Red Rain Blog for Arizona Cardinals Fans

 NFC West Offenses 1st Quarter of 2025 Season Grades: Cardinals' Analysis with help from Kurt Warner by Walter Mitchell Arizona Cardinals While OC Drew Petzing, when asked if the offense has been missing Klayton Adams said, "no", it is abundantly clear that they do. Without Adams the Cardinals have lost their identity as a relentless, smashmouth run-heavy "wear you down" offense. In light of the demise of the running game and the brutal fact that the soul animal and bell bow of that facet of the offense, James Conner, has been lost for the season with a lower foot injury, Petzing has had no other choice but to place more emphasis on the passing game that at a mere 185.5 yards per game is ranked 28th in the NFL. Passing for the Cardinals, other than throwing to TE Trey McBride has been so conservative that Kyler Murray's average yards per attempt is a paltry 5.7 which also ranks #28 in the NFL.  Despite drafting a WR at #4 a year ago in Marvin Harrison Jr. an...

  Cardinals' Draft Pick Developments by Walter Mitchell Now that the Arizona Cardinals have 4 games under their belts this season, let's take a close look at how well the coaches have been developing Monti Ossenfort's 28 draft picks over the past three drafts. 2023 NFL Draft: R1 - Paris Johnson Jr., T, Ohio St. --- starter at LT (3/4 games, knee) --- 73.0 --- currently ranked #15 T Cardinals passed on Will Anderson Jr. and made us suffer through two years of the most underwhelming pass rushes in the NFL. That said, Paris Johnson Jr. has been a very good player who appears to be budding as a team leader. Coaches, imo, stifled his acclimation to the NFL and his initial growth by starting him at RT his rookie year. He's off to a solid start this season but there is concern about him missing his 3rd game in the last 6 due to a knee injury. R2 - B.J. Ojulari, ED, LSU --- PUP (knee) Add Ojulari to the list of injured players that Monti Ossenfort over the years has had a part ...

 Red Rain Podcast: SEA 23 ARI 20 - Play analyses and Big Picture Questions by Walter Mitchell, Kyle "L'il Rock" Ledbetter and Saguaro Sam YouTube Link: Arizona Cardinals Lose 23-20 to Seattle Seahawks in Chaotic Thursday Night Battle (youtube.com) Sportify Link: Red Rain 186: SEA 23 ARI 20: Cardinals Fall to Seahawks in Chaotic Thursday - Red Rain Podcast with Walter Mitchell | Podcast on Spotify Apple Link: Red Rain 186: SEA 23 ARI 20: C… - Red Rain Podcast with Walter Mitchell - Apple Podcasts Give us your thoughts about the game and/or your big picture opinions please.  Let your feelings loose, it's cathartic! I apologize for dropping a couple f-bombs for the first time today. That's typically something I try to avoid. But seeing the Seahawks win their 8th game in a row and 5th in a row in Arizona is an emotional burden that needs to be purged, somehow. To lose that game in a span of 28 seconds is outrageous. So, yes, please accept my apologies for the vulgarit...

Cardinals vs Seahawks Starting Lineup and Team Comparisons: A Pre-Game Menu Deluxe by Walter Mitchell Welcome everyone to the Cardinals' Thursday Night Football contest which for the first time with feature the Cardinals' new Rivalries uniforms and end zones painted in the spirit of the Arizona state flag. Here is your pre-game menu. Hope you find it appetizing. Defense: * LDE- AZ  - Calais Campbell - 83.2 * LDE-SEA - Jarran Reed - 64.6 * NT-AZ - Dalvin Tomlinson - 59.0 * NT- SEA - Byron Murphy II - 70.1 * RDE-AZ - Darius Robinson - 35.0 * RDE- SEA - Leonard Williams - 76.3 * LOLB-AZ - Baron Browning - 59.2 * LOLB- SEA - Demarcus Lawrence - 67.8 * LILB-AZ - Mack Wilson Jr. - 61.6 * LILB - SEA - Ernest Jones - 66.7 * RILB- AZ - Akeem Davis-Gaither - 68.8 * RILB-SEA - Tyrice Knight - 62.7 * ROLB- AZ - Josh Sweat - 79.6 * ROLB-SEA - Uchenna Nwosu - 66.6 * LCB-AZ - Max Melton - 53.5 * LCB- SEA - Devon Witherspoon - 66.0 * SS- AZ - Budda Baker - 61.0 * SS-SEA - Coby Bryant - 59.0 * ...

 ARI/SEA Preview on Dan Viens' Seahawks Forever Podcast (Walter Mitchell guest) Once again, thanks Dan, for a great podcast. DESERT STORM on TNF! Previewing SEAHAWKS vs. Cardinals w/ Walter Mitchell of the Red Rain Podcast (youtube.com)

 Red Rain Pick 3 vs Spread Competition Week 4 by Walter Mitchell with special thanks to Duane Wisner (CCF) Updated standings: 8 TMAtty 7 Jethro Bodine, CCF 5 Red Run, ERauch, Walter 3 NSCard, CardsFan4 2 Roy Green 1 Kyle, Burberry NFL Week 4 odds: Point spreads Seattle Seahawks (+1.5) at Arizona Cardinals (-1.5) Minnesota Vikings  (-1.5) vs Pittsburgh Steelers (+1.5) Washington Commanders  (-2.5) at Atlanta Falcons (+2.5) New Orleans Saints  (+16.5) at  Buffalo Bills  (-16.5) Cleveland Browns  (+8.5) at  Detroit Lions  (-8.5) Tennessee Titans  (+7) at  Houston Texans  (-7) Carolina Panthers  (+4.5) at  New England Patriots  (-4.5) Los Angeles Chargers  (-5.5) at  New York Giants  (+5.5) Philadelphia Eagles (-3) at  Tampa Bay Buccaneers  (+3) Indianapolis Colts (+3.5) at Los Angeles Rams (-3.5) Jacksonville Jaguars  (+4) at San Francisco 49ers (-4) Baltimore Ravens  (-2.5...

  What does Jonathan Gannon know that Cardinals' fans do not? By Walter Mitchell                                                     photo credit: @azcardinals.com Jonathan Gannon has created a media firestorm this week by stating emphatically that Drew Petzing in Santa Clara "called his best game of the season." A day later, when asked by the media if, after watching more of the game tape, whether Jonathan Gannon would want to change anything he saw about the offensive play calling, Gannon tersely said in his strongest terms, "NO." Meanwhile, Drew Petzing has been downplaying some of the errors the Cardinals' offense made during their bitter 16-15 loss as mistakes that sometimes happen and aren't necessarily likely to happen moving forward. Perhaps most significantly of all, Petzing is maintaining, on his strongest terms, that Kyler Murray is doing a co...