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Self-Inflicting Wounds The Arizona Cardinals (0-4) are currently the only team in the NFL without a win Customized Arizona Cardinals Jerseys , their worst start since 1986.“[Seahawks] made the plays when given the opportunity and that’s the difference in the game,” Wilks said to the media on Monday. “We didn’t make the plays when given the opportunity.”Wilks gave the Seahawks the opportunity to win the game with 1:50 left on the clock, following the Cardinals’ missed field goal on their final drive. He acknowledged that the Cardinals had too many drops, missed tackles on defense, and was penalized a lot. No kidding. J.J. Nelson dropped a ball that should have been a long touchdown reception. Chad Williams made an incredible catch that would have been a touchdown had it not been for his foot landing out of bounds. Christian Kirk dropped a potential touchdown pass as well.Beyond the players, play calling was a very big problem too and Wilk continues to blame the players instead of holding himself and the coaching staff accountable.“What I was really trying to do was manage the clock there trying to get them less time as possible coming back and also trying to get those guys to use their timeout.”He accomplished his goal and the Seattle Seahawks were forced to use their timeout. But everything else went wrong afterwards. First off Phil Dawson missed his 45-yard field goal, in addition to missing one from 50 yards earlier in the game. Even if the Cardinals made the field goal, Wilks was basically gift wrapping a win to the Seahawks with all of the time they had remaining. Conservative play calling to run the ball instead of passing the ball on 3rd-and-6 was playing not to lose. One rule when playing the Seahawks: never give Russell Wilson the ball with two minutes remaining in a game.If we haven’t noticed already, Dawson’s kicks don’t go straight down the middle of the goal post but instead swerves right every time. It wasn’t too long ago when Wilks said that Dawson was kept over Matt McCrane because he was consistent and was praised for his ability to handle big games. Unfortunately for Dawson, his struggles of 2017 has carried over into 2018. How many more kicks will he need to miss until Wilks learns that Dawson is a problem?There is blame to go around for the loss to the Seahawks but none of which should be on Josh Rosen. Had it not been for five or six drops in the game, his stat line would have at least been 20-27 passes for over 200 yards and two touchdowns. He is certainly playing beyond his years making his progressions and remaining poise in the pocket. Everything we thought he could be is coming to fruition. Play action and screen plays work. They need to call more of those plays but Mike McCoy continues to stick with his conservative-styled play calling.Dawson missed two field goals, receivers continue to drop balls, defensive line is jumping into the neutral zone, inability to stop the run Authentic Pat Tillman Jersey , and the coaching staff is coaching not to lose. This is not a good formula for success.In terms of free agency, why not consider signing WR Rishard Matthews, who was recently released from the Titans? How about Cairo Santos for the kicker position?There are plenty of football games remaining but with each loss means decreased chances to making the playoffs. Changes need to be made in terms of the roster and the coaching staff yet nothing is happening. How much longer will they continue to stick with the process with a system that seems broken?Cardinals should be 2-2, with winnable games that they lost against the Bears and Seahawks, But instead they’re sitting at 0-4 on the season. Whether the problem is Steve Wilks, Steve Keim, Mike McCoy, or the players, they need find a way to win now. Learn from the mistakes that they continue to make and win a football game. Oh yeah, Steve Wilks didn’t even bother to ice the kicker at the end of the game. Imagine what kind of pressure it would put on the defense if the Cardinals ran RPOs (run/pass options) with David Johnson (and Chase Edmonds when he’s in the game). On a key third down, Josh Rosen could run with the ball to move the chains (on a slide) if the end crashes down...but most of all, Rosen can fake the handoff and then pass into the open areas behind the linebackers. The Vikings and Eagles did this very well last year with Keenum and Wentz/Foles.Why have a FB on the roster and not use him? So—-OC Mike McCoy is not keeping the LBers honest with RPOs—-he isn’t even running head-on iso blocks with a FG on them. Thus, the opposing linebackers might as well be playing in tuxedos. It’s Prom Night versus the Cardinals.You have to make life difficult for linebackers in the NFL. if you don’t—-chances are you are going to lose.Like Mark Schlereth said---the Cardinals were just running DJ into a stone wall. It’s maddening.If you move DJ around like the queen on a chessboard---the defense has to become acutely aware of where he is at all times and adjust their coverages and run defenses on the fly. But how often is DJ on the move in McCoy’s offense? Throwing to DJ only twice in the game is not only unthinkable—-it is irresponsible.Would it be so hard for Wilks and McCoy come to the conclusion that a 4-5 yard pass to DJ is better than a 2 yard run just for the sake of running the ball?Isn’t the whole point of having David Johnson on your team to find ways to get him the ball in space?When you watch the best offenses—-they PASS to set up the RUN---they don’t run to set up the pass. Plus, defending the pass gasses the defensive line and linebackers way more than defending the run Pat Tillman Jersey Limited , so by the 4th quarter you can run the ball better because you’ve (a) backed the defense off and (b) you’ve steadily worn them down.The Cardinals’ offense is playing as tight as a drum. The calls are predictable and they play right into the hands and the strengths of the defense. To play fast on offense you have to take the training wheels off and you have to play loose and with passion. Look at DJ---he looks like he’s playing in a straightjacket half the time because the defense is keying on him and loading the box and the Cardinals’ OC still runs the ball (without a FB in front of him to take out the first threat). In this offense, DJ is basically giving the defenders target practice.When the Cardinals started throwing on 1st downs they misfired too often---which then put them in 2nd and 10s---and it seemed that every 2nd and 10, McCoy called a run between the tackles, which then set up a series of 3rd and 7s---and several of the 3rd and 7 passes were high risk WR or RB screens that were easy for the defense to defend within the 7 yard box because the catches were at or behind the line of scrimmage.If you misfire on 1st down, take another shot on 2nd down. The Patriots once opened a game with 19 straight pass plays—-and they backed the defense off so far that by the end of the game, the Pats ended up with well over 100 yards rushing. As an OC you have to have answers for 3rd and 7s and 3rd and 10s---that’s where mismatches come into play. That’s what Kurt Warner was a genius at---knowing all week long what the WR, TE, RB mismatches were, so that when he saw them he could audible right into them. Often they were for #3 and #4 WRs like Steve Breaston and Jerhemy Urban. Carson Palmer did that a lot on 3rd downs with Jaron Brown.Essentially it all comes down to one simple principal---you take whatever the defense is giving you.But you have to have that worked out before the game---that is—-if you have studied your opponent well and if you know their matchup and scheme tendencies. The last couple of years it looked like BA was less prepared for each opponent as he was the first couple of years---he then confirmed that by saying “we do what we do.” It looks like McCoy mantra is the same thing---week after week he is doing what he does without showing a keen understanding of where the defenses are weakest.And then—-there are in-game adjustments that should be automatic---but Mike McCoy doesn’t seem to be making such adjustments. Like in the Bears. game, RCB Prince Amukamara was injured and yet McCoy didn’t pick on the new CB. Even worse, in the Seahawks game, it was all the more frustrating that McCoy got even more conservative after Earl Thomas got hurt. Those are opportunities a good OC takes advantage of.On the play sheet an OC should have sections for down and distance calls---and sections for which pass plays attack the perimeter (short, intermediate, deep) and the middle (short http://www.arizonacardinalsteamonline.com/pat-tillman-jersey , intermediate and deep)---so, when he sees a starting CB, LB or FS go out of the game, bingo, he looks on his sheet and decides how to exploit the substitute.Being creative on offense is not as difficult as some think. You run misdirections to turn the defense around, just as in basketball you want to swing the ball from side to side and then exploit an opening. You run your offense based on the numbers—-if the defense is loading the box, the numbers are in the defense’s favor, but it leaves them more vulnerable to the pass. This is where defenses try to confuse QBs by giving a loaded box look when they are really going to back players off into coverage.But, by sending a man in motion—-you can get a solid on read on whether the defense is playing zone or man—-if they chase the receiver across the formation, it’s man—-if they don't chase then chances are you get an immediate cover mismatch even if the defense is disguising man coverage. Then—-there are always the gadget plays. The Eagles won the Super Bowl thanks in part to their “Philly Special.” There are all kinds of flea flicker options—-and throwback passes off sweeps or backward laterals (like the Giants ran yesterday with OBJ passing a wide open throwback TD to Saquon Barkley). One of the philosophies that BA had down pat is—-taking deep shots and running gadget plays keep the defense honest—-even if you don’t complete them, it backs the defense off a little and gives you more room to operate.Same way in basketball—-versus a full court man-to man deny-every-pass defense—-if you do not pose a deep threat—-all the defense has to do is defend half the court—-and with quick athletes it’s twice as easy to defend half the court than every inch of the full court.This is what the 2018 Cardinals are doing—-they are playing in the half court—-they are running far too many plays that allow the defense to be ultra aggressive in a 20-25 yard box—-the Cardinals’ one big play this week came on a first play bomb. But, by the 3rd and 4th quarters the 49ers’ defense was playing way up without any fear of getting beat deep.This is why it actually can be smart to take downfield shots late in games, rather than play ultra conservatively down the stretch.This was how BA taught the team how to win—-by being aggressive when the situation traditionally calls for being conservative.