On Sunday, Kenyan Drake put on a show, as he rushed for 137 yards and 4 TDs in Arizona’s 34-28 win over the Cleveland Browns.
On Sunday, Kenyan Drake put on a show in front of everyone in Glendale, Arizona as he rushed for 137 yards and 4 TDs in Arizona’s 34-28 win over the Cleveland Browns. It just so happens to also be Drake’s first win of the season too.
Kenyan Drake is truly a testament of what hard work, grit, and perseverance can look like. He overcame many injuries and obstacles while at Alabama, and has continued to showcase those same qualities in the NFL. There’s no doubt this is truly just the beginning for Drake.
Patrick Peterson and Kenyan Drake are honored for their play and the team gets the day off on Monday.
The Arizona Cardinals celebrated after a 38-24 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. It ended a six-game losing streak and closed out the home schedule with a win, only the second at home this season and third in two years.
After the game, head coach Kliff Kingsbury gave away two game balls.
He also gave the team something that led to thunderous cheering from the team.
He gave cornerback Patrick Peterson a game ball for his play against Odell Beckham Jr., limiting him to 66 yards and getting an interception. Peterson told the coaches all week, “Give me Odell!” They did and he rewarded them.
The other game ball went to running back Kenyan Drake, who ran for 137 yards and four touchdowns. The four rushing touchdowns were the most by a player in 26 years. It was the first time he won all year. Before he was traded to the Cardinals, he had not gotten a win with the Miami Dolphins. Since arriving to the Cardinals, they had not won either.
But what got the huge reaction, one that reporters could hear in the postgame conference room, was the announcement that they would get the day off on Monday for the win.
“I’ve been waiting six weeks to say this — I’ll see your (expletive) on Wednesday!”
They averaged 7.6 yards per attempt on 19 first-half carries.
The Arizona Cardinals have done their best work offensively when they have been able to be balanced and run the ball effectively. In the first half against the Cleveland Browns, they were able to do just that.
They jumped out to a 21-10 halftime lead behind the power of their rushing attack. Against the Browns’ porous run defense that entered the game allowing nearly five yards per attempt, the Cardinals averaged 7.6 in the first half, running the ball 19 times for 145 yards.
Running back Kenyan Drake had 11 carries for 60 yards and scored twice. Quarterback Kyler Murray picked up 53 yards on five rushes and Christian Kirk also had a 28-yard run.
They had 107 rushing yards in the first quarter alone.
The success also opened up the passing game. Murray completed 12-of-15 for 154 yards. He had a touchdown pass and was intercepted once.
Were it not for the interception, the Cardinals might have more points.
How are some of the former Miami Dolphins offensive starters faring in new places this season?
The Miami Dolphins shipped out numerous players over the course of the past year, so much so that the roster that Miami entered the 2019 season with was two-thirds new players. That turnover, in many instances, was necessary in order for a successful rebuild, even if that meant a downgrade for 2019 on the field.
But how are these former Dolphins faring in life with a new team in 2019? Many are finding more team success, but are those wins coming at the hands of their own performances?
OT Laremy Tunsil, Houston Texans
Tunsil will forever be looked back on as fans remember this rebuilding project. The kickback the Dolphins faced for trading Tunsil was significant, mostly because the Dolphins offensive line has been bad for the better part of a decade. Tunsil was seen as the only staple and a potential future All-Pro player — trading him was a polarizing decision, to say the least.
Tunsil’s Texans currently sit at 8-5 and tied for first place in the AFC South — has Tunsil helped to stabilize the offensive line? Yes and no. Deshaun Watson is still getting sacked at an alarming rate (8.0% of his pass attempts). Tunsil, after being credited with one sack allowed in 2018, is currently credited with three sacks conceded in 2019, plus the NFL’s second highest total of penalties attributed with 13.
Laremy Tunsil has 10 false starts this season, team-high 14 penalties overall with one declined
Tunsil’s pass protection skills are sorely missed here in Miami — he’d be the team’s best offensive player if he were still on the roster. But Tunsil isn’t exactly living up to the All-Pro standard fans thrust upon him once he was traded to Houston at the end of the summer.
QB Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans
Ryan Tannehill was traded to Tennessee in the spring for a future 4th-round pick. After seven years of trying to make the leap and advance his game to the next level in South Florida, Tannehill has taken quite nicely to Nashville. He’s now 6-1 as the team’s starter and has the 8-5 Titans positioned to overtake the Houston Texans for the AFC South crown. If the Titans sweep the Texans over the next two weeks, Tennessee wins the division.
Make no mistake, the turnaround in Tennessee is all about Tannehill, too. He’s found the right mix of aggression to keep the Titans producing chunk plays and scoring points.
The unfortunate reality for Miami? Tannehill’s story had played out. There was no future for him with two straight coaching staffs failing to pull out this play for Ryan. It shouldn’t be considered Tannehill’s fault that the organization, roster and locker room were so broken that the only thing that could fix it was a hard reset — but Dolphins fans may look back and wonder “what if” if Tannehill’s blistering pace in Tennessee continues.
RB Kenyan Drake, Arizona Cardinals
Drake isn’t finding any more team success in Arizona than he did in Miami. Drake was traded to Arizona at the deadline and promptly rushed for 110 yards against the San Francisco 49ers. When Drake announced himself to the world as a member of the Cardinals that night, there was a sense of “here we go again” among Dolphins fans. Another player traded away that is going to thrive elsewhere, right?
Not exactly. Drake played 6 games in Miami this season and averaged 5.0 yards per touch. In 5 games with the Cardinals, Drake is averaging 4.7 yards per touch, and that is despite averaging over 7 yards per carry in that game against the 49ers.
The Arizona Cardinals lost 34-7 to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. Who were the players to stand out for good and not so good?
Check out our studs and duds from the game.
Stud: P Andy Lee
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
It’s pretty bad when the punter makes this list. He punted seven times averaging 44.4 yards per kick. However, his net average was 43.6 yards, which is fantastic. Four of his punts were downed inside the 20.
Former Alabama running back Kenyan Drake explains to Campus Lore what makes Nick Saban such an effective developer of talent for the NFL.
Since Nick Saban’s arrival at the University of Alabama, the Crimson Tide has become well-known for producing high-quality NFL players. Among those players is former running back Kenyan Drake.
The Powder Springs (Ga.) native played for the Crimson Tide from 2012-15. During that four-year career, Drake produced over 2,000 yards from scrimmage (1,495 rushing, 570 receiving) to go along with 22 touchdowns.
That success led Drake being a third-round pick (No. 73 overall) by the Miami Dolphins in 2016. And while the 6-foot-1, 211-pound runner was recently traded to the Arizona Cardinals, his opinion is still respected in the college football world.
Drake recently joined the crew over at Campus Lore to discuss his time at Alabama and explain why the Crimson Tide is so effective at developing that high-quality talent for the NFL. Check out the video below:
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To hear Drake explain how the everything starts at the top with Saban isn’t surprising. During his time at Alabama — and even prior to — he’s become known as one of college football’s most dynamic recruiters. Once he gets those players on campus, he also has the ability to develop that talent.
Here’s one quote that stood out from Drake:
“He just demands the best from you, not just game day, but everyday: in the spring, fall practices. It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, you’re always going to get his best.”
It’s always really cool to get a glimpse into the mind of guy who’s been fortunate enough to play for a coach like Saban, and Drake does a fantastic job of going through what makes the long-time Alabama coach so effective at his job.
How could any up-and-coming recruit want to play for anybody but Nick Saban?
He was previously listed as the third-string running back behind Johnson and Chase Edmonds.
The Arizona Cardinals made a change on their offensive depth chart and put it in writing. Running back David Johnson is no longer the team’s starting running back.
With injuries and ineffectiveness, he has seen his playing time dwindle. He played only nine first-half snaps in the team’s last game two weekends ago and had zero touches in the running game or targets in the passing game.
Kenyan Drake was getting the bulk of the playing time.
Now that change is reflected on the latest depth chart released by the team.
Previously, Drake was listed as the team’s third-string back behind both Johnson and Chase Edmonds.
In the depth chart released by the team this week, Drake is now No. 1 and Johnson is No. 2. Edmonds is third behind them.
Edmonds is expected to return from a hamstring injury that has kept him out of the last three games. This weekend against the Los Angeles Rams, it will be the first time the Cardinals have had all three players healthy and able to play.
Ex-Air Raid college coach Kliff Kingsbury came into the NFL with one plan. Then, it all changed — and the Cardinals are far better for it.
In 2018, the Arizona Cardinals put up one of the most pathetic sustained offensive performances in NFL history. They finished last in the league in offensive DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average), Football Outsiders’ opponent-adjusted efficiency metric. They finished last in the NFL in the first half of games, in the second half of games. They had the worst offensive DVOA in the NFL both on the road and at home. No team was worse when behind in a game, and on those blissful and exceedingly rare occasions when they had a lead, they were last in offensive DVOA then, as well. They finished last when their quarterback was operating out of the shotgun formation, and next-to-last when their quarterback was working under center.
Their quarterback, rookie first-round pick Josh Rosen, put up the single worst season in the history of FO’s other primary efficiency metric, DYAR (Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement). While DVOA is a play-to-play measurement of efficiency (or not), DYAR is cumulative. Football Outsiders has published data for every snap in every season going back to 1986, and no quarterback has ever had a worse DYAR through a season than Rosen’s 1,145. This essentially means that, adjusted for situation and opponent, Rosen was a liability through the season to the tune of 1.145 yards under the league average. Not 1.145 yards behind Patrick Mahomes, but 1,145 yards under the league average.
So, it was not a surprise when head coach Steve Wilks was fired after the season. Offensive coordiantor Mike McCoy had already been fired halfway through the season, and interim offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich went to Tampa to work once again with Bruce Arians, his coaching mentor. In their place came Kliff Kingsbury, the Air-Raid wunderkind who had a hand in the collegiate development of everybody from Mahomes to Baker Mayfield to Johnny Manziel (ahem, the college version) to Case Keenum, and on and on.
There was some suspicion that Kingsbury could take his concepts to the NFL and win, though. Kingsbury’s version of the Air Raid was typical in that it was a high-passing, high-volume offense. With a ton of “10” personnel (one running back, no tight ends, four receivers), and over six seasons with Kingsbury as their head coach from 2013 through 2018, the Texas Tech Red Raiders threw over 3,600 passes. Only Mike Leach’s Washington State Cougars threw more often. Kingsbury presided over offenses that ran over 6,000 total plays — only Baylor and Clemson ran more.
(Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports)
Coaches who come from college insistent on running their old stuff and refusing to adapt to the NFL’s realities have always been in for a rude awakening. And through the first four weeks of the 2019 season, Kingsbury, and his able lieutenant Kyler Murray, the Texas A&M and Oklahoma alum selected first overall in the 2019 draft, seemed to be on that same pace. Per Sharp Football Stats, the Cardinals ran “10” personnel on 59% of their plays. This was by far the highest rate in the league over that time; the Seahawks ranked second with 11% of their plays out of “10” personnel, and eight teams didn’t run a single play out of that personnel.
Murray wasn’t really helped by the packages, either — Arizona threw the ball on 76% of their plays, and Murray completed 69 of 108 passes for a 6.4 yards per attempt average, one touchdown, two interceptions, 13 sacks, and a quarterback rating of 77.4.
This was not sustainable. Not with a receiver group Murray was still getting familiar with, a sub-par offensive line, and a running game that had yet to become what it would become. Plays like this may work in those 54-45 Big 12 After Dark pointfests, but the NFL has generally had better answers.
“I think the biggest takeaway is there’s no kind of throwaway plays in the NFL,” Kingsbury said back in early October. “In college, you may have 85, 90 snaps. There’s a handful that are kind of throwaways and you look back at them and [say], ‘Hey, that’s all right that there were five plays that maybe we didn’t have the best call on and it didn’t work out.’
However, an interesting thing happened on the way to Kingsbury’s NFL irrelevance. Actually, several things. FO’s Aaron Schatz recently pointed out that since Week 4, the Cardinals rank third in Offensive DVOA, behind only Dallas and Baltimore.
Blink once, blink twice? Yes, I know. That is not a typo.
Since Week 4, the Arizona Cardinals rank No. 3 in the NFL in offensive DVOA. Arizona! They were so horrendous a year ago! Since Week 4, behind only Dallas and Baltimore.
David Johnson is expected to have a limited role against the 49ers after getting benched in Week 10 in the second half.
Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury declared on Friday his running back situation with David Johnson and Kenyan Drake would be by committee. He said there are specific packages for both players.
How many touches both players will get or who will be in the starting lineup was left unclear.
However, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Johnson, who was benched last week after only six touches and losing a fumble, will be relegated still to a backup role.
Sources say that while it’s unclear who the actual starter will be, Kenyan Drake should receive the bulk of the carries and touches. Kingsbury has indicated he wants to get Drake going, and his style fits the offense perfectly. Johnson could be relegated to a backup-type role for now.
Drake had 162 total yards two weeks ago when the Cardinals played the 49ers. Johnson did not play because he was injured.
Johnson is said to have had his best week of practice this season this week. It apparently wasn’t enough to trust him with a full workload.
“It will be by committee,” Kingsbury explained. “Both guys will have packages and do certain things and we’ve talked to them about that.”
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Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson had one of his worst games as a pro last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He had only six touches, carrying the ball five times for two yards and catching one pass for eight yards. He also had a critical second-half fumble that led to his being benched.
How did he respond this week as the team prepared to take on the San Francisco 49ers?
“He’s responded well,” coach Kliff Kingsbury told reporters Friday. “He’s had the best week of practice he’s had and I’ve been proud of his effort and his focus. I like where his head is at.”
However, playing time isn’t just going to go back to his being the workhorse. He and Kenyan Drake will both play and share snaps.
“It will be by committee,” Kingsbury explained. “Both guys will have packages and do certain things and we’ve talked to them about that.”
Last week, against the Buccaneers, both were in the starting lineup, lined up beside one another in the backfield. If that doesn’t happen, it looks like Drake will technically get the start. ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss noticed that Drake was out on the field during practice when the presumed starters were getting reps, while Johnson followed with the next personnel grouping.
It looked like at pratice that Kenyan Drake has jumped David Johnson on the depth chart. Drake ran receiving drills with first-team WRs (Fitz, Kirk, Isabella and Cooper). Johnson was with next group.
However, Kingsbury doesn’t really believe that have the starting designation matters much. “We change personnel groups a ton,” he said.
It sounds like there might not be as much of both on the field at the same time. We will see how the snaps get divided up this weekend. Will Johnson become a complementary back for the first time since his rookie season?
It is one of the storylines to watch as the game unfolds Sunday afternoon.
