The Arizona Cardinals have struggled on offense all season long. They are scoring 18.5 points per game, which is 25th in the NFL.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The scoring has been up and down since Kyler Murray made his return to the lineup. The Cardinals have scored 25,16.14,24, and 29 respectively in the five games he has played in.
Murray has been an obvious upgrade over the combination of Joshua Dobbs and Clayton Tune but the offense has still been inconsistent. There are a few things that can be pointed to as the issue.
Can’t Throw From Your Back
The offensive line has had its issues all season long. Dobbs and Tune don’t have the pocket presence of Murray, so with Murray in the line-up the pressure numbers have improved.
Dobbs was pressured on 20.9% of his drop backs in the eight games he played in. In the one disastrous game that Tune started he was pressured on 33.3% of his drop backs. Murray has been pressured on 15.3% of his drop backs.
The problem is even though Murray is being pressured less, he is being sacked at a higher rate. He has been sacked 14 times in five games compared to 17 for Dobbs in eight games. This is due to the offensive line not giving Murray any escape routes when pressure comes.
Another thing that has been exposed is the lack of weapons that surround Murray.
Is Anyone Open Out There?
Murray is able to buy time which should make it easier for wide receivers to get open. It seems like the only consistent target Murray has is tight end Trey McBride.
McBride has been great since Murray returned to the line-up. In the five games since Murray’s return, McBride has 38 receptions for 425 yards and a touchdown. This includes two games of over 100 receiving yards.
The wide receivers are no where near the production of McBride. Greg Dortch and Rondale Moore are tied at 137 yards receiving over the last five games.
The Cardinals need to address the offensive line and lack of pass catching weapons in the off-season through the draft or free agency. The only way Kyler Murray should be on the trade block is if trading him will fix one of those issues for the next quarterback.
