NFL schedule-makers disrespectful to Arizona Cardinals
By Jim Koch
The Arizona Cardinals were disappointing last year but the NFL’s decision to give them just two prime time games is insulting
It took just one slip-up by the Arizona Cardinals. Apparently, their first mediocre season since 2012 was enough for the NFL’s schedule-makers to deem them unworthy of national exposure. Why or how the league came to that decision is anybody’s guess.
Unless Arizona has matchups flexed to nighttime later in the year, for now they’re scheduled to play in the evening just twice. They will play host to the Dallas Cowboys on September 25th. Besides that, the only other game they’ll play when it’s dark outside is on November 9th, also at home versus the Seattle Seahawks.
It appears that the NFL may have overreacted to the Cards’ 7-8-1 campaign last season. Just the year before, in 2015, the club finished 13-3 and went all the way to the NFC Championship game. On top of that, they fielded one of the most exciting to watch offenses in the league.
More from Raising Zona
- Arizona Cardinals: Could Eric Bieniemy come to the desert?
- Would Jonathan Gannon be a good fit for the Arizona Cardinals?
- Arizona Cardinals: Budda Baker right in his take regarding the next coach
- Arizona Cardinals: 3 reasons new coach should want to work with Murray
- Arizona Cardinals special teams could be completely revamped in 2023
Heading into the upcoming season, many of the components from that 2015 scoring machine are still present. One of football’s brightest stars, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald has agreed to return, as will six-time 4,000-yard passer Carson Palmer. Also remaining from the roster of ’15 are David Johnson, John Brown, Andre Ellington, J.J.Nelson and Jaron Brown, among others.
Johnson, a star running back in the making (if he isn’t already), is by himself worth the price of admission. The product of Northern Iowa rushed for 1,820 yards, caught 116 balls and scored an incredible 32 touchdowns over the last two years. Depriving the rest of the country from seeing such a special player is a blatant mistake by those who put the schedule together.
Besides the offense, the Cardinals also have dynamic performers on the defensive side of the ball. Safety Tyrann Mathieu, the exciting “Honey Badger “, is healthy now and should be back to top form. Cornerback Patrick Peterson has provided many highlights since being drafted in 2011, and sack master Chandler Jones is also fun to see.
If any squad is primed to bounce back in 2017, it’s Arizona. The surest way to motivate a Bruce Arians-led football team is by disrespecting them. You can be sure that the Cardinals want to make the NFL sorry that they did.