I was angry about what happened on the last Sunday in September, after a lifetime of fruitful practices. Arizona felt great stepping onto the floor at Shape Farm Stadium to face easier-to-embarrass Washington, 42-14.
“I’m bitter all the time,” Wilson said. “It affects day-to-day life. I don’t think the fans and the media really realize that, yes, I’m playing in the NFL and we all get paid a happy salary, but when your performance is not what it needs to be, no problem. That really matters.”
What happened over the next two weeks (a one-point win over the San Francisco 49ers in Game 5 and a 34-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Game 6) was emblematic of what the season has been like. the Cardinals. It turns out through six games: A roller coaster. Arizona has been persistently inconsistent. It’s anyone’s guess which Cardinals team will perform Monday night against the Los Angeles Chargers (9 p.m. ET, ESPN+) in front of a national audience, as it has been all season.
There has been some great stuff this season, like a 31-point win over the Los Angeles Rams in Event 2 and Marvin Harrison Jr.’s four touchdowns in a three-game span. However, evil has shone brighter. But the Cardinals’ storage room, founded with quarterback Kyler Murray, isn’t panicking or backing down. He even believes it may have claimed a career.
“It’s frustrating, for sure,” Wilson said. “Because I know the talent and the preparation that we do every Sunday, and I know the people that we have in our room, in our group, who are truly dedicated and committed to the game.
“So it’s fragile when the work doesn’t match the end result.”
Despite riding the waves of the first third of the season, Arizona finds itself at what Wilson called a “sort of crossroads of the future.” The Cardinals are trying to keep pace with the Seattle Seahawks (4-3) in the NFC West and sit just behind the 49ers (3-4). A loss would put them in last place behind the Rams (2-4).
“It’s crazy,” Wilson said. “That’s the article about the NFL because the narratives of the season shrink so quickly.
“Only with 17 games everything is magnified. The fair margin is much smaller, so the starters change quickly. You just have to ignore that and try to get to 3-4 at the end of Monday.”
LIKE THE CARDINALS As Saturday concluded, the feeling of having another excellent work life permeated the warehouse room. School teacher Jonathan Gannon said he knows which of his groups will appear in each life: “We’re going to play violent. We’re going to play fast and physical.”
That’s what has gotten the Cardinals to this point.
Arizona’s weekly practices and routines were consistent throughout the season, Kelvin Beachum said. What happens on Sundays is too much.
Power of the purple zone, in which the Cardinals occupy thirteenth place with 58.8%. Third chance conversions, in which they finish fifteenth. Ball security. Tackle.
Against Green Bay, Arizona was 4-for-10 at 1/3 speed, turning the ball over three times. To alleviate Arizona’s recent struggles on third down, Murray said more consideration must be given than attribution. Arizona has converted 40.6% of its 1/3 losses this season, but 35.5% in the last three games and 37.2% in losses compared to 47.6% in wins.
“The last game was pretty bad,” Murray said. “This happens in this league. I think we had a great week last week. [against San Francisco]but on Sunday we just didn’t make it. I also think that yes, we have to stay positive because we know what we have there.
“It’s not like we’ve hit rock bottom, so I don’t think anyone has given up on what we can achieve or anything like that. Again, I have full faith and trust in all the guys in the locker room.”
The change between good, bad and unpleasant has been drastic.
The Cardinals have been held to fourteen points or less three times this season, which is common for many within the NFL, according to ESPN Research. They are averaging 7.0 points per contest in the first quarter, which ranks sixth in the league, but 15.2 points in the final three quarters, which ranks 23rd.
In three games in which they have held the combatants to fewer than 24 points, they have finished 2-1. But if they’ve allowed a minimum of 24 problems, the workforce is already 0-3.
The Cardinals have taken a deep look at what’s been going wrong, offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said, and the initial conclusion is that it’s a small part of everything: the scheme, where they’re lining up the population, the execution, the shooting and appeal. Petzing said it comes down to completing drives and, as happened in Green Bay, not turning the ball over at the scoring spot.
Petzing also said his plays were inconsistent.
“I’ll always say my decisions are how we conduct ourselves as an offense,” Petzing said. “So when we’re on track, I take a lot of pride in that. I also think I have to give a lot of the credit to the players and their execution. And when we’re not, I have to look at myself and say, ‘What can I do?’ better?’ So, I think, [when] “If you look at our first, what is it, six games now, I think we have to clean up the inconsistency and that starts with me being the play-caller.”
The lack of main points (basics, strategy, focus, discipline) was a major factor, players said. In Game 6, the Cardinals’ 13 100-yard rushers were Gannon’s most of the week and the three fumbles were unusual.
Working again, James Conner fumbled on a screen on second-and-6 from the Arizona 30. He hit it a little behind him, turned up and was stripped of the first Green Bay player who collided with him, cutting the ladder. lost a force two plays later, Arizona fell 31-13.
The ball then left the hands of big receiver Greg Dortch when Arizona was last in the goal zone. That post resulted in Green Bay kicking a rushing goal for the total, 34-13. And late in the fourth quarter, with Arizona last in the goal zone, again, the Cardinals were at the Packers’ 18-yard line when the ball fell during a exchange from Murray to running back Trey Benson.
3 possibilities to achieve a landing or ground objective. 3 possibilities to set up a contest.
“You have to know that those mistakes that you make before have to be corrected because that’s the league,” cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting said. “You can’t make the same mistakes over and over again. That’s what gets you out of trouble.”
AFTER THE PACKERS Defensive lineman LJ Collier stood in front of his warehouse, cameras in his face, and declared that despite what happened at Lambeau Grassland, he felt the Cardinals had what it took to run.
A few days later, after overcoming the loss and moving on to the Chargers, Collier felt the same way.
“I feel like we can be nasty, brother,” Collier said Saturday. “Six, seven games in a row. It’ll be a surprise for everyone else, but not for us because we know what’s there. We’ve got to go out there and execute, man.”
Until every mistake, Arizona’s offense moved the ball, indicators that the Cardinals had what it took to compete.
There was a 50-yard touchdown run by Murray against the 49ers. Harrison’s 130 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter, and quite an offensive and defensive performance against the Rams. And a first-phase offensive blitz loomed against the Buffalo Bills in Event 1 that resulted in a 17-3 finish, which Arizona eventually surrendered to.
They had all been glimpses (some small, some huge) of what Arizona could very well be this season.
There are some players in the storage room who don’t look past Monday night. There are others who do with Collier.
“Teams are made up of the guys in the locker room,” Wilson said. “I think the type of guys we have in the locker room are guys who put the team first, love the ball and are willing to do whatever it takes to be in a position to win and help our team win whatever role comes their way.” .
Collier stated that the series wants to focus on the alignment, the project and its key method. Murray said Arizona must act appropriately. Wilson said receivers want to strengthen their contested catches, which was once a point of emphasis in this life. On Thursday, they added a small remaining 8-10 consultation before running with receiver master Drew Terrell, who once focused only on running on contested catches.
“I think, honestly, nobody beats us,” Wilson said. “We really beat ourselves and so focusing on our details, focusing on our brand of football will lead us to more victories.”
It’s an extended season. In 2021, Murray led the Cardinals to a 7-0 start that went 10-2. It ended with Arizona finishing 11-6 and losing to the Rams, 34-11, in the wild card round.
This present could very well be the other, if the Cardinals can determine a solution to flatten the waves they have been using.
“Learn from the last one, focus on the next one,” Murray said, “keep getting better and attack every day like it’s your last, so that’s the mentality.”
“I have complete confidence in the guys, myself and the staff training team to achieve the goal and get this going in the right direction.”
