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Arizona Cardinals: What we learned in 2016

By Scott Allen

Jan 1, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (right) tackles Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer (3) during the second quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (right) tackles Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer (3) during the second quarter at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 11, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals punter Drew Butler (2) holds as kicker Chandler Catanzaro (7) kicks a field goal against the New England Patriots at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Cardinals 23-21. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 11, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals punter Drew Butler (2) holds as kicker Chandler Catanzaro (7) kicks a field goal against the New England Patriots at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Cardinals 23-21. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Special teams is not so special

Arians said his special teams coach, Amos Jones, is not the one to blame for the problems that have beset the unit.  Maybe not all of it, but shouldn’t he and Jones be taking at least some accountability?

They may not be the one executing on the field but they are the ones choosing the players to be on that field.  So it does start and end with Arians and Jones.

They went with a rookie long-snapper to start the season.  That was a disaster.  Then they went to veteran Aaron Brewer.  He wasn’t much better.  It will be interesting to see what the team decides next season.

The punter was a disaster.  The Cardinals started with Drew Butler, went to Ryan Quigley, then back to Butler, then finished with Matt Wile.

The Cardinals punt return team was bad.  They were 29th in the NFL in average yards-per-return. The kick return team wasn’t much better, finishing 16th.

The Cardinals allowed field goals and punts to be blocked, including in week 17 against the Rams. Field position played a big part of why the Cardinals didn’t ultimately succeed in 2016.

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