How will the Arizona Cardinals fare in 2019 after a historically bad 2018? According to sister site Touchdown Wire’s Barry Werner, they will finish with an even worse record in 2019 than their 3-13 campaign last season.
The Arizona Cardinals have added Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray and subtracted Steve Wilks and Josh Rosen from a team that went 3-13 and earned the first pick in the NFL Draft. Don’t expect dramatic improvement — if any — in the first year for K&K. There should be plenty of growing pains in the desert. Prediction: 2-14.
On the surface, someone could say they will be bad. They have a rookie head coach with zero NFL coaching experience. The offensive line is still suspect. They are starting a rookie quarterback who is short. They will be without Patrick Peterson for six games. They are learning a new defense. They play in the NFC West.
That said, their rookie quarterback was the most exciting player in college football and he will be playing in an offense he knows. The league-worst offense in 2018 now is led by Kliff Kingsbury, whose offenses were prolific in college. They will be better.
They are going back to a 3-4 scheme defensively and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph is widely respected around the game. The team brought in several veterans with experience in the defense so the transition shouldn’t take long.
As bad as the Cardinals were in 2018, they still managed to win three games. There is almost no way for them to be statistically worse, so winning fewer games seems crazy.
The only way that happens is if there are major injuries once again.
2-14? There is almost no way that happens this season.
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