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Cardinals-Packers preview: No saviors are walking through that door, it's next man up
Before Friday’s practice, Arizona Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon delivered hard news to a hungry fan base. Defensive lineman Darius Robinson experienced some discomfort in his calf on the first day of his 21-day practice window on Wednesday.
“We’re going to be smart with him,” Gannon said. “He’s not going to go this week.”
The news was similar for receiver Zay Jones, who has returned from a five-game suspension, but will not play this weekend in Green Bay.
Over in the Cardinals locker room, interior lineman Trystan Colon (and perhaps rookie third-round pick Isaiah Adams) was preparing to fill the enormous shoes of right guard Will Hernandez, who will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury sustained against the 49ers last week when defensive end Nick Bosa rolled up on the back of his leg.
Three time zones to the east, holdout linebacker Haason Reddick lost his representation when CAA cut ties with the former Cardinal, who remains in a contract dispute with the New York Jets and may sit out the entire season.
If Cardinals fans and media haven’t gotten the hint by now, this week’s collection of news should make it clear: No saviors are walking through the door to save the season and push Arizona into playoff contention.
“It’s always [a] next man up kind of mentality around here,” Colon said. “It’s always been.”
This is not to say that GM Monti Ossenfort won’t make a move to beef up the ranks before the Nov. 5 trade deadline, but it’s becoming increasingly apparent that the current Cardinals will have to earn that reward. And even if Ossenfort does add a piece, that piece will take time to adapt to new personnel, new coaches, and new systems.
The same is true of Robinson and Jones. Jones was suspended before the season opener, sidelining him for the first five games. Robinson hasn’t taken any meaningful snaps since sustaining the calf injury in a practice on Aug. 22.
“It’s a lot of time,” Gannon said. “You’ve got to get your sea legs back a little bit. You’ve got to have some adaptability with how you’re doing that… just understanding that there’s going to be some known unknowns as those processes go. You’ve got to deal with them and do what’s best for the player first, and then what’s best for the team.”
Gannon is less concerned with Jones because he hasn’t missed as much time and he’s not coming back from an injury. With Robinson, Gannon wants to manage expectations.
“He wants to put on a jersey and play football,” Gannon said. “But he understands where he’s at and what his role will be moving forward and he’ll embrace that.”
The Cardinals could obviously use the help on a defensive front beset by injuries and hamstrung by personnel deficiencies. The same is true of the Hernandez-less offensive line, which is still missing right tackle Jonah Williams, who was lost in the season opener in Buffalo, and whose timeline remains uncertain.
If Gannon is hoping for external reinforcements, he isn’t saying. Like the rest of the room, he is closing ranks and supporting the guys he has as the Cardinals try to climb back to .500 on Sunday against the Packers, improve to 3-2 in the conference, and grab a share of first place in the NFC West.
“The guys we’ve got, we feel good about,” he said. “We’ll get the right lineup in there and go to work.”
(Getty Images)
Offensive line shuffle
Trystan Colon got a haircut that leaves a little less weight up top. He didn’t say if that streamlined look was by design, but he’ll need to be on his toes this week and beyond as he attempts to fill the spot of standout guard Will Hernandez.
“I know the guys have my back,” he said. “They’ve been talking to me all week and I feel like I’m ready to go. As a whole offensive line, we feel like we’re ready to go.”
Colon hasn’t seen a lot of snaps this season. That’s understandable since the interior of the Cardinals line is a group of well established veterans who had been durable until Hernandez’s injury. Colon insisted that the bond that exists with the O-line group — and that is not hyperbole when you see them interact — will help him adjust quickly, but he admitted that stepping between the lines and into Hernandez’s shoes is an entirely different conversation.
On the plus side, Colon said it has been helpful to focus on one interior position this week.
“When you’re kind of like the backup rotational piece, you’re moving through all three spots during the week so you never have an idea of what’s going to happen,” he said. “This week, knowing you’re mainly playing one position going into the game usually makes it a lot easier. I can focus on this hip opening more, having to push down on my left foot a little bit more.”
Colon, who will likely share reps with rookie third-round pick Isaiah Adams, understands what Hernandez meant to the team.
“You cannot replace Will Hernandez,” he said. “That’s Big Mijo. I’m gonna do my best. I’ve even gone as far as telling [tackle] Paris [Johnson Jr.], I’m gonna try work on my tap, make sure my tap looks the exact same. I’m gonna do my best to try to imitate everything he brings. At the end of the day, Will’s a dog and he was a huge loss for our offense, but I’m going to do everything I can to make this transition period as good as possible.”
Zay Jones mum on suspension
When Cardinals receiver Zay Jones spoke to reporters for the first time since returning from a five-game suspension, he wasn’t interested in talking much about the reasons behind that suspension or any lessons he might have learned from it. He was just grateful to be back and put it behind him.
“I know you guys are inquiring, but truthfully, I think I’d be doing this team and the people around me and supporting me a disservice to go backwards,” he said.
Jones knows that he has to re-earn any role that he might have had coming out of the preseason, but he does have a skill set that he thinks could be of use in the Cardinals passing game.
“The reason that I’ve been brought here is because they know the type of player I am,” he said. “One who can stretch the field. One who is a great teammate to his teammates, a leader, someone who’s always looking to encourage — just doing whatever it takes to be a good person, good player, good teammate.”
Jones also knows there will be an adjustment period after the long layoff.
“It’s gonna take one step at a time, getting back into the swing of things and feeling the flow of things,” he said. “Camp was that training period of time, and things are adapting, things are evolving so it’s a little bit of catch up, learning, listening, just being a part of.
“It’s such a blessing to be back in the building and be able to sit in some of these meetings and then hear the coaches, one-on-one, and hear them explain things. It’s a lot different than when you’re at home trying to piece it together.”
Gannon said the staff got a sense of how Jones could help the offense in camp.
“A three-position guy,” he said. “He’s very accountable. He makes plays; team- first guy.”
Rabbit’s run
Safety Dadrion “Rabbit” Taylor-Demerson logged a season-high 22 snaps (34 percent) last week in the Bay Area. What has defensive backs coach Patrick Toney seen from the rookie?
“We talk a lot about the fundamentals of defensive back play: just getting a line correctly, putting his eyes in the right spot, using the right on-snap footwork,” Toney said. “We know he can run, hit, tackle.
“He’s come a long way from preseason one to what he showed in the game against San Francisco.”
3 keys to victory
Win turnover battle: The Packers lead the NFL with 14 takeaways, including one interception in each game this season by safety Xavier McKinney. Green Bay is plus-seven in turnover differentials; tied with Buffalo for the league lead.
The Cardinals forced three turnovers last week in San Francisco and are plus-two (tied for ninth). QB Kyler Murray will have to be wary of McKinney’s ball-hawking skills, and the Cardinals can’t let ball security cost them on the road with a chance to grab a share of first place in the NFC West.
Get Marv going: The Packers have allowed the fifth most explosive passing plays in the NFL this season (16) and they don’t get home to the QB well, with half of their season total for sacks coming in one game against Tennessee and pedestrian QB Will Levis. There will be opportunities for Murray to get receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. the ball.
Harrison leads the Cardinals with 16.4 yards per catch and four TDs. While his targets may not be the highest percentage, they can inflict high damage when completed.
Make Jordan Love uncomfortable: Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, but the Cardinals are not a great pass rushing team. They rank 31st in pressure rate, per NFL Next Gen Stats.
Love has thrown five interceptions in just three games this season. The league leaders have six. And although he hasn’t fumbled the ball this season, he fumbled it five times last season.
If the Cardinals can find a way to make him uncomfortable, they may be able to force mistakes. By the way, the Packers added left tackle Rasheed Walker to the injury report on Friday with a knee injury. He is questionable to play.
(Getty Images)
Matchup to watch
Cardinals QB Kyler Murray vs. the Packers defensive front
As Green Bay Press-Gazette and USA Today Network Packers beat writer Ryan Wood noted in this week’s edition of Outside the Nest, the Packers defensive front has made it a focus to limit mobile quarterbacks’ ability to hurt Green Bay with their legs.
“That was a huge priority; a huge emphasis for them,” Wood said. “They’ve seen the Kyler Murray prototype twice already this year. I think it will be interesting to see if Kyler Murray can break out with his legs against them because Jalen Hurts and Anthony Richardson sure didn’t.”
When the Packers faced the Eagles in the season opener, Hurts did carry the ball 13 times but he only had 33 yards (2.5 yards per carry). And if you look inside his 278 yards passing yards, he was 20 of 34 and the Packers did largely keep him in the pocket.
Unfortunately for Green Bay, on Philadelphia’s final drive, Hurts had three key scrambles, including one on third down, that helped the Eagles kick a short field goal and take a 34-29 lead with 27 seconds remaining in the game.
Against Indianapolis, Richardson ran four times for 37 yards, but one of those was for 21 yards with just 20 seconds left in the game and the Colts deep in their own territory. The Packers were playing soft against the run at that point while protecting a 16-10 lead.
In the Cardinals’ two wins this season, Murray has run 12 times for 142 yards (11.83 yards per carry) and the iconic TD shown above. Even in the three losses, Murray had 11 carries for 105 yards (9.55 yards per carry).
Check your prop bets.
Quotable
A collection of takes from the week.
News and notes
- Brothers Max and Bo Melton will face each other for the first time in the NFL on Sunday when the Cardinals face the Packers. Bo is in his second season as a wide receiver for Green Bay. Max is in his rookie season as a defensive back for the Cardinals. The brothers played together at Rutgers.
- With a win, the Cardinals would improve to 5-2 in their last seven meetings with the Packers (including two epic postseason meetings).
- With 164 passing yards, Murray would pass Carson Palmer (16,782) for fourth place on the franchise all-time list for career passing yards.
- With a TD reception, Harrison would become the first rookie in franchise history with at least five TD receptions in six career games.
- Defensive lineman Bilal Nichols will appear in his 100th NFL regular season game on Sunday.
- The Cardinals are the only team this season to score a TD on all of their goal-to-go drives.
- The Cardinals have not won two straight games since they started 7-0 in 2021.
- Through five weeks, the Cardinals have an NFL-low 19 penalties. They were 23rd in the NFL in penalties in 2023, and last in 2022; Kliff Kingsbury’s final season as coach.
- The Cardinals have scored a TD on their opening drive in all five games this season. They are the first team since 1993 to do that, and one of three to do it at least five straight games since 2000. Atlanta had a six-game streak in 2016. Cincinnati did it five straight games in 2023.
Injury updates
Predictions
Top photo of Cardinals defensive lineman Darius Robinson via Getty Images
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