Ep. 323: Cardinals-Titans Week 1 preview, depth chart reactions, bold 2021 predictions

[Music] rise [Music] up rise this is the rise up SE red podcast all about the Arizona Cardinals and the NFL featuring Insider and Outsider perspectives enjoy the best hour of Cardinals talk on the web now here are your hosts Jess root and Seth [Music] Cox hello is Cardinal fans and welcome to the latest edition of the rise up SE red podcast I'm your host Jess root from cardswire tocom the NFL wire site from USA today's NFL wire covering the Arizona Cardinals of course and my co-host as is typically the case is Seth Cox from Revenge ofthe birds.com the Arizona Cardinal site from uh SP nation's family of sites and also one of the hosts of the original Draft breakdown podcast that now has some fun stuff going on as we look at the college season that has begun we've got some fun things uh already is is Georgia looks oh my gosh physical um and you've got some good games happen them already but here we are it is week one we are now officially in week one of the NFL season um recording on a Tuesday night so in 48 hours we will be watching the NFL season opener between the Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and this is episode 324 Seth how excited are you that the NFL season is finally here uh very I mean it's going to be a fun time this will be a long season man I mean 17 games it's it's going to be interesting watching this how this unfolds how coaches how careful coaches are with injuries um I know it's only an extra game but I mean it's going to make for a long season and and a lot of interesting decisions and the Cardinals uh with a with a team that is you know has some injury issues it'll be interesting to see how they they figure it out and I think I think this is going to be one of the more interesting seasons for the Arizona Cardinals um that we've seen and definitely one of the more intriguing Seasons that we've covered um as this as part of this podcast yeah and and well in this edition of the show what we've got um we've got some news about the Cardinals happening so after we reacted to the to the final roster they made a couple other roster moves which which led to Jordan Phils lining on injured injured reserve again and Robert Alfa and Justin Pew being activated from the covid reserve so we're going to talk about that and well what are we to think is he already turning into a bust after three stance on IR in in you know barely over a season we will make some bold predictions and some reasonable predictions and and kind of what we expect or and hope to see from the Cardinals this season as well as some questions that facing we will react to the latest depth chart or the first depth chart of the regular season and then look ahead to their week one match up between the Titans well against the Titans this weekend on the road give our preview matchups and our predictions for that game which is what could be one heck of a barn burner but so let's go ahead and get started um Jordan Phil injured reserve which kind of for me honestly kind of came out of left field and got me feeling not again not again again for a guy with so much promise when he signed last year you know he was good in the games that he was healthy in and then had the hamstring issue you know he got hurt you know battled through it for a week tried to play on it against Seattle injured it more went on IR came back you know battled back and then on the fumble run back against the Giants he tweaked it again and didn't play the rest of the year um he was healthy in the off season like during OTAs at many camps he was he was fine and then something happened in training camp he was out then he caught covid he comes back from the covid list he's healthy again he practices last Monday and then the next thing we know he makes the team naturally but then on Thursday when they activate Justin Pew they put they put Phillips on IR which you know which now explains why Michael Doby made the final roster but what were your thoughts once once the news hit that Phillips hit IR again um I was well at first surprised that that they obviously had that in the plan for um how they built a roster with the with the way that you know they had that open roster spot or the two open roster spots technically and we were sitting there or the one open roster spot excuse me and we were sitting there going well they got to make a move for so they can bring Justin Pew and Robert Alfred off of off the covid list right and and why did they keep Michael Doby I mean you and I are sitting here on this podcast having that conversation and then oh uh Justin pews elevated from the covid-19 list and oh by the way we're putting Jordan Phillips on IR uh um and so those two things corresponded and so clearly that was the plan all along uh and then you know and when you look at it from that perspective it's disappointing that a guy that had other questions about his you know ability and things of that nature has been rendered a you know quote unquote bust and and let's be honest so far he is a bust um because of injuries because as you you know kind of pointed out and wrote about today he has not had injury problems in the NFL right this isn't this isn't a sustain thing where he's gone through this his entire career this is instead maybe a a concern about dedication maybe and and a want to be able to play through a little bit of pain and we don't know what the injury is so that is the really hard thing about this because like we said like if it's the hamstring I'm really concerned because you know he because it then it's become something chronic because he had it hurt initially battled back injured it more got healthy injured it more missed the season and then miss the rest of the season and so that's what I'm concerned so I keep hearing people talk about that was a bad signing okay if you look at the end result it was a bad signing it wasn't necessarily a bad sign it was a kind of a risky signing but but it wasn't because of the injuries it's not even because of the size it wasn't even a bad contract in terms of the money it's just been a really unfortunate one there it was risky to begin with because he had one year of production that was the main thing he had the one year of production and In fairness it was the first time he'd ever played in those passing Downs so he'd never been asked to play in passing Downs before um he was always a guy that that played in base and then came out for the for the guys that would rush the passer and so it was the first time he was basically allowed to do that and he was highly successful and the tape said is that as well um he plays plays with high energy he was dominant he's strong he's quick um but the fact of the matter is it's just been really unfortunate because if you don't look at his I went back dating his his entire career I looked at I looked at the game logs and so he's missed he missed four games in his career before this year um a he was inactive one week when he was a rookie and he had a knee inj an ankle injury that had him missed three games in 2017 he since 2017 um in 2018 and 2019 when he was with the bills he did not even he did not have a single week where he was even listed with an injury designation for and the final injury report so he's been he has been quite durable he'd never had hamstring issues so his the times when he was on the injury report it was a knee it was an ankle it was a shoulder um the ankle mostly but the in weird thing is that we don't know what this injury is because of how the Cardinals played it off because they didn't disclose injuries during training camp they put them on injured reserve um before there was ever an injury report um this year with the first one will come out on Wednesday and they haven't talked about it since and honestly and I anticipate since since this year you can come back after three weeks that maybe we'll find out what the injury is because he'll probably be limited uh one or two games or or simply they will they will activate him from injured reserve on a Friday after ah but no he'd have to ah that'd be interesting because they I I think how it works is that you just I I don't at what point you're I mean we should find out what it is but it's just unfortunate that we don't know what it is and and don't know how to react to it basically but and the this thing is is that they kind of need him and as it is the defensive line Talent is there there's so much talent um and like there's high-end talent and there's solid depth Talent between JJ Watt and Jordan Phillips then you go with Rashard Lawrence who's now the the starting nose tackle Zack Allen uh Ley fotu and even Michael Doby so there is some Talent there to but like we had last year there was one defensive lineman that played all 16 games and he's not on the team anymore because the Cardinals let Angelo blackon go that defensive line was hit with inj in the pre-season uh JJ Watt missed time Zack Allen missed time Cory Peters uh didn't play at the preseason all we didn't really see him in training camp practice but he was coming back from his injury uh Ley fotu missed time Rashard Lawrence missed time everyone they were counting on missed time and so you're after last year you're like it can't happen again and then in the training camp is happening here like I hope they're just getting this out of the way early because defensive line it ended up being a problem because they were you know dressing guys off the street and were playing them and guess what that's not a good way to play defense no it's not and you know that's the frustrating thing right now is that they have as you said a lot of talent at the at the defens line position but there's so many question marks I mean you got JJ wat on a pitch count we have Cory Peters that's going to be on an obvious pitch count early in the season if he's even active early in the season let's be completely honest about that uh Rashard Lawrence has dealt with injury issues Zack Allen has dealt with injury issues so you're basically rolling in with uh Michael Doby and Ley fotu as you're like your ironmen so to speak and Ley and Ley Miss time last year though he was super durable at Utah yeah and so you know you look at it it's it's going to be just a question of of durability for this for a lot of this team and I think they're G to be very good um but that's one of the nagging questions that we've had all kind of offseason um is dealing with can these guys stay healthy and the unfortunate reality so far is every I shouldn't say every but most of the guys we had questions about the answer has been no um now hopefully you know we don't want to jinx it we're gonna get to see Robert Alfred play and so that's a good thing um we're going to get to see JJ Watt and you know Zack Allen play and and those are are good things but like now the question is can they maintain and stay healthy and that's that's you know another question that we I I think it's fair to ask and and obviously waiting to see the answer is the big thing at this point yep and and luckily we get that we get to see that initially this week and they'll be playing a talented talented and loaded Titans offense we're going to talk about more about the Titans later on the show but coming up next on the of C red podcast the best hour of cardinals talk on the web we will move on to some bold predictions some reasonable predictions and and some questions that we have about the card we kind of all it to it now uh that's coming next and rise up C red legal sports betting is coming to Arizona in fact it is on the nth so by the time you listen to the show it might already be here uh September 9th it is live so imagine how much more fun watching a game will be when you have a little bit of money on the line and the best way to get into that action is with the draft King sports book an official sports betting partner of the NFL and to celebrate draftking Sports Sportsbook is giving you $150 free 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of issuance eligibility restrictions apply see draftkings.com Sportsbook for details subject to regulatory licensing requirements back on the rise of CED podcast the best hour of car 's talk on the web let's talk predictions bold reasonable questions that they have and kind of what our outcomes and our expectations are for this coming season uh I wrote a piece for cardswire um if you haven't seen it already where I wrote I think this is six bold but reasonable so bold but possible predictions these were best case scenarios but they're not just they're not super crazy they are things that could viably happen but seem just a little bit on the Bold side to actually make his predictions and so I have a few things that that I think would be that could be you know extremely good and and let's start with one Kyler Murray um I think what is very POS so he he's the first player to ever pass for 3500 yards and rush for 750 we saw the he he just missed 4,000 yards he was you know a dual Threat by means when he was in college he still is I I don't I think 1,000 yards rushing is probably not going to happen this year um based on kind of comments I think they want to rely on his legs less however I think it is completely reasonable that he can reach 5,000 combined yards between passing and rushing and I don't even think that that's even that bold no and I think I think the goal this year should be to have a combined 5,000 and 40 um yes so 5,000 total yards from scrimmage either you know passing and and rushing and then 40 total touchdowns and and he was close last year he was at about what um about 4,800 4,837 right and so that's an that's an improvement you know I'll say I if they can if he can flip about 400 yards rushing to passing um you know and and be there uh you know with be there with that opportunity I think that's where you want him to be um obviously if he ends up at over you know8 n00 yards rushing again and it's and it's from effective you know usage of him that's but we're hoping this year it's not um it's more designed runs and less scramble yards and that's not to say that his scrambling ability is not important it's just that we would prefer that the L yeah the offensive line is better that the passing game opens up a little more yeah absolutely um if if I wanted to be crazy I think what a more a bolder but little less reasonable is is to predict him to go 4,000 1,000 which has never been done in the NFL uh I think the 4,000 a lock he would have hit 4,000 last year if he hadn't missed most of the Rams game he was at 3971 um and especially with the 17th game I think 4,000 yards is a you know is a lock honestly uh with an increased passing within with increased passing production overall I would hope that he could that he could reach the realm of about 4500 which would increase his kind of per game instead of just adding on what his average was but increases per game average to get that to about 4500 um which would make 5,000 total yards totally easy to do uh and that's you know and that's what it should be it should be about five you know you should be right around the 4,500 yard Mark for passing and you should see between five and 600 yards rushing I mean that's just yeah that's that's totally reason what what what would be a a bold prediction that you could see happening this year uh that the Cardinals run for have over 3,000 yards rushing juicy that one's a good one you know that would mean that obviously Chase Edmonds and James Connor run the ball effectively but then they're able to utilize Murray and Rond Del Moore in the rushing game as well uh and really kind of you know that would put them right around um o you know over 200 yards per game and that's you know that's a dominant you know rushing attack in the NFL uh you know we've seen we've seen that happened with the with the Baltimore Ravens the last couple of Seasons um not to say that we expect Kyler to run as much or anything like that but I think we could see a rushing attack that lends itself with all of the weapons they have like like I said they've got legitimately four guys that can rush for over uh 600 yards each yeah it'd be interesting to see I think a reasonable big expectations if we want to think talk about Chase Edmonds alone I think a reasonable solid year for him would be 1,500 total yards for scrim total yards yeah agree with that because you're talking about you know maybe he gets to a thousand and let's be honest a thousand yards rushing is not going to be especially in 17 games I mean so if you bring that up to 17 games as it was before that's averaging about six six yards a game at another game here let's do a little bit of quick math here that's 59 yards a game yeah so that's you know that's if you're talking about 60 yards a game and then you know another basically 35 yard a game or no it' be 30 yards a game uh receiving that's that doesn't sound like a lot but 90 yards from scrimmage a game I think we get him to 1500 and that should be you know his his goal for the season and if you get that from him and then you maybe add in you know 700 yards rushing from from James Connor I think you're I think you're at a more realistic pace and you you had a an effective and um useful rushing attack on the season uh bold possible three 1,000 yard receivers that would been an explosion the passing which is honestly kind of what they're hoping for um we know that Hop's going to get his the question is um can we get AJ Green back to that level and can Christian Kirk reach that level we the last time we saw it from the Cardinals it was 2009 when they had Fitz Balden and Steve breston and Steve breston barely got that thousand yards in that last game but again 17 games means for more production uh they have a better offensive line they have a better receiving core uh I think it you know I don't think that it'll get Triple thousand but that's be something that would be a big but possible scenario yeah think that's you know one of those things where you again look at it and your expectation for Hopkins is you know 1,200 yards maybe, 1300 now because it's a a 17 Game season and then if you're if you're right around 8 to 00 for those other guys then you're in the right on the right pace and and then you just need you know maybe one big game from each of them to get them over a thousand yards and I don't think that's I don't think that inconceivable I'm not going to say it's going to happen because that's a you know it even though it's a 17 Game season that's a big jump in terms of secondary receiver production that we just we haven't seen it yet enough to predict it but it's a fair um you know like you said bold prediction um what would be something so let me go with another one and this is kind of dual about saxs and that would be Chandler Jones leading the league in sacks even defensive player of the year um I think that's that's the it's the on The Bold and and that the Cardinals lead the league in sacks I think that's not even that crazy considering the the Personnel they've got no and I was going to say one of my you know one of mine was going to be that the Cardinals lead the league in sacks this year um again this is all Health permitting but it's a little different when you talk about the Cardinals you're talking about you know obviously JJ Watt who's had health issues you're talking about Zack Allen who's had health issues then you're talking about you know uh Dennis gek and Chandler Jones both coming off season ending injuries last year those are you know that's different but if ideally Marcus golden is your third best pass rusher man you're talking about you're talking about three 10 plus sack guys easy if if JJ can and Chandler can stay healthy and and add into so if you got three guys with double digit sacks if Jordan philis can play the rest of the season healthy you're looking five to you know between five and eight uh you get a couple here and there two to four from other guys uh Isaiah Simmons and and Zach yeah you know zon Collins who went on their blitzes couple of Corners pick one up yeah they could they could viably lead the NFL in Sachs this year and and Chandler Jones this this would be one of those special type years so he it could be one of those one things where the help on defense hurts him in terms of sex or maybe it helps him like overall I think sack production is going to be up but you could either see that extra help means that other guys get sacks that he doesn't get or the help means that they can't focus as much on him and he has a bounce back here leads the leaks and sacks um I think it'll be hard Defensive Player of the Year be hard I I honestly don't know how he didn't win Defensive Player of the Year back in 2017 when he led the league in sacks tackles for loss and quarterback hits it was just one of like what how how is that how did that not happen and but I that would be one of those things that could but I don't think will happen yeah and I I would agree with you there that I don't see a defensive player of the year happening but between um Chandler and Buddha Baker they've got and then uh they've got two guys that could potentially be defens players of the year and you've got zav Collins who could potentially be a rookie of the year because here's why and he's gonna play heck a lot well he's GNA play a heck of a lot but also there's no great rookie pass rushers and so when you historically look at the Rookie of the Year for defense it's typically a pass rusher and so this season he's gonna get as Jess said so many snaps and opportunities that from a bulk statistical standpoint he may put up such big numbers this year that it's hard to overlook him and let's not forget if we want to talk about something bold is how if Isaiah Simmons could end up being in the mix for that defensive player of the year because of the ability he has to honestly do so many things like pick up sacks stack up the tackles um you know pass deflections interceptions he could have one of the now again we're just kind of going through like best case scenarios for kind of everybody but these are things that happen but also I mean to your point they're best case scenario but there there are things that you know could happen in those best case scenarios it's not like we're saying you know Kyler Murray throws for 65 touchdowns I mean we're not you know we're saying you know best case scenario he's got over 5,000 yards and 40 toal total touchdowns like 5,000 total yards and 40 total touchdowns so um those are you know best case scenario type things so but yeah I mean you look at the defense they're they're going to have opportunities for that transpire just because I think that between the injuries and the fact that they're playing in a division where you're going to see a lot of um a lot of throwing of the football you're going to have a chance and and I a lot of tight games that you're going to see these guys you know have a chance to produce absolutely anything else that anything else that would come up for for you in terms of bold prediction so I honestly bold prediction not a prediction prediction I think this team has a Super Bowl ceiling I've said it uh I've said it I think on this show and on other uh radio shows in podcasts I think the entire NFC West has a Super Bowl ceiling I think all four teams are that talented it's just a matter of things coming together um and you know I think the Cardinals could be a Super Bowl team they could be that that sort of special have that sort of special season uh that that's possible yeah and you know my bold prediction would be that this this team does make the playoffs this year and competes um and then you know I know some people are saying well they better make the playoffs I mean they play in the best division of football the NFC is going to be a hotly contested you know conference overall and I think they're a team that that is in that mix and ends up making the playoffs yeah um in terms of in terms of your realistic ceiling floor what do you see this team being best case worst case you know best case I think they're an NFC Championship type of team I don't know if they can win that um it's really hard to bet against Tom Brady uh just I mean from a historic standpoint it's just it's very difficult to to bet against Tom Brady and so that's not copping out but it's just like when we would do our season previews before and then we would just always pick the Patriots like it's until well until Father Time finally wins that battle with Tom Brady I'm always going to pick Tom Brady um and that's just I mean that's just how that goes so but other than that I think I think the realistic or so you know the best case scenario is this is a team that that has a chance to play for Super Bowl um you know either a birth in the Super Bowl or or in the game but I think they've got that kind of talent in a um and I think we'll find out early that's the nice thing too is like they've got a really tough start and it doesn't mean they need to go you know six and0 to start but if they go three and three or or you know better even four- two I think you're going to be able to tell a lot about this team um my worst case scenario you know I think I you know this is easy to preface but I would say this is the only fair way to truly do this is if you don't factor in injuries because if you factor and injury to like a a Kyler Murray or you know you've got JJ Watt and Chandler Jones and you you know guys that are still hurting that were hurt last year it's going to be really hard for this team to be good um but you can say that about any team I mean if you take away Russell Wilson uh they're you know they're D and so so I'll say this if not no injuries involved a worst case scenario is that this team ends up flaming be flaming out because uh Cliff can't figure it out Advance Joseph is not a good defensive coordinator and they end up going you know five and 12 and and we're we're discussing in January who the next head coach and GM of the Arizona Cardinal is going to be yeah I think reasonably this team is between like worst case eight and n where they sort of Miss out and they end up being a middling team I don't think this team is going to be bad like I've seen some of the scenarios this team is better than last year's team their talent I know it doesn't always mean more wins but they upgraded basically every position uh they were a Zane Gonzalez Miss field goal in New England from making the postseason a year ago and so a better team I don't see how they end up with the worst results especially how we saw them play for much of the year I think what they were doing in the middle of the season is more predictive of what they have moving for rather than the last several games when Kyler when when they were handcuffed by Kyler Murray playing a little hesitant or or Cliff Kingsbury you know kind of protecting Kyler and so I think the middle part of the season is more predictive of what we were going to see this year so I think worst case they're going to be a middle leag team with eight wins I think they could be you know I think they could be this year's Buffalo Bills um they could win it I think they can do make it all the I like said I think they could always W it all the way to the Super Bowl I think the uh predicting Super Bowl win like they could win the Super Bowl but getting to the Super Bowl I think they're talented enough um with everything going right that this team could roll through the NFC and be like the 49ers were a couple of years ago surprisingly good yeah and I mean the big thing is and you had it on there they could be similar to the Buffalo Bills this year and you know year three of Kyler you see the same type of jump in him that you saw Josh Allen where he's a you know a legitimate MVP candidate um you look at what this team needs to do and and kind of how they follow I think that's that should be the the goal and I think anything less than 10 wins barring you know serious injuries um has to be looked at as a a a disappointing season for this organization absolutely C up next on the RAS UPC red podcast the best of cardinal talk on the web we move forward to this coming this this week the Cardinals released their first depth chart of the Season we have some things to talk about we're going to react to that that's coming up next on Rise Up SE red we're back on on the rise of SE red podcast ofrf Cardinals talk on the web let's talk about this depth chart the depth chart came out uh this week and well what we've got is kind a couple of surprises and the biggest takeaway number one is who the starting Right Guard is and that is Josh Jones It's Not Brian Winters it's not Justin Murray it is Josh Jones who was only playing Right Guard for most of the preseason in training camp because of injuries to Brian Winters and Justin Murray I know that they that was always a possibility because of what was said all off season they kind of made it a point to say that josh Jones can play guard Josh Jones could play guard even that let let's be honest Josh Jones has never played guard before before training before this off season um and now he's the starter well like how surprised were you um based on the play not surprised based on what we know of of Shan coug C Cliff Kingsbury I was a little surprised um just because you expect them not expect but you you just assume that Brian winter signing was signaling that that he was going to be the Right Guard um similar to the J.R szy signing a couple years ago and it's not a bad thing uh but Jones winning it's big for you know obviously now he has to play well and that's on him but um it's big for the organization and especially the draft drafting portion of that organization because that's something that he that they haven't done well um you know throughout throughout the Steve Kim era and so now if you're talking about two uh second-year players in Isaiah Simmons and Josh Jones starting and then three rookies uh with zav Collins um it's 3 second because rard Lawrence is also oh yeah sorry Rashard Lawrence three second year and two rookies that's what I meant and then you know you've got uh Marco Wilson and and Z Collins starting like that's five starters from the last two draft classes now they have to play well like them starting is obviously the initial spot but if they play well man that's that's a massive turn of events after you look at 2016 and 17 right I wonder so I was surprised not because of the play but because of everything I saw from the off season everything I heard suggested that Brian Winters was going to be the starters I've got a couple of the I've got a couple of theories where it comes to Josh Jones and one is simply this um Brian Winters supposedly played through an injur last year and Cliff King he talked about that so he he was playing through an injury uh he sort of suggested that it's the same injury that he was dealing with in training camp and they were trying to get him hey so in part with the time mist and perhaps the the injury being an issue they feel that a healthy Josh Jones is better than a not as healthy Brian Winters and that's something we might see change over the course of the year that said and I texted you this earlier I'm not one to be I I am sort of anti-c conspiracies when it comes to the Cardinals and things like that um but I I'm starting to see see some signs that that might might have especially C kind of how it feels the Josh Jones moves kind of puts like well maybe this is it and this is that Steve Kim kind of has put and we saw it was Z Collins there was a mandate to play Z Collins from day one I believe that perhaps Kim is pulling the strings a little bit and insisting that the young guys play if there is any closeness to the competition let the young guys play which and this goes against what my thought was last year and I didn't want last week and I didn't want to speculate on the situation with Malcolm Butler Albert bre from s.com in in a mailbag suggested um quasi reported that the Cardinals had been concerned about uh Butler's running ability like basically he' lost a step that he was might have been he might be almost washed up in essentially I'm not going to say but that he'd lost his legs and so they were worried that over the course of these that was going to continue which initially guess what to me that that is in that is the reason why he was quarterback three uh quarterback three is not a bad position that's a starting job but if if you look at how he was used on the depth chart he was cornerback one he was all through the preseason but as I saw in the offseason as we saw in training camp and as we saw in the preseason it was Robert Alfred and Byron Murphy and Butler would come in and nickel downs and so if you have concerns about the long-term use over the course of a season of a guy's legs hey you take 20 you know 35 to 45% of the snaps away so that he's going to be better over the course of the year that said if we kind of look at a lot of things okay there is definitely the the instruction Zin Collins is the week one starter he I know Jordan Hicks didn't even get the opportunity to compete n suddenly Butler retires we don't know why Marco Wilson the rookie is a starter now he's that quarterback three and now Josh Jones is starting Perhaps Perhaps that Kim is saying and kind of you know pushed the coaches to say we like what we've seen from Wilson he needs to play and now so he needs to play Collins needs to play and now Jones needs to play so now we've got a little bit of a pattern and perhaps Butler was UND displeased with that it doesn't make complete sense because you have to be really convicted as a football player to say if that's the motivation for retiring to walk away from 3 and A4 million because guess what you can still get paid three and a quarter million and have a small role like kind of what they would do with Jonathan Joseph when he was on the team so they'd have before he got hurt they'd bring him in in certain scenarios as a dime Corner um you could do that but I I'd like to think that it probably wasn't that but there are enough signs that perhaps Kim is imposing his will more than we've kind of seen him do in years past um Cliff Kingsbury subtly alluded to the fact that it sounds like Steve Kim was the one that had final roster decisions when it came to cutting and keeping players so there is that I'm not a I'm not a guy that comes up with these kind of theories often but now there's just enough that I think that that's possible they saying yeah play the young guys and you know you and I were talking about this off the a little bit and if that's the case it would kind of make sense to if there was kind of a handshake back room deal like hey you guys have have two years like you've got two years to to prove that this is a team you know that's that is a Super Bowl contending team and you guys you know and it's the whole group it's it's Kim it's Cliff it's Kyler hey you got two years you're either contenders and we're GNA extend you or you know this is a a complete blowout and rebuild so play the young guys you know play my guys Cliff because I don't want to go down on the ship by because I was afraid to play the young guys I don't want to go down on the ship with Brian Winters as the you know as the guy that maybe was the final nil in my coffin like if if it's Josh Jones if it's Rond Del Moore if it's you know Byron Murphy if it's those guys okay I can live with that but I don't want I don't want to go down with Journeymen uh veteran Journeymen who are true stop Gap types um that are the reason that this you know team didn't make it or or failed or floundered and and we were talking about the honestly I I maybe it's just we've kind of avoided because there are certain other shows and and people around the the media who take every opportunity to take shots at the leadership of the organization but here's the thing that's that's that's kind of interesting I if I recall 20122 will be both Kim and Kingsbury's last year of their cont which makes this very interesting in the fact that this really is a maker break here because bidwill then has a critical decision to make if they don't make the playoffs do you want to like are you gonna do the Jerry Jones thing and kind of let them be lame ducks and make them kind of both play out that last year and see what happens or they're going to be in a situation where you're going to either have to extend both or cut ties depending on the results of the season and then and that that's kind of the thing I wonder I wonder if that is like you were saying K is telling Cliff hey we're in this together so here uh play my guys play these young guys and we're we're going to I got you all these other veterans at certain positions to help but now we've got so many young guys that we like we need to play them yeah and and it would make sense and you know if that's where they're at at least they're on in in lock step and in it together like like we said we don't know what this is our I think reasonable speculation and that's the thing is one of the things that has been missing is is a vision and kind of a solidarity and it seems like they're finally getting to that spot and that they're understanding each other and kind of have each other's back type things and that's I think that's big because it's one of the reasons that good organizations are successful is that they you know they're in it together and they take each other you know one they hold each other accountable but two that they give each other basically the belief in one another and and say Hey you know I got you you know Josh Jones has earned this spot like he's he's our Right Guard you know um and then in in a turn it's like hey I know we drafted Andy I know we drafted hake but I need a water receiver get me get me a Ron Delmore get me that type of player and K you know responds in that way so I think that's I think that's where they're at now and it seems like they're on the same page for the first time which is big yes other other depth chart things so it wasn't only Josh Jones um minor things honestly these are minor things uh among the starters no real surprise except maybe Rashard Rashard Lawrence getting the start over Cory Peters although Rashard Lawrence has been running with the first team all off season Demetrius Harris is now your tight end to over derell Daniels that is that's perfect right Demetrius Terrace is a TI then two and derell Daniels is a perfect tight end three um Eno Benjamin is still running back four but might be the starting kick returner um other than that I look at taay Gowan like those people who are huge taay gwan fans and there is there are some staunch T Gan fans on Twitter who think that he like he's going to be starting like no he's the back they like him he's the very back of the depth Shar he's behind a kid like Luke baru who honestly probably none of us ever heard of before before they signed him right and and I'd be surprised if gallon was active on game days right and again that's not a shot at him I just think that's the realistic expectation in year one he didn't play last year um he had a phenomenal you know 2019 uh but he's got he's got work to do and he's you know his first year back in playing I think they like him that's why they kept him I think they see something in him but they're not going to you know to go back they're not going to lose the season uh because they they played Tay Gowan too quickly right and anything else of note for you on the depth chart that you saw I I am interested to see who returns kicks if it's you know or Rond Del more because they're both listed so I mean they'll both be back there probably but who's the guy that you know kind of if's going to take it anything that we've learned from the depth chart for the last two years with cl Cliff Kingsbury is that it doesn't matter at least especially for doesn't matter what's on there they don't tell the media media relations exactly what it is um they kind of said go with this and then you you won't see you'll see it play out differently on the field for two weeks and then you will see a change in the depth chart so like how many times did Andy Isabella get listed as the kick returner or Christian Kirk as the punt returner neither one of them did signif were significant contributors at either one of those spots last year they kind of went all over the place with both um so especially with the return positions I don't know what to think I I'm going to have to guess that Moore is probably going to do it or they might or they might just go with the Eno with kicks and Rondell with punts yeah and that would be fun um you know two exciting young guys Eno looked significantly quicker in the in the preseason yeah he he was excited to watch uh coming next on the rise up SE red podcast the best of cardinals talk on the web let's come back and talk about the Tennessee Titans um exact especially what what can we see kind of our our preview for that so that's coming next on riseup SE red we're back on the rise up sea red podcast the best star of cardinals talk on the web um Now we move forward to uh week one the actual game they will be taking on the Tennessee Titans um a team that has a scary good offense as scary good as the Cardinal offense could be we already know that the Titans offense is great they averaged over 30 points a game last season Ryan tanah Hill has really really emerged and and if you recall the the preview interview that I had with Mike moritis with titanswire uh back about a month or so ago the success of Derk Henry like the the booming success of derck Henry actually coincides with Ryan tanah Hill so as much as tanah Hill's success has been with Derk Henry Derk Henry's game took off when Ryan tanah Hill took over and now they add Julio Jones to that lineup just how good is that offense going to be this year you know it's really going to come down to the offensive line they're they're talented I mean from a skill position standpoint they're you know maybe the best skill team in the NFL obviously they don't have every single position loaded as they're starting Jeff s at tight end who's a nice player don't get me wrong but I mean he's they like him enough they they did honestly like him enough to move on from jonu Smith now granted part of that is money but they he is a guy they in fact like yeah and I mean he's a seven-year veteran he's been decent for them um his career highs you know are are 26 catches in 42 yards so uh like he again he's he's closer to he's pretty close to Max Williams in terms of what they ask him to do and what he does well that's not a bad thing um you know but you look at it they're they're loaded for bear with Josh Jones AJ or sorry Julio Jones uh AJ Brown and even adding Josh Reynolds and as their third wide receiver is a nice touch um and then they have the you know the top running back in the NFL and Derk Henry so when you look at it from that perspective they're a really difficult team to match up with the equalizer might be along the offensive line um you know obviously Tayler lean is a very very talented player um but he is you know getting up there in age uh that's not to say he's going to not be still a solid player but he's 30 now um you know he's he's dealt with some injuries over the last couple years so those are those are things to watch um you know Roger saffold has not lived up to the the contract he signed remember you and I were hoping that he would sign here as well um he had a nice season last year but it wasn't nearly um as good as as his year in 2018 with the Rams uh and then on the right side they're trying to figure it out they've got both Ty s bro and Kindra lamb listed as the right tackle starters um if he turns out or it'll be interesting to see s bro's really struggled in the NFL and I don't even if I'm being honest really know who Kendall lamb is he's a looks like a veteran kind of journeyman um uh looking undrafted fre agent 27 starts um so yeah I mean he's a guy um they also they also have two of their starters on the covid list as they they kind of had a covid outbreak recently gr Tana Hill just came off Ben Jones and Nate Davis I believe they're both slated to return this week but as of today I believe are still as a Tuesday we're still on the list and and the matchup is going to come down to this what defense can get a stop and the reason I say that is you look at you look at the Titans defense their starters along the front Deno arrey uh te tier tart terer tart I'm not sure heard Jeffrey Jeffrey Simmons uh Bud Dupri Jon Brown ran Evans and Harold Landry we you know bud Dupri in in the Jordan Phillips r I guess we can say in terms of one hit wonders not quite as I mean he's still he one and a half hit wonder because he had the 11 sacks and then and then he had uh I think it was eight and a half in those 11 games before he tore his ACL so he was he was a one and a half hit wonder but he did have he did follow that up at least and he's hoping he he's planning on playing in week one um I don't think it is exactly certain 100% yet and then you've got um you know Harold Landry who's been okay I mean he hasn't been anything special to write home about um ran Evans is really kind of the their anchor in the middle he's been a nice player but um I don't know if he's exactly Le or lived up to being a first round pick as um you know in three seasons no Pro bowls or anything like that that's not to say that's be all end all but he hasn't exactly been that great and then Jeffrey Simmons the same way so you know they've had some struggles to fill that pass rush role uh they liked Jeffrey Simmons coming out of Mississippi State obviously had the knee injury played sparingly in 2019 uh looked a little bit better last year but I mean we're talking about five and a half sacks you know in in a full season that's or sorry it no I think he did play all 15 or 16 games he started 15 of them you know but um sorry he only had three sacks last year I apologize um and so when you look at it they're just defensively they for whatever reason cannot find the pieces to match what the offense does they're starting jorris Jenkins in at one of the cornerback positions opposite rookie Christ Christian fton um or sorry second year man Christian fton big fan of fton um didn't play a whole lot last year only six games so you know he's again young inexperienced and then you've got jorris Jenkins who's been kind of um what's the word I'm looking for washed up uh the last couple stops on his career tour so that's the key to this game is if the Cardinals now don't get me wrong this is broad spectrum and and things of that nature but if the Cardinals defense can live up to the expectations and get stops there's not a whole lot that I expect Tennessee to do well defensively to frustrate the Cardinals so it's interesting because I think I saw Kyle odard that football Outsiders has like the Titans defenses the worst rated one they project for this coming season which I if the Cardinals can get two stops that might be enough right and that's where you that's where you go to with this whole thing and you know when you look at it from that perspective the Cardinals defense is is going to be the key of this game because unless the offense just completely falters and flat Falls flat on its face like you said you're talking about one to two stops a half that you're hoping to be able to get with these Tennessee Titans or against these Tennessee Titans and your expectation is that the defense won't be able to stop the Arizona Cardinals offense in the same breath this is a tough game I mean Derrik Henry is such a special and unique talent you add Julio Jones to the mix with an offense that's been playing at a high level the last couple years since Ryan tanah Hill was inserted as the starter it's really hard to pick against Tennessee as the home team however I think you and I both agree it's it's odd that they're only two Half Point favorites at home right and and I think that that it is all about that defense um they do honestly they've got the talent offense it's going to be interesting to see how the scheme works because they did lose their offensive coordinator so Arthur Smith was kind of the architect of that the was of the architect of the success that they had so now they add in Julio Jones but everyone is learning a new system um to some extent which was which is going to be interesting to see how that goes Firepower they have in Spades um which you know it's that especially in week one when you really haven't gotten into a real Groove unless the Cardinals defense somehow comes out and is is special early they do have the potential to be special I I like some of the matchups there I think you know Chandler Jones against Taylor Lewan is going to be fun to watch but what might be the key is is how productive uh Marcus golden is on the other side um and then of course like you look on the def also the defenses does can the young linebackers make plays in the running game yeah and that's going to be a key thing is you know can the Cardinals get pressure the you know the Titans have historically done a really good job of of moving Ryan tanah Hill who's a very good athletic quarterback moving Ryan tanah Hill around um now I don't want this to get taken out of context but they do a lot of things similar to what Seattle does with Russell Wilson in terms of moving him so he doesn't have so he's not pressured so the Cardinals are going to as you stated have to be successful with their linebackers against der Henry in the running game but they're also going to have to find a way to pressure a guy in tanah Hill who isn't sacked a whole lot and is able is move can move yeah and is able to avoid sacks when he is pressured so this is that to me is going to be the key to the game because it's hard to stop Derrik Henry it just it really is hard um but if the Cardinals can get consistent pressure and And Timely sacks on on Ryan tanah Hill and get off the Feld on third Downs um that's going to give the Cardinals a CH offense a chance to really put um points on the board this Titans team is going to score points they're probably going to average over 30 points a game this year so I want you know in the in one hand I'm I'm saying that you know the Cardinals can do these things um but in the end I expect this to be a shootout in the in the realm of you know 3735 yeah is that kind of how you're going I think I'm going to predict I can't remember if I had them the Cardinals winning this game um because it is hard to win on the road in week one there's extra juice in the stadium especially this year when there's going to be fans in the stadium and so I still think the Cardinals offense is going to do great against that defense and that the Cardinal defense will do enough I'll say 3731 Cardinals yeah and I'm gonna say the Cardinals sneak this one out um 3735 awesome and obviously we will you'll find out Sunday afternoon if if we're morons or not when it comes to our selections but with that that will end this edition of the rise up seat red podcast the best of cardinals Talk of the women episode 323 I don't know if I said that at the beginning I might have said 324 it's 323 um we will be back of course next week it the way things are going we're back to weekly shows up until probably the off seon so that's Seth Cox I'm Jess root we'll be back again next week hopefully talking about a Cardinals win thanks for listening to the latest edition of the rise up C red podcast listen to previous episodes and subscribe to the show on Apple podcast Stitcher radio Audi boom or many other podcast platforms so shows are delivered directly to your mobile device please give the show a five-star rating and always support the sponsors who support the show we'll be back soon for the best hour of cardinals talk on the web rise up Red Sea B red SE red and of course rise up C red [Music] [Applause] rise up rise up R rise up rise up