2018 Record - 3-13-0
Head Coach - Kliff Kingsbury
Newcomers for 2019 - Terrell Suggs (LB), Jordan Hicks (LB), Marcus Gilbert (OL), J.R. Sweezy (OL), Robert Alford (DB), Charles Clay (TE), Darius Philon (DL), Kevin White (WR)
Keys on Offense - The top pick in the NFL draft is quarterback Kyler Murray (Oklahoma) and he will be the starter this season. Brett Hundley or Chad Kanoff will be the backup QB for the Cardinals.
David Johnson is the top running back as he seeks to regain the form he had a few years back. Johnson rushed for 940 yards last year (3.6 ypc average) and scored seven rushing touchdowns. He also made 50 receptions for 446 yards and three more scores. Chase Edmonds (208 yards, 3.5 ypc, two TD) is also available.
The ageless Larry Fitzgerald is still the top wide receiver for this team and he caught 69 passes for 734 yards and six touchdowns last season. Christian Kirk (43, 590, three TD), Kevin White and rookies Hakeem Butler (Iowa State) KeeSean Johnson (Fresno State) and Andy Isabella (UMass) will all be looking to be in the fold this season. The tight ends are Ricky Seals-Jones (34, 343, one TD) and Charles Clay, who had 21 receptions with Buffalo last season.
Keys on Defense - Outside linebacker Chandler Jones (13 QB sacks) is a main cog for the defense, which struggled mightily against the run last season, giving up a league worst 155 yards per game. Jones spearheads a solid pass rush, which accumulated 49 sacks a year ago while the Arizona pass defense ranked fourth overall, allowing 204 yards per game. Defensive ends Rodney Gunter and Robert Nkemdiche each had 4 1/2 sacks while LB Haason Reddick had four sacks. Free agent DE Darius Philon (four sacks with Chargers) joins the team and veteran linebackers Terrell Suggs and Jordan Hicks (three sacks with the Eagles) will add depth in that area.
Patrick Peterson had two interceptions while manning one corner spot. Robert Alford and rookie draft pick Byron Murphy will also play cornerback. D.J. Swearinger and Budda Baker are the safeties.
OUTLOOK - The Cardinals cleaned house after last year's disaster and new Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury has a potentially exciting player for his starting quarterback in Kyler Murray, who can do damage with both his arm and legs.
The rest of the offense will follow suit with Murray under center and it could be a magic carpet ride or a rough learning experience this season as far as that goes. There will be numerous targets for the rookie QB to throw the football to and running back (David) Johnson is an additional weapon in the passing attack.
The offense was really bad last year with former (rookie) QB Josh Rosen taking most of the snaps. He was traded away in the off-season. The Cardinals averaged 14.1 points per game in 2018, which was dead last in the NFL. They also finished last in rushing (84 ypg) and passing (158 ypg) for a meager 242 yards per game (which was 32nd in NFL) in total offense. In addition, Cardinals quarterbacks were sacked 52 times.
Ouch!
As long as the defense can shore up the damage by opposition rushing attacks, the Cardinals should be vastly improved to perhaps keep games closer this season. The Cards were outscored by a near two-to-one margin a year ago. They also need to get more turnovers as they were a minus-12 in that area and only had seven interceptions.
With some breaks in this obvious rebuilding year, Arizona could finish with a 5-11 record, but even that could be a stretch. This team will look to Murray and the offense to steadily improve as they look to the future.
TEAM SCHEDULE
Week 1 - vs. Detroit
Week 2 - at Baltimore
Week 3 - vs. Carolina
Week 4 - vs. Seattle
Week 5 - at Cincinnati
Week 6 - vs. Atlanta
Week 7 - at NY Giants
Week 8 - at New Orleans
Week 9 -vs. San Francisco
Week 10 - at Tampa Bay
Week 11 - at San Francisco
Week 12 - BYE
Week 13 - vs. LA Rams
Week 14 - vs. Pittsburgh
Week 15 - vs. Cleveland
Week 16 - at Seattle
Week 17 - at LA Rams
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