Steve Keim has been with the Cardinals for more than 20 years, and he has been the General Manager since 2013. It's not surprising to know he is bullish on Josh Rosen after everything he has seen from the rookie quarterback since April, including his first start last week.

"We had no clue we were going to be able to get a top-rated quarterback in this past draft picking 15th," Keim said Friday on the "Doug and Wolf" show on 98.7, Arizona's Sports Station. "Looking at the big picture now, I'm extremely proud of what Carson (Palmer) did for us over the years, but the excitement in my voice ... how many years in this organization have we looked for a young, franchise quarterback? A long time. Certainly, in my opinion, we found him."

Keim said Rosen played about as well as a team could ask of a rookie QB in Rosen's first start. He talked of one play in which Rosen hit Larry Fitzgerald for a first down when Rosen looked off the safety and then drove the pass downfield to Fitz. "There are some things he does mechanically that remind me of Carson," Keim said.

"I couldn't be more excited about a young quarterback," Keim added.

-- Keim expressed optimism the offense will continue to get better with Rosen, and that included offensive coordinator Mike McCoy.

"It takes a little bit of time for that cohesiveness, and that's never an excuse you want to use," Keim said. "Again, I know our fans are very well-educated in the game of football so I never want to try to come on here and try and mislead anybody or use verbiage that doesn't accurately point to what I think. I'm just like everybody else, I'm a fan as well that sits up there and watches the game with (president) Michael (Bidwill) and we have questions.

"But those aren't critical things, those are part of our job. Those are things coach (Steve Wilks) and I talk about daily, and we continue to talk about ways we can get better. Whether it is playcalling or clock management or things we can do in terms of mismatches or being creative as an offense. I have faith because Mike McCoy has done it before, and he's done it with multiple quarterbacks. ... (The offense) is getting there, but it's certainly not where we want it to be right now."

-- In terms of kicker Phil Dawson and the crucial miss at the end of the game, Keim did not sound like a GM considering any kind of change at this point.

"Phil is a true pro in every sense," Keim said. "He took accountability for that missed kick and quite frankly, he was right. He has to make that. But if anyone will bounce back from that, it's someone like Phil Dawson."

-- Keim acknowledged running back David Johnson is being hard on himself, but echoed what others said Thursday, that the best players tend to do such things.

"We're paying David a lot of money right now, so there are expectations," Keim said. "(But) David is a guy who will continue to improve."

Keim added he would still like to see Johnson more involved in the passing game, but that the offense will get better "over time."

-- There are things to improve for Mason Cole, such as building strength, but Keim said he is confident Cole can be the Cardinals' long-term center. He praised how well Cole stays on his feet, which can be an issue for younger linemen.

-- Keim said that former starting QB Sam Bradford "worked his tail off" all offseason, and also reiterated that when the Cardinals signed Bradford -- and Mike Glennon, for that matter -- the team didn't know if they were going to be able to get a high-level QB in the draft.

-- The team's 0-4 record is "disappointing and unacceptable," but Keim said he is seeing improvement. That said, there are some glaring areas that need immediate attention. One is the tackling, with Keim saying there were 22 missed tackles against the Seahawks that led to 167 yards after contact. "That's unacceptable."