Arizona Cardinals have fallen to embarrassingly low level

The 2018 version of the Arizona Cardinals could quite possibly be the most brutal team that the organization has ever fielded

The Arizona Cardinals have played some pretty bad football during their existence. Much of the subpar play can be attributed to a bevy of awful head coaches they’ve employed, a group that certainly affected their players’ on-field performance. Names like Joe Bugel, Buddy Ryan, Dave McGinnis and Dennis Green come immediately to mind.

Based on the first two contests of 2018, though it’s admittedly a small sample-size, Steve Wilks is on pace to be the worst ever. Never before could the Cardinals lay claim to being the 32nd best team in the NFL. Until now, that is.

The present configuration of the Cards is executing a trifecta. All three areas of the squad (offense, defense, special teams) are embarrassingly brutal. If you think that’s an exaggeration, go back and watch tape of the this year’s first two games.

The offense, led by the dreadful Sam Bradford, has scored six whole points through eight quarters. Their best weapon, running back David Johnson, has been rendered useless by a non-existent passing attack. General manager Steve Keim’s decision to hand Bradford $20 million may be the most ridiculous move of the offseason.

Wilks’ bright idea to change the Arizona defense to a 4-3 alignment has blown up in his face. The unit had finished in the top-six of the league for the last three seasons while lining up in the 3-4. The Cardinals have too much talent on the defensive side of the ball to be performing as bad as they have the last couple of weeks.

Kickoff and punt returner Jo Jo Natson, signed by the Los Angeles Rams just days ago, made the Cards’ special teams look silly this past Sunday. Coverage on his returns was so bad that the group’s coordinator, Jeff Rodgers, has already drawn comparisons to his incompetent predecessor, Amos Jones. It would be unfair not to mention, however, that punter Andy Lee has been Arizona’s MVP so far in ’18.

The worst part of this mess is that none of the problems look fixable. At the moment, not one matchup on the upcoming schedule looks winnable. It’s painful to admit, but the worst campaign in Cardinals’ history may be staring us right in the face.