Cardinals Monday Morning QB: What are the elements that led to this disappointing 1-3 start?

When the finality of Washington’s demoralizing 42-14 win at State Farm Stadium had sunk in, everybody in the Arizona Cardinals locker room agreed on one thing: “We can’t look like that.”

Jonathan Gannon said the staff began to discuss remedies late in the game when the outcome was no longer in doubt.

“It was a good conversation,” the Cardinals coach said.

There was talk of change after the offense stagnated against one of the NFL’s worst defenses. There was talk of adapting after the Commanders carved an injury-depleted, talent-deficient defense on the ground and via Kliff Kingsbury’s trademark quick passing game.

There was also accountability from the players and the coach.

To be clear, Gannon puts the blame on his shoulders after every loss, but this time felt different; more heartfelt.

“I’m the head coach,” he said. “Everything that goes on out there is my responsibility. When you get beat by whatever we got beat today, it doesn’t feel real good so I’m gonna look in the mirror and adjust and adapt and do a better job.”

Accountability is important in times of hardship. Communication is critical. So is brainstorming solutions. Gannon’s transparency (more on transparency in a moment) is laudable in that regard.

But the big-picture questions that remain on everybody’s minds are these. How did it come to this? Are there legitimate solutions? Who’s to blame for this 1-3 start?

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Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort

When Monti Ossenfort took over as GM last season, he made it clear that the Cardinals would embark on a thorough rebuild in everything from health and player performance resources to an overhaul of the roster. A rebuild takes time and it is not fair to expect a 180-degree turnaround from the Cardinals in a little more than a season.

In some ways, this team is the victim of preseason media hype, but in other ways, the team fueled that hype with talk of offensive playmakers, a physical offensive line, a fully matured Kyler Murray and even playoffs.

Ossenfort has been roundly criticized for not adding to the defensive side of the ball despite ample cap space. The Cards were atrocious against the run last season and they are again this season, allowing the fifth most rushing yards per game at 146.5.

They lacked a consistent pass rush over the second half of last season yet Ossenfort did nothing to significantly upgrade the edge, instead hoping for an improved Zaven Collins, the emergence of 2023 second-round BJ Ojulari (now out for the season) and more opportunities in the 2025 offseason when Arizona will have a much larger chunk of cap space to utilize.

At least we think that was his plan. We don’t know for certain because we haven’t heard from Ossenfort since training camp began. Even then, he didn’t offer real insight into his plans; only superficial hints such as “we certainly won’t hesitate to make an addition to the roster” and “with every position, we’re constantly trying to get better.”

I don’t know what’s keeping Ossenfort from laying out his plans in detail. Maybe it’s his Patriots training — an amusing thought since nobody would have cared about the Patriot way of doing things if Tom Brady hadn’t come along. Maybe the Cardinals as an organization are still pinching pennies with an eye toward the future. Maybe Ossenfort just doesn’t think that laying out a clear vision is helpful.

We disagree and we can cite a clear, local example as proof. When Bill Armstrong took over as GM of the now departed Coyotes, he made it abundantly clear that the hockey operations side would undergo the same sort of overhaul that Ossenfort began with the Cardinals last season.

The difference? Armstrong admitted that purse strings were tight. Armstrong admitted that it would take a long time to build sustainable success. Armstrong admitted that there would be a lot of losing. Armstrong laid bare every piece of his thought process and asked the fans to believe in his vision.

Guess what? It worked. The fan base bought in because the GM brought them into the process to help them understand it.

I’m not sure where Ossenfort feels the fans and local media fit into his plan, but if he thinks they don’t he is wrong. Both are stakeholders. Both impact the financial success of the team, the on-field success of the team, and the perception of the team.

If Ossenfort suspected this season would be a struggle he should have said so. If Ossenfort plans to push his chips to the middle of the table in the 2025 offseason, he should say so. If Ossenfort has a timeline in mind for when this team can become a consistent playoff team, he should say so. Transparency matters because it helps all of the stakeholders understand the plan and the thinking behind it. Some still may not buy in, but others will and that will help in the court of public opinion.

Right now, that court is not in Ossenfort’s corner.

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Offense

After the Cardinals hammered the Rams in week two, Gannon referred to his offensive coordinator, Drew Petzing, as a stud. After the performance we witnessed in weeks three and four, we can assure you that nobody is requesting stud fees with the hope of recreating the Cardinals offense.

It appeared that the Cardinals had learned their lesson about getting the ball to their playmakers and pushing the ball downfield after a rough second half in Buffalo, but Murray’s passing chart on Sunday against the Commanders looked like a regression.

It has become abundantly clear that the Cardinals want to establish James Conner early in games. They did that on Sunday and Conner eventually went over 100 yards rushing.

It didn’t matter one lick in the outcome. After targeting Marvin Harrison Jr. on the game’s first play, Murray didn’t target him again until 5:10 remained in the third quarter. It was on Murray’s mind after the game.

“I felt that, too,” he said. “We have to get our best players the ball.”

Look, this is not a deep analysis of the Cardinals offense from the press box. That happens too often with media members who don’t possess nearly enough data and understanding to dissect something as complex as an NFL offense. But we can all agree that what the Cardinals aren’t doing right now isn’t working.

Is it in fact a product of Petzing’s play-calling? Are the Murray criticisms of the past proving true? Is the loss of Jonah Williams at right tackle crippling the offense? Or, more likely, is there blame to pass around the entire offense and staff? The Cardinals allowed four sacks to the Commanders’ lowly pass rush and they managed just 14 points against one of the league’s most porous defenses. At home. With Washington playing on a short week. That is unacceptable.

Adaptation and adjustment had better be more than lip service. It’s time for some serious soul searching from what was supposed to be the strength of this team. Accountability is important, but it means nothing without the subsequent action.

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Defense

By the time media reached the dressing room after Sunday’s loss — and after Gannon and Murray had spoken in the interview room — there were few Cardinals left to probe for thoughts on this latest debacle.

Roy Lopez was there, but he was mostly at a loss to describe what he had just witnessed.

“For us, it’s about going back to the drawing board, watching film and improvements we’ve got to make,” he said. “Not good enough.”

Save for a standout performance against the Rams, the defense has been a weak link for the Cardinals, but that’s no surprise. Again, Ossenfort did little to improve the unit this offseason other than the revelation that has been linebacker Mack Wilson Sr.

Just as important, the Cardinals have been decimated by defensive injuries. Edge rusher BJ Ojulari (ACL) is out for the season. Darius Robson (calf) has been on IR since the start of the season. Those are Ossenfort’s two highest defensive draft picks.

On top of that, lineman Justin Jones (triceps) was lost for the season, defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga (knee) missed Sunday’s game, and rookie cornerback Elijah Jones (heel) has also been on IR since the start of the season.

When your unit is already thin, losses hurt all the more. There’s only so much that defensive coordinator Nick Rallis can via scheme to mitigate the losses and the lack of playmakers he has been given. The return of Robinson and eventually Ojulari should help, but this unit needs far more help than those two young players can provide.

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Stats & stuff

• The Cardinals have scored 27 points over their past two games. That’s their lowest output in a two-game span with Kyler Murray since his rookie season.
• Through four games, the Cardinals have allowed the fifth-most rushing yards in the NFL (586) and the fourth most points per game (26.5).
• The Cardinals have scored 35 points in the first quarter this season and 38 total points in four second halves (eight total quarters).
• The Commanders’ Jayden Daniels became the first QB in NFL history to complete at least 85 percent of his passes in consecutive games.
• Going back to the Detroit game, the Cardinals are four for their past 19 on third-down conversions.

And from the department of redundancy department, here are the Cardinals’ Pro Football Focus grades from Sunday. The Cardinals were awful on Sunday: Here’s further proof of what you already knew.

Tip of the hat to Paris Johnson Jr. and Max Melton as the only guys who climbed into the B range.

Injury front

• Kelvin Beachum (hamstring) returned to the lineup on Sunday and was an honorary captain.
• Gannon said the team came out of the game with only bumps and bruises, but it remains to be seen whether tight end Trey McBride (concussion protocol) and defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga (knee) will be ready for San Francisco.
• Defensive lineman Darius Robinson (calf) is eligible to come off IR this week. So are offensive tackle Christian Jones (ankle) and cornerback Elijah Jones (heel).

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Up next

The Cardinals face their second NFC West foe of the season when they travel to Santa Clara, California to play the 49ers (2-2). San Francisco will be without bell cow running back Christian McCaffrey (Achilles tendonitis). The 49ers are coming off a 30-13 win against the Patriots after successive close losses to the Vikings and Rams. They opened the season with a win against the Jets.

For the Cardinals, this game begins a murderous run of three road dates in their next four games. Arizona goes to Green Bay, hosts the LA Chargers, and travels to Miami to round out the first eight games of the season.

Top illustration via Sidney Pinger and Damon Fairall, ALLCITY Network

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