Big Red
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- Mar 16, 2019
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The Cardinals' bold plan to pair a freshly-fired college coach with an undersized quarterback in 2019 went exactly as hoped.
Kliff Kingsbury helped revive a moribund offense with his innovative schematics, and Kyler Murray proved to be the ideal trigger man on his way to Offensive Rookie of the Year.
The Cardinals only won five games a season ago, but made noticeable strides in Kingsbury's inaugural campaign. The expectations have been ratcheted up in 2020, as the blockbuster trade for wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and reinforcements on defense have made the playoffs an attainable goal.
The Cardinals look like a team on the rise, and beginning with the season opener on Sept. 13 against the 49ers, will have their chance to prove it.
"We just want to take a step forward," Kingsbury said. "We felt like we made some progress at the back end of last year as a team, even in our practice processes and how we did things. We're hoping to build off that this year and put a better product out there."
Much of the success will be contingent on a breakout from Murray, who hopes to find the same type of second-season stardom as Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson before him.
Murray has made the necessary progress in training camp to foreshadow a successful campaign, but played it coy when asked to relay his team expectations for 2020.
"I'll keep that inside," Murray said.
Others aren't as bashful, as veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson has called this year's group "probably the best football team I’ve been a part of on paper."
The Cardinals are amped up for the season, but also know they must battle two opponents every week due to the presence of COVID-19.
So far, teams have done a fantastic job following protocols – the Cardinals did not register a positive test in training camp -- leading to confidence the campaign will be played.
"You look back a few weeks ago, and you don't know if we were going to get to this point," guard J.R. Sweezy said. "To be here, to be getting ready for Week 1, it's an exciting time. I'm really looking forward to it."
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