Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury over course of final month or so, one has to wonder what he was thinking
A season full of ups and downs ended on Sunday in Los Angeles for the Arizona Cardinals. A record of 8-8 and just missing the playoffs to stew on for the next eight months.
The Cardinals had a number of injuries throughout the season that could have derailed them off the tracks much sooner than weeks 16 and 17. They didn’t give up and had enough talent to make it to the final Sunday afternoon of the season while in contention.
However it did not come easy. One of the reasons why it didn’t come easy was the multitude of questionable decisions head coach Kliff Kingsbury made throughout the season.
Sure, he made some gutsy calls that people don’t give him enough credit for, but there were a number of decisions, particularly over the final five or six games that just left many of us scratching our heads.
Given this was just his second season, some of the decisions ultimately could have cost him his job. If he makes some of these same decisions next season, he likely doesn’t come back for a fourth season.
Changes will be made most certainly in the offseason. For now though, let’s take a look at some of those questionable decisions.
Punting on 4th down with 4:30 to go against the Rams
If there was a defining moment that capped a season of controversial calls for Kingsbury, this was it right here. Week 17, playoffs on the line, and every aggressive bone in Kingsbury’s body left Los Angeles that afternoon.
The Cardinals are down 18-7, still a two-score game but given how fast they can score, it was still a game that was in doubt, even though the offense had given us little to be confident about at that point. They near midfield and fourth down comes up.
In many cases during the season, Kingsbury would have made the decision to go for it on fourth down. In this case however, he thought it would be better to punt the ball away.
Interesting choice, given the season was going to end in four and a half minutes. This was not the time to get conservative.
Exactly what did Kingsbury have to lose by choosing to go for it there? You don’t make it, you likely aren’t getting the ball back twice. By punting here, he prematurely raised the white flag.
Going with Chris Streveler and not Brett Hundley as the backup this season
Look, we get it. Chris Streveler is more mobile than Brett Hundley. But was Streveler the right choice as Kyler Murray‘s backup? By the way things unfolded, the answer was no.
The one time the Cardinals needed to call on Hundley in 2019, he came in and performed admirably. He was able to keep the pedal to the ground in beating the Seattle Seahawks on the road.
After that point, it was like Kingsbury had lost every bit of confidence in him. Why? Hundley is not your every week starter but he is a veteran more than competent to hold down the fort.
He’s been in the system for two years now, Streveler just one year. Yet, week after week, Hundley was left inactive in favor of Streveler.
Now it will not be surprising to move on from either quarterback this offseason and find a new backup to Murray. It’s just a shame we didn’t get the chance to see if Hundley could have helped in week 17 against the Rams.
Running the same play on third and fourth down at the goal line against the New England Patriots
At first you don’t succeed, you try again, right? If you fail a second time, do you try a third time? In many cases the answer would be no, try another route.
When the Cardinals failed to score a touchdown in the final first half series against the New England Patriots, it was talked about for quite sometime. The Cardinals should have gone to the locker room up 17-7 and not 10-7.
At the very least they should have gotten 3 points out of the deal, though certainly being aggressive should have been fine there given the field possession. The playcalling just was bad.
That said too however, if your offensive line can’t push one yard for you, you need a new offensive line. Kenyan Drake did appear to get in the end zone on fourth down but he was ruled short.
Some people were beside themselves that Kingsbury didn’t kick the field goal. Well, that didn’t turn out well later in the game either.
Not making a more concerted effort to get the ball into Larry Fitzgerald‘s hands
Yes, we realize Fitz is getting up there in years. Still at 37, he moves well and does everything he can for his team.
Several times this season we saw heads up plays from Fitz getting the ball to officials as time dwindled in late stages of halves. He never gives up and can still makes great catches.
So why didn’t he get the ball more in 2020? Yes, he’s lost a step and been put into a less desirable slot position. But he can still play, he’s still Larry Fitzgerald.
DeAndre Hopkins certainly took some balls and plays away, we get that. However you know it really laid more on the coaching staff when it took Murray going to Kingsbury before week 15 against the Philadelphia Eagles saying he wanted to get Fitz the ball in the end zone.
Fitz caught his one and only touchdown pass of the season, a career-low for him, in that game. He played in just 13 of the 16 games thanks to Covid and a groin injury, so he was slowed by those issues late in the season.
Now we will have to wait and see if Fitz wants one more year. If he does, do the Cardinals want one more year?
Isaiah Simmons not getting more snaps
Ok, he was a rookie. This is another issue we understand. However after he made his first big play of the season, an overtime interception of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson in October, that seemed like it would be his springboard.
He did see the field a bit more but not a lot after that point. He finished with 54 total tackles and two sacks on the season.
Simmons certainly was hurt by the lack of an offseason and preseason. That said, it did seem to start to click for him midseason. His best performance overall of the season was in the Cardinals second matchup against the Seahawks.
In the Thursday night affair in Seattle, he had 10 tackles and a sack. Maybe it was just the Seahawks offense he read well?
Whatever it was, we were left scratching our heads at times during the season as to why Kingsbury wasn’t giving him more snaps. He should be a huge force in 2021 with a year under his belt now however.
Not taking a stab at a Hail Mary at end of of first half against 49ers
A chance to clinch a playoff spot and the Cardinals came into the game the day after Christmas looking like they had a major holiday hangover. The offense was certainly not hitting on all cylinders.
Particularly interesting was the Cardinals deciding not to throw up a chance for a receiver in the end zone at the end of the first half. I mean, it worked once before, right?
In the end, it was the reason why the Cardinals lost on this day but a touchdown here sure could have helped. Any points here would have helped if we are being honest.
Murray just seemed to be going through the motions though. He threw a simple 5-yard toss to Christian Kirk, who just ran out of bounds to end the half. Really, that was the play?
So, not sure if this was the play call but if there was a Hail Mary opportunity, you know Kingsbury would have called it. Yet another perplexing call.
Running Chase Edmonds up the middle on 4th and 1 late vs the Dolphins – then not going for it on 4th and 1 on the next drive
Now Kingsbury I think was just rubbing it in our faces. At least, it seemed that way. He was showing aggressiveness and his conservative side all in the same game.
So he runs Chase Edmonds on 4th and 1 as the Cardinals are trying to get into position for at least a go-ahead field goal. The game was 31-31 at the time.
Edmonds fails, no gain, Dolphins ball at their own 40-yard line. The call to go for it was probably the right call given the field position.
But then in the next drive, now down 34-31 after a Dolphins field goal, 4th and 1 at the Dolphins 31-yard line, and Kingsbury decides to attempt a field goal. Any other time in the game, this is the right call, take the points.
Kingsbury though lost his aggressiveness and went for the tie instead of trying to put them into a position to win instead. It wasn’t so much the call itself here but rather the inconsistency we saw.