Jonathan Gannon isn’t really big on targets. Yet, considering how poor the Cardinals have been so far, he had to concede that top WR Marvin Harrison Jr. will need to do better than his two receptions on five targets showing against the Panthers. Perhaps QB Kyler Murray could stick to plans to make that happen.
“I know (Marvin) has a certain number of plays where he is the read in,” Gannon said on Monday. “If they play a coverage that says the ball is not going to go there, it’s not going to go there. Saying that, I know he needs to touch the football for our offense to be at its premium.” Harrison didn’t record a reception until 10:45 in the third quarter. And Kyler Murray’s 31-yard scramble in the fourth? That play was intended for the WR, yet the QB chose to improvise, albeit with much success. But while Harrison didn’t have a good game in terms of production, he did contribute in other ways.
The WR drew a 38-yard defensive pass interference call early in Sunday’s game. That set up Arizona on the Panthers‘ 5-yard line. But then again, Gannon’s men had penalty problems of their own.
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21—that’s how many penalties the Cardinals have logged in just two games. “There’s a lot of penalties that are hurting the ball club right now and we’ve been kind of a low flag team,” Gannon told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo. “It’s not a winning stat, but it can hurt you in a game and kill drives, sustain drives, changes field position and you’re just making it really hard on yourself.”
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Kyler Murray himself didn’t hold back, bluntly calling the Week 2 outing a “s—show.” And he was not the only one who harbored the sentiment.
Kyler Murray and Co. aren’t satisfied with the win over Carolina
After the game, Calais Campbell walked into the locker room and said, “Man, I’m tired as s—,” without directing it to anyone in particular. Perhaps his exhaustion reflected how the game went down. Even in Week 1, the Cardinals narrowly escaped a loss against the Saints.
They almost let a 20-10 late lead slip away and had to break up a Saints pass in the end zone just to avoid overtime. It wasn’t much different in Week 2.
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The Cardinals looked dominant in the first half and even came close to extending their lead. However, the momentum shifted after Murray threw an interception. This fueled a strong Panthers comeback, as the Cardinals saw their 27-3 lead evaporate. Much to their relief, Gannon’s squad managed to hang on and secure a 27-22 victory.
Now, even as they take some comfort in their 2-0 start, the Cardinals know there is still plenty to figure out and fix before Week 3. As Kyler Murray put it, “So, it didn’t bite us in the ass today, it didn’t bite us in the ass last week. But, you keep playing around, (and you’ll) get bit. We have to be better.”