lone wolf' and a superior athlete capable of individual splash plays. That has to translate into team wins---and not just 'lone wolf' stats for him. The 'W' in the 'W-L' column is the number to look for to judge team success, not the offense ranking of the QB at the end of the year.

 

[Garthshort]

I assume that one unit affecting another unit, you're hoping that the defense doesn't put us in a hole, causing the offense to pass more and run less. Thus taking away a team's strength. Fingers crossed.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

At least admit that Kyler only affects the offense. And rather than W-L you'll take into consideration how the offense is ranked at year's end.

Not always entirely true. If the offense can’t sustain drives the defense gets gassed. If kyler throws picks deep in own end of the field the defense is placed in a no win situation.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I assume that one unit affecting another unit, you're hoping that the defense doesn't put us in a hole, causing the offense to pass more and run less. Thus taking away a team's strength. Fingers crossed.

Yeah it definitely goes both ways

 

[Goldfield]

Not always entirely true. If the offense can’t sustain drives the defense gets gassed. If kyler throws picks deep in own end of the field the defense is placed in a no win situation.

This is why I didn’t like Kliffs no huddle 3 and out give your D no rest philosophy.

 

[DVontel]

If Kyler & the O can’t sustain drives then that puts the defense in a predicament & make them gassed. It’s an offensive problem.

If Kyler & the O consistently move the ball & score, but the D consistently gets ran off the field then yea that’s a huge problem overall.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

This is why I didn’t like Kliffs no huddle 3 and out give your D no rest philosophy.

If the offense worked it wouldn’t have mattered. It was the ineffectiveness of the 3 and out that was the issue. 3 and out with huddle verse no huddle is just a matter of maybe a minute more (remember we had a LOT of play clock expirations and necessary timeouts to avoid same even with kliffys hurry up offense).

 

[GimmedaBall]

I assume that one unit affecting another unit, you're hoping that the defense doesn't put us in a hole, causing the offense to pass more and run less. Thus taking away a team's strength. Fingers crossed.

It's tough for a team to go into a game with a 'run-first/pass-second' game plan. Especially so with the way the rules are structured now. Offenses are designed around quick-strike capability---look at the top QBs and the escalating money given to top WRs. As we all know, the rules now favor the Passing game at D-players' expense.

For the Cards to maximize the new direction in talent accumulation along the OL (I read it as loading up on the run game)---they will have to get a lead and have the D hold down answering TDs by the opposition. Then our run game kicks in; controls the ball, and marches down the field for more points, hopefully, TDs.

If we go up against an explosive O, we may be forced to go 'pass first/run second' should we fall behind. A slow methodical run game burns clock---for both teams. Our new coaching staff appears more competent with in-game and half-time adjustments.

We saw a glimpse of an overpowering run game at the end of last year. We lost to SFran, but ran all over them (other teams mimicked the Cards play calling after that game vs Whiners). A good game to look at was the Eagle game. We went into the game with pretty much a 50/50 pass-run play calls. When we got the lead, we unleashed Conner and our OL on them.

KM went 25 for 31 and 232 yds passing. Our run game matched that yardage with Conner going for 128 on 26 attempts and Cater going 61 yds on 7 attempts. KM added 24 yds on 5 attempts. We used a short-yardage passing game combined with a ball-control running game. That was also the game where Dortch went 7 for 7 and 82 yards. Cards got a boost since Eagle QB Hurtz was either playing hurt or off his game.

The full stats for that game here:

Arizona Cardinals at Philadelphia Eagles - December 31st, 2023 | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Arizona Cardinals 35 at Philadelphia Eagles 31 on December 31st, 2023 - Full team and player stats and box score

www.pro-football-reference.com

Scroll down for the play-by-play narrative.

The strong run game was able to overcome an early 'miscommunication,' the team stayed together, and pulled out a win:

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

I'm all for this type of play. Love to watch the OL pancake D-players along the line and then blow up the LBers and CBs at the second-level. Waiting for our new TE to put the hammer down on those DE's and OLBers. LOL

 

[kerouac9]

I think a run-centered offense can also succeed as long as you keep the opponent within ~10 points. This is fine because it’s most NFL games.

It’s when you get down by two scores that you can run fruitfully but never really be in the game for real. This is what happened against the 49ers and Ravens.

 

[Harry]

It's tough for a team to go into a game with a 'run-first/pass-second' game plan. Especially so with the way the rules are structured now. Offenses are designed around quick-strike capability---look at the top QBs and the escalating money given to top WRs. As we all know, the rules now favor the Passing game at D-players' expense.

For the Cards to maximize the new direction in talent accumulation along the OL (I read it as loading up on the run game)---they will have to get a lead and have the D hold down answering TDs by the opposition. Then our run game kicks in; controls the ball, and marches down the field for more points, hopefully, TDs.

If we go up against an explosive O, we may be forced to go 'pass first/run second' should we fall behind. A slow methodical run game burns clock---for both teams. Our new coaching staff appears more competent with in-game and half-time adjustments.

We saw a glimpse of an overpowering run game at the end of last year. We lost to SFran, but ran all over them (other teams mimicked the Cards play calling after that game vs Whiners). A good game to look at was the Eagle game. We went into the game with pretty much a 50/50 pass-run play calls. When we got the lead, we unleashed Conner and our OL on them.

KM went 25 for 31 and 232 yds passing. Our run game matched that yardage with Conner going for 128 on 26 attempts and Cater going 61 yds on 7 attempts. KM added 24 yds on 5 attempts. We used a short-yardage passing game combined with a ball-control running game. That was also the game where Dortch went 7 for 7 and 82 yards. Cards got a boost since Eagle QB Hurtz was either playing hurt or off his game.

The full stats for that game here:

Arizona Cardinals at Philadelphia Eagles - December 31st, 2023 | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Arizona Cardinals 35 at Philadelphia Eagles 31 on December 31st, 2023 - Full team and player stats and box score

www.pro-football-reference.com

Scroll down for the play-by-play narrative.

The strong run game was able to overcome an early 'miscommunication,' the team stayed together, and pulled out a win:

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

I'm all for this type of play. Love to watch the OL pancake D-players along the line and then blow up the LBers and CBs at the second-level. Waiting for our new TE to put the hammer down on those DE's and OLBers. LOL

I’d love to see them wearing down the other team by constantly running. When they bring up their safety, let Harrison fly. I like this pulling linemen offense. The Cards may finally have enough OL depth to make It work.