The Cardinals have their head coach in Kliff Kingsbury and are in the process of building the full coaching staff. In the meantime, still lots of things to wonder about as the team moves toward next month's Scouting combine when draft season gets fully underway. So, on to the questions. As always, you can leave a question here for next week's mailbag by clicking here, and if I don't get to your question, I likely have answered something similar.
Well, for starters, the Rams and Patriots ran the hell out of the ball to get to this game, and the Chiefs also had a 100-yard rusher. Watching those games, it wasn't all running at the end either -- there was balance throughout, if not straight run-heavy in the case of the Rams. But yes, you need offense to win these days. The scores of the last couple of Super Bowls kinda underscores that. Your defense cannot be bad, but it feels like a mediocre offense is gonna have a lot of trouble getting very far. Unless the rules are changed drastically, I don't see how you cannot see this as the evolution of the league.
I haven't had a chance to look very carefully at the options. Perhaps the tackle from Alabama, Jonah Williams? Ultimately, I would think trading -- at least the potential of trading -- would be very tempting, simply to get more guys. But we will see as we move along the path. Until the Scouting combine at the earliest, we're not going to have a true sense of it.
There have been a couple of pretty decent linemen to hit the market the last couple of years, but if they do, you have to be prepared to pay (and perhaps overpay) to get them. Because you are correct, the best linemen usually won't be available. In terms of a trade, it's always possible, but what pick(s) are you giving up? To say you could make a trade, OK. But I'd need a lot more details to be able to say if it makes sense.
Yes, there will be a season of Flight Plan. It's set to premiere the week after the Super Bowl. It'll be in the same kind of style -- with, obviously, some new characters.
See, here's what I don't understand in this line of thinking. If it was problems in the organization, why retire? Why not just resign? As someone who was sitting there as B.A. cried very real tears about no longer coaching, I am confident in thinking it was genuine.
Arians retired for a handful of reasons, not the least of which being health problems (he had cancer surgery, after some other issues, right after he retired) and a desire as a family to spend some time together without football. Clearly -- and he said as much -- he thought he was done until he started getting the itch again to coach midway through the season. He gets to be close to his home in Georgia.
Arians even said on Arizona Sports Tuesday morning when asked if he had thought he was done after the Cardinals, "I really was. There was no doubt I was finished."
Were they to trade down and take a cornerback first like Williams, it would seem to be a nice move to me. I'm sure Patrick Peterson would love it. But there is a long way to go in this process. Trading down, given the current circumstances, makes sense to me but there will be a ton of things that can happen between then and now.
From Matt Walsh via azcardinals.com:
"If you were GM on draft day, dismissing anything related to quarterbacks or trades, given the needs of the Cardinals would you opt to take an elite wide receiver, elite offensive lineman or another position, and why?"
If I was GM, I'd need to go through the Scouting combine and interview process. To me, judging on the outside -- and assuming the Cardinals are picking first overall -- I don't think there will be a receiver worth it. If you decide a pass rusher like Bosa or Allen is that kind of guy, I don't have a problem adding another stud at that place, even though OL and WR are bigger needs. If the kid from Alabama on the offensive line is someone you are convinced can be a 10-year starter, I wouldn't have a problem with that either. Keep in mind Keim's draft philosophy -- left tackles, quarterbacks, pass rushers and cover cornerbacks are the hardest things to find on an elite level. And other guys who have generational talent (a defensive tackle that could be Aaron Donald, for instance.) These are the things that must be considered. I still think a trade down will be seriously looked at, depending on the offer.
I guess I'll just answer this every week, since it gets asked every week.
No.
From Jerry Brown via azcardinals.com:
"Can Kingsbury talk to any of the Cards players now? What about free agents we may want to retain? If the new coaches can't talk to the players, how are they supposed to make personnel decisions?"
Alas, thems the rules. The CBA doesn't want players to have to talk football 12 months a year, so the time they do get off is protected. It definitely impacts new coaches, who don't know much. But the Cardinals have a GM and personnel department in place that have seen all these guys in action, and ultimately, Keim will be building the roster. Kingsbury can watch as much video as he wants, too. In terms of free agents, that's about contracts and money. That's why agents exist.
From Ed Burmila via azcardinals.com
"Does Zane Gonzalez enter camp as a contender or is the team committed to bringing in a new kicker?"
Gonzalez will have the chance to win the kicking job. He may have to compete for it -- that actually seems likely -- but I don't think they are going to simply cast him out for someone else.
From Paul Robitaille via azcardinals.com:
"A rumor going around on the UCLA boards that Josh Rosen is being looked at as trade material so Coach Kingsbury can get Kyler Murray. Any substance to this or can we safely say it's an unfounded rumor?"
I assume this is based on the interview Kingsbury the college coach gave during the college season that he would take Murray with the No. 1 pick. Of course, at the time Kingsbury a) wasn't in the NFL, b) didn't know he was going to have Josh Rosen on his roster, c) wasn't just given a job in large part to develop Rosen and d) wasn't in a situation where the GM was going to be the one controlling the draft picks.
So no, that's not going to happen.
From Malcolm Sloan via azcardinals.com:
"The Mike Disner news seems to be flying under the radar. I think it's a big deal. What are we losing in Disner, and do we have anyone qualified in-house to replace him?"
For those that missed it, Disner was the Cards' cap guy, and very good at his job. He took a similar job with the Lions, albeit with a vice president's title he was not going to get with the Cardinals. Do the Cards lose something? Sure. But Disner, who is from Detroit and has two small children, had a chance at a move up the food chain and to get back home. The Cardinals knew it was possible and are working on hiring a replacement. I don't know if the replacement will come from outside or not, but the franchise was prepared.
I don't know what it will take for the Steelers to part with Brown. But I feel very confident it will not be a third and a sixth. He is older and a proven headache at times. He is also arguably the best receiver in the league. The thing I would have to know about Brown and where he might go -- not only what the price would be in trade, but also, can whatever offense he ends up with keep him happy in terms of work. The Steelers have an explosive offense that helped Brown be in a position to pile up stats. In another offense with fewer playmakers around him, that might be harder because defenses could focus on him. And if there are offensive issues, how does that play out off the field?
From Tom George via azcardinals.com:
"What does the schedule look like for 2019? At least what teams do we play at home?"
The schedule itself will not be released until mid-April. But we do know all the opponents. They can be found by clicking here.
