Arizona Cardinals Wheels Have FALLEN OFF After Another Embarrassing Loss to San Francisco 49ers

Arizona Cardinals Wheels Have FALLEN OFF After Another Embarrassing Loss to San Francisco 49ers

The Cardinals lose in embarrassing fashion again and unfortunately firing a coach right now won’t fix anything. Let’s discuss. You are Locked On Cardinals, your daily Arizona Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Alex Clancy here. uh part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network. The Arizona Cardinals, not the number one sports team in football, not the number one sports team maybe in their own state, and definitely not um the number one sports team when it comes to positive things after week 11. All of those things and more hashtag analysis. Today’s episode of Lock Cardinals is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you get 300 and $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Okay, so listen. Um, nothing great uh to discuss. There’s going to be a lot of constructive things, a lot of what needs to happen things, and a lot of fingerpointing inducing things that I will say. Um, comments have been on fire regardless if I agree with you, disagree with you, regardless if you’ve been screaming at me for nine seasons now. Um, I’m happy that everybody watches. Thank you. Um, and uh, yeah, just try to do the best we can every day here. Uh, the Cardinals lose 41-22 and the wheels have officially fallen off. Uh, Dakota Brassette set a record that I don’t know is good. 47 completions in a game. Trey McBride had 300 Trey McBride and Michael Wilson had 300 combined receiving yards. Um, so there’s some positives. I’ll talk about those in the final segment. It’s gonna be namely surrounding those two. Josh Swat um continues to get closer to 10 sacks this season. Um but other than that, not great. Um going into yesterday, the one thing that I was looking for was will these Arizona Cardinals try to smack the 49ers in the mouth? Will they try to, I don’t know, bounce off of the embarrassment of last week and show some face and compete. And that lasted about 7 seconds. Then we saw the opening kickoff go 98 yards, almost housed it, and Christian McCaffrey walks in for their first score in under 20 seconds. Like, oh, okay. So, this team is given up, and that’s not okay. So, it’s like, well, that’s not fair. It’s the first play of the game. Special teams, it’s not the offense. It’s not the defense. It’s the third phase. Just go bounce back. Oh, well, that didn’t happen. It’s 13 nothing. It’s like, oh, okay. So, there’s so many different I didn’t realize I was being prophetic when I was being somewhat sarcastic saying that Training Bride is the only thing you can trust on this team. I said that five weeks ago and now it’s never been more true. Now everything is in question and it’s uncomfortable. It seems premature or way too late to have arrived here. One or the other. We’re two and a half two and a half years into the rebuild and it looks like it’s at a standstill. I think once Kyler Murray got hurt, you needed to look at this through a different lens. And this is the lens that we’re looking at it through. It’s not a matter of Kobe or Kobe Kyler or Jacobe because Kyler Murray’s hurt. So, he wouldn’t he can’t play. So, it’s not like the Cardinals benched Kyler Murray for Jacobe Brassette, which is a Oh, it’s interesting people think that way. This is a bad situation on offense. The Cardinals have no run game. Drew Ping, I can guarantee you. I can guarantee you Drew Petting his game plan all week wasn’t to throw the ball 57 times. I can guarantee you that. So, the Blaine Ping, fired Ping thing, that’s cute because I can guarantee you that wasn’t the game plan. When you cannot run the ball, you have to throw the ball. No Marvin Harrison Jr. Michael Wilson played out of his mind. Trey McBride is Trey McBride. When everybody knows the pass is coming, I’m surprised didn’t throw more picks. One of which was definitely on Elijah Higgins, not coming back to the ball. So many penalties. And listen, with the penalty part, yes, it’s coaching 100%. And when you have practice squad guys playing in the NFL, it happens. Frell Brown was just elevated and he was the one I believe who had the holding penalty, which was questionable on the Bam Knight 60-yard touchdown run. So, when you’ve got all the injuries, Kyler Murray’s hurt, the run game is non-existent because you’re on your fourth running back, the DBs are banged up, M. Wilson’s on IR. It’s like, okay, everybody’s so angry, pointing fingers at something else that everybody else isn’t pointing at, and you’re just arguing. Everybody’s just arguing with each other. We’re in it, too. We understand. It’s like, no, it’s definitely pitching. No, it’s definitely the defense. No, it’s definitely the co. It’s like it’s all of it. Everybody is at fault in this conundrum that we found ourselves in looking at this team. Everybody’s on the block. The wheels in entirely fallen off and there’s still six games to go. Seven. Yuck. So, when we’re all fighting and we’re all doing all this stuff, it’s just like, let’s try to be a little bit more constructive here. Gorbet threw for over 400 yards, had a really bad interception. That second one looked really bad, but you know, you defend Kyler when people stop on the routes, but not Jacobe. Same thing. Same exact thing happened. So, the entirety of this is incredibly frustrating, but this is what it looked like at the in 2022 when you knew that things were changing with Cliff. And I know Ky had torn his ACL, so he was out then also. Um, this isn’t an anti- anybody anything. This is a collective that’s failing. This is a collective that outside of a handful of young stars that they’re going to have moving forward. There’s going to be spots. Luckily, there’s going to be far less spots than there was when almost 50% of the roster got overhauled when Monty Osford took over. The Cardinals just aren’t winning games. Do you want a point of coaching? Sure, 100%. You want to start looking at Nick Rouse’s way? Sure. The toughest part to gauge here is if everybody was healthy, would this be happening? And we haven’t been able to get that answer since week two. We haven’t been able to get that answer since week two. It’s either Garrett Williams or Will Johnson. Walter Nolan wasn’t healthy. Even Walter Nolan wasn’t there. And I know injuries happen. The Cardinals have been absolutely excoriated by by injuries. They’ve been absolutely bludgeoned with injuries. And I don’t make it an excuse. I won’t. It’s part of the plot. But the Cardinals have been in every game up until these last two. So, I don’t even know what it is anymore, man. But there is one thing that I do know. Firing people won’t fix anything. At least not for this season. Uh just pause before you throw something at the TV or computer. Most likely computer. We’ll discuss it next. This episode of Lockdown Cardinals is brought to you by our friends at Mint Mobile. Um if you’re still overpaying for wireless, it’s time to say yes to saying no. At Mitt Mobile, their favorite word is no. No contracts, no monthly bills, no overages, no hidden fees, no BS. I said yes to making the switch and getting premium wireless for just $15 a month. Mint Mobile makes it simple. All plans come with high-speed data and unlimited talk and text delivered to on the nation’s largest 5G network. You can even bring your own phone and keep your same phone number, dude. And contacts. Ready to make a move? Ready to say yes instead of saying no? Make the switch to mintmobile.com/lockton NFL. That’s mintmobile.com/lockton NFL. Upfront payments of $45. Required limited time new customer offer for the first three months only. Speeds may slow down after 35 gigs on unlimited plan, taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for more details, man. Please go to the YouTube channel, search Lock on Arizona Cardinals, hit that subscribe button, man. You know the dang drill. This stinks. Okay, we can commiserate together. Let’s not be arguing in the chat. Let’s not be doing these things. Let’s talk about constructive things, okay? Like to keep this as non-toxic as possible. I’m here for you. Here to air things out with you, but let’s do it in a nicer way than what we’ve seen. If if at all possible, firing somebody ain’t going to fix this. And I know that traditionally speaking, in the history of sport, in a situation like this, somebody should be getting fired. If you told me somebody did that, okay, like I’m not anti relieving someone of their duties if they deserve it. And what the Cardinals have done up until this point have been some fireable offenses. But if you let somebody go now, that means that all hell is going to break loose. In some respects, the order will be unrestored. And well, look at what’s happening. They’re losing all their games. Orders gone. Chill. Keeping the entity together even if they’re going to move off from them at the end of the year is the more prudent way to handle this. So say, okay, you fire Drew Pencing. I love, you know, fire him. Okay, then what? Somebody else calls place. Who? Well, I don’t. Okay, let’s circle back. Let’s come back to Earth. I understand that people need to be held accountable and I understand that this season has been a farce as compared to what we thought it was going to be with this team. I get it and I commiserate with everybody who wants to see somebody get their walking papers. What I can’t wrap my head around yet, and listen, if you were listening 3 weeks ago, I wasn’t even anywhere close to this, but I just don’t know what it’ll solve. I don’t know what it’ll solve. And that’s the part that I’m struggling with. You don’t want to You don’t want to bring him back. Fine. You don’t want to bring Drew Pencing back. Okay, that’s fine. And I I could stand behind it. What are you going to do in the for the rest of the season? This season is already over as pertaining to playoffs. So, what’s it going to change? Well, you got to do something. Okay. What? Fire Drew Penc. Okay, we just went through that. Fire Jonathan Yan. Okay, then what? You have Jeff Rogers take over? There’s no experience on this coaching staff. The biggest thing that I struggle with with this is, and this is open-ended, like this is not rhetorical by any stretch, is has what Jonathan Ganon done up until this point enough to give him the carblanche or the pass to coach another year. So, let’s break down the negative side. Wins and losses. Of course, they took over a D2 school in 2023 roster-wise. Last year was better. This year has not been great. It cannot be it can’t be overlooked that. And I’ve said this a couple times and it sounds like a copout, but I promise I’m not trying to make it sound like that. That what they’ve done to the culture is different. Okay, between the lines looks the same. This is more of a and it’s, you know, it’s harder to say every week postgame to say this. This is still better than what it was. And listen, it’s not good now. And that is that has a an expiration date which could be after week 12. I just like and that’s rhetoric like that’s not rhetorical like has he what he’s done up until this point done enough where you look at these last two games be like the quality of work before that can you know leapfrog it and allow him to stay for the rest of the year or cuz like it’s his last last year was contracts next year so you just clean house all three of them I don’t know how much of this can you look at and say everybody was injured the entire year Kyler He got hurt in week five. Is that on the coaches? Did the coaches commit 130 yards in penalties? Did the coaches get fumbled the ball on the one yard line? Like you can have that conversation. Well, you know, teams that are prepared don’t commit penalties. Agreed. I said that entirety of Cliff’s tenure. prepared teams don’t commit as many penalties as they as they have with 40% at times 30% of the starters hurt at any given time and who’s committing the penalties is that coaching is that unfair expectations for guys probably shouldn’t be out there I don’t know when the sky is falling it’s difficult to see what’s what the right thing to do is. So, if you told me that they were going to let Drew Pepson go now, be like, “Okay.” I mean, I guess if you told me they were going to let Jonathan Ganon go now, I just I don’t see I do not see I don’t see the benefit. Well, they’ll play for somebody else. Okay. Who? They’ll rally together with a new coach. Okay. That’s a next year thing. If you don’t want to move on from them, if you don’t want to keep them going into next year, okay, then write it out. Save any sort of face that this organ organization can save. That’s where I struggle. And I’m probably wrong with, you know, a lot of what I said. Like I just I I don’t I don’t know what the right move is. And sometimes and every day who’ve been around for a long time, sometimes I just throw my hands in the air and like I don’t know. Every decision is right and every decision is wrong all at the same time. And that’s incredibly frustrating for the fans, people who cover this team in some form or fashion. It’s incredibly frustrating. They’ve turned into the same old Cardinals. And it’s incredibly frustrating. Lockdown Cardinals, your team every day. We are ending with some damn positives. I can’t do three bad segments in a row. Well, I I mean to some I do every bad segment. Every every segment’s bad. Every segment’s bad. But I try. We’re doing positives next. Locked on Cardinals, your team every day. This episode of Lockdown Cardinals is brought to you by FanDuel. The NBA is in full swing, dude. And there’s no better place to get in on the action than FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. 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I will go back to be doing my I will go back to doing my u postgame 15 minutes starting next week. Um Carter squad show was fun. Thanks everybody for hanging out. I know it’s tough. I know it’s difficult. Um we just got to we got to get through this together. We got to get through this together. Uh positives. Michael Wilson career day 185 yards receiving. Trey McBride 11 for over 100 and a touchdown. I that’s what I said was gonna happen. I’m surprised he didn’t have two. Well, he did have two and one was called back due to a, you guessed it, penalty. Um, I’ve said this about Michael Wilson. I’ve gotten scoffed at sometimes. I have the truthers of Michael Wilson in my corner, which may explode after this week. He’s a wide receiver, too. You just got to get him the ball. And that’s the biggest indictment for me comparing directly, even though it’s kind of it’s a fool’s error at this point. Kyler Murray, Jacob Brassette, Michael Wilson was a non- entity in this offense with Kyler Murray. He is with Jacobe Brassette and I know Marvin Harrison Jr. was out but 185 yards receiving that’s the most in the that’s the most in the NFL this season. So Jacob Brassette gets Michael Wilson open and he wasn’t open before. Oh it’s a play calling thing. It’s probably not. It’s probably not. Trey McBride always open. Everybody knew it. He’s always open. He is going to be the Travis Kelce for this team moving forward. Um and I’m not saying he’s going to be as good as Travis Kelce. I’m not saying he plays like Travis Kelce. He’s a George KD. He has the potential to be better than George KD at his peak. We’ve already seen it. So, we’ll see. And I The comparison is unnecessary, but the gameplay comparison is there. Um, the dude’s an absolute beast. And, uh, I’m really happy they paid him already, so he’ll be here for a while. Um, and listen, I don’t know, man. 47 to 57 is pretty good to me. This isn’t like glazing or anything when it comes to Jet. I mean, 57 passes. It’s pretty efficient. He had the one bad interception and he had the second one, which if you want to say was bad, whatever. You throw the ball 57 times, it’s bound to happen. When everybody knows you’re throwing the ball, it’s bound to happen. The defense couldn’t stop anybody. It’s unfortunate. That’s another conversation we’re going to have later in the week. What happened? Will Johnson I know was out. M Wilson’s on IR. Like they haven’t been healthy all year. Drier Emerson was out. Jaylen Thompson looks old. Um Denzel Burke isn’t ready. Like I know he flashed a couple weeks ago, but I don’t know. Like um I’m going to be doing my first segment tomorrow on adjustments because that’s something the Arizona Cardinals absolutely have not done this year. Um, but Trey McBride, like you gotta just be over the moon that that’s your dude for the next four years at least. I’d lock him up two years in to this extension. Michael Wilson is a wide receiver, too. So, whoever the quarterback is next season, maybe Kyler Murray will come back healthy this year. Who knows? Maybe he’ll be healthy this year. Maybe. But going into next season, you’re gonna have Marv, Michael Wilson, and Trey McBride. Okay, that could be so much far worse. Whoa, that was terrible sentence. So much worse. It could be so much worse. Michael Wilson is great on contested catches. We saw that on the third and long deep ball. He’s great across the middle. He was open all day yesterday. And they must have schemed for him because he was the only receiver out there. Greg Dorch got cut a touchdown pass late and I know a lot of this was in garbage time. I know I I watched the same game. Everybody knew the ball was going to Trey McBride and still got to Trey McBride. Two touchdowns 21 previous games with Kyler Murray. He’s had a boatload. I’m not saying it’s one thing or the other. I’m stating facts based on numbers of games that I’ve watched with my eyes. So, when you look at the Cardinals and you look at the future, it’s cloudy. But when it comes to the team this year, I think staying as a unified front is the best way to go for now. Lockdown Cardinals, your team every day. Remember, without you, there is no me. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.

The Arizona Cardinals’ season has completely collapsed after a demoralizing 41-22 beatdown at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers, leaving fans and analysts questioning everything from coaching decisions to roster construction. What started as a promising season has devolved into a nightmare scenario, and the big question looms: Should the Cardinals fire Jonathan Gannon and Drew Petzing mid-season, or is organizational stability more important than making reactionary moves?

Alex Clancy delivers an unflinching breakdown of the Cardinals’ catastrophic performance, examining how this loss represents a collective failure at every level of the organization. From Kyler Murray’s concerning physical limitations and lingering injuries to the absurdity of relying on a fourth-string running back, nothing is working in Arizona right now. The team’s discipline has evaporated, with penalties mounting and execution crumbling in critical moments.

The offensive coordinator Drew Petzing faces intense scrutiny for calling 57 pass attempts in a game where balance seemed essential. Was this a panic move, poor game planning, or simply a reflection of the Cardinals’ desperate situation? Alex dissects Petzing’s decision-making and whether his play-calling deserves the criticism it’s receiving or if he’s being scapegoated for deeper organizational problems.

Jonathan Gannon’s tenure as head coach comes under the microscope as well. While he’s implemented cultural changes and preached accountability, the on-field results tell a different story. Is Gannon’s approach fundamentally flawed, or has an unprecedented injury crisis sabotaged what could have been a competitive season? The Cardinals have been decimated by injuries since Week 2, losing key contributors across the roster and forcing the team to rely on practice squad players and street free agents.

Despite the overwhelming negativity, two Cardinals players delivered exceptional performances that deserve recognition. Tight end Trey McBride dominated with 11 catches for 100 yards, continuing his breakout season and establishing himself as one of the league’s premier tight ends. Clancy makes a bold prediction that McBride is on track to surpass George Kittle as the best tight end in the NFC West, analyzing what makes him so effective and why his ceiling remains incredibly high.

Wide receiver Michael Wilson exploded for a career-best 185 receiving yards, showcasing the talent that made him a draft pick worth investing in. However, an intriguing pattern emerges: Wilson thrives when Jacoby Brissett is under center but virtually disappears when Kyler Murray is throwing him the ball. Alex explores this puzzling dynamic and what it reveals about chemistry, play-calling, and Murray’s decision-making process.

With six games remaining in the season, the Cardinals face a crossroads. Do they stay the course, maintain organizational unity, and evaluate everything in the offseason? Or do they make dramatic changes now to send a message? This episode provides an honest, frustrated, and comprehensive assessment of where the Cardinals stand and what the future might hold for this struggling franchise. Let’s discuss.

The Best Daily Arizona Cardinals Podcast. Host Alex Clancy (@ClancysCorner) take an unbiased approach covering the biggest Cards stories.

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