Arizona Cardinals: Monday Morning Takeaways from Week 11

In the Arizona Cardinals’ 30-24 Week 11 loss to the reeling Minnesota Vikings, here are some positive and negative takeaways from the game.

A season that has not lived up to expectations for the Arizona Cardinals continued along this path on Sunday. The reeling Minnesota Vikings were able to take care of the 4-4-1 Arizona Cardinals, but the infuriating game brought a lot of key points to the forefront. There were positives and of course negatives in this terrible loss.

Negative: The offensive line is a huge issue

One of the strengths to this Cardinals team in the preseason was its outstanding offensive line with arguably two of the best guards in the game and a cornerstone left tackle. However, after season ending injuries to both Evan Mathis and Jared Veldheer, this offensive line is terrible.

This is quite the statistic. The game tape definitely showed a weakness in this offensive line that has been playing like hot garbage. During the game, Mike Iupati was injured which forced Taylor Boggs into the contest. He didn’t play badly, but nothing to be overjoyed about, either.

There is a solution that could drastically change this offensive line and how they play. First, the Cardinals need to move D.J. Humphries over to his natural position at left tackle. Humphries was the first round pick of the Cards the draft 2014 NFL draft and was arguably the only prospect who could play left tackle. Next, Earl Watford filled in admirably for Bobby Massie last year at right tackle and has the size to line up on the right side. By moving the tackles around, it allows Iupati and Shipley to stay in their natural positions and forces Wetzel into guard, which is a position he has been stable at.

Either way, this offensive line needs to be able to sustain a block if it wishes to win the next six games, and earn a playoff spot.

Negative: Special Teams is a bigger issue then Arians likes to admit

This problem is rather simple, however harder to fix. Arizona’s special teams have been okay when it comes to head coach Bruce Arians’ tenure. Lately however, they have played absolutely terribly, whether it be issues with the long snapper, terrible punting, missed chip shot field goals. Today we experienced special teams issues when it came to kick and punt returns.

The first started when Cordarelle Paterson took the opening kickoff back to the house to start the second half. Not just any kick return….BUT A 104-YARDER. The tackling was horrid and players were not on the right side of the Vikings blocks. This allowed Patterson to shoot towards the end zone with not even a sniff of a penalty flag.

The first started when Cordarelle Paterson took the opening kickoff back to the house to start the second half. Not just any kick return….BUT A 104-YARDER. The tackling was horrid and players were not on the right side of the Vikings blocks. This allowed Patterson to shoot towards the end zone with not even a sniff of a penalty flag.

While being the last instance, this could have been the biggest one, as the Cardinals were down around the 2:00 minute mark of the forth quarter Vikings punter Jeff Locke sent a punt that would end up inside of the Arizona twenty. The kick was decent, however John Brown let the ball bounce and roll another ten yards. As the Cardinals started with terrible field position, the offense was not able to not move the ball and eventually lost the game.

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Positive: The Cardinals’ defense turns out one of its better performances

When it comes to the 2016-2017 Arizona Cardinals, it has been a lot of bad and not too much good. With that being said, the defense surprisingly stepped up in this game. After a lackluster first quarter, the unit came to its senses and gave the Cardinals a chance to win. The personal foul penalties on the defense were terrible calls and should not be put on this group.

Markus Golden and Chandler Jones brought pressure all afternoon. This culminated with Jones getting a crucial strip sack on Sam Bradford which would allow the Cardinals to score and stay in the game. Golden was in almost every play, using his high motor to get after whoever had the ball. The Jones trade is looking great for general manager Steve Keim and this front office as it has allowed Golden to get less attention and use it natural ability to get after the quarterback.

Kevin Minter also turned out a great performance as he added seven tackles and one for a loss. Minter has been very surprising as of the last two years. Coming out of LSU, Minter’s game was not built for a fast paced defense. He has gotten his body right and the play on the field reflects how much Minter has improved.

Positive: David Johnson needs to be the focal point of the offense

David Johnson has been a godsend for the Arizona Cardinals. The presumptive workhorse of this backfield had a great game, finishing with over 160 total yards and two touchdowns. However, there was a short stint in the second half in which Johnson was not even on the field. Ellington was the main back and played decently. Nonetheless, when you have an immense talent like Johnson in the backfield there is no excuse to not make him the biggest piece in your offense.

Next: Arizona Cardinals Lose to Minnesota Vikings, Drop to 4-5-1

Final Negative: This team needs a miracle to make the playoffs

I’ll make it short and sweet: a Seattle winning today along with a Cardinals loss makes it even more difficult for a playoff run. The Cardinals would need to get to ten wins in order to even have a shot at the postseason. This would require six straight wins against average to above-average teams. With the way this team is playing….nothing can be set in stone.