BOTTOM LINE: Arizona Cardinals Offensive Line Impetus For Offense’s Inability to Level Up

BOTTOM LINE: Arizona Cardinals Offensive Line Impetus For Offense’s Inability to Level Up

The bottom line is the Arizona Cardinals offensive line has to be better. You could call them the bottom of the barrel line. See what I did there? Word play. Let’s get it. You are Locked On Cardinals, your daily Arizona Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. The Cardinals. Alex Clancy here. Uh, thanks for making Lockdown Cardinals your first listen part of Lockdown Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network on the planet and other planets. I’ve been told today’s episode of Locked On Cardinals is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and if your bet wins, you get 300 bucks in bonus bets to use across the app. I want to read something from a poet of our times. Okay, to kick off the show, I’m gonna get sentimental with you guys amid the chaos and the mud and the muck that we’ve been experiencing this season. And I quote, “No words.” Just picture like classical music. No words. I legitimately haven’t seen the Cardinals get work like this since I started covering them. Those were the beautiful words of none other than my friend Donnie Drew, Cardinals writer for Sports Illustrated. Donnie, so did it look better from where you were seeing it than where I was seeing it on Sunday, or was it still a crap box wrapped inside of another crap box? It it was exactly that. Um, and I I want to be clear, like I I moved out to Arizona in 2012. We started covering the team. This is my my fifth year doing so. So, like, I haven’t been dialed into Arizona Cardinal football for as long as other people have. So, whenever I tweeted that out, everybody was like, “Are you new here?” like is is this you know did you just get here yesterday or are you from another solar system? So no I I think we all watched the same game and that was very unfortunate. Yeah. Um you know mine is always going to be 2018. Um and we’re not going to go down the annals of of Arizona Cardinals history but 2018 when my favorite stat from that year is the Arizona Cardinals averaged 14.1 points per game which was less than the 2008 Detroit Lions to win 0 and6. So like that’s that’s where we were. That’s where we work. Um, that’s my favorite stat from that year. That was that was a tough year posting the show every day. But listen, um, we’re going to talk about the coaching. We’re going to talk about is there anything redeeming other than Trey McBride? Um, but first, like it’s not fair because these are human beings we’re talking about and just just continuing to pounce and pounce and pounce. I give a dumb disclaimer here that these are avatars of football players. We’re not talking about the human beings. These aren’t personal attacks because when it comes down to it, these are humans doing their job. Having said that, the meteoric fall of the offensive line needs to be studied. Um, they ran it back. You know, Will Hernandez came back, played when he was healthy. Um, Isaia Adams hasn’t seen the field since. Jonah Williams has regressed. Um, Evan Brown seems to be exactly who we think he is, and Paris was one of the highest rated Pro Football Focus guys from the Cardinals game. Why is it not working this year, even when Kyler was here? like it was last year. I I think there’s just a multitude of reasons. Um I was a pretty loud uh not cheerleader. I I was vocal on Clayton Adams loss over the offseason being big. Yeah. I didn’t think it it would be to the catastrophic proportions that we’re seeing in Arizona. Um and like people forget too like Adams was highly regarded as Jonathan Ganon’s top assistant coach. Adams did far more than just coach the offensive line. he was heavily involved in game planning, scheming, all of that good stuff. Which is why I think the offense as a whole looks noticeably different for the worst compared to 2024 like it is in 2025. Um I I I I think you said it best like Evan Brown kind of he is what he is. He’s not the worst player on the offensive line, but you kind of get what you paid for with him. Um Will Hernandez has been a boost to the the Cardinals offensive line since replacing Isaiah Adams. But even on Sunday, Alex, like you know, when when when your entire starting five is just like looking back like the the fish from like Spongebob meme, like that’s not good. Like that’s not good at all. Jonah Williams, I I think his time is far past due um to to leave the Arizona Cardinals and thankfully his contract is up after this year. Uh I I think the mobility aspect from Jacobe who’s still able to to navigate the pocket and escape whenever he needs to. We can talk about Kyler all day long, but like his athleticism spared a lot of sacks from the Arizona Cardinal offensive line, both last year and this year. They can’t run the ball, which makes it so hard to establish play action and run it effectively, which I saw your tweet yesterday, by the way. I I I wholeheartedly agree. Like, why why are the Cardinals and Drew Petting consistently trying to use play action when they there’s just not a threat running the ball? Make the whole difference, right? It’s it it’s just uh blew my mind in in in all of the the wrong ways. But the the main call in Carter Petting’s offense is to establish the run and have everything go from there. But when you can’t do that, it gets turned into this one-dimensional nightmare for 60 minutes. Yeah. Yeah. I said, you know, it was it was the two-minute drill after they went down 14 nothing for the rest of the game, which is like that’s not ideal. But so for me with with the Kyler stuff and Jacobe like I’m going to move away from talking about Kyler Murray because he’s not a part of the starting team anymore. But with you know the vitriol I’ve talked to a bunch of friends that I’ve had in this space in media for a long time. They haven’t seen the Kyler Murray side like react like it was like poison coming in after the game like well Kyler would have done this. Kyler would have done this. Kyler would have done this. Um here’s the thing. As elusive as he is, 80% of the throws that the Jacobe Brassette makes, Kyler Murray can’t make. Okay? So, you’re balancing Kyler Murray getting out of the pocket, eluding sacks when Jacobe Brassette can throw off Ben Rothllessberger style defenders and still get a ball throw. So, it’s six of one and neither of them are very good. So, when you look, here’s my thing. I I can’t and like I think I think you put it perfectly. the the Kyler Murray side was like loud after this Sunday, but like my my biggest takeaway was like the the quarterback play was not my biggest concern. Not my biggest top three, top five takeaways. Like if if you watched that Seattle meltdown and your biggest thing walking away from that game is, oh man, like that would have been different from Kyler. We’re watching two completely different games. Kyler Murray would have not changed anything about the outcome in Seattle. Like the the problem started up front with the offensive line. And it started with the play calling and like me, you, Jacobe, Kyler, like nobody would have done anything differently. Yeah. You know, it’s it’s crazy. It’s And it’s not even like, well, the strip sacks. Well, the strip sacks, he didn’t even know what his name was. And Demarcus Lawrence was in the back field. Yeah. Like it was Olay def. It’s like it I mean the Aubs right Evan Brown, they just attacked Evan Brown. They attacked that side. And you know, I’ve got some yala for push back. I’ve got some Will Hernandez push back. This is what we dealt with um for a while with Justin Pew towards the end when he was playing obviously injured with with DJ Humphre on the left side. It’s like the right side is only as good as its weakest link and y’all defold has no chance if he has no help on his left side. You know, he can’t block two, you know, it just it’s an impossibility. On top of that, this was the biggest thing. We’ll pivot to the coaching here in a minute. This was a glaring reality check that the Cardinals aren’t close. Like this defense, that offense, even though they pretty much took an ambi in the whole second half because they didn’t have to do anything, like this defense is what an elite defense is. You bring in some key vets. Demarcus Lawrence had a career day that we haven’t seen in a while. And then they traded for Leonard Williams a couple years ago. They drafted Byron Murphy. They drafted some of their backers in their corners. Devon Witherspoon. Like this is what a finished product looks like from the defensive side of the ball. And while the Cardinals defense is better this year when it’s healthy, it could rival the Seattle Seahawks defense. But all in all, 1 to 53 and 1 to 22 starters, this is a different, you know, this is in the stratosphere compared to where the Cardinals are on Earth. Yeah. And I would also add coaching to that too. Like I would I think Kubak is night and day a better play caller than than Ping is. Um, McDonald, I think, compared to Ganon as like a kind of a defensive-minded head coach, um, has done more with the resources that has been made readily available to him compared to Ganon. Um, but then I think you kind of bleed into the argument of, okay, well, like they got here in 2023, they had to strip the roster down to its bare bones. They had you and I on the defensive line for the first two years of of of the rebuild. Um, so this is really the the first time and I remember saying this on the show, we haven’t seen Jonathan Gana and coach a team with expectations in Arizona. This is our first real glimpse of, hey JG, like these guys should make the postseason. They should be in the conversation heading into week 17, week 18, like now now there’s actual expectations. This is the first time we’ve ever seen that. And I was still curious to see how it played out. But it’s just like a barrage of bad luck, injuries, coaching play. It’s like the the perfect melting pot of everything that could have gone wrong for the Arizona Cardinals has gone wrong this year. I just wish the injuries weren’t it so we could have really seen, you know, and and I think a lot of it and I give credit to whatever I don’t, you know, look at a I mean, I read your stuff. I I check out some of my other buddies stuff, but it’s like the the no excuse for injuries thing is pretty prevalent. It’s not like, oh, this is all happening because of injuries. Nobody talk like you got to give credit to the coaching staff for that and I know we’re grasping at straws but it’s like this team hasn’t been healthy since Carolina you know so and then obviously with Kyler going out I don’t know if whatever that means I think the writing was on the wall pretty much at that point but yeah you know it’s it’s tough man it’s um it’s not if it’s when things seem to go wrong with Arizona and it’s uh I thought going into this season that I would feel duped if we were here at this point and I do feel duped and I think I’m not the only one. So, let’s talk about coaching. Um, I almost swore. We’ll talk about coaching next. This episode of Lockdown Cardinals is brought to you by our friends at Ripling. Um, here’s the thing. 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Today’s episode of Lockdown Cardinals is also brought to you by FanDuel. NBA’s back. There’s no better place to get in on the action than FanDuel, official sports betting partner of the NBA. Even if you missed the start of the game or want to ride the hot hand, FanDuel has live bets on everything from who will score the next score next to fourth quarter comebacks. The NBA has been bonkers this year. Like, the NBA’s been absolutely insane. Uh, Grace Allen put up a 40 burger last night. I think Donnie was in the building. The, you know, who the hell knows. Uh, all is possible over at FanDuel. It keeps every game exciting, especially when your team’s making the late push. Right now, FanDuel is giving new customers $300 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. So, head to fanduel.com to sign up and play your game at FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. All right. Uh, Donnie Duan, what’s up? This sucks. Uh, so it’s like, so, so you know, I have you on around, you know, free agency time, draft time, free agency time, and the summer where it’s list season, there’s not much going on, so we just get to talk about the same stuff. the start of the season’s really exciting and then it just gets like we’re Benjamin buttoning back to bad and it’s just like I so the season is categorically most likely over especially with um the division strength that the NFC West is this year. Let me ask you this before we get to coaching. We always talk about talent. Um the toughest division in football, the toughest division in football this year it’s this. This year it’s this. For me, there’s like 10 stable organizations in the NFL and three of them are in the NFC West. Like, you take the Rams, you take the 49ers, you take the Seahawks, and they’ve had their ups and downs. I know when, you know, when Paul Allen passed and there were things that happened in Seattle and then, you know, uh Stan Kunky like is is insane. Lesn got fired around the uh the Jeff Fischer days, but they’ve writed the ship. And then, you know, John Lynch came in and he almost got fired and then they made it to the Super Bowl and they’ve writed everything. And the Cardinals are that mean with the three servants than the one sticking its tongue out. Yeah. So 30% if not more of the stable organizations are in the same division where the Cardinals are. So not only are they dysfunctional, but they’re going against Titans in that respect. How much of that has an impact on everything, do you think? And that’s almost rhetorical. I I I would say it it has a a decent amount of impact on everything. But like still like you play 17 games in a season, those are only six. Yeah. you know, like like they’re only what almost a third of the schedule. Like what about the other two-thirds of it, you know, and like and I I do want to bring up the whole um division matchups are they’re harder because like the teams know each other a little bit better like and I I I do think there’s some credence to that because like you do see these guys twice a year that you know their ins and outs and it’s tougher because like you you know what they’re going to run. Jonathan Ganon is familiar with Shawn McVey like McVey is familiar with like Shanahan and Shanahan’s familiar with it. It’s a it’s a never- ending loop, a circle. Here’s what they call. Here’s what they like. Here’s what they don’t like. There’s not going to be a whole lot of surprises and wrinkles heading into his hand. It comes down to execution. And I I think it’s the kind of the perfect segue into talking about the 2025 Cardinals is they just haven’t executed. The the chess pieces have been on the board. The coaching staff for the most part has put them in positions to succeed. But we’re talking about like a Z Jones drop pass in San Francisco. Mari Marcato dropping the ball over over the goal line. Like the the the Cardinals for as close as they were a couple plays away from being a a 0 and6 like a one and seven football team there easily could have been a a a six and two like an eight in one team. But like that’s just not the reality. Like in the NFL you are what your record is. The the Cardinals are in three and six football team because they can’t execute when whenever it comes down to it. They have yet to play a full 60-minute game of football. And I I I think heading back to the the Seattle game, that was really kind of the first time where I sat there and I’m like, “Okay, like they’re getting outplayed. They’re getting out coached or getting outplayed.” Like there really is no chance because even in in the tough losses they’ve played against like other strong teams this year, they were in it until the end. Like like looking at that Colts game, like the Colts are one of the best teams in football and the Cardinals were this close to beating them, but like Seattle just took another step where it’s like, hey, like this is big boy football. Like this is a team nobody wants to play whenever the NFL playoffs start here in a few months. How are they going to stack up? And like I I I know was on the road in Seattle. I know things were a little bit different without Kyler as compared to Jacobe, but like you almost beat this team a few weeks back on Thursday Night Football on on a short week. Like the the discrepancy should not have been that high. It simply shouldn’t. Yeah. And that’s where then why are you blaming coaches if everything’s on the field and the co the players aren’t producing? And that’s that’s you know a hypothetical that that’s a rhetorical like that’s my thing is like okay so yes the the everyday fan says oh it fired Drew Pensing okay cool who’s going to call the place oh sweet nobody on the roster nobody on this coaching staff has done that before awesome I’ll fire Jonathan Gan okay so who then look at look at who’s available out on the open out on the open market it’s the same thing with Kyler Murray when when that happened it’s like when I like the defense through whatever seven weeks going into their buy gave up as many points in the first three quarters combined as they did in just the fourth quarter for all of those seven games. Okay, so obviously something was a miss. I don’t think that that can be put all on Nick Rollis and Jonathan G. I don’t think that Justin Fry even can make Jonah Williams a better offensive lineman. Like I know coaching and I know you know um I know game like I know I get it all. I get it all. That’s why I’m a huge proponent of just riding that like what what are you gonna do? What is firing? Oh, it’s gonna show you’re a big man and just oh that that means that everything that’s been built up culture-wise outside of the lines that for other organizations doesn’t seem like a big deal because a lot of times it’s already there. This culture is completely different. It’s completely different organization from what it was. So, you need to I don’t know, just harness that ride out the next nine weeks and don’t don’t um uh reup his contract like what I saw from Kyler Murray to what I saw with Jacobe Brassette. I looked at Drew Pig. I’m like, I’m sorry. I apologize because if you were calling these plays and Kyler Murray couldn’t execute him, that’s not a coaching problem. So, I’m sure they’ll fire somebody, but do they need to? I I it it wouldn’t make sense at this point in time unless they’re like mathematically eliminated from the postseason and then if they wanted to get a head start on getting some guys out of the building. Sure. But like to your point if like okay Drew Ping’s contract is up at the end of the year why are you going to fire the only guy with not even extensive play calling experience but just play calling experience in general right? Are we gonna have Israel War take over? We could have Drew Terrell take over? What what resumes do they have? And like that that that’s not like taking a dump on those guys. I’m just saying like like you need legitimate guys who know how to call an NFL offense. And obviously the jury is very much out on whether Drew Petting is that guy or not. But there’s nobody else on the staff where like you feel comfortable going, “Oh, okay. That makes sense. Okay. Yeah, I’m um I I think I would like to see this guy take over play Call of Duties. It just it doesn’t make sense. And I I think we’ve talked a lot, Alex, about how Jonathan Ganon and his staff aren’t reactionary. For the most part, that’s been a good thing. That’s been a good thing where it’s like, “Oh, okay, one bad game. We’re not going to get this guy out of here. We’re not going to make crazy sweeping changes off of one or two games.” But I I do think we’re kind of getting to that point where after such a large sample size of knowing what the Cardinals are in 2025, there hasn’t really been a ton of changes made. Yeah. And it’s like, okay, if if you’re going to be process driven, and I can understand I I appreciate emphasizing the process over the results and staying to it and believing in what you’re doing. At what point does that line blur with, hey man, we’re three and six? Yeah. The NFL is a black and white business. You are very very you’re a couple weeks away from being eliminated from from the postseason in a year where you were supposed to make the playoffs. Something’s got to change. I think that Jonathan Ganon, and this isn’t an excuse, this is based on empirical evidence, what works. And I don’t know why this isn’t talked about more. Maybe it is. Um, when Brandon Staley got hired by the Chargers, the first time head coach as an 11year-old who probably got IDed for alcohol still as a 35year-old, he had Who do you have? um Jim Schw like Jim Schwarz and Ken Wizenh Hunt or whoever it is like you’ve got vets coaches that are cocooning a young head coach and Jonathan Ganon had two guys who never had that position before. So while like and this isn’t looking back. I think Mick Rouse has been by and large fantastic his time here. And luckily for the Cardinals, the defense is sputtered so he’ll be around another year. You’d think like he’s not going to be have this meteoric, oh he’s going to be the next head coach at 30, whatever he is under 35, but it’s like who do you turn to when Clayton Adams is gone and Jeff Rogers is a special teams coach. Um, this is far beyond the days of Tom Clement up in the up in the ivory tower, you know, like they don’t have a sherpa to follow. And I know that it’s, you know, it’s much new about nothing at this point. We’re splitting hairs. We’re talking about, you know, beating a dead horse. But like looking back, the recipe for success going into this season shouldn’t ever have fallen on the coaching staff falling short. And I think early on it did, but then you saw what’s what was exacerbated was the players just weren’t executing in the fourth quarter and you’re not closing out games and you’re not falling on a fumble and you’re having a Laurel and a Hardy, you know, uh uh exhibit where you can’t fall in the ball with Rabbit and then, you know, Tennessee falls out in the end zone. Like just a comedy of errors on the field, too. So, I wish I had I wish I was like a Men in Black character where I had nine arms to point at who is to blame this year. But I mean, let me ask you this and then we’ll pivot because we’re we’re going here. Do you think even after they’re eliminated from playoffs, which is more than likely inevitably going to happen, do you see a head roll or not? I I don’t think so. I think the only guy who would make sense would be Petting, but just like his contract is up at the end of the year. It it it doesn’t make any sense to to fire him if he’s already kind of going to be out of the building after this year anyway. Um, I’m not sure how that works with just like paying out the the remainder of the the contract anyways, but at that point like you’re just doing it just to do it and like we can talk a lot about Jonathan Ganon’s tenure in Arizona, but like the one thing I can say about him is he’s not going to do something just for the sake of doing something. And I think I think that’s a trait of bad organizations and people get so upset whenever Ganon gets in front of a microphone and like he just says the same coach speak stuff week after week after week and people get tired of it and you know he’s not giving us the answers. He’s not being this, he’s not being that. Pointing fingers over a microphone is how organizations burn to the ground. So I commend Jonathan for not doing that. I also think that’s that’s a trait of organizations in the same aspect of hey something happened. We’re limited from the from the playoffs. Let’s fire everybody. Let’s tear this thing to the ground. Whatever the Cardinals conceivably were this close from being the team we thought they were going to be. Gana’s not that kind of guy. It doesn’t seem like Monty Austin is that kind of general manager anywhere. Um I don’t it maybe an assistant coach or two maybe. But like as far as big people absolutely not. I I would be surprised. This is what people, you know, Cardinals fans and people are like they’re they’re looking for the toxic approach because that’s what they’re used to. This is what stability looks like. Even though it’s which is kind of a backwards way of what we’re experiencing right now, these things while Jonathan Ganon and I got heated on a show or two where it’s like you’re just you’re patronizing the media members when you talk like that about after when a game happens. Like and I’m not going to say you felt like that. I’ve talked to people who felt like that. Like it’s like you obviously are lying right to these people’s faces. What are we doing here? But then you go back to it, it’s like in the grand scheme of things, everybody loves JG. He’s a good leader in the locker room. He’s the antithesis of what a lot of coaches the Arizona Cardinals have had. He would be a perfect GM head coach if he could 100% close his eyes and have an offensive coordinator that could absolutely, you know, knock that out of the park so he could just focus on coaching and eyeing it on the defense. And that hasn’t it hasn’t been exponentially far off, but it hasn’t been close either. And I think that’s a huge downturn to a GM coach who doesn’t know anything about offense. Yeah. And I I I would agree with that. And I fully understand why people get upset whenever they listen to again a press conference. I I get it. Like like being 5t away from the dude and hearing him talk and kind of regurgitate the same message over and over again of, hey, it like it’s me. I got to coach better. Like this, this, and that. I get it. I fully get it. But also like you have to shift the perspective. If Genanon is going to have to choose between saying what is probably the truth o over the microphone of what really happened, who really messed up, why things are really going the way that they are, or just taking all of the ownership, absorbing all of the blame on him so he can protect the locker room. That’s such an easy decision for him. That that that is such an easy call. And I think being in his spot and 99% of us would do the same thing. Yeah, agreed. Agreed. Uh let’s talk about Trey McBride because well, he’s the high he’s he’s top spot. He’s the only entity on this team that you can trust unequivocally every snap he’s on the field. We’ll talk about it next. Today’s show is brought to you by our friends over there at Pelaton. Look folks, it’s time to break through the busiest time of the year with a brand new Pelaton crossraining tread plus that’s powered by Pelaton IQ. It’s Pelaton’s most elevated technology and equipment yet that gives you real-time guidance and it gives you endless ways to move. Whether you want to work out by yourself or if you want to work out with your favorite instructor like my personal favorite, Alex Tousant, he always gets me fired up to tackle the day. And the thing I like about Pelaton, it helps me achieve more in less times. They have features that help you plan, stay motivated, track your progress, and Pelaton IQ also provides personalized workout plans and recommendations. That’s something that I use right now during the busiest time of the year covering the NFL. They plan my workouts for me based on my mood, my vibe, and also my favorite instructors. So, make sure you check it out and use it because it also helps you correct your form in real time and it maximizes your reps. It counts your reps so that you can do it smarter, safer, and more efficient. Let yourself run, lift, flex, push, and go. Explore the new Pelaton crossraining tread plus at onepliton.com. Donnie Duan, Arizona Cardinal writer for Sports Illustrated. Um, you know, I’m not I don’t like to be doom and gloom a lot. I think, you know, having straight conversations about this sometimes is healthy. Uh, because everything else is absolutely messing with everybody’s mental health, which is fantastic. Um, Trey McBride has been a vision. Um, this is what we expected from him in, you know, this year. Um, and I maybe the biggest indictment of Kyler Murray is Trey McBride. Like he was getting him the ball, but the depth of target is in I mean a different stratosphere again with with Jacobe Brassette chunking gains getting it’s not just getting him the ball five yards on a third and 10 and making him you know get gut out the other five for a first down. Yeah. like he’s open and Jacob Brusset is also throwing him open and he’s been by and large the the best tight end in fantasy football and you know on in regular football this year. I I think um so many people weren’t worried, but anytime a guy gets paid like he did over the offseason, it’s like here it comes, you know, like here comes kind of the the regression, but it seems like he’s only gotten better. And I I think he’s gotten more reliable as as a run blocker, too. like he’s really kind of molded himself and you could have made his argument last year, Alex, to where like he was one of the best tight ends in football and but like because he wears an Arizona Cardinal logo on his helmet, not a lot of people paid a lot of credence to it. like like replicating that production again given everything that’s going on and I think he’s only cemented himself across the national stage of hey like this is one of the best not really tight ends but just like weapons in the NFL and for a Cardinal offense that has sputtered each and every direction somehow someway week after week after week it feels like something has gone wrong for them. He’s been the one consistent for them. And it that’s that’s impressive because you I you and I know that. Defensive coordinators know that too. It’s not like Trey McBride surprises them every Sunday, right? There are heavy game plans to take Trey McBride away and he still puts up those Madden video game numbers. It’s so impressive. This is the first player since Larry Fitzgerald who’s done it for this team where it’s like everybody knows and don’t you dare comment. I’m not comparing Larry Fitzgerald to Trey McBride. This is the since Larry Fitzgerald was always open and that was Larry was also like ridiculous um contested catches and stuff like that. Trey does that too, but it was kind of throw the ball and Larry’s down there somewhere kind of thing on top of him always being open, especially, you know, in 2015 with BA where you move him in the slot, he’s just this Adonis again. Um I always I always go to Devonte Adams with Aaron Rogers. It’s like he’s always open. Doesn’t matter. He was always open. Goal line, red zone, first and 10 from the one. It doesn’t matter. Devonte Adams was always open and everybody knew he was getting the ball. Jamar Chase in some respects too. Uh he’s got a lot of different quarterbacks now with Joe Burrow, but yeah, Trey McBride’s always open. And the beautiful part is he’s getting thrown the ball so much like this isn’t like uh you know, take the take the the dump down instead of waiting half a second in Trey McBride’s crossing route for it to for it to mature and he you can throw it over the throw it over the DB, you know, going from right to left. Like it’s the touchdowns right side, deep out, always open touchdown. Like we’ve seen two in the last two weeks and it’s just like this is amazing. This is great. And the best part is he loves being here. Okay. This is that’s one of the things. You know what? We can talk about Trevor Bride plenty. I want to talk about this before we get you out of here. Yeah. The mind screw of all of this is no infighting. Nothing leaked to the press. Like nobody’s wanting out. People love being here. And I, you know, I get some push back on that, but it’s like you got to take the baby steps with an organization that has had a proclivity for star players to want out. So, does that mean anything moving forward or is it just nice nice to have and Kas Campbell’s going to go be an Eagle next year or something? No, I I I think I think both can be true. I I think it could be just something nice to have, but also there’s some credence, too. I I think um my mind immediately went to the NFL PA report card that this past offseason where it’s like okay well um and this is before Joshu came before Kas resigned Dvin Tomlinson too. Um, but it’s like the the facilities f strength and conditioning f like like all of the things that like Jonathan Ganon for example can’t control FD whatever whatever it might be but like the head coach got an A and like the the one or two other aspects of of the team got an A. So, it’s like the there are pieces there that would attract people to the Arizona Cardinals, but like there there needs to be some more proactive steps to make this organization and it facilities more appealing. And I think we kind of seen that take baby steps like you said with G since he’s gotten here. They don’t have to pay for the mills anymore. They’re building a new facility in in in like a couple years. So, like it’s not like quick progress, but it’s progress, right? Like it’s slowly becoming better. I I just think without being too critical, there are some things in Arizona that are holding the Cardinals back from really kind of taking that next step um whenever it comes to free agents because that that like that grade of like the ownership and the uh team facilities and like the comments made about like the the limited time for like family and friends that’s a big one. Yeah. And like all those other little things. That’s big. That That’s very big and that’s very important to those NFL players. And it it just hasn’t changed. But players talk, dude. All they’re going to do is call a former Cardinal be like, “What’s this like?” Terrible. You know, like, but at least there’s cassitas. At least Well, and I we’ve talked about this. I will die on this hill. Everything went haywire when Michael Bidwell didn’t call them cardas. It was right there. and he refused to call them cardas because it’s the Cardinals and not cassitas and that’s where we are. So, but Ka’s coming back. I thought that was like uh the olive branch like okay things are better now things he could have taken money anywhere. Yeah. So that that’s like I said he was the most impactful signing this offseason because that shows that new times are here. So the fact that that’s not the case on paper at least because they’re three and six and they look pretty dysfunctional between the lines. I don’t know. Like some organizations you can tell what the problem is and I can’t tell what the problem is. I know there is one. I just can’t tell what it is. Donnie, tell people where they can find you, dude. Yeah. Um Donnie Drew on Twitter and followwork.com NFL. Remember without you there is no me. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.

The Arizona Cardinals’ season has spiraled into a full-blown crisis, raising serious questions about whether head coach Jonathan Gannon and his staff can survive this 3-6 disaster. Is this merely a personnel problem, or has the entire offensive system become fundamentally broken beyond repair?

Sports Illustrated’s Donnie Druin joins the show to conduct a comprehensive autopsy of Arizona’s implosion. The conversation centers on the devastating regression following offensive line coach Clayton Adams’ departure to the New York Giants, examining whether his exit created a domino effect that’s destroyed the team’s foundation. The debate intensifies around offensive coordinator Drew Petzing’s culpability—can he reasonably be blamed for offensive failures when his quarterback receives virtually no protection? Or should the coaching staff have adjusted their scheme to compensate for the line’s inadequacies?

The NFC West dynamics reveal a brutal truth: the division’s three elite organizations—the 49ers, Seahawks, and Rams—continue systematically exposing Arizona’s dysfunction week after week. The Seahawks’ defensive blueprint particularly embarrassed the Cardinals, providing a masterclass in how to dismantle Gannon’s offense. The quarterback situation adds another layer of controversy, with heated discourse surrounding Kyler Murray’s performance versus backup Jacoby Brissett, forcing difficult questions about the franchise’s long-term direction.

Despite the on-field carnage, tight end Trey McBride has emerged as the lone beacon of hope, posting video game statistics even as defensive coordinators specifically game-plan to neutralize him. His production stands as a testament to individual excellence amid organizational chaos.

Perhaps most surprising: zero locker room drama exists despite the mounting losses and systemic failures. But can that unity survive as the season continues deteriorating? Coaching staff job security becomes the elephant in the room as Arizona enters a crucial stretch that could determine everyone’s future.

This episode delivers an unflinching, no-holds-barred analysis of what’s gone catastrophically wrong in the desert and whether this franchise possesses any realistic path to salvage something—anything—from a season that’s rapidly slipping through their fingers. 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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