Really, how bad are we?

SissyBoyFloyd

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We beat arguably the 2 of the 3 or 4 worst teams in the league, by 3 points each, with 1 game going into OT. I think that says it all, and is a dang good barometer of where we are at present.

Now, my real question is what happened to us to get us down to this level so quickly. We, in a couple years, went from SB hopefuls to wondering how high of a draft pick might secure. Now, if the blame goes to the coaching, then it seems obvious that they must go. If it is bad front office choices, poor drafting, and/or lacking foresight, then we need a change at the top in front offices.

If its not one of these, then do we fall back on that good old bad luck/injury excuse. Seems we have road that horse too many times already. There has to be a limit to how many rides you get on that old mare.

It appears we are not just ready, but father time has determined, that we have reached the lets start over point once again. Our old QB and WR still have a trick or two left each season as witnessed last afternoon. But one or two per year is just not enough. When you reach the point we are at, it seems prudent to wipe the slate clean and start a new era.

All signs point, to all except the blind and ignorant, to doing what the Rams finally have done. Bring in a fresh mind, young and enthusiastic, who is in touch with the game approaching the 2020 decade. A new offense all together with a fresh young QB, leading WR, and totally overhaulded OL is what is obviously needed. The time has come, and we can't continue to try to ignore it or put it off any longer. Enough of this false hope we are recently in the habit of rekindling each season.

We need a new modern team, to go with the new decade which is fast approaching. Thanks those who served us recently with dedication and hope, while graciously showing them to the door. Let's move on to a completely new Cardinal era, saying a fair goodbye to LF, our favorite son, CP our brave but old and beaten down QB, and most importantly, to an overall GM/Coaching plan that has served us for most of this century.

We had hope, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun, but its time to renew as Spring approaches soon.
 
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crisper57

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We are really, really bad and will continue to suck until the OL gets an overhaul from the configuration we saw yesterday. Throw in the unrelenting string of injuries and we are officially screwed. Unfortunately, we are not bad enough to lose out and be within draft range of a QBOF. So somewhere from 4-12 to 6-10 is our most realistic record, I think. Just depends on how early in the season Palmer is carried out on a stretcher.
 

Cheesebeef

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This team reminds me of that 4-2 Cards team from I think 2002... where the record didn't match up with how bad they really were. writing was clearly on the wall and they lost 9 of their next 10 games.

I think that's what we have here, but hoping to be wrong.
 

Big D

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This team reminds me of that 4-2 Cards team from I think 2002... where the record didn't match up with how bad they really were. writing was clearly on the wall and they lost 9 of their next 10 games.

I think that's what we have here, but hoping to be wrong.


Ahh yes, I remember it like it was yesterday. A thrilling 9-6 penalty kick victory over the Cowboys where Quincy Carter couldn't stop throwing the ball to Adrian Wilson had me riding high as I made my way out of SDS...

A national piece complete with a visit by Terry Bradshaw aired the next week ahead of our "1st place showdown" with SF that featured our players performing the new celebration called "The Waaang"

SF came out and promptly waxed us and "The Waang" was never to be seen again.
 

DVontel

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I don’t understand this “we are not bad enough to get a QB & not good enough to make the playoffs talk”. We just went to OT with two bottom 5 teams in the league & lost to the teams that actually had heartbeats. I think we’re 6-10 at best, sadly. Only teams that I know for sure that will finish with a worse record than us are the Browns & Chargers. 5-11 is QBotF range without having to trade up cause I highly doubt the first 3 picks will be QBs.
 

oaken1

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I don’t understand this “we are not bad enough to get a QB & not good enough to make the playoffs talk”. We just went to OT with two bottom 5 teams in the league & lost to the teams that actually had heartbeats. I think we’re 6-10 at best, sadly. Only teams that I know for sure that will finish with a worse record than us are the Browns & Chargers. 5-11 is QBotF range without having to trade up cause I highly doubt the first 3 picks will be QBs.
yeah...pretty sure any pick in the top 5-6 gets us in the QB lottery... but we may still need to trade up to get the specific guy we want.
I guess it helps us that the fins and the jets have to play each other twice, somebody has to win, lol.
 

Chopper0080

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This team reminds me of that 4-2 Cards team from I think 2002... where the record didn't match up with how bad they really were. writing was clearly on the wall and they lost 9 of their next 10 games.

I think that's what we have here, but hoping to be wrong.

Our schedule is super soft...the QBs we will face are

Wentz - 2nd year
Winston - turnover machine
Goff - 2nd year
Hoyer - garbage
Wilson - good w/ a bad o line
Watson - rookie
Bortles - garbage
Goff - 2nd year
Mariota - can't stay healthy
Cousins - good (will carve us up)
Eli - bad so far w/ a bad o line
Wilson - good w/ a bad o line

Our defense should be feasting over the rest of the season...Desean Jackson, Will Fuller, Eric Decker, and Jamison Crowder are the best #2 WRs we face. Our defense has in fact been good vs the run. In terms of matchups...we should be good.
 

RON_IN_OC

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This team is the Suns, post Barkley and pre-Nash (2nd time around)...not bad enough to bottom out for the draft, but just good enough to tease and/or flame out early in the playoffs.

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pmacLean

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....
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mass snip .....
.....
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saying a fair goodbye to LF, our favorite son, ...
....
... more snip
.....

I heartily endorse everything you wrote EXCEPT that ... the only person playing at a constant high level and continuously improving in every aspect (I give you the undeniable fact that LF has learned to block after a catch by someone, better than most TEs in this league...

everything else, bravo... to include LF in that is sheer idiocy... I think they should blow it all up (coaches, many players, probably a lot of front office and at the same time offer LF whatever it takes to get him back next year ...

right now, Larry Fitzgerald IS the Cardinals... that's really all there is ....
 

cardinals

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it doesnt say all of anything.
2-2 is a fantastic start in the parity era.
1016 Giants were 2-3 before finishing 11-5.
2007 Giants were 0-2 to start season.
Rams just helped with Dallas.
Cards have more Talent then Rams...currently
 

pmacLean

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Our schedule is super soft...the QBs we will face are

Wentz - 2nd year
Winston - turnover machine
Goff - 2nd year
Hoyer - garbage
Wilson - good w/ a bad o line
Watson - rookie
Bortles - garbage
Goff - 2nd year
Mariota - can't stay healthy
Cousins - good (will carve us up)
Eli - bad so far w/ a bad o line
Wilson - good w/ a bad o line

Our defense should be feasting over the rest of the season...Desean Jackson, Will Fuller, Eric Decker, and Jamison Crowder are the best #2 WRs we face. Our defense has in fact been good vs the run. In terms of matchups...we should be good.

Here are all QB ratings as of now... we beat the lowest of the low (just barely) the only thing we have coming up remotely in that low neighborhood is Tenn... and they are better than what we BARELY beat
Brissetts numbers are incflated greatly by the colt/Browns game, take just the game against us and his numbers (complete, yds, rating) are almost the same as Hoyer... or to put it another way, we haven't beaten anyone yet ...

so by, a real effort to beat Tenn we may go 3-13 (I very much doubt we will beat 9ers again).
your comments on the 'super soft' schedule and the incompetent boobs coming our way in the QB position are down right hilarious... I am still laughing
% Yds per
Team QB Record rating complete game td int rush yds
cards palmer 2-2 78 59 321 5 5 16
lions stafford 3-1 80 64 222 7 1 53
colts brissett 1-3 96 59 228 2 2 69 played 3 games
cowboys prescott 2-2 90 61 235 8 3 89

9ers hoyer 0-4 68 58 215 2 4 7
Eagles wentz 3-1 91 61 265 6 2 97
Bucs winston 2-1 85 63 288 6 3 19
Rams goff 3-1 112 67 268 7 1 1
Seahawks wilson 2-2 94 61 256 7 2 138
Houston watson 2-2 92 65 270 7 4 148 played 3 games
Jags bortles 2-2 82 66 183 7 3 100

Titans mariotta 2-2 80 60 198 3 3 116
redskins cousins 2-2 108 66 251 7 1 77
giants manning 0-4 90 70 278 6 4 21

(very nice of this software to remove ALL duplicated spaces.... makes those pesky, spaced columns condense down to a nice mish mash, bravo.)
 
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Chopper0080

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Here are all QB ratings as of now... we beat the lowest of the low (just barely) the only thing we have coming up remotely in that low neighborhood is Tenn... and they are better than what we BARELY beat
Brissetts numbers are incflated greatly by the colt/Browns game, take just the game against us and his numbers (complete, yds, rating) are almost the same as Hoyer... or to put it another way, we haven't beaten anyone yet ...

so by, a real effort to beat Tenn we may go 3-13 (I very much doubt we will beat 9ers again).
your comments on the 'super soft' schedule and the incompetent boobs coming our way in the QB position are down right hilarious... I am still laughing
% Yds per
Team QB Record rating complete game td int rush yds
cards palmer 2-2 78 59 321 5 5 16
lions stafford 3-1 80 64 222 7 1 53
colts brissett 1-3 96 59 228 2 2 69 played 3 games
cowboys prescott 2-2 90 61 235 8 3 89

9ers hoyer 0-4 68 58 215 2 4 7
Eagles wentz 3-1 91 61 265 6 2 97
Bucs winston 2-1 85 63 288 6 3 19
Rams goff 3-1 112 67 268 7 1 1
Seahawks wilson 2-2 94 61 256 7 2 138
Houston watson 2-2 92 65 270 7 4 148 played 3 games
Jags bortles 2-2 82 66 183 7 3 100

Titans mariotta 2-2 80 60 198 3 3 116
redskins cousins 2-2 108 66 251 7 1 77
giants manning 0-4 90 70 278 6 4 21

(very nice of this software to remove ALL duplicated spaces.... makes those pesky, spaced columns condense down to a nice mish mash, bravo.)

I am missing your point...are you highlighting that Palmer has thrown for more yards per game than any other QB left to play? Are you pointing out that he only has two fewer TD passes thrown than any other QB left to play. Maybe it is because his comp% is low...but that can't be a true indicator because Eli is far from the best QB on this list despite him having the best comp%...

Maybe instead of looking at one or two stats, we should look at the fact that Palmer has more starts with the Cardinals than Wentz, Goff, and Watson have combined in their careers. That is four games on the schedule.

Maybe we should look at Manning and Wilson having worse offensive line than we do. That is three games on the schedule.

Maybe we should look at the 6 games where we play QBs that are in the bottom 12 in pass attempts per game which is our weakness on defense.

Maybe we should compare the 88 yards rushing allowed per game which is 10th best in the NFL with the fact that we play 9 games vs teams in the top 12 in rushing attempts per game.

###

We aren't a good team, but our schedule is not tough by any stretch in terms of experience and matchups. We play teams whose strengths on offense are offset by our strengths on defense. Where their weakness on offense is our weakness on defense. And, in 7 of the games, the opposing QB has less than 36 games of NFL experience which is less than Palmer has with Arizona.
 

wit3card

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Personell wise, we may be really good, better than EA Sports rates us.
Coaches wise, we are atroscious at ST, worst ST coach in the league by far, on sunday I saw a 3 year older Ted Gin Jr, run a PR back for 40 yards, he could never do it in Arizona, oh and he did it against as when he played in Carolina too.
Defense, I think Bettcher doesn't get the best out of our personell, but he is probably by far the best coach of the coordinators, he has his flaws, maybe some are hidden by the players, but if the rest would coach at his level, at least we wouldn't have the worst ST ...
Than there is BA and his antics cost as calls, his playcall costs us games and his lack of self critizism and awarness that you need to fire coaches if they are bad ... is probably a problem too. That he doesn't keep them accountable is another problem.

So overall, by players we could be a good to really good team, but we aren't coached as one. Some player start to take the antics of BA and fight with refs and that is nothing you should do. And we have players that don't think that they need to be accountable, they aren't disciplined and so on.

So overall, this ship does seem to have a problem and might sink. But somehow as a fan you hope that they right the ship and start to own. At least I do.

But if I wouldn't be a Cards fan, I would tell you, the Cards are a mediocre team that maybe is good enough for another 3-6 wins and at least 1 blow out loss that gets the HC fired. BA was fired by the Steelers because they wanted Big Ben more than another 1-2 seasons and after seeing last year and the first 4 games of this year, everyone should understand that.

As a cards fan I say, with some adjustments we are good enough to win another 6-8 games and be in the playoffs and from there everything can happen.

But as we all know, people don't change that easily. And without pressure, they often don't do at all.

And from BA, I'm hearing about the same nontalk as from Whizenpunt...
 

Harry

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I will say I'm very impressed with the Rams' coaching. I don't think the Cards' main problem is coaching. Jones is terrible, but otherwise the problem is talent.

The defense is good enough to keep them in most of their games if the Cards don't commit too many turnovers.

The offense isn't good; it's mediocre. The line is too old and can't be fixed easily mid-season. There's no running game until DJ returns. So it all depends if the line can occasionally give Palmer enough time to beat someone. I still think 7-9 is the top. More injuries and it could get worse. Logan will help a little but not enough.
 

TJ

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Tough to say. Skill position wise, even w/o DJ, we’re a hell of a lot better than 2-2. I’m not sure people quite understand how bad our line is. It’s not just Palmer getting hit 18 times per game; also, KW, AE and CJ0.5k are all running well below their career YPC, which creates more 3rd and predictable situations and can’t control the clock. There’s not one person on the line who’d I consider even average. Maybe Hump, but he’s missed six of seven games.


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JeffGollin

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Parity would normally put us 2 or 3 wins ahead of the pack, but a combination of other teams (Detroit, Rams, KC, Philly) getting much better and our own OL injuries put us in a .500 category (barring luck in either direction).
 

Russ Smith

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With the current roster the offense is going to struggle all year. In a way having Golden go down might work out as it gives us a chance to play Reddick more and decide if we want him inside or outside, but in the short term it's awfully hard to replace him.

The OL is terrible, the Wr's other than Larry are either injury prone, mediocre or both. The TE's can't get open. With the OL this bad everyone can rush 3, drop 8 and our TE's and RB's (other than Ellington) aren't a receiving threat so Palmer is going to get hit a ton.

I think it'll be a surprise if Palmer plays more than 10 games this year unless the OL magically gets better.

But we have an extremely weak schedule too.

It's a good year to need a QB if you have a high pick, but we'll also need a WR and multiple OL's, not enough picks to get them all, going to be a 1-2 year rebuild unless we hit the jackpot in FA.
 

pmacLean

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I am missing your point...are you highlighting that Palmer has thrown for more yards per game than any other QB left to play? Are you pointing out that he only has two fewer TD passes thrown than any other QB left to play. Maybe it is because his comp% is low...but that can't be a true indicator because Eli is far from the best QB on this list despite him having the best comp%...

yes, he has far more yards per game... and fewer TDs ... yet you dismiss these other QBs who throw less yds per game (but throw more TDs) as if they are garbage ... that's pretty lame ... the point is your claim of a 'soft' schedule, even though every QB we are yet to face (including the young ones) is scoring more than we are... you actually win by scoring, you know ? so 180 yds and 3 TDs beats 500 yds and 3 FGs any day of the week ...


Maybe instead of looking at one or two stats, we should look at the fact that Palmer has more starts with the Cardinals than Wentz, Goff, and Watson have combined in their careers. That is four games on the schedule. .

see first note here

Maybe we should look at Manning and Wilson having worse offensive line than we do. That is three games on the schedule. .

NOBODY has a worse offensive line than we do ... you may argue 'as bad' but to say worse is pure escapism

Maybe we should look at the 6 games where we play QBs that are in the bottom 12 in pass attempts per game which is our weakness on defense..

no idea what you mean here... 12 pass attempts with 3 TDs is better than 50 pass attempts with 1 TD,
conversely, 50 pass attempts with 3 TDs is better than 12 pass attempts with 1 TD ... I have no idea what your argument was supposed to illuminate...


Maybe we should compare the 88 yards rushing allowed per game which is 10th best in the NFL with the fact that we play 9 games vs teams in the top 12 in rushing attempts per game.

the 88 yards allowed per game was achieved against the 14th, 18th, 19th and 25th best rushing teams in the NFL (to date). So, did we look good ? or did we come up against some weak rushing teams ?
some of the upcoming teams you think the QBs are weak and make our schedule soft are rated, in rushing : 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 11. If they run it down our throat, it won't matter much how weak (and I dispute they are) the QB is.


Match ups... their young, relatively inexperienced QBs (albeit, with better TD numbers and at least matching W/L records) against our wily, veteran QB on a pace to tie for 3rd ALL-TIME in getting sacked... yeah, we got good match ups alright ......
 
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