Tyler Drake | Arizona Cardinals Insider

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It's going to go into my mouth and I will perish. Whatever scares you, I want to talk about it. Join me, Larry Mullins, on my new podcast, Your Weirdest Fears.

Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from. Which I feel like is fitting for the Cardinals. What are a couple of emotions, I would say, that stand out from the Cardinals post-game press conferences?

Yeah, great to be on. Long time no talk. I would say, I mean, emotions are pretty easy to see. There's visible frustration.

I think the two guys that I would pinpoint the most was Buddha Baker and James Connor. You could feel the disappointment. You could feel the almost, I don't want to say, necessarily, season kind of dictating loss, but at the end of the day, I think that's really what it is. The last loss was the same way against the Niners, so I think it's now kind of time to look in the mirror, time to figure out what these next five games look like and really try to end on a positive note because right now, there is very little to nothing to be positive about this football team right now. Even James Connor's big day, not enough for them to get to win, so I think that tells you all you need to know right now with how this Cardinals team is doing. Ultimately, why did they lose on Sunday, Tyler?

Well, I think if you want to get back to it, I mean, the biggest glaring issues for me was the end of the game. You know, they came out hot. They ran James Connor wild that first half. They seemed to really dictate the game. Second half was a completely different story. It seemed like they were getting in front of themselves again, and then it's got to be the three possessions to end the game, basically. They had 3-3 now. I think the longest drive was like a minute and 40 seconds or something like that. Nothing that you can't, you're not going to win a game.

You're not going to keep a lead if you do that. Their last drive went 31 seconds, and they were on their own 10-yard line. They gave them great field position, gave them enough time to go down the field and score, and that's really what it comes down to for me. The offense didn't step up. The defense did everything it could for as long as it could, but with the offense not being able to stay on the field, the defense was gassed.

End of the game happens. Looked like the Chargers just marched right down and scored, and that was all it was. If you think about those last three drives, the ones that you highlighted, even though they did have the ball for the final 15 seconds, not a legit drive, is there anything that stands out? Because Cutler seemed frustrated about, he made some comment about schematics, but he's made comments about them not being in position or about just being on the wrong page, having a disconnect. He's kind of referenced that a bunch during the season where it doesn't seem like they're locked in step. Yeah, the report that came out this morning about him and Cliff had the two weeks of hashing things out and getting on the same page, all of that.

It's definitely an interesting thing. I thought for the most part, I think they just didn't go with what was working with the ground game. I think you chew up clock if you just hand the ball off, and they just got cute, and I think that's a lot on Kingsbury.

I don't think it's necessarily as much as on the players. Obviously, you still got to execute, but I just don't think they were given the keys to really put that game out of reach, because like I said earlier, they made a concerted effort to get James Connor the football early should have been how they ended the game. It's interesting too, because if you look at the stats, and I know stats only tell part of the story, but if you look at the stats, they were better than the Chargers in many categories, like conversions on third down, like total yards, like yards per play. They actually did do a lot of really strong things in this game, including the James Connor 120 yards, maybe his best game with the Cardinals, and yet the frustration and the futility. Tyler Drake is with us from the desert where the Cardinals seemingly cannot win at home. What is going on with that?

They're 1-6. Yeah, it's one of those things that really goes back to last year. It's baffling to see the disconnect at home compared to away.

We've asked the question time and time again, and really we don't really get an answer. It's one of those things where we've just got to execute. We've got to come out and really get on our horse. I thought they did that compared to their other home losses. They actually came out and looked like the better team out the gate, but then shot themselves in the foot. The biggest thing is the miscues. It's the pre-snap penalties that I didn't necessarily notice as much this game, but previous games for sure.

That's a huge one. And then just defensively stupid penalties there, unnecessary roughness calls, things of that nature. At the end of the day, I think just trying to get too cute and trying to make things happen when clearly there's a disconnect somewhere on that team, somewhere on the offense. I think the defense is overachieving at this point. I really think the defense was supposed to be the weak link, was supposed to be the thing that held this team back, and quite frankly it's the offense. I think this offense coming into this year was supposed to be a Super Bowl caliber type offense.

They had all of these weapons and it hasn't panned out. They bring other guys in like Robbie Anderson. They can't get him involved. He is now positive yardage after having negative yards for the last couple games. There's just such a disconnect that they've got to really get back to the basics and really figure out what is the real problem, and I don't really know if they have the answers.

So that's what I feel like too, even watching from the outside. There are a bunch of individuals trying to play football on offense, but at least from the sidelines to the field, it seems like there's this massive chasm. And a lot of what you've mentioned, Tyler, goes back to discipline and it goes back to mental toughness. We know that's been questioned with the Cardinals and specifically with Kyler. So how much of this do you think is falling on the shoulders of Kliff Kingsbury to the point where his job may be in jeopardy? Yeah, I think these next five games are going to be big. I think they're really going to be big. Kliff was asked point blank postgame if he had any concern about his job security.

He said he didn't. Obviously, NFL is a not-for-long league, as Buddha Baker said, especially if you're not winning, and it's a results-driven business. So these next five games are going to be big. If they can't have some kind of positive outlook getting through the season, I mean, why wouldn't you look at it?

And I don't think it stops with him. I think you've got to look higher than that because you've got to have the players that are going to be available and playing throughout the week. Availability is the biggest thing at NFL, in my opinion. And if you can't be on the field, you're not doing your job, and that means the people at the front office aren't doing their job. So it's an unlucky business with the injury side of things, but you have to have the backup options.

You have to have those depth pieces. They have 77 different players now that have come in and played with the Pharaoh Cooper, taking the punt return today. There's just been so much turnover with players and everything. It's hard to get in the rhythm, but at the same time, you've got to be able to scout and figure out how to get your team in the best spot to win. Tyler Drake is with AC Sports, not only does some editing, but we love him for his Cardinals reporting and his insights.

It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. So this is a game that I think kind of embodies what the Cardinals have been like this season, really. You have kind of everything rolled into this game. Thinking back to the beginning of the year, Tyler, what were the expectations for this team?

I mean, I'll tell you my expectations. I had a legit feeling that they could win double digits again. Double digit wins again.

And that was, looking at that now, it's rough. Even though a lot of those games that they've lost, outside of the Kansas City game, the Niner game, really came down to one score, like 10-point games. So a couple of, you know, like I said, pre-snap penalties, miscues, a careless interception or two, you know, if they fix those things, they could be in a completely different spot. But it's the discipline side of it that is just, I think, failing them the most right now.

They just can't get out of their own way, no matter what they do, no matter what they try, no matter an inspiring speech from Buddha Baker on hard knocks. None of that is, it just isn't translating on the field. And you can just, like I said, James Conner and Buddha Baker, I mean, if the feeling and the emotion of the team is on two people, it's those guys. Because they, it may just ooze, you know, that team dynamic. So it's crazy to see because, like I said, offense should have been a Super Bowl caliber offense. Injuries happen, suspensions happen, whatever. If you have an offensive guru like Cliff Kingsbury, you should have been able to figure it out with Hawkins out.

So there's a lot of things that you can obviously go back and look at. But yeah, personally, I thought they were a double digit win team. And I thought the defense was going to be the biggest weak point. But really, they're probably the most consistent right now. They've dropped four of five.

They're now sitting at four and eight, excuse me. The division itself is still so jumbled up and the NFC is, it's not a great conference. It's a little top heavy, but pretty much everybody else is still alive. And I know this is a completely different division than it was last year. But I'm wondering if there's any path, if you think about their schedule, what they've got coming up. They do have, you know, they have a game on the road in Denver. That's one against a team that's abysmal.

So maybe there's a bright light there. But they have two of these four remaining games, or I guess there's five remaining games, a bunch of them, two that are home, except that that's not even a consolation for the Cardinals because they stink at home. I'm trying to find like some way that there's a light here for these last few games that you've mentioned. But gosh, if they keep playing like this, it doesn't feel like there is. Yeah, it's just there's just no connection. There's no complimentary football being played. There's just everything seems like it's not connecting to one.

It's just nothing's connected, plain and simple. And yeah, you know, it's going to be hard for them, I think, to really get over the hump of these last two losses, especially this one. I mean, that's the heartbreaker, plain and simple.

But for them to score on the on the two point conversion, that I mean, shows you Staley's, you know, gutsy calls. And then it's just it's a definite, definite, definite dagger into any of the hope that they had to really turn this thing around. It's going to be tough.

I think it's very possible that they might not win another game. And that's that's crazy for me to think about, say. But I just.

Oh, come on. They're definitely going to be Denver. I don't know.

I don't know. You know, they're at the point right now where it's like the teams that they should be are. It's almost like they'll go and beat the Bucks instead of the instead of the Broncos. That's like that's kind of how I feel this season's going right now. Yeah.

All right. So that's crazy, right? The two point conversion in those final 15 seconds. Weirdly enough, it's it happened twice on Sunday that teams went for it and won that way. What was your reaction when you were seeing it play out? So we had actually behind me, but in just route was actually talking about he's like, you know, if they make this, they're going to go for two. I kind of looked at him and said, did you just really put that into existence? And he's like, yeah. He's like, I didn't say they're going to get it, but they're going to go for it. And then I just hear him under his breath go, oh, no, they're actually going for it.

And so that was that was pretty funny. But I mean, it was a gutsy call. And I think with how the game was going, I think Staley realized, like, you know, the game could really go either way if they have to if they go into overtime. So, I mean, why not?

Why not go for it? I think their season was very much on the line right there if they if they couldn't figure it out because the AFC is so stacked, especially that division. So I think that was a really, you know, season on the line.

We need it. And it was one of the easier two point conversions I think I've seen. Are fans still in on this team or still following or have they just kind of broken legs jumping off the bandwagon? It's one of my colleagues was was on the field and they were up 10-7. They didn't pick up the fourth in inches and decided to throw the ball instead of run the rock like they had all game and were effective with it. And he heard a lot of firecliffs, even though they were up by three.

Wow. So that kind of tells you right there. He told me that after the game, I was pretty shocked. I mean, they were playing really good.

That was about the first mess up outside of Connors fumble. But yeah, they use like, yep, that was the first time I've ever heard somebody say fire the coach when they're winning a game. So I think that right there kind of tells you where the fan base is at. I think it's just it's like I said, result. They're not getting results. They are not really getting answers as to why they're not getting results. And I think they just expected better. I mean, Clifton progressed every year has one has improved his record every year. And this year he's not playing it simple. There is no improvement going on. Tyler Murray's regress.

So now it's where do we go from here? That's really what it comes down to. Could it be about their relationship? Because they keep answering questions about it. Tyler keeps saying they're fine, but well, and Cliff keeps calling it a Gen Z thing. But I mean, there obviously is something going on there.

Yeah, you got it. And you know, I think for the most part, it's a lot of it. I think losing has a big part of it. I think losing has a big part of it. Because Tyler's attitude when losing is clearly different from winning. I think anybody can say that. But but you can tell that these I feel like these reports are these or these kind of in differences that are coming out happen after a couple losses or something like that where I obviously, you know, there's there's issues on getting things right, plain and simple. But I don't think it's to the point where it's like, hey, you better do your job or you're out of here kind of thing. I think it's more so like, hey, I want to get this right. You want to get this right. We're passionate.

Let's do it. That's what we've kind of been heard that or that's what we've been told by both of them. So, I mean, obviously, you're going to start poking at the poking at the holes in the armor when it's getting to this point.

And that's obviously a topic for sure. Because obviously offensive guru number one pick, they should be working. I mean, he should still be on that up and up progression.

And he's clearly not. He's taken a step back. The injuries haven't helped any. But yeah, you know, it's something that we'll have to watch the next couple of weeks. The sideline exchanges are obviously being viral about every week. I don't think I've seen any this week. So at least that's a positive, I guess.

Yes. There's one good thing. Losing definitely either highlights your leadership or exposes your lack of leadership. And right now it doesn't feel as though there's a strong leader who is able to get them moving in the right direction. They've got some strong personalities. They've got some leaders. They've got some guys who will speak up. But right now they need someone to drag them in the other direction. And that's just not happening.

So it's definitely frustrating. And you can hear all about it on the AZ Cards Corner. That's the podcast co-hosted by Tyler Drake.

He's also Cardinals insider with AZ Sports in 98.7 in the desert. And well, I hope the next time we speak it's more pleasant. Maybe around the holidays when there's cheer, Tyler. We're already in the holidays. It's true. I guess closer to Christmas, but you're right. It's coming quickly.

The Cardinals better turn things around. Thank you so much for a couple of minutes after a long day. I appreciate it. No problem.

Anytime. Is there something really absurd that skeeves you out? Getting a paper cut on my eyeball. A fear you can't shake? I'm going to leak ocular fluid down my cheeks.

It's going to go into my mouth and I will perish. Whatever scares you, I want to talk about it. Join me, Larry Mullins, on my new podcast, Your Weirdest Fears. Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from. And add shows to your queue to catch up later. There's a lot to listen to.

So get started and download the free Odyssey app today. Throughout the 60s and 70s, cops hunted down key figures of the Dixie Mafia, including its enigmatic ringleader, Kirksey Nix. I'm in a rush to making money.

I'm not in a rush to hurt people. Fifteen years into Kirksey's life sentence, the Dixie Mafia was practically folklore, but that would soon change. I'm Jed Lipinski. This is Gone South, a documentary podcast from C-13 Originals, a Cadence 13 studio. Season two, The Dixie Mafia, available now on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.