By: Gladys Louise Tyler

The 8-8 Arizona Cardinals were in the playoff hunt for part of the 2020 season. This is true even though head coach Kliff Kingsbury was 3-9 against the NFC West, including a 0-4 record against Sean McVay’s Los Angeles Rams. 

The Cardinals started 2-0 in the West, only to end on a four-game losing streak in the division. 

They were 5-2 before ending the season on a 3-6 bender.

There were a few reasons for the losing streak:

1. Wide receiver Christian Kirk looked the part of the number two wide receiver until the final eight games. In the last eight, he managed a paltry 22 receptions, 234 yards, and zero touchdowns.
2. Quarterback Kyler Murray got injured in Week 11 against the Seattle Seahawks. After that, the offense scores 30 plus points only once the rest of the season.
3. Linebacker Chandler Jones incurred a bicep injury in Week 5.  He ended his season with 11 total tackles and one sack. Without Jones, the Cardinals’ defense gave up close to 28 points a game on the road.

There is also the possibility that Kingsbury’s offensive prowess is over-rated, but that could be an overstatement as the offense worked for the first half of the season.

But this year the Cardinals will not only reverse their fortunes within their division, but win the NFC West outright.

At first glance, it seems like an improbable statement. The NFC West is the most competitive division in the NFL. But it is possible, and here is why:

QUARTERBACK KYLER MURRAY

Murray showed improvement until his Week 11 injury. He finished the season with a completion percentage that was 2.8% better than the previous year.  He threw for six more touchdowns and had 40 more rushing attempts.  The rushing attempts elevated his rushing touchdowns by seven compared to last year. 

WIDE RECEIVER DEANDRE HOPKINS

There is no doubt the addition of Hopkins boosted the offense. Hopkins finished the season with a career-high 71.9% catch rate.  He was targeted 160 times and had six touchdowns.

This being his second year with Murray should make the pairing that much more formidable and the duo should put up huge numbers in 2021. 

ADDITION BY SUBTRACTION

This might be the most important reason the Cardinals are set to win the division this year.  Their free agency acquisitions are more of a “win-now” mentality than let’s rebuild for the future.

Although they lost both Patrick Peterson and Kenyan Drake in free agency, they gained players (who, if they remain healthy) will help them win now.

• Running back James Conner
• Wide receiver AJ Green
• Defensive end JJ Watt
• Cornerback Malcolm Butler
• Kicker Matt Prater

And yes, the NFC West did make some splash acquisitions. The Los Angeles Rams acquired quarterback Matthew Stafford for the win-now mentality.  The San Francisco 49ers obtained Trey Lance for the future, and well, the Seattle Seahawks attempted to upgrade their defense, with cornerbacks Ahkello Witherspoon and Pierre Desire and defensive end Aldon Smith. 

THE SCHEDULE

Depending on your “go-to” source, the Cardinals either have the fourth most difficult schedule or the 13^th.  If you go by the Cbssports.com strength of schedule, the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks will face a harder schedule than the Cardinals. 

CARDINALS 2021 SCHEDULE

WEEK 1 @ TENNESSEE TITANS

WEEK 2 v MINNESOTA VIKINGS

WEEK 3 @ JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

WEEK 4 @ LOS ANGELES RAMS

WEEK 5 v SAN FRANCISCO NINERS

WEEK 6 @ CLEVELAND BROWNS

WEEK 7 v HOUSTON TEXANS

WEEK 8 v GREEN BAY PACKERS

WEEK 9 @ SAN FRANCISCO NINERS

WEEK 10 v CAROLINA PANTHERS

WEEK 11 @ SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

WEEK 12—NOV 28 BYE WEEK

WEEK 13 @ CHICAGO  BEARS

WEEK 14 v LOS ANGELES RAMS

WEEK 15 @ DETROIT LIONS

WEEK 16 v INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

WEEK 17 @ DALLAS COWBOYS

WEEK 18 v SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

WINNING THE NFC WEST

This is Kingsbury show me year.  His team has to improve against the West foes, including the zero wins against the Rams.  The Niners will have the slew of players that were injured back; the question remains it Trey Lance or Jimmy Garoppolo under center this season.  The Seahawks are, well, the Seahawks, doing little to appease quarterback Russell Wilson’s concerns; they remain who we thought they were until proven otherwise.

The path through the NFC West appears to go through California.  If the Cardinals can break even with their NFC West rivals, there is no reason they cannot overtake the NFC West championship belt (and if there isn’t one, there should be).

The post How the Arizona Cardinals will win the NFC West appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Drew Feinberg

The NFC West has quickly become one of the most intriguing divisions to follow throughout the entire NFL. With high-powered offenses, hard-hitting defenses and some of the biggest stars in the game, there’s a reason you see NFC West teams so often on primetime games. Not only the on-field talent shines bright in this division; the NFC West is home to arguably the best group of head coaches in the entire league: Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Kliff Kingsbury and Pete Carroll.

From the youngest head coach in the league (McVay, 35) to the oldest (Carroll, 69), the NFC West has it all. Most or all of the current NFC West head coaches are known as “football geniuses” and for good reason; they are all among the most innovative play-callers and leaders in the league. However, because this is the internet, one has to be the best, and that, my friends, is what I’m here today to do.

Which coach will reign supreme? Who will be the head coach standing on top of the mountain? Let’s begin ranking the four coaches from worst to best. 

4. Kliff Kingsbury

Kingsbury has had an up-and-down start to his tenure as the Arizona Cardinals head coach.  Prior to his promotion to the NFL, Kingsbury served as head coach of Texas Tech University from 2013 to 2018 where he coached future NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes. Before that, Kingsbury was the offensive coordinator for Texas A&M University where he served as the offensive coordinator for Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel during his historic 2012 season. 

The thing is, while Kingsbury’s track record may be impressive on paper, he has had trouble winning games; a pretty important aspect to keeping your job in the NFL. His record at Texas Tech was 35-40 and he currently boasts a head coaching record of 13-18-1; a somewhat pedestrian record for an “offensive genius”.

Kingsbury has the potential to soar up this list with the roster the Cardinals are building. Arizona’s Kyler Murray-led air raid offense will be in its third year, and Murray will be in his second year with star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

There’s no doubt Kingsbury is a creative football mind who has risen through the ranks to NFL head coaching quickly. Ranked amongst head coaches from other NFL divisions, Kingsbury would surely rank higher than fourth. However, the question of whether or not he is the leader the Arizona Cardinals need is still up in the air.

3. Sean McVay

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay was hailed as the next great offensive mind after he was hired as the youngest head coach in NFL history back in 2017. McVay has had his fair share of highs and lows since his hiring, as he made it to the Super Bowl in his second year as a head coach. Ever since making that Super Bowl, practically every person who coached under McVay has left for their own head coaching gig, leaving McVay to pick up the pieces each season. 

It’s really tough ranking McVay so low on this short list, considering he is easily a top 10 head coach in the entire league. However, I guess that just goes to show how good this division is. McVay’s style is fairly simple. Run the ball and use play-action. While the concept seems so simple to counter, many NFL defensive coordinators have tried and failed.

While seeing his fair share of struggles, McVay has led the Rams to four winning seasons in as many years. With such an impressive resume, why don’t I have him ranked higher, you ask? Well, for starters, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has won a Super Bowl, and McVay hasn’t; and 49er’s head coach Kyle Shanahan has a 5-3 record against McVay since 2017.

Not a knock on McVay’s abilities at all, moreso an illuminate on how good Carroll and Shanahan are.

2. Pete Carroll

Carroll ranks third amongst active coaches in total wins, with 145. In his ten seasons as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, Carroll and star quarterback Russell Wilson led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title in 2013, and an NFC Championship in 2014. The man is a walking Hall of Famer.

While he most likely will be seen on the sidelines chewing gum, with a whimsical smile on his face, Carroll has been the poster boy for being a leader in the NFL. He’s a defensive innovator who gets guys to want to play for him; a seemingly difficult task in the league. 

Carroll, however, is not a perfect head coach. He has a knack for being a risky play-caller, which occasionally pays off in his favor. However, when it doesn’t it costs him a Super Bowl title. More recently, Carroll has been criticized for “letting Russ cook” or “not letting Russ cook enough”. Everybody in the NFL is subject for criticism, but overall Carroll exudes consistency. 

Why is he not ranked first on this list, you might ask? Despite an eight year streak of winning seasons, and a Super Bowl ring, time will soon catch up to Carroll. He is the elder statesman in the division, and there is one coach who I believed snatched the crown right from Carroll’s head. There is no doubt in my mind that Carroll is a top 10, even top five head coach in the NFL. However, when ranked strictly within the NFC West, one coach reigns supreme.

1. Kyle Shanahan

Move over McVay, the NFC West has a new offensive guru. Over his four seasons as head coach of the San Francisco 49er’s, Shanahan has been touted as the best play designer in the NFL; and for good reason. 

Before his hiring in San Francisco, Shanahan served as offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons in 2016, where he helped lead quarterback Matt Ryan to an MVP win and Super Bowl appearance. Since being hired in San Francisco, Shanahan has brought an innovative, unseen style to the NFL, and has changed the way the game is played. 

Boasting a new-age, run first offense, Shanahan led the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance in 2019, seemingly the only healthy season the Niners have had under Shanahan. There is no denying Shanahan’s level of football genius. It was on display during the 2019 NFC Championship game, where Shanahan correctly predicted a flag that has yet to occur. 

While only 40, and with two Super Bowl appearances under his belt, Shanahan will surely have more success as a head coach in the NFL. The scary thought for other coaches around the NFL, and in the NFC West particularly, is that Shanahan will only get smarter. He will mature as a coach, and it will only make his opponents more confused when he outsmarts them further. Shanahan is a different beast and my top head coach in the NFC West.

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