The Arizona Cardinals can perform a three-peat that has never been accomplished in NFL history.
Last year, the Bucs played a home Super Bowl. This year, it’s the Rams (although they’re the designated road team). Next season, State Farm Stadium hosts the Super Bowl. So perhaps the Cardinals decided to finish 4-7 after their red-hot 7-0 start because they wanted home-field advantage in the big game?
Hey, the Cardinals didn’t play well at home in 2021. But lets’ put 2021 in the rearview and assume they’ll have sorted out home-field woes when September 2022 rolls around. Assuming they do so if they make three much-needed moves during the most turbulent part of the NFL season: The offseason.
In short, they need to find a better way to keep Kyler Murray healthy all season. They should also give Kliff Kingsbury an ultimatum: Find an offensive coordinator, or get out. Finally, they need to draft players who can contribute and make an impact now. Not do what they did with Zaven Collins and sit him 75 percent of the time.
Here are the offseason moves explained further.
Find better ways to protect Murray
Kyler Murray started just 14 games in 2021 and took 31 sacks. Not a horrible number if you take it at face value. But he took just 27 in 2020 over 16 games. Murray also saw his sack percentage increase from 4.6 to 6.1.
His sack percentage index dropped from 113 to 100, and he faced pressure on 20.7 percent of his dropbacks – the highest number of his career. He was also hurried a career-high 68 times. Murray was hit a career-low 13 times, but the fact his pressures increased by four percent in just one season shows the Cardinals need to find ways to better protect Murray.
And it starts with the offensive line. Center Rodney Hudson never played well after suffering a rib injury. Josh Jones is a bust. D.J. Humphries made the Pro Bowl, but Pro Football Focus graded him at 67.5, which ranked 47th out of 83 qualifying tackles.
The Cardinals need help up front, regardless of their Pro Bowl-caliber talent. And if they go with the same faces on the line, they need to at least find ways to get the ball out of Murray’s hand quicker. But twice in the past two seasons, Murray has suffered injuries. And in both seasons, he never looked like the same quarterback after getting banged up.
Give Kingsbury the ultimatum
Ultimately, the team’s monumental collapses fall on head coach Kliff Kingsbury. Just when it looks like the Cardinals are turning the corner and growing into a consistent and explosive offense, they take a step back.
While we can liken Kyler Murray’s regression because of injuries, we can also suspect Kingsbury also plays a major part in that regression. Too often, Kingsbury’s offense became predictable, and it led to the team scoring fewer than 30 points in six of their final eight contests. Their defense often did what they could to hold opponents because of the offense’s ineptitude, allowing 350-plus yards on just two occasions in the final eight games.
Questionable calls on fourth down, the inability to change things up when the initial game plan isn’t working, you can write a shopping spree list of Kingsbury’s regression as an offensive play-caller in the second half of the season. Not that Kingsbury’s a bad coach. He’s not. But he can’t keep up this balancing act of head coaching and offensive playcalling duties.
Draft for the present
Maybe I’m being harsh on general manager Steve Keim. In 2019, he drafted Kyler Murray first overall, and he’s since been to two Pro Bowls, even if I have my reservations about him. In 2020, Isaiah Simmons at least earned a spot on the PFWA All-Rookie Team.
But what about Zaven Collins, who looked lost until the Week 17 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys when he played outside linebacker? Collins had just 25 combined tackles and one tackle for loss. Of his 25 combined, only 13 were solo.
You can argue Rondale Moore had his moments, with 54 receptions and 435 yards with an 84.4 percent catch rate. But his pedestrian 8.1 yards per reception shows the Cardinals saw him more as a dump-off target than a legit receiving threat.
If the Cardinals want to host a home Super Bowl this year, they need to draft impact players in the first three rounds. Or at least solid contributors. The Cardinals didn’t do that in 2021, and as a result, they failed to grow, suffering yet another monumental collapse.