First, the Cardinals declared Josh Dobbs a starter for Week 9 against the Browns. Then, Dobbs heads to the bench. Now Arizona is deciding whether to start Clayton Tune or Kyler Murray: Ahhh, the southwestern desert headquarters in the fall, where the Cardinals are adrift again in 2023.
The oldest team in the National Football League is also the biggest mess at the moment, again. Along with the Las Vegas Raiders, the Cardinals are akin to the Keystone Cops, rushing nowhere in particular and void of their keys.
It’s a mad, mad, mad world in Glendale, AZ. The promise of a new day has been rocked by rookie GM mistakes, rookie head coaching mistakes, and an indecisiveness that becomes more and more head-scratching with each passing day.
Now it is Murray or Tune, Tune or Murray. The smart money would be to ride Tune for their Week 9 matchup at Cleveland. At 1-7, the rush to get Murray back into the lineup seems like turning on a garden hose to put out a five-alarm fire. Then again this is the Cardinals, so it’s not unlikely Gannon wouldn’t pick up the garden hose and hope for the best.
“If it’s not Kyler, it’s Clayton Tune.”
Arizona Cardinals making a change at QB.@PHNX_Cardinals | #BirdGang pic.twitter.com/fOL8AVgl2y
— Bo Brack (@BoBrack) October 30, 2023
Tune, a fifth-round pick from Houston, has a small sample of work to judge. In preseason games against the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, and Minnesota Vikings, the rookie proved an exciting watch but a rookie by every metric. Against the Broncos, he was 13 of 23 for 135 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. When they played Kansas City, he was 12 of 24 for 135 yards but did not find the endzone. In their preseason wrap-up In Minnesota, Tune worked a 9 of 15 day for 85 yards. Again with no touchdowns, and zero interceptions.
As for Murray, the one-time Heisman winner is coming off a year he would just as soon forget. Murray passed for 2,368 yards with 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions. His QBR of 53.6 ranked 19th in the NFL. His injury against the New England Patriots has, for all intents and purposes, put him on the shelf for most of 2023. The Cardinals have been an incomplete team offensively, relying on a workmanlike defense that has kept Arizona in every game this season. Except for the San Francisco 49ers who picked them apart like a leftover turkey at Thanksgiving, the offense has been “lacking”.
At the deadline, the Cardinals were as quiet as church mice. Marking time waiting for whatever happens next. Arizona has shown little aggressiveness in getting better this season. Instead hoping that free agency and the draft can get them over the hump. It might, but the Cardinals don’t show that winning instinct, instead hoping for something organic to take root and grow. The NFL just doesn’t allow for that approach. As former coach Jerry Granville used to say, the NFL stands for “Not For Long”.
Murray or Tune: Two Reasons the Cardinals Are Adrift In 2023
For reasons hard to understand, there is an element of complacency in Glendale. Waiting and hoping cannot be a long-term plan for winning. Then again, whatever “strategy” the Cardinals have for winning is a work in progress.
The equation changes little whether it is Clayton Tune or Kyler Murray at quarterback. That is not to say Murray will not be on the field in 2023, as he will likely return at some point.
So, Tune or Murray, Murray or Tune. This exercise is less about winning as it is a long arduous audition for who might be under center next season. Most interestingly, it could still be neither.
Main Photo: Matt Kartozian – USA Today Sports
