This season was supposed to be a Tankapalooza for the Arizona Cardinals. With Kyler Murray out for most of the year, they reorganized their team and hired a new head coach and general manager. After the demolition of their team, the Cardinals should be a team in transition. Instead, they were competitive for three games, knocking off the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3.
The Cowboys defense fluctuated under the loss of Trevon Diggs for the season and the offensive line had dropped three starters. However, the Cardinals continued to start with Joshua Dobbs as their quarterback. A smart guy – a real rocket scientist with a degree in aerospace engineering who was drafted in 2018 and had only played two games in his entire NFL career before this season. The Cowboys came into this game as one of the hottest teams in the league, not only losing 28-16 to the Tankers but retiring the entire game.
There were a lot of jokes about new Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon when this video of his “fire in your belly” speech went viral. A speech not only uninteresting but delivered with such a lack of passion that it could have been used to put out a real fire.
The guy actually asked the NFL players if they would take the Bus to practice. Imagine a 6-foot, 220-pound muscular runner earning a six-figure salary while waiting at a bus stop in Tempe, Arizona. to go to work.
Public speaking may not be Gannon’s strong suit, but after three weeks, football training seems to be a strong suit. He was the defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles for two seasons. The Cardinals’ defense was supposed to be terrible, but it has become a powerhouse. They held the Cowboys and the Washington commanders to less than 20 points and eliminated the New York Giants in the first half.
On Sunday, the Cowboys entered the Red Zone five times, leaving it with only one touchdown. At least the Cardinals offer real staying power at the NFL level, which was clearly not the goal of the management of the way this team was built during the offseason. Rookie linebacker Kyzir White is also sinking his teeth into his opponents. He flies all over the field and made the decisive interception in the fourth quarter — Dak Prescott’s first of the season.
