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Red scenes rising up.
Temperaturizing vision, flurry, rage taking over.
Here's Paul Calvic.
I'm ready.
I'm one hundred percent ready.
I'm telling you abready, and Ron will sleep.
It doesn't get any better than that. Un Leash the fjord.
You can't play them until you schedule them. And just remember Ron Wilfully, it's not a schedule release. It's a reveal.
Okay, Okay, I got that ball.
Mean, this isn't no stinking press release that gets facts to a newspaper, old school I mean, this is three days of measured, staggered leaks, international teasers, highly produced, breaking content, I mean, we're talking segments on Good Morning America, two hour shows on the NFL network in ESPN. Okay, it's not as much a release or reveal as much as it's an event these days in the NFL. I mean, you know, the kids out there might say it's super Extra.
You know, two hundred and seventy two games over eighteen weeks. Let there be a twenty twenty three campaign. And we are here to break it all down on this edition to the Big Red Rage, presented by Santan Ford and Gilbert. We are Santan Ford, Paul Calvic, and Ron Wolfley Paully.
I don't know about Super Extra, but I do know right now I've got a question, and that question is are the Arizona Cardinals back in the NFC East Ball? That's my question to you.
By are you having sort of a throwback right now? I mean, Wolf, this is your life. This is what happened when you played ten years in the NFL, the first half of your career for the Cardinals, and this is what would happen you envelope please and then boom. You look at the schedule and right off the bat, it's like you're playing inter division games with three in a row against the NFC East.
It truly is incredible right there. Of course, they are playing the NFC East, as we all know, next year, but starting in Week one at Washington, Week two, the New York Giants at home, Week three, the Dallas Cowboys at home. Yes week seventeen, they actually travel to Philadelphia to play the Philadelphia Eagles. But man, the first three games of the season poly the NFC East.
And let's let everyone know right off the bat, guess what tickets are on sale effective immediately as we speak. Azycardinals dot com slash buy tickets for any and all games. They're all on sale right now. Easycardinals dot com slash buy tickets starting with that first month that begins on the road. We're gonna break this all down over the course of this show. For the third time in the last four years, Cardinals start on the road at Washington.
This will be September tenth. Okay, And by the way, in terms of travel, only six teams are gonna travel more than the Arizona Cardinals this year because they're matched up against the NFC East in the AFC North. And when you're talking about Washington, I'll just say this much. Where's my ridiculous stet of Patrick Mahomes? Remember last year opening against Kansas City and they put the forty burger on the board in week one?
Wolf?
Yeah, Patrick Mahomes in five openers in his NFL career has averaged thirty nine point four points per game. So let me ask you, are you much happier to open against Sam Howe or maybe Jacoby Brissett Pouli?
I am, But you know it's also you look at those first three games right there. Those are going to be pretty physical games. They really are. The NFC East is a physical division, of course, even Washington where they're going to open, of course at Washington on the road Ron Rivera. You know the kind of offense he wants to run. It typically is a very physical offense. Even though they're not prolific by any stretch of the imagination.
Even last year they were almost in the top third in the National Football League and running the ball paul per game, rushing yards per game, they were number twelve. They like to hammer the ball. They're going to be very very physical upfront. That's going to be a physical game. And then you follow that up with the New York Giants, PAULI, that that is that's a Donnybruck right there with Brian Dable as their coach.
You know what, that is a great point because what have the Cardinals done this year? Where's the emphasis been on resetting this team from the inside, Right, So right out of the gate, your run defense is going to be tested against Washington at Washington on the road. And then think about that commander's defense.
Right.
They missed the playoffs last year, but they had the number three ranked defense overall, and look at the defensive front with Jonathan Allen, Deron Payne Montes, sweat Chase Young if he's back from the knee. I mean, you talk about that Cardinals rebuild offensive line and maybe Paris Johnson Junior and more on him in a bit, getting tested out of the gates. Oh yeah, is there a deeper defensive line in the NFL than Washington.
No, I know what you're saying, Pauli. They are very, very physical, no doubt about it. And oh, by the way, they're also really really good at getting to the quarterback number six in sacks per attempt, and they had the number one third down defense overall. And PAULI, you know the way I feel about this for the most part, when you talk about being the number one third down defense, that takes into account so many different things, not the
least of which is getting pressure on the quarterback. And although it doesn't show up being number one, getting off the field thirty one percent of the time, that tells me you've got a wicked pass rush as well.
That's the only ten AM start all season long for the Arizona Cardinals. The other games in the Eastern time Zone are eleven AM or later. And by the way, the Cardinals did not get a primetime game. That was pretty much as expected. They will be playing on some holidays. We'll get to that. That will not be an international game on the schedule this year for the Cardinals after they went to Mexico City last year, but once again
Week one at Washington. Then you're home against the Giants, so you're gonna get All Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who got paid in the offseason against that Cardinals offensive line. We know the Giants. They just made the playoffs for the first time since twenty sixteen, bead Minnesota in the wild card game, so okay, we know that they have two tackles. You know, they invested top ten and picks
in and that's a long time rivalry. Would be the one hundred and twenty ninth meeting all time against the Giants for the Cardinals as a franchise. And then that brings us to Week three, Wolf and the Cowboys, and look, Cardinals have had success. They won six to last seven against Dallas. But you're talking about a Cowboys team that finished twelve and five last year, won a playoff game
the lost in the Niners. And they can score. I mean they've averaged the most points over the last two years of any team in the NFL, nearly thirty a game.
Yeah. Not only that, they got a guy by the name of Michael Persons on defense who is pretty good, Paul, especially the last time I check coming off the edge right there. Week three, This is just me, Paul. And once again you know me, PAULI. I'm an optimist. I will be an optimist sign positive by nature. Week three is when I will allow myself to consider Kyler Murray coming back bye week by week three, now, PAULI.
So are you reporting? Is this a guy?
I reporting?
No?
I am not reporting this, Okay, I'm just saying, based on the average time, the typical time that an ACL will take nine months is about right there, about week three that you could possibly start counting. Okay, is he ready to go? Okay? Maybe not week four, week five, week six, somewhere in there. Maybe that's better. But week three is where I will allow myself, who knows, Paully,
maybe it comes earlier than that. But this is where I'm going to allow myself to even imagine Kyler Murray coming back week three, And it's interesting that it happens to be against Micah Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys. So maybe it will be week four.
Paul, And look, you know that's game. That game is gonna be off the hook the Cowboys fans, they travel. Oh yeah, so that will be a scene at Cardinals, you know, State Farm Stadium when the Cowboys come a call in there. That'll be September twenty fourth for the Cardinals, and that'll be on Fox, and that'll be a one twenty five start. Then you start getting into the NFC West three or your next four are division games starting
with Week four at the forty nine ers. Cardinals historically have had a lot of success at Levi stadium and they're going in against the Niners. And then you want to talk about pass rushers. You got Washington's deep defensive front, you got Dexter Lawrence and the Giants, you got Micah Parson's head against the Cowboys, and then hello, Cardinals offensive line. You get Nick Bosa and Javon Hargrave in week four.
Yeah, PAULI, maybe it's not gonna be Week four that Kyle will come back. Maybe maybe it's gonna be Week five, Paul against the Cincinnati Bengals right there, when I think of Nick Bosa coming off the edge, you might want to know I'm just kind of kidding obviously right here. But yeah, you know, it's interesting because when you look at the first five games, and we were talking about this, Paula, I believe there's four playoff teams.
Yes, it's only Washington in those first five games. Think about that, and then I mean, the Bengals win the conference championship, the Niners win the conference championship, and the Giants and Cowboys won playoff games as well.
And you know me, Paully, that's the first thing I look for when the schedule comes out. The schedule comes out, I look for the nasty, as I like to call it, Where is the nasty? And if you had to look at it, those three or four games that are really really physical and really really going to be tough, you look at it, it's week two to week five for me right now. Those four teams playoff teams right there. When you consider Washington, the Giants, the Cowboys at San Francisco,
and the Bengals. Four of those playoff teams consecutively. And I realize three of the four games are going to be at home. But other than that, man, that is brutal.
You know, we mentioned Paris Johnson Junior when we had him on the Red Sea Report recently right after the draft. He mentioned that he's already been doing film study on a few pass rushers, few of the elite guys in the NFL and a couple of the names he mentioned, Nick Bosa and Micah Parsons, and he just talked about how much he looks forward to measuring himself in his game against the very best in the NFL. He also
threw in Devin White. I'm not sure exactly why the Tampa linebacker got into the mix as well, but Paris Johnson Junior so that was very intriguing stuff that he
had to say on the Red Sea Report. And I don't know if you noticed it, Wolf, but Paris Johnson Junior was in attendance for the Cardinals with the rookie minichamp getting going this week the end of this week, and he showed up to sign his contract along with a handful of the rookies, and he was wearing a Pat Tillman number forty Cardinals jersey.
That's well played, really well well played right there. You know what, Paul, it's interesting. I know this means nothing, and I want to make that very very clear to anybody that is listening. It means nothing. But looking at the Arizona Cardinals depth chart, I thought it was very very interesting that they're at left guard. Was Paris Johnson Junior the starter, Paris Johnson Junior at left guard, And
for me, that's exactly where i'd put him. The left guard traditionally gets more help than the right guard and traditionally gives more help than the right guard as well. To me, that's exactly where i'd put this young guy. Let him cut his teeth right there. Obviously, at some point in time, you'd like to move him out to the edge. But I thought that was interesting since you brought him up that he's starting at left guard on the depth chart.
I wonder if that sets up a positional battle again between Josh Jones and Kelvin Beecham at right tackle. Interesting because we'll see what the trickle down is on that. By the way, Cardinals among the teams who had their schedules released. The Super Bowl where it's gonna end up will be February eleventh, twenty twenty four, in Vegas this year. For all your tickets Azycardinals dot com slash buy tickets back with more of the big red rage.
Burrow takes a knee and it's over. The winning continues for Cincinnati. The Bengals are going back to the AFC Championship Game. They have won ten in a row, and they will make an appearance in the conference championship for consecutive years for the first time in franchise history twenty seven to ten.
The final here in Orchard Park, New York.
Yeah, think about some of the quarterbacks that are coming through State Farms Stadium this season, including Joey b Wolf, Joe Burrow. I tell you what you talk about players that opposing players that I'm most looking forward to see.
He would have to be top two, top three. There's the Lamar Jackson's, there's Joe Burrow, and honestly, that might be where I start my list as we go through the Cardinals schedule twenty twenty three on this special edition of The Big Red Rage, presented by santan Ford and Gilbert. We are santan Ford and by the way, speaking in the home schedule, Azycardinals dot Com slash buy tickets, All games on sale as we speak, Asycardinals dot Com slash
by tickets. Bengals are coming to town. It'll be Week five. We already recapped off the top wolf Ad Washington start the season home against the Giants and Cowboys at the forty nine ers and back home against Cincinnati and Week five. What do you think of when you think of the Bengals.
Yeah, Paulie, you think obviously of Joe Burrow. You think of this young quarterback who is becoming quickly one of the elite quarterbacks in the National Football League. Has been on that track, I would say for the last year particularly. And I think of the line of scrimmage as well, even though they don't run the ball very well. Even
though they're not a good rushing team. They really want to round that part of their offense out because I think it really does help balance Joe Burrow doesn't put all of that pressure on him. He was under the gun last year. Now they've done some things this offseason to really try to fix that offensive line, but as you know, Paully, that offensive line struggled to protect Joe Burrow once again. And when I also think of the Bengals, I think of that defensive front, I think of their
ability to stop the run. That is the one thing they were actually very very good at last year. Defensively, they were all over the board for the most part, but the one thing they could hang their hat on is playing tough against the run. In that box. They were top ten as a matter of fact in rushing yards per game and rushing yards per play allowed.
You also have the lou Anarumo angle right, Cardinals head coaching candidate, the defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals. That'll be an intriguing little sidebar when they come in Week five. The two time AFC Nord champions, And once again we've been documenting the test the Cardinals old line is going to get early. You look at a Cincinnati team that over the last few years is added Trey Hendrickson, Sam
Hubbard and now the Clemson rookie Miles Murphy. So you know, lou Anroumo, he's going to be very aggressive, he's going to bring it, and so that'll be a big time test, and that'll be the fourth of four in a row against teams who made the playoffs a year ago.
Yeah, Pauli, that's really a good point right there. Once again, they're going back to the Bengals specifically that had a really really hard time of getting to the quarterback, which is one of the reasons why they've made it a point of emphasis here. Number twenty nine in sacks per attempt last season and number twenty in third down defense
as well. This is just general stats, but you can read inside some of these stats as well, and that's something that I think is going to be a point of emphasis for the Bengals, trying to get better, get more pressure on the opposing quarterback.
Yeah, and going full circle on the Bengals, remember the at an Orlando Brown the Chiefs tackle and so yes, that was huge. As to your point, they're trying to bolster the line of scrimmage. No doubt, Joe Mixon is always handful to stop.
All right.
Week six, now you're getting into back into the NFC West. You're going to the Rams where the Cardinals one year ago, and they're gonna get them in week six, October fifteenth, against what they presume will be a healthy Matthew Stafford. Hopefully it'll be a healthy Kyler Murray at that point. But look again, now you're getting Aaron Donald, all right, They're minus Jalen Ramsey. But I mean every single week there is gonna be that elite thread on the other side of the ball.
Yeah, Paul, you know, I look at that LA game in LA, of course, and all I can think of is Paris Johnson Junior. If he is starting at left guard at that point in time, I think he's gonna see a lot of Aaron Donald lined up over in. Paul. I'm just gonna say that right now. I think are going to go ahead and line them up there. I know the Arizona Cardinals, of course, are going to be
very aware of that. I'm sure they're going to give him a lot of help with the protections that they're going to run and mixing up their protections, but not trying to put him on an island, of course, trying to give him an awful lot of help. The Rams, I'm sure, will try to isolate him as much as they can. But sometimes, Polly, it's the best thing that can happen to a young guy. It's just trial by fire.
Just walk through it, jump into it. And he certainly certainly will be jumping into it at that point of week six.
And by the way, the Cardinals will definitely welcome that short road trip to La because once again there's seventh in the NFL in total travel miles this year number one Seattle thirty one thousand plus miles, number two, the Niners thirty thousand plus miles. The Rams actually are fourth,
and the Cardinals are seventh twenty five thousand miles. Ron Wilfoo this year, as a Cardinals analyst, you will be changing time zones twenty six different times, so just to let you know over this travel schedule, and that's the
way it works. And by the way, the strength of schedule was calculated and the Cardinals came in number eleven, So there are different factors at play here and look historically, and here it is five of the last six teams with the most difficult schedule in the league missed the playoffs. That was the Rams a year ago, Paul.
See, and that is the thing I was going to say right there, when you say that strength of schedule, I understand, Yeah, it's you know, it's relevant. Yet at the same time we all know this is the National Football League, man. Is it not a year to year proposition? Paul? Is it not a year to year proposition? You can see a team go from worse to first and vice versa as well. We see it all the time.
Here here's that stat. Well, at least one team in the NFL has gone from worse to first meaning worst in its division, to winning its division. In eighteen of the last twenty years, at least one team has done that, and at least two teams have won their divisions this season after missing the playoffs in nineteen of the last twenty years. Goodness, So that's how much turnover there is.
And then here's the other one. Since nineteen ninety, we're talking thirty three straight seasons, at least four different teams have qualified for the playoffs every single year, meaning they weren't in the postseason. The year before last year there were six new playoff teams, and in twenty one and twenty there were seven new playoff teams.
So wow, I mean, will you send me those pulling is unbelievable. That is well played by you. So there you go.
You got the Rams in week six and you're going to Seattle in week seven. Look, Seattle was a playoff team. They seem to be ascending. They seemingly got another draft haul. What do you think of when you think of the Seahawks these days, because they have really reset their identity in the last two years.
Yeah, you have. And once again, Paully, I think based on their draft and based on what it is they're trying to do, I see the Seattle Seahawks again trying to restore the line of scrimmage and a Pete Carroll kind of way. I think that's what they're trying to do. They want to re reset, if you will, that roster in that depth chart and do it on the line of scrimmage. Very similar to what I think the Arizona Cardinals are doing.
They had a big discussion NFL Network pick a team that was sort of middle of the pack around five hundred. That's gonna have a breakout year, win twelve thirteen, fourteen games,
and a couple of the analysts went with Seattle. M Okay, here's the thing, though, Wolf, if you can't stop the run, and they didn't add a lot to their defensive front, and they weren't in the draft able to add much in terms of an edge rusher, and they started last year historically bad against the run, and they ended last year not so good against the run. I just I wonder about their defensive front.
Yeah, Paul, it's a great place to start again with the Seattle Seahawks because they look so different last year. Now we know in the first half of the season they were absolutely on fire with Geno Smith, of course, but you know, well, we're going to have to see I know this, Paul, I know Pete Carroll. I know people that know him personally. This is a guy that believes in old school football. This is a guy that still believes the line of scrimmage is where this game
starts offensively and defensively. And I wouldn't be surprised to see them be pretty good, especially when you got Geno Smith as your quarterback, right now.
All right, so you go out to the Rams to Seattle, then you come home week eight, October twenty ninth at home against the Ravens and Lamar Jackson and Wolf. If you asked me to think about Kyler's career so far, one of the standout games, at least to me being on the sideline, was watching Kyler against Lamar Jackson week two of his rookie season twenty nineteen. Man, I hope that matchup materializes because that is great stuff. Kyler against Lamar.
No, that really is PAULI. There's no doubt about that. When I think of the Ravens, I think of one of the most physical teams still in the National Football League right now. John Harbaugh is one of these guys we're just talking about Pete Carroll. He's got that old world mentality, that old traditional mentality. I think John Harbaugh doubles down on that. I think he's a guy that covets physicality. Dare I say, demands physicality from his players.
It's one of the reasons why the Baltimore Ravens were number two and number three in rushing yards per game and rushing yards per play respectively. Again, I get it. A lot of that is because of Lamar Jackson, but if you go and watch tape on the Baltimore Ravens, a lot of that is also because they come off the ball and they hammer.
You, and you know what, some of that and you bring it up. It is a real legit, genuine curiosity because they're going away from Greg Roman and they brought in Todd Monk, the offensive coordinator from Georgia and those championship teams the last couple of years. So all right, you know, to what degree are they still going to be that team? Will they really embrace that They brought in Odell Beckham junior, they drafted into the first round
rookie receiver Za Flowers. Bateman is going to be healthy this year, they hope. So with Mark Andrews, I mean, do you think maybe Lamar starts airing it out some more.
I think there's a possibility that he does, Paul, But keep in mind, Lamar Jackson has never thrown for more than thirty two hundred yards in a season. Never done it. Wow, thirty two hundred yards.
And you're talking about the twenty nineteen NFL MVP at quarterback.
Yeah, exactly right. So to me, once again. Yeah, you get Todd Monkin from Georgia. Hey, Paul Georgia, have you watched their tape? You'd like to hammer the ball too?
It's true. Hey, Cardinals tickets on sale right now Asycardinals dot com slash buy tickets. We continue with a big red Rage presented by santan Ford in Gilbert Buda Baker.
Somebody been getting hand on Budda Baker, who.
To Baker's a fan.
Put to Baker ban man, Huda Baker's a bad after.
Watson. That's a running and hitting everything.
That's exactly why my opinion, Ron Wolfley, Buddha Baker isn't going anywhere, because when all time great NFL head coaches like Mike Tomlin who are miked up on the sideline, that's a real clip from a real game from him looking up at the jumbo tron, the video board and just raving about the play of Buddha Baker and all pro safety. That's exactly why I firmly believe he's still
very much in the future of the Arizona Cardinals. It is a big red rage presented by San tan Ford and Gilbert Paul Calvic Ron Wolfley in the twenty twenty three schedule. It is out. We are breaking it down. Cardinals are going to Pittsburgh, where a Wolf will reunite with his counterpart on the Steelers radio network is Big Brother and Steelers Analysts. We'll get to that Wolf, but let's start with where we left off. Baltimore at home, which leads us to another of your former teams, the
Cleveland Browns. Cardinals going to Cleveland on November fifth, Week nine.
Yeah, Paully, can I just go a little bit bigger than the four games that we got right now? I just want to point this out. I always loved a little home away, home away, home away action. I always love that. Why would that be well, just because it was a nice rhythm. It was a nice flow right home away, home away. I like that for me, and I know that some of my teammates loved it as well.
I look at week eight the Baltimore Ravens home, then at Cleveland and then home against Atlanta, then at Houston and then home against the Rams, and then at Pittsburgh and then the bye man when you go, that's a nice little rhythm right there, from Week eight all the way to the bye which is week fourteen, and I know we're going to talk about that, but when you think big picture, that's a home away rhythm right there.
And I really really like that at Cleveland, that's going to be a physical game, especially coming off playing the Baltimore Ravens at home the week before, because you know, the Cleveland Browns like to run the ball, attack the line of scrimmage with Nick Chubb, and that's one of the reasons why Drew Petsing is.
Here, no doubt, there's no and you know what, when you talk about this schedule, you got to talk about the fact, you know, a rhythm. There aren't going to be any night games. These are there's no primetime game, so okay, they're gonna get in the rhythm of playing you know, midday kickoffs and then uh, you know, these are all going to be Sunday games except for the very end of the year, this season finale against Seattle at home. It could be a Saturday, could be a
Sunday game. So you know, if if these players love are creatures have a wolf and they love that, then guess what they're gonna get a lot of that. This isn't gonna be a lot of always sometimes you're going to a four day week. Sometimes you're getting ten days after a Thursday night international. That was last season, that is not this season schedule, Yeah, Paul.
And then when we look at Week nine and week ten at Cleveland, of course, in Week nine and then the Atlanta Falcons week ten, those two teams in particular and this little stretch that we're looking at right now, those two teams were very, very good in terms of running the ball. I consider them this is just me. I consider them to be elite teams rushing the football. Obviously, the Browns and what they do with Chubb, and then you look at the Atlanta Falcons and the way they
ran the ball. I'm very interested to see if there's any resemblance whatsoever to the Atlanta Falcons with the Arizona Cardinals in their offense, because the Falcons loved to move their quarterback around. They love to put them under center, put them in the gun, put them in the pistol, use all of it. And they ran the ball at an elite level last year.
And we saw it. We saw the last four games of the year when Desmond Ritter went two and two when he took over as a starting quarterback, the third round rookie out of since they're sticking with him as the guy. So to your point, not only did they emphasize the run, but look what they just invested in the draft. They took Bijon Robinson out of Texas, that all world running back. He's the first top ten running back selected since Saquon Barkley. So they're all in on
the run game. They're all in on getting him weapons. Think of the last two years before that when they went Drake London, the receiver out of USC and then Kyle Pitts. They've been getting him weapons. In the top ten. I mean, they're coming in trying to bolster that offense.
Yeah, I know they're trying to do that. There's a lot of teams right now, Paul that are trying to hit the reset button again. I think the New Age offense came into the National Football League four or five
years ago, and there was no doubt about it. Everyone was jumping on board, everybody especially I think the Atlanta Falcons were the last team to actually get on board with a quarterback that was gonna be in the shotgun a vast majority of the time and that we're going to run some of his own reads that had Matt Ryan before that, Paul, stop and think about it. So it's one of the reasons why they were dragging their feet on that New Age offense. But I think, Paulie,
it's starting to come back once again. You've heard me talk about this in the Pass, Paul, but it's the truth. I think it's really all a blot all about a blending of the old and the new right now in the National Football League, and I think the Falcons are a spearhead team on that.
By the way, you know who's coming in with the Falcons, our old pal Kalais Campbell.
Oh yeah, former player.
Host here of the Big Red Race for many years. He's going to turn thirty seven this season. Yeah, he's coming in with the Falcons. So there you go. All right, Week eleven, you're back on the road at Houston, and that'll be interesting, right because it'll be Paris Johnson Junior against Will Anderson potentially, and then the whole aspect of the Cardinals and Texans doing business on Draft Day and the Cardinals the Texans draft pick in the first round
in next year's drafts. So what do you think of when you think of a Texans team that you figure is going to be playing the rookie CJ.
Stroud. Yeah, this is a team that has got to get a lot more physical. Very much like the Arizona Cardinals. The Houston Texans have got to get a lot more physical. They were horrible. There's no other way to say it. They were horrible on the defensive side of the ball last year. Offensively as well. They've got to be able to run the ball. It's something they could not do. They could not control the line of scrimmage last year,
very similar to the Arizona Cardinals. And what happened to the Arizona Cardinals and the breakdown of the Cardinals came that they could not control the line of scrimmage. That's my opinion, Paul. They really struggled to do that on both sides. The Houston Texans were right there with the Arizona Cardinals as a team that struggled to control the line of scrimmage on bull sides. And PAULI, if you don't have that, this is the amazing thing. This is
the amazing truth about the game of football. Even in the year twenty twenty three of our Lord Paul, if you don't control the line of scrimmage, your skill will not have the opportunity to go out and do what they.
Do, no doubt. Then you come home and get the Rams. November twenty six And we like pointing this out that the Rams went five to twelve last year, which qualifies as the worst season by a defending Super Bowl champ in NFL history.
And there it is, Paul the whole worst of first at first, the worst.
It's like to throw that in his little jab. So we already talked about the Rams. Let's go to week thirteen. It's always a marquee road trip, especially for you personally. You're going to Pittsburgh. Your brother is their analyst as well. You know, longtime stealer. And you know what, it's been a long time since they won a playoff game by Steelers standards, twoenty sixteen, last time they won a playoff game. And then you got the Cardinals ol line against that front, including TJ. Watt.
Yeah, TJ Watt, he's pretty good. That defense, of course, being a little facetious right there, that defense is the strength of this team. He got Kenny Pickett, who's going to be in his second year, the quarterback of course they drafted last year to replace Ben Roethlisberger. Kenny Pickett is a guy that is coming along nicely. My brother Craig says many, many good things about him. He really
thinks he's going to be a player. He thinks he's going to be a player, just the way Ben Roethlisberger was a player for how long almost two decades for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He thinks Kenny Pickett has got the right stuff as well.
I'm not talking about Big Ben or the fact this is a rematch of Super Bowl forty three. I'm not talking about that. I will point out that Kenny Pickett does have Najee Harris right right at running backs. He's a load. And then they drafted a franchise tackle and Broderick Jones out of Georgia. They right ahead of the Cardinals in round two. They got Joey Porter Junior at corner. And then they got your guy, Wolf Darnell Washington, the massive mountain of a tight end six seven, two sixty five.
Paul, When you think of those three guys you just mentioned right there, what does that say to you? It's a mentality, is it not?
Pauly?
That is it is a cherishing of physical football players.
That big men win football games, and all of those guys are massive dudes for their positions.
I would just say physical physical, I'll give you away. We have football games, right yep.
And then by the way, Week fourteen, the bye week, which is the latest season in a season ever for the Cardinals, tied with nineteen ninety one. So think about that, right, Your bye week is in week fourteen. And then down the stretch you come. And this is where my prayers were not answered by the schedule gods, as your sideline reporter outside in the climate. We'll get to that next. A reminder, you can buy your tickets for Cardinals games at home this year azycardinals dot com slash buy tickets.
As we continue with a big red rage presented by santan Ford and Gilbert.
Fourth and two on the Bear's twenty back to throw goes, Kyler looks right, throws a deep ball right side and the end zone. Pennant's pot hits a touchdown touchdown DeAndre Hopkins Kyler Murray with the dime. On four down, Murray takes the shotgun snap straight, dropped back, flushed out of the pocket, rolling right, being chased, he talks. He runs at the five and he heads to the corner and
he's into the end zone. Four the touchdown, Kyler back will throw fires right side, want to catch it at twenty, runs right to the ten of the five into the end zone. Four of the touchdown, James Connor stabbing a ball that was an errant pass. It looked like it was going to go over his head. He grabbed it with his left hand and then he ran down the right sideline into the end zone. Four the touchdown, snap to Murray, he keeps it again, runs right, he's at
the five, and he walks into the end zone. Four his second rushing touchdown, and the Cardinals just put the Bears away.
Bad weather in Chicago, Yes, yes, I'm here to verify that. Was it a factor for the Cardinals. No, they went in, they got a win. They were prolific on offense. You're a couple of rushing touchdowns are ridiculous. One hand a grab on four down by d Hop and then an even more ridiculous catch and run by James Connor that I have the sideline running with them all the way to the end zone. So we bring that up because
the Cardinals are going to Chicago on Christmas Eve. Ron Willefully get ready maybe to do some Christmas shopping, all the downtown lights in the Windy City. You'll be at Soldier Field December twenty fourth for a nice afternoon affair against the Chicago Bears.
PAULI you know what I was thinking about too, is I looked at this last section, of course of the schedule for the Cardinals Christmas Eve in Chicago and New Year's Eve in Philadelphia. Yeah, Paul, I mean there's a lot of people who think, boy, that must be great. Christmas Eve in Chicago, the Windy City, and then there you are in Philadelphia on New Year's Eve. Yeah, it does sound really really good unless you're the sideline reporter. Isn't that right, Paul?
For Father's Day, I'm asking for new boots. I'm just telling you that right now I need a few extra layers. You're ready for this season?
Yeah?
My prayers with the schedule, gods were not answered. When you see some of these late season games open air stadiums on the East Coast or Midwest Chicago and Philadelphia. But this final stretch, let's pick up coming out of the by as the Cardinals will have the forty nine ers and that will be in week fifteen. That'll be at home, and we're talking about a Niners team that will bring in Nick Bosoon, Javon Hargrave. We'll see exactly
what the quarterback situation is. They're sticking with brock Party. I mean, Mike Kyle Shanahan, he doubled down on that just this week that Brock Party is the future of the quarterback spot for the forty nine ers.
Ron mostly, Yeah, that makes a lot of sense to me, Polly, it really does. This is a guy that is very, very proficient once you put him in a bounce offense, and that was the one thing that I think we saw last year and that's what the forty nine ers are. It's still their beating hard Paly, it really is. I know that you know the defense, of course, and rightfully so, it gets an awful lot of the attention when you talk about the forty nine ers because of their incredible
front seven. They're incredible pass rush led by Nick Boso. Of course, defensively they are a nightmare and can be a nightmare. But it's still about their top ten rushing offense and that's exactly the kind of offense they need to put Brock Party in and they're going to do that Paully. They're going to attack the line of scrimmage, They're going to do it in a north south way. They're also going to attack the edges as well. That's
something Kyle Shanahan loves to do. Maybe move Brock Purty a little bit, roll them out some half rolls as well. But the forty nine ers are a physical team still, I think the most physical team in the NFC West, and.
They're the benchmark you measure yourself against in this division. Not only swept the Cardinals last year, They've won three straight against Seattle, including the playoff game. They've won eight in a row against the Rams in the regular season, So the Niners have been dominating recently. Then you go
to Chicago. We talked about that. We didn't talk about how the Bears defense finished dead last year ago with only twenty sacks justin fields though, and yeah, he was sacked fifty five times, most in the NFL along with Russell Wilson. They're trying to bolster that offensive line. But it looks like a lot of people, including the NFL schedule makers are in on the Bears. They believe the Bears are about to take a step with Justin Fields. Are you a believer?
Yeah, Paully. You know, it's very similar almost to Jalen Hurts and going into last season, the narrative that was surrounding Jalen Hurts, PAULI it was it was a question Poe Mark, Jalen Hurts right going into the season is well and whether or not he was going to be
the guy. Now he showed flashes of the year before last of course, no doubt a that, but there was a serious conversation that was going on in Philadelphia in regard to Jalen Hurts and whether or not he was the right guy, the guy you were going to build your team around. Well, he went out and last year he put that narrative to bed. That's not going to be around for any time soon. I think Justin Fields has the exact same opportunity. There are similarities that are
there right now. Now. Last year they had a hard time throwing the ball, and Justin Fields would be the first one to tell you that number thirty two in passing yards per game, Paul, number thirty two, would you say that's bad. Yeah, that is bad.
You need to be more balanced than that.
Yes, they had only one hundred and thirty yards passing per game, one hundred and thirty per day. Bad. I mean, that's that's for Rolf right there, that's Trent Dilfer stuff with the Baltimore Ravens.
Again, he got sacked fifty five times. So we'll see if they can figure that out. Speaking of Jalen Hurts, the Cardinals in week seventeen, go to Philly. That'll be New Year's Eve, that'll be December thirty first. My thinking here, Wolf is if Eagles fans are still hot at JG, they're giving them seven more months to simmer down. Now, Okay, They're stending this Cardinals Eagles game all the way until
December thirty first, and then we'll see. Look, I'm just gonna tell you in two thousand and eight, the Cardinals played a Thanksgiving night game at Philadelphia, and that was the most lubricated crowd I've ever seen in the NFL, firsthand from the sideline because they weren't working the next day. So I showed her to think what Eagles fans are going to be like when they have New Year's Day off.
Oh my goodness, PAULI bring your helmet. Okay, bring your helmet. You might want to put that thing on right there, Paul. Isn't it weird? Though? There it is Week sixteen in Week seventeen at Chicago at Philadelphia. One is Christmas Eve, the others the other is New Year's Eve, as you said, And it's Justin Fields and Jalen Hurts. Two very similar quarterbacks when it when you consider their skill set, and
yet on two completely diff different planes. And yet, just like we were talking about Jalen Hurts and the narrative surrounding him, could this be the year that it goes away for Justin Fields as well? What if he leads the Chicago Bears, that team that can run the ball number one in rushing yards per game and rushing yards per play, They attack the line of scrimmints, and Justin Fields, of course, is right in the center of all of that, very much like Jalen Hurts was the year before last.
The similarities are stunning to me. And yet here it is back to back Week sixteen in Week seventeen at Chicago at Philadelphia. That's going to be an interesting conversation over the Holidays.
Yep, Kyler against those two guys as the quarterback matchup, and then Kyler against Geno Smith for the second time in the season. As for the second time in three years. They end the season with the Seahawks at home, So that's where the Cardinals will wrap up the regular season. And we know how much the Cardinals love to win at Seattle, and they've done a lot of that in the last decade, and Seattle's returned the favor here in the az.
Yeah, of Seattle. It's gonna be interesting to see what the condition will be at the Seattle Seahawks at that point in time. Right there. I'm a huge Geno Smith fan. It's West Virginia, West Virginia, you know, Paul, Hey, Okay.
He's on a glorified one year deal. I think he's still to a certain degree in a prove it season for Gino Smith.
Very very interesting, PAULI, That's what I was going to say that there he is on this this one year contract that he signed up there. Yeah, we're gonna pay you if, in fact, you can put out, and I think Geno Smith is going to be able to put out, and I think they're gonna have a conundrum. They're gonna have to sign him to a long term contract or let him go.
By the way, some of the marquee happenings, well, the NFL opener, by the way, is September seventh, the annual Thursday night game with Kansas City hosting Detroit. They put the Lions into that slot. That was very interesting. And then the Monday Night football opener the Jets. Get ready for the Jets. And by the way, the Jets had not hosted been in a Sunday night game since twenty twelve. They start the season on Monday Night, one of many
in prime time and they're hosting Buffalo. So that's Aaron Rodgers' debut against the Bills and Josh Allen Paul.
Do you think that might be a game right there home? My goodness, Yeah, you might want to slide the protective gup in.
Get ready for some serious serious TV ratings on that one.
Hey.
By the way, once again, Asycardinals dot com slash buy tickets for the Cardinals entire home schedule. Azycardinals dot Com slash buy tickets. So once again, Wolf, you'll be traveling more than twenty five thousand miles with the NFC East the AFC North. That's twenty six different time zones. You will be on the road for Christmas even New Year's Eve. You'll be home for thanks Thanksgiving weekend, so that's a plus right.
There, Paulie. You'll be wearing a parka.
Oh absolutely, I'm already heading over to the equipment room to get several layers special thanks as always, Jim Almahundra, Lauren cobal Ron Wolfield on Paul calBC. This has been the Big Red Rage presented by santan Ford in Gilbert.
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