Bad teams are bad for a reason. Poor coaching. The Jimmy’s and the Joe’s. Sometimes much deeper reasons than that. The Cardinals suffer from both to an extent. What it’s very clear is that they refuse to make in-game adjustments to give themselves the best chance to win. There are some things that just happen. David Johnson fumbled and that lead to points for the Vikings. That’s football. Those are the plays that you overcome. Other occurrences throughout the game, Arizona did themselves zero favors.

Thielen terrorizes secondary

Poor Bene Benwikere. He never stood a chance. Coming into Sunday, Adam Thielen had five consecutive 100 yard games. Stefon Diggs had been producing at a high level himself. The Cardinals chose to take Diggs away, which they did. Very early it became evident that Thielen was the bigger threat. Yet, no adjustment was made. Thielen finished the game with 11 catches for 123 yards. He had 15 targets compared to Diggs five. At some point, you have to make an adjustment and put your star player on Thielen. Take away what the other team does best. That’s what good teams do. The lack of adjustment was frustrating. If Diggs was going to beat you after the switch, then so be it. You can’t let Thielen continue to beat you over and over. That is the definition of insanity.

Passing game too complicated?

When you watch the Cardinals offense nothing is ever easy. The first pass of the game is something we should be seeing a lot more of. Josen Rosen is a rhythm thrower. There are not nearly enough “rhythm” throws for Rosen to be able to get in a groove. The first throw he did a quick 3-step drop and threw a five yard out route. Isolation routes make the read easier for the quarterback. They also keep bodies away from the receiver. If you watch the throw where Rosen threw an interception, he is staring down an area with three receivers in a 10 yard radius. You can imagine what type of attention that will attract from the defense.

Look at the Packers. They keep it as simple as possible. Slants, curls, and out routes. With the occasional deep route. This fits what Rosen does well. He can also throw receivers open and stay in rhythm. Fewer bodies around the ball. Protects him from taking hits, as well. Perhaps we will see more of this against a team that runs a lot of man coverage, like the Broncos.