Victorious Arizona Cardinals have plenty that needs fixing

Despite the fact that they got their first win of the season, there are several areas of the Arizona Cardinals that need improvement

Steve Wilks of the Arizona Cardinals couldn’t hide his joy this past Sunday. That’s perfectly understandable, considering the fact that the club’s newest head coach finally secured his first NFL victory. Wins are hard to come by in the league, so each and every one of them needs to be treasured.

However, a closer look at the situation should bring Wilks back to reality. If he was being truthful, the Cardinals’ first-year leader would have to admit the obvious. A 28-18 triumph over the hapless San Francisco 49ers does not change the fact that Wilks’ group is not a very good football team.

The final statistics of the 49ers contest indicate that Arizona was completely dominated by their NFC West rival. For one, the time of possession battle was entirely one-sided. The Jimmy Garoppolo-less 49ers held the ball for an incredible 40 minutes and 12 seconds, and ran an astounding 92 offensive plays.

Meanwhile, the Cards’ offense was on the field for just 49 snaps of the ball. Coordinator Mike McCoy‘s scheme generated just 10 first downs on the day. The Niners, on the other hand, found the first-down marker 33 times, an incredibly-high number for a losing squad.

McCoy’s play-calling has been abysmal. His use of star running back David Johnson has also garnered much criticism. Unproductive runs into the middle of the Cardinals’ offensive line have shown an utter lack of imagination, and the predictability of the so-called scoring attack has been a problem as well.

The line’s run-blocking has been atrocious. Johnson has found very little daylight on most of his carries. The 6’1, 224 pounder has been held to one yard or less on far too many occasions.

On the other side of the ball, the Cards’ run defense has been almost nonexistent. San Francisco’s backs gashed coordinator Al Holcomb’s defenders for 147 yards, despite losing starter Matt Breida to an ankle injury early on in the matchup. Despite collecting five turnovers versus the 49ers, Arizona appears to be ill-equipped to run the newly-implemented 4-3 alignment that Wilks prefers.

The Cardinals should certainly enjoy their first win of 2018. Still, the big picture can not be ignored. Several major problems exist, issues that need to be addressed as soon as possible.