Category: Latest Cardinals news

4 of Cardinals’ 2020 opponents have new coaches

Another two were hired in 2019.

The Arizona Cardinals’ opponents for 2020 are set. But some of those teams they will play have new leadership. The Cardinals will face four teams with new coaches, while another two have coaches in their second year with the team.

They face the Miami Dolphins with Brian Flores in his second year. They face the New York Jets with Adam Gase entering his second year.

But four teams have brand new coaches. Three are from the NFC East.

Washington Redskins

Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

The Redskins hired a familiar face in Ron Rivera, who was let go by the Carolina Panthers, a team they will also face in 2020. The defense will have a new look, moving from a 3-4 to a 4-3 front. The Cardinals play the Redskins at home in 2020.

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Kyler Murray named Rookie of the Year finalist

The Cardinals rookie QB us one of five finalists. The winner of the award will be determined by fan vote.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray had a fantastic rookie season. As a result, he has been named one of the five finalists for the league rookie of the year award.

The award will be decided by fan voting at NFL.com/rookies, so Cardinals fans and Oklahoma fans need to do their part.

The five finalists are:

  • Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray
  • San Francisco 49ers DE Nick Bosa
  • Tennessee Titans WR A.J. Brown
  • Oakland Raiders RB Josh Jacobs
  • Philadelphia Eagles RB Miles Sanders

Murray became only the second rookie in NFL history to have at least 3,500 passing yards and at least 500 rushing yards. He finished with 3,722 passing yards and 544 rushing yards.

He set several franchise rookie records for the Cardinals — starts, wins, completions, passing attempts, passing yards, passer rating and touchdown passes.

Voting for the award goes on until Monday, January 20 at 3:00 PM ET to determine the winner. The winner will be recognized in Miami during Super Bowl LIV festivities and online.

Now go vote for Kyler!

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep. 254

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Chandler Jones named First-Team All-Pro for 2nd time

He received the most votes of any edge defender. Safety Budda Baker also received votes.

The Associated Press announced the All-Pro team for 2019. The Arizona Cardinals had one player make the cut and, not surprisingly, it is pass rusher Chandler Jones.

Jones and Pittsburgh Steelers pass rusher T.J. Watt were the two edge defenders named to the first team.

Jones was second in the NFL with 19 sacks, trailing only Shaquil Barrett of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He set a franchise record and twice had four sacks in a game, only the third player in NFL history to do so and the first to do it in 33 years. He also led the NFL with eight forced fumbles and seven strip-sacks.

Jones led edge defenders with 32 votes. Tampa Bay’s Barrett made the second team with 18 votes.

Jones also received two All-Pro votes at linebacker.

Jones was named defensive player of the week twice and defensive player of the month once.

Cardinals safety Budda Baker received four All-Pro votes at safety.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep. 254

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2019 Cardinals awards

Who get the superlatives for the Cardinals this year?

The Arizona Cardinals’ season is over. Some players will get league awards. But it is time to recognize the players who were the best. So let us see who gets the awards for the Cardinals.

MVP: Kyler Murray

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

This is an obvious award. Murray was given the reins of the team and he exceeded expectations. He was the team’s leader. He led them to wins. He was their best offensive player and most important player overall.

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Kyler Murray not included in PFF all-rookie team

Garnder Minshew is named QB of the team over Murray.

With the regular season over, the time has begun to honor the best players in the league. There will be teams put together by many outlets. One such team is the all-rookie team. The first to announce its team of the top rookies at each position is Pro Football Focus.

The analytics site used its grading system to determine the top rookies. To the surprise of many, Arizona Cardinals rookie quarterback Kyler Murray did not make the cut.

Instead of Murray, Gardner Minshew of the Jacksonville Jaguars was the quarterback of the all-rookie team.

The highest-graded rookie quarterback in the NFL wasn’t Kyler Murray, Dwayne Haskins or Daniel Jones; it was the sixth-round pick, Gardner Minshew. His 70.3 overall grade on the season ranked 20th among 32 qualifying quarterbacks. Despite some concerns over his arm strength coming into the NFL, Minshew was one of the top deep-ball passers in the league this season. His 129.0 passer rating on passes 20 or more yards downfield was the highest mark in the league, and his PFF grade on those throws trailed only Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson.

Minshew completed 60.6% of his passes for 3,271 passing yards, 21 touchdowns and only six interceptions and he was 6-6 in his 12 starts.

Murray’s completion was four points higher. He had almost 500 more passing yards but threw six more interceptions and Minshew won more games. Murray rushed for 200 more yards and four more touchdowns.

Minshew had a very good season. He was good. Murray entered the season with high expectations, met them, improved the team and did something only Cam Newton did as a rookie only five other players ever did — throw for more than 3,500 yards and rush for more than 500.

Murray should be the rookie of the year. Any rookie team that doesn’t include him isn’t a good enough team.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep. 254

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The Cardinals’ 6 biggest surprises of 2019

The Cardinals had several players perform at a much higher level and have a much bigger role than probably anyone expected.

The Arizona Cardinals didn’t have a surprisingly good year in 2019. They improved to 5-10-1 and more or less finished the season where people believed they should be.

However, they did get some surprise contributions and performances from players fans didn’t expect.

Who were the biggest surprises of 2019?

OL Justin Murray

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Murray wasn’t even on the team in the offseason. He was a waiver claim after final cuts and appeared to simply be a guy they wanted for depth. After all, what could be expected from a player who had played two career games and had been cut by five different teams in a little more than three years?

He became the starter and wasn’t bad. He missed two games because of a knee injury but played 14 games and started 12.

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Larry Fitzgerald made a lot of money in the 2010s

He earned more than all non-quarterbacks except for two players in the 2010s.

The NFL pays well. However, not the number of players who make tens of millions of dollars in their career is much smaller. Those who make over $100 million are an elite few.

They mostly tend to be quarterbacks, as that is the most important position on a team these days.

However, some non-quarterbacks make a ton of money. Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald is one.

In fact, he is among the non-quarterbacks to earn the most money as a player over the last decade. He trails only two players — Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy.

What is amazing is the fact that Fitzgerald has been in the league since 2004. All that money is in the back end of his career and there was a stretch from 2011-2014 when there was incessant discussion of whether he would be traded and then, from 2015 and on, whether he would retire or not.

He is scheduled to be a free agent again. He will either come back or retire. If he comes back, how much more will he make? He has had $11 million contracts for several seasons.

The man is one of the greatest ever. He has also been one of the highest-paid since he entered the league. And he has deserved every penny of it.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep. 254

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Cardinals teammates, coaches stump for Chandler Jones as Defensive Player of the Year

Both players and coaches believe Jones is clearly the best defensive player in the league this season.

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Arizona Cardinals linebacker Chandler Jones has put together quite a season through 15 games. With 19 sacks and eight forced fumbles, including two four-sack games, he is a candidate to win Defensive Player of the Year.

Perhaps because he hasn’t gotten the attention or notoriety, he has coaches and players stumping for him to win it.

It has been both in word and in social media.

Some teammates have given their takes on social media.

Larry Fitzgerald was asked about it on Thursday by reporters. He feels the decision is obvious, although he recognizes the phenomenal seasons of cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore of the New England Patriots and Tre’Davious White of the Buffalo Bills.

“Both those guys, their teams are going to the playoffs, but I don’t think anybody’s been more dominant than Chander,” he said.

“What Chandler’s done is unbelievable,” he said, “To be on a five-win team and do what he has done is unbelievable.”

Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph believes Jones should be a lock for the award if he does one thing.

“What he’s done is incredible,” he told reporters Thursday. “He’s doing it, if he gets one or two (sacks) this week, in my opinion, he’s the guy. It’s the best player on defense award, not the team award.”

He was on the Houston Texans coaching staff with J.J. Watt had 20 sacks and won the award. It was a special season, he said.

“If he gets 20 sacks, that’s rare air and that’s NFL history,” he said. “He should be player of the year.”

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

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2 things stand out in Cardinals’ recent defensive turnaround

Terrell Suggs’ departure and Patrick Peterson’s turnaround seem to have sparked the change.

The Cardinals appear to have figured a few things out defensively in the last couple of weeks. Their play against the passing game has improved and they have made enough plays to actually win games.

After spending most of the season at the bottom of league rankings in many categories, they have climbed out of the bottom in most.

In the Cardinals’ recent two-game winning streak, two things stand out on defense that have changed.

Terrell Suggs’ departure

As great as Suggs has been in his career and with the numbers he put up early in the season, his play declined significantly thereafter. He did not register a single tackle or QB hit in the two games prior to his release.

Replacing him with a combination of Cassius Marsh and Haason Reddick has changed things. Now, Chandler Jones is rushing the passer more and has five sacks in his last two games, while the combination of Marsh and Reddick has produced 11 tackles (one for loss), a sack and two quarterback hits.

Patrick Peterson’s turnaround

The other notable thing that changed was the quality of Peterson’s play. He earned Defensive Player of the Week honors for his play against the Cleveland Browns, limiting Odell Beckham Jr. to 66 yards on 13 targets and picking off a pass.

His primary assignment against the Seahawks was rookie receiver DK Metcalf. Metcalf was targeted only once and did not have a catch.

He appears to be playing with more confidence and swagger. The pass defense is noticeably better and it permeates throughout the defense.

It makes one think that if Peterson can start next season that way, the defense might actually be just fine moving forward.

Between Peterson’s play and the production of the outside linebackers now that Suggs isn’t on the field, the Cardinals have a real chance of upsetting the Rams in Week 17 and winning their third straight game.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep. 253:

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Chandler Jones is Defensive Player of the Week for 2nd time in 2019

He is the second Cardinals player ever to win two weekly defensive honors in the same season.

Arizona Cardinals linebacker Chandler Jones is making a case this season to be the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. He helps his case with his second Defensive Player of the Week honors.

The team announced he earned the honors for his play in Week 16.

Against the Seattle Seahawks in a 27-13 win, he had six tackles (two for loss), four sacks, two forced fumbles and six quarterback hits.

The four sacks and two QB hits were a career-high. It was the second time this season he had four sacks in a game. He became only the third player in NFL history to have two four-sack games in a season. Karl Mecklenburg did it in 1985 and Reggie White did it in 1986.

He was also Defensive Player of the Week after Week 7 when he had his first four-sack game. It is the fourth time a Cardinals player has been named a player of the week. Kyler Murray earned offensive honors after Week 6. Patrick Peterson earned defensive honors last week after his play against the Cleveland Browns.

Jones is only the second Cardinals player ever to earn two defensive player of the week honors in the same season. Antrel Rolle did it in 2007.

Jones has a career-high and franchise-record 19 sacks this year, breaking the previous record he set in 2017 of 17. With eight forced fumbles, he is only the second player in NFL history to have at least 19 sacks and eight forced fumbles in a season. Robert Mathis had 19.5 and 10 in 2013.

Jones has won the weekly award four times in his career and three with the Cardinals.

He could tie the NFL season sack record of 22.5 with 3.5 sacks in the team’s season finale against the Los Angeles Rams.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

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