The Arizona Cardinals 0-3, sloppy at times play in the preseason has some fans worried
The saying “keep calm” seems like an appropriate one to use to remind people that for the Arizona Cardinals, it is still just the preseason. After a 34-24 loss and five turnovers to the Houston Texans on Sunday, many worry this is a sign of things to come.
You can never say never, however the preseason is usually not a very good indicator of the regular season. Remember the 2008 Detroit Lions? They went 4-0 in the preseason, outscoring opponents 80-32. They proceeded to finish the regular season 0-16. The Pittsburgh Steelers have won just three of their last 16 preseason games. How have they done in the regular season recently?
The Cardinals went 2-2 in the preseason in 2015, having to come from behind against the Oakland Raiders in preseason week three down 15-3 at halftime and staring at an 0-3 start to the preseason. Backups provided the comeback. Do any of you even remember what the Cardinals accomplished or didn’t accomplish last preseason?
The point is, there are many on the roster that won’t be around come September 11th when the Cardinals open against the New England Patriots. The preseason amounts to a pile of nothing. It is more about the individual than it is the team.
Wins and losses are nice. Going 4-0 instead of 0-4 or 1-3 is preferable. Let’s remember though the regular season is a completely different beast. Teams rarely show anything in the preseason scheme wise, especially on offense. It’s all vanilla.
Now, that doesn’t mean the Cardinals should ignore the issues they face now. It is a little concerning that the Cardinals had 296 yards passing and 165 yards rushing on Sunday, yet still were down 31-10 at halftime and lost 34-24. Turnovers. That was the culprit. They have five of them on Sunday.
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If they continue to have these same issues in September once the regular season starts, then be concerned. Listening to talk radio after the game Sunday afternoon you’d have thought the sky was falling in Arizona.
There is no sense in getting all worked up over games that don’t count. The jokes have already started about how quarterback Carson Palmer is in “mid-season” form. Oh yeah? What season is that? If it is mid-season 2015, give it to me, I’ll take it.
The secondary was beat a number of times on Sunday. Coach Bruce Arians didn’t seem overly concerned. His biggest concern was the turnovers. He’s right. Turn the ball over five times in any game, preseason or regular season, you aren’t winning the game.
What we are watching transpire on the field certainly could be a foreshadowing of things to come, there are no guarantees one way or the other. No one has won or lost a Super Bowl opportunity in August though.
If come September 11th after the Sunday Night Football season opener, with the starters playing a full game and the Cardinals have lost to the Patriots because of five turnovers and getting beat play after play, then come see me. We’ll have something to chat about. For now, relax.