Teams Arizona Cardinals - The Buzzsaw

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Injuries already a factor on top of DeAndre Hopkins' 6 game suspension

Trayvon Mullen, Cody Ford (now on IR), Rondale Moore all out. Zach Ertz (calf), JJ Watt (calf), Markus Golden (toe) game time decisions. Rodney Hudson and Justin Pugh (neck) doubtful. Antonio Hamilton out with burns. Byron Murphy sick - might play.

Have recalled some offcuts from previous teams and practice squads to get us through - Whittaker, Baccellia, Garcia, Kennard

Our starters didn't even play any PS games and still have got banged up
 
Injuries may hurt, but giving up near on 500 yards is not even close to NFL standard. Blitzed on nearly 60% of snaps and couldn't even get one sack. D-Line kept getting ran over and defensive backs got torched all game. Simmons still looks lost in coverage and the offence couldn't get anything going all game.

On the positive side, Greg Dortch looks like a decent addition. Baker was a lone hand on defence, he and Jalen Thompson are a quality safety duo. As poorly as we played, we played against a cyborg-machine at QB and a team that has made four straight AFC championship games in a row. Another pass heavy team next week in the Raiders, will need to get some pressure on Carr if we want to be competitive.
 

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That’s the one and only get out of jail free card we’ll get this season.
Always amazing when your defence has been garbage all day then when the game’s on the line the come up with that!

Kyler actually looked worth the money in the second half, finally got his feet moving and took the short underneath routes to give Crosby and Jones nothing.
 
Marquise Brown - 'Out indefinitely,' per Kingsbury

Brown was listed as a non-participant on Monday's practice estimate, and coach Kliff Kingsbury termed the wide receiver "out indefinitely" due to the left foot injury that he sustained Sunday in Seattle, Kevin Parrish of the Cardinals' official site reports.
Brown departed Arizona's Week 6 loss in the second half and was wearing a boot on his left foot afterward. While initial X-rays came back negative, he's getting a second opinion to learn the severity of the injury and also determine a timeline to return to action, if possible, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. In the end, Brown is slated for a multi-week absence, at the very least, which may have spurred the Cardinals' trade for Robbie Anderson on Monday. While Anderson may not immediately make an impact in the team's receiving corps, DeAndre Hopkins is back from a six-game suspension to begin the season, and Rondale Moore, A.J. Green and Greg Dortch also are on hand to man the position for Thursday's matchup with the Saints and beyond.
 
Pretty good result all the same, talk was season done by Schefter a few days ago...

Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said Marquise Brown (foot) is out indefinitely and will miss at least a month.​

The update from Kliff comes after Brown got a second opinion on his foot injury. It also lines up with a report from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport that said Brown would miss six weeks. Rapoport also noted that Brown wouldn't need surgery. DeAndre Hopkins will take Browns' place in the lineup until he returns. Hopkins is back from his suspension and should immediately step into a sizable role on Thursday versus the Saints. He projects for WR2 numbers for Week 7.
 

Report: Cardinals fire assistant coach Sean Kugler over incident in Mexico City​


The Cardinals returned home from Mexico City with one fewer assistant coach than they arrived with.

Cardinals offensive line coach/running game coordinator Sean Kugler was fired following an incident in Mexico City on Sunday night, according to Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic.

There was no immediate word on the nature of the incident. The Cardinals were in Mexico City for the weekend and through Monday night’s game against the 49ers. They are back in Arizona now and play a home game on Sunday against the Chargers.

The 56-year-old Kugler has been on the Cardinals’ staff since 2019 and has previously coached with the Broncos, Steelers, Bills and Lions, as well as multiple college coaching jobs.
 

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Kyler Murray is believed to have suffered a "clean" ACL tear in Monday's 27-13 loss to the Patriots and is scheduled to undergo surgery along with another procedure to stitch up the meniscus in his left knee at some point between Christmas Day and New Year's Day, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

According to Rapoport, Murray will "pre-hab" for two or three weeks before surgery, with the decision to delay the procedure expected to provide ample time for the swelling in his knee to dissipate while enabling the quarterback to maintain as much flexibility as possible. Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that once he has the surgery, Murray will require an estimated 6-to-8 months of recovery time. If that timeline holds, Murray should be on track to be ready for Week 1 of the regular season, though he could be limited at the start of training camp and may not be available for preseason action. In the meantime, the Cardinals plan to have veteran Colt McCoy start the remaining four games of the current season, beginning with Sunday's matchup with the Broncos.
 
Seems a nice guy Kingsbury, well liked but not really respected/feared in any way. Not a hard taskmaster, not a stickler for discipline. His teams don't seem well-drilled.

Instead we've seen occasional glimpses of brilliance but often our offense is fairly fragile - relying on 4th down conversions, gadget plays or Murray to scramble his way to a play. When the planets align, boom. But more often and not they don't. Against smart teams they don't.

Getting a 5 year extension on the back of one dismal playoff appearance where we got wiped off the field was premature.

Murray seems a little... childish...? in some ways and perhaps needs someone who'll demand more of him to round off the corners. Instead his weaknesses have been allowed to fester. Hasn't really grown as a person/player.

Keim is a bigger issue than either Kliff or Kyler though imho. Has taken a personal leave of absence which is rumoured to be related to alcohol. Roster and cap is a bit of a mess, draft picks consistently miss. The one pick who has gone on to be decent (Haason Reddick) he let walk.
 
Seems a nice guy Kingsbury, well liked but not really respected/feared in any way. Not a hard taskmaster, not a stickler for discipline. His teams don't seem well-drilled.

Instead we've seen occasional glimpses of brilliance but often our offense is fairly fragile - relying on 4th down conversions, gadget plays or Murray to scramble his way to a play. When the planets align, boom. But more often and not they don't. Against smart teams they don't.

Getting a 5 year extension on the back of one dismal playoff appearance where we got wiped off the field was premature.

Murray seems a little... childish...? in some ways and perhaps needs someone who'll demand more of him to round off the corners. Instead his weaknesses have been allowed to fester. Hasn't really grown as a person/player.

Keim is a bigger issue than either Kliff or Kyler though imho. Has taken a personal leave of absence which is rumoured to be related to alcohol. Roster and cap is a bit of a mess, draft picks consistently miss. The one pick who has gone on to be decent (Haason Reddick) he let walk.
Excellent assessment. Last season's collapse is a perfect example why Kingsbury is not the guy too. They had all the momentum, health, but couldnt get over the hump of the second half of the season when other HCs apply more pressure and strategy, he just sat still. I think Kinsbury's Cardinals have had more than one second half of season collapse too, so it's a trend, not prepared enough, out-coached.
 
Is there a chance Kyler gets traded with new coach coming in ?
It's very possible given Murray was a specific Kingsbury selection, runs his offensive system. But it's also possible a new HC may be happy with Murray, and they hire an OC who runs the same system. But if Murray can net you multiple picks, and you get that contract off your cap, you could justify it, the whole "try to win with a rookie qb contract, use the money to build a team around them" approach.
 
It's very possible given Murray was a specific Kingsbury selection, runs his offensive system. But it's also possible a new HC may be happy with Murray, and they hire an OC who runs the same system. But if Murray can net you multiple picks, and you get that contract off your cap, you could justify it, the whole "try to win with a rookie qb contract, use the money to build a team around them" approach.

Plus for me Murray is a good fantasy qb and only an average qb in real life. Hasn’t made the steps to improve his game like I thought he would and then theirs the whole he doesn’t work hard enough that they had to include 5 years of film study a week in his contract before it got taken away. Is that the sort of guy a new coach wants to build around ?
 
Is there a chance Kyler gets traded with new coach coming in ?

"The key to the Cardinals’ future decisions with Murray is when the remaining guarantees come into effect. Right now, the Cardinals really cannot move on from Murray before 2025. If they release him for 2024, they will be on the hook for $81.521 million in dead money, an increase of around $30 million on his currently projected cap number.

However, there are also guarantees for 2025 that become effective in 2024. His $18 million salary for 2025 becomes guaranteed in 2024, as does $11.9 million in roster bonus for 2025. That means if the Cardinals move on in the 2025 offseason, they would be on the hook for around $60 million in dead money, meaning it would cost them around $15 million more than his currently projected cap number for 2025.

The story is similar for 2026. In March 2025, there is a further $36.8 million becomes further guaranteed. Then in 2026, another $19.5 million in salary becomes guaranteed for the 2027 season. The first time that the dead money charge for Murray drops below $50 million will be the 2027 season. That does not mean the Cardinals will not cut bait before, but if they do, there will be a big financial punishment associated."

 

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