Maybe, in a different universe, Hjalte Froholdt and Kyler Murray would work well in a buddy-cop movie, the 6-foot-5 Dane and the 5-10 Texan trading banter as they chased the bad guys.
But for now, they are good as the Cardinals center and quarterback, and that relationship is as genuine as any that might be scripted.
Froholdt is "one of my favorite players that I've ever played with," Murray said.
Froholdt smiled when asked about Murray's comment, calling Murray "a character himself."
"I've also grown to have him be one of my favorite guys to be around," Froholdt said. "I don't want to say it's an honor – that's a little too much. But it's cool. It shows that it is more than just football, and that's what I like about it."
Kyler's importance to this first-place team as they head into Sunday's crucial NFC West game in Seattle is obvious. But so too should be Froholdt's, the one-time way under-the-radar free-agent signing last year that can be argued has been Monti Ossenfort's best move pound-for-pound since the GM took over.
The two of them were asked often in the offseason and training camp about how their chemistry had developed between center and QB – to the point where both seemed a little confused why it would be a big deal. Indeed, Froholdt said the only way it could be a problem between center and QB was if there was some "hostility, which I can't imagine."
"There's usually so much communication and understanding for each other's position," Froholdt said. "I know how hard his job is and I think he understands how hard my job is. There are times in games where I messed up and he bailed me out, or vice versa. … we're not perfect. There is some grace between us.
"We're working every day very hard making sure our snaps are right, and," Froholdt paused, before adding in his best hippie-esque imitation, "it all comes back to love, man."
-- Speaking of the offensive line, there is a chance Jonah Williams could play Sunday at right tackle. His replacement, veteran Kelvin Beachum, has gotten his praise for his work. Even if Williams isn't ready yet, Beachum has, according to Next Gen Stats, allowed the lowest pressure rate (5.0%) of the 34 right tackles with at least 150 pass blocks.
(Paris Johnson Jr. is 13th at lowest pressure rate, 9.0%, among 34 left tackles and has allowed more than three pressures only once this season.)
-- Until we get to Sunday's inactives – or maybe a Xweet from an NFL Insider – we won't know if Darius Robinson will made his debut. Robinson is listed as questionable. If I guessed, it would be that they'd want Robinson to have more than one week of practice, since every other player who came off IR got more than one week. But we will see.
-- Kyler's 17 straight completions from the end of the Jets game is an active streak so until he throws one that hits the ground, he will extend his team record.
-- Murray was also asked this week if he had noticed he has been in the MVP conversation. He acknowledged he had (which was refreshing, to be honest, instead of saying he never sees such things.) But he did say "I don't really pay too much mind to it."
"It doesn't fulfill me or satisfy me," Murray said. "I just have to continue to keep the main thing the main thing and continue to try to play at a high level for my teammates and in this organization. I think winning cures all, so I know that to be true. I've won a lot of awards in my life, and I was never focused on doing those things. They just kind of just happened."
-- If you haven't had a chance, please give a read to my story about wide receiver Michael Wilson and his bride-to-be, U.S. soccer star Sophia Smith. Theirs is a fairytale story in a lot of ways, and fascinating to hear about couplehood when both are playing professional sports.
-- L.J. Collier was a first-round pick of the Seahawks in 2019, but his four years in Seattle resulted in disappointment. Collier's season-ending injury Week 1 in 2023 prevented him from having his return game to Seattle, so Sunday will be his first game against his former team in his former home.
"With the streak going right now, for me to try and go out there and bring emotion into it, we're on a roll right now," Collier said. "I know a lot of guys over there and they are a good football team and I am going to keep it professional. I let all that stuff go last year. I'm a Cardinal now and that's all that matters. We're on a roll and I'm not going to go out there and make this personal. Do I want to beat those guys? For sure. But I want to make this about us."
-- Collier also tried to give some advice of playing in the cold and rain of Seattle, telling rookie Xavier Thomas to be prepared. "The Vaseline trick works," Collier said of the way sleeveless linemen look tough in cold weather by using a layer of Vaseline on the skin to "seal" in the heat on their body.
"Once you get moving around, you don't even feel it," Collier said. "It's going to be a fun game. Just make sure you've got your 7-stud cleats."
-- It's Seattle, and while it might be leftover bomb cyclone or, you know, just Seattle being Seattle, rain is probable on Sunday. Jonathan Gannon is not concerned, noting that the Cardinals have a plan for the weather and that they benefited from the Colts joint practice in the preseason in which they dealt with a downpour.
"That was rain rain," Gannon said. "You saw some of the issues (with wet weather) and we got to coach off of that."
-- The give-and-take of the current Seahawks: The Cardinals have lost five straight games to Seattle, but the Seahawks are 2-4 at home this season. And if the Cardinals win, they will be the first franchise to post 10 victories at Lumen Field since it opened in 2002 (The Cardinals actually won the first regular-season game played there, with Jake Plummer at QB and Thomas Jones having a big day with 173 yards rushing.)
-- Seven games can change a lot with the stats, but Murray is on pace to join the Cowboys' Roger Staubach in 1971 as the only quarterbacks ever to have 100-plus passer rating (minimum 150 attempts) and average at least eight yards a carry. Mostly I wanted to point that out just to mention Staubach (who won Super Bowl MVP that season.)
-- The Cardinals are 5-1 when James Conner has at least 100 yards from scrimmage, and 1-3 when he doesn't. So yeah, Conner is a bellwether. If Conner gets 56 yards from scrimmage Sunday – seems like a layup – he will reach 1,000 for the season and become the first Cardinal ever to reach 1,000 yards from scrimmage in each of his first four seasons with the franchise.
-- The Seahawks, by the way, are 27th in rushing defense, although they have jumped considerably if you count the last four games. It'll be a fascinating matchup given that the Cardinals averaged nearly 150 rushing yards a game and average 5.2 yards an attempt.
-- The bomb cyclone that ripped through the Seattle area this week provided winds that knocked out power for a lot of places, including a number of player homes and the Seahawks' practice facility on Wednesday and Thursday. Generators were used to allow players to work in the facility, but there was no hot water for showers or the sauna, nor the ability to make fresh meals.
"It's all about the way you look at it," wide receiver DK Metcalf told Seattle reporters. "I don't think it's impacted us as much. We still got to come in. We still got to install. The Cardinals aren't making any excuses so we can't make an excuse for ourselves."
-- During this four-game winning streak the Cardinals are giving up only 14.3 points a game. The last word, fittingly, then belongs to Collier, reflecting on how well the Cardinals' defense has been playing of late.
"I believe in the football gods. If you do right by them, they'll do right by you. And I like what we've been doing here."
See you Sunday. Likely with a rain jacket.
