Two major problems the Arizona Cardinals MUST fix

The Arizona Cardinals have at least been in four of their first five games in the 2022 season. But they are a team plagued with two major issues. 

The Arizona Cardinals must find a way to start games better. Over the first five weeks of 2022, they scored exactly 26 points in the first half. While the Cardinals have scored 79 points in  the second half, it has clearly not been enough to win three of their first five games.

Want more fun? They have yet to score a single point in the first quarter of any contest. And given the production some of these young players have shown, there is no way the Cardinals should be this bad in the first half.

Sure, they are missing DeAndre Hopkins, but the offense shouldn’t be this inept to be shutout in the first quarter of every contest through the season’s first five weeks. What did head coach Kliff Kingsbury have to say about it? The same bizarre statements he always says.

"“We’ve tried it all, but we’ll keep trying. It just comes down to coaches calling better plays, offensively and defensively, guys executing on a higher level and no feel-out period. Let’s just play like we played in the second half from the start.” – via Yahoo News courtesy of the Associated Press."

Correct me if I missed something, but I’m under the impression Kliff calls the plays on offense. If the guy had an ounce of self-ownership, he’d say something more along the lines of, “I need to call better plays offensively.”

Why not just look at the film of what you’re doing in the second half and apply it to the first half? You might see the results change some.

Major Issue #2: The Arizona Cardinals cannot win at home

Arizona hasn’t won at home since October 24th, 2021 following a 31-5 steamroll over the Houston Texans. Here’s a trivia question for you: When was the last time the Cardinals lost eight home games in a row?

You would have to go back to 1956, 57, and 58 for your answer, when the then-Chicago Cardinals “accomplished” the feat. But during the Kliff Kingsbury Era, the Cardinals have never had a winning record at home, with their best finish coming in 2020 at 4-4.

Ironically enough, the 2020 season featured few fans at any game. So when you count “normal” NFL seasons with full houses, Kingsbury is an abysmal 5-13-1 at home, and 9-17-1 when you count 2020.

How do you fix the losing at home issues? For that, I have no real answer. Maybe find ways to motivate more Arizona Cardinals fans to show up instead of fans of the opposing team? Feed off their energy? Perhaps the Cardinals organization should start looking to improve fan experience.

I don’t know. I don’t typically follow the sport management side of things, so the entire losing at home thing is out of my hands. Though I will say this: There were plenty of Eagle fans in the stands in yesterday’s loss. 

Article Source: Arizona’s bad-start habit threatens to derail season goals by David Brandt