After (literally) a perfect start from Carson Palmer and the offense, the Arizona Cardinals offensive line breaks down and continues its reign as the weakest link on a talented team.
Another game in the books, and another loss for the Arizona Cardinals who had high hopes coming into the 2017 season. They are now 1-2 on the season.
The Cardinals were not going to beat the Cowboys easily, but early on, it seemed that they would run away with a win.
Carson Palmer started the night going 11-for-11 and the Cards were up early as they scored on their opening drive. As the night progressed, however, Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli made adjustments and the pocket continued to collapse with mostly a 3-man rush.
“We’ve got to protect better,” head coach Bruce Arians said. “It’s not schemes, it’s not anything else. It’s just one-on-one football and we’re not doing a good enough job of protecting our quarterback.”
The biggest story of the night was the play of Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence. By the end of the night, he totaled 3 sacks and 6 quarterbacks. And in the process, completely outworked — and embarrassed — right tackle Jared Veldheer.
Not a hyperbolic statement by any means when you go back and look at how dominant he was when he was on the field.
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
The culprit this week was veteran tackle Jared Veldheer. Playing right tackle for the first time in his career, the 8-year pro is having a hard time getting acclimated to the new position.
Listed at 6-foot-8, 321 pounds, the giant Veldheer looked like a boy among men on Monday night. His general manager Steve Keim was not please, by any means, saying the play was “unacceptable.”
With a statement as firm as that, it seems some changes might be inevitable on the offensive line moving forward.
Changes the Cardinals desperately need if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive.