The Cowboys will travel to Arizona for a Week 3 clash with the Cardinals. The Cowboys are 12.5-point favorites according to DraftKings Sportsbook. We reached out to SB Nation’s Cardinals site for a round of 5 questions. Here is what Revenge of the Birds had to say.
Blogging The Boys: So are the Cardinals tanking or not tanking? Your team has come awfully close to winning for a team supposedly tanking. What are the expectations this year?
Revenge of the Birds: I have tried to tell everyone who will listen it was never a full on tank. It was always trying to get back to a place where they can add pieces going forward and for Monti Ossenfort that meant eating the crap sandwich he was handed in 2023. The place it ends up looking like a tank is when you see guys like Carlos Watkins, a mid-level free agent at best, being pushed into a starting role then he gets hurt and likely will be lost for the season so now it’s someone named Dante Stills or Eric Banks to team with Kevin Strong and Jonathan Ledbetter (I kid about Stills I actually like him but he’s a sixth round rookie).
So, now it is definitely a tank until Kyler Murray gets back.
BTB: What is the future of Kyler Murray in your opinion. Is he the Cardinals QB of the future or do you think the team will go shopping after this year?
ROTB: I think the plan is Kyler until he proves he cannot respond and or play in the new system.
So, hopefully that is a return sooner rather than later so they can get a good grasp of what he can do and how he fits in.
The whole idea of tanking for Caleb Williams is nice, but you are essentially giving up on 2024 as well then because you are going to accelerate all the guarantees in Murray’s deal. So, ideally Murray looks good, his contract is baked into the nearly $65 million in cap space they have heading into next year with two potential top 10 picks.
If they move on from Kyler it needs to be because he is so bad that there’s nothing left, because it’ll be another lean year while they get the new additions and whoever the new quarterback is ready.
Can a coach and GM survive two bad seasons?
BTB: Joshua Dobbs was a late addition who is now the starting QB. Talk about how he has done so far.
ROTB: Umm, he was bad in week one, had a career day in week two that most people and quarterbacks would consider an average to slightly better than average day.
He didn’t have the catastrophic turnovers in game two he had in game one, but he was unable to do anything after the first drive in the second half.
In two fourth quarters this season, both with leads these are Dobbs numbers:
9/16 46 yards and two first downs. Not two touchdowns, two first downs.
So, he’s bad but it’s fine.
BTB: What are the strengths of the Cardinals? What do they do well on either side of the ball?
ROTB: Play hard.
For real they lack talent, so that’s the best thing I can say.
Nick Rallis, the new defensive coordinator and Jonathan Gannon do a nice job of being aggressive and putting pressure on the opposition. But, when you have maybe three or four players who could play on the Cowboys on defense it makes it hard to see a lot of positives.
On offense, Marquise Brown has looked good but his quarterback is so limited it doesn’t matter and James Conner is a nice grind it out type of back, but outside of Paris Johnson Jr and Will Hernandez the offensive line is either bad (Wilkins and Froholdt) or getting back into shape (D.J. Humphries).
The best part of the Cardinals offense is their tight ends in Zach Ertz who looks rejuvenated and Trey McBride who looks like the real deal.
It’s a sad time.
BTB:DraftKings Sportsbook has the line on the game is 12.5 points with Dallas as the favorites. Is that a fair line? Where would you lay your money on that?
ROTB: Absolutely. You have, on paper and through two games on the field, one of the best teams in the NFL in the Cowboys and on the other side you have a plucky, aggressive and undermanned Arizona Cardinals team.
The Cowboys should pull away in the second half when their talent just overwhelms the Cardinals.
Put the money on the Cowboys, 12-points is a lot, but I’m thinking something in the realm of:
Cowboys 34 – Cardinals 10
Good luck and good health in this game.
Thanks for the knowledge, Revenge of the Birds.
