THE GAME DAY THREAD
ARIZONA CARDINALS @ CAROLINA PANTHERS, October 2, 2022
To all Cardinals and Panthers fans and our valued guests, we welcome you to the Forum's 4th Game Day Thread of the 2022 NFL season.
Last week's Cardinals loss to the 2021 Super Bowl Champion Rams left our Arizona home team with a record of 1 win and 2 losses. This record is in sharp contrast to the first three games of the 2021 season when the Cardinals roared out of the starting gate and achieved a surprising 3-0 record. That Cardinals team would go on to achieve 7 wins in a row and be ranked #1 in the NFL Power Ranking poll for consecutive weeks before eventually succumbing to the Green Bay Packers at a national audience on Thursday Night Football on October 28, 2021. The final score was Packers 24, Cardinals 21.
Perhaps the one saving grace for the Cardinals this week is that the team is playing on the road at Charlotte, NC. The Cardinals only win so far this season also occurred on the road, at the Las Vegas Raiders on September 18th, when our team won the game in Overtime, 29-23. At that game, the Cardinals fell behind early, 20-0, but somehow came alive and tied the score 23-23 as regular game time expired.
Going back to that bizarre TNF game in late October 2021, the Cardinals record at home is terrible, with 0 wins and 9 losses. A home losing streak is now over 330 days. A home losing streak this long is uncommon for most NFL teams. However, this is the Cardinals football team we are talking about, a team that owns the NFL's record for most losses in a row (0-29, from 1942-1945) and with an all-time record of 578 wins, 779 losses, and 41 ties. Arizona Cardinals season ticket holders are rightfully up in arms over such dismal team performances weekend after weekend since mid-2021. Hard questions are being asked about team management, coaching, and player performances for 2022. No good answers are being offered by the team so far. The only positive Cardinals news on the horizon is probably at game 7 when WR Hopkins is scheduled to return from an NFL suspension.
The Panthers record is 1-2 in 2022. The 2022 season is the Carolina Panthers' 28th in the NFL and their third under HC Matt Rhule. The Panthers are attempting to improve on their 5–12 record from 2021 and to return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 season. Cardinals fans should not take the Panthers team lightly. The Panthers team lost games 1 and 2 by a total of just 5 points. Panthers fans dream about a barely missed 3-0 start. The team beat the Saints last week by the score 22-14. They already won a game at home last week and own recent bragging rights against the Cardinals.
Summary of last week's Saints @ Panthers game follows: Things started off well for Carolina in the 1st quarter when New Orleans fumbled the ball. Marquis Haynes recovered the ball for the Panthers and scored a TD. Carolina led by 13 points at the half after Eddy Piñeiro kicked 2 field goals in the 2nd quarter. Early in the 4th quarter, Mark Ingram scored a TD for the Saints, giving them their first points of the game. Baker Mayfield completed a 67-yard pass to Laviska Shenault for a TD. The Panthers tried for a 2-point conversion, but it failed. With 8:19 to go in the game Piñeiro kicked another field goal for Carolina. With 2:22 remaining, Marquez Callaway scored a TD for the Saints. Key takeaway from the Panthers vs. Saints game: the Panthers started off very aggressive, scored fast, led on the scoreboard the entire game, and forced the Saints to play from behind. Through the first 3 games, the Cardinals offense is out of sync and inconsistent, has not scored a point in the 1st quarter, and has not led on the scoreboard in regular game time. We say again, Cardinals fans should not take the Panthers team lightly.
The Panthers have something the Cardinals want badly: a winning streak. The Panthers will look to continue its dominance against the Cardinals on Sunday. The Panthers are 14-5 overall against the Cardinals--that's a whole bunch of years folks--including an 8-3 mark at their home--sounds too good to be true for Cardinals fans. The Panthers have won 6 straight in the series, including wins in each of the past 3 seasons. During that 6-game win streak, the Panthers have not scored fewer than 27 points.
The last time the Panthers and Cardinals played, the Panthers smacked the Cardinals around at State Farm Stadium. The final score was 34-10. That would be the Cardinals second loss of the 2021 season and a shocking outcome considering the Cardinals prior 9-game performances including the good effort versus the Packers. Newly acquired free agent QB Cam Newton shared quarterbacking duties early for the Panthers. He immediately ran for a TD. The Cardinals then fumbled away the ball (uh game too) on its first possession. Then Newton threw for another TD. The rout was on. RB Christian McCaffrey, aka CMC, was the real star of the game. He rushed for 95 yards on 13 carries and had 10 pass receptions for 66 yards. Carolina's defense was even better. The Panthers held the Cardinals to under 170 yards total offense. With only 3-for-14 on 3rd down conversions, the inept Cardinals went nowhere on offense and the defense could not get off the field.
This Sunday's game is a must win for the Cardinals. First, dropping to 1-3 seals the Cardinals fate for the season. Second, a win on the road against the Panthers, an opponent who has had the Cardinals number for 6 straight games, makes a bold statement. Third, the Panthers come in to the game with the 30th-ranked offense. The offense is sputtering, averaging 276 yards per game. The Cardinals rank 15th, averaging over 353 yds per game--but cannot score points. On defense, Carolina is formidable. Their defense is ranked 18th, giving up 348 yds per game. The Cardinals defense is ranked 25th in the league, giving up nearly 385 yards per game. See ESPN for additional current stats
www.espn.com/nfl/stats.
What to look for: QB Baker Mayfield is ranked 29th in the NFL. His QB rating is right at 80. RB Christian McCaffrey is the 6th ranked rusher in the NFL. He is gouging out just under 5 yards per carry. McCaffrey has 10 receptions for 57 yards. The connection between Mayfield and McCaffrey must be the center of attention for the Cardinals defense. As of September 28th, HC Rhule reported that CMC is struggling with a new quadriceps injury suffered at the Saints game a week ago. His status for Sunday will not be known until game time. On offense, the Cardinals must increase 3rd down conversions. RBs James Conner and Eno Benjamin must lead a more vibrant running game. QB Kyler Murray and Oklahoma University teammate WR Marquis Brown demonstrated potential last week, with Brown gaining 14 receptions for 140 yards against the Rams defense. Look for Murray and Brown to set the pace at this game. Fan-favorite WR Greg Dortch also had his best game as a pro last week. He pulled down 9 receptions for 80 yards. Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury needs to better communicate and manage the game clock. His decision to take a field goal and depend on the defense to stop the Rams late in the 4th quarter proved fatal to the Cardinals hopes to tie the game. Similar strange decisions happened again and again in 2021. Cardinals fans must be asking themselves and the team owner, "How much longer do we have to deal with this?"
Another Cardinals fan concern is Special Teams. Player execution is falling off. Last week, Punter Andy Lee had a punt blocked when he punted the ball into the backside of his protection blocker. Lee's punting average also is well below the NFL average now. Lastly, the ST coverage is providing big holes to the return team, giving up huge yardage on both punts and kickoffs, and setting up the opposing team offense with a short field. Another dismal Cardinals ST performance is unacceptable this week.
Finally, the buck has to stop with HC Kliff Kingsbury. He knows that this team readiness mess is entirely on him. Bidwill and Keim must be outraged with their HC. The Cardinals team looks unprepared, disorganized, and confused for the first half at the first 3 games. Clear and rapid communications between the deciders, leaders, and doers is missing. Players are out of position on plays, over-run plays, miss tackles, and get out-maneuvered by the skilled competition. Smart and timely action is lacking both on the sideline and the field. Player penalties are mostly under control for now but still to much and at the wrong time. Offensive line blocking slightly improved last week but QB Murray is still scrambling just to buy time and make a dink and dunk pass play. Expect the coaching staff to take hard looks at some players that should be doing much better at this point in their young careers. LB Collins and Isabella are on the bubble. S Thompson was cut this week. WR A J Green could be next to walk. Other names will surely cross the TV screen in coming days.
The Carolina Panthers (1-2) are a beatable team this weekend. Newton is gone. CMC might not play. The NC weather will probably suck--see my map inset below. Can prospects get worse for the Cardinals, a team that can't score in the 1st quarter in 2022 and did not score a TD last week? Oh yeah, things can get a lot worse. The only way out of this tailspin mess is for the real Cardinals team to show up early, work hard, score points, and win. The NC game time weather will be a factor for both teams due to the Ian tropical depression and heavy rain and high wind. The Panthers football field is artificial turf and that will help player's footing to a degree. The Cardinals played a difficult rain and wind game at Chicago in 2021 and handled that one just fine, easily winning. This game is a chance for Cardinals team redemption in the eyes of the franchise, the media, and the Cardinals fans. That the Arizona Cardinals will withstand the 2nd hardest NFL schedule for 2022 and somehow pull this one out is a dynasty in the making. Just hold on for 3 more weeks, until key players return to the active roster. Then Super Bowl here we come!
Weather map provided by National Weather Service (NWS) on September 29. Note projected 5-day rainfall totals projected for Charlotte area through next Tuesday, Oct 4th.
Go Cardinals!
(Edited by PutMeIn 320pm, September 29, 2022)