Analysis of Brett Kollmann's and E.J. Snyder's 2026 Cardinals' Preview on the Bootleg Podcast
By Walter Mitcell
For years now one of must-see previews for fans of the Arizona Cardinals is the release of Bootleg Football Podcast's Cardinals' Preview, crafted and hosted by Brett Kollmann and E.J. Snyder.
We here at the Red Rain Podcast are very proud to say that a few years back, Brett Kollmann, as our special guest, generously took the time to preview the Cardinals with us in back-to-back years.
I liken this fortune of getting to know Brett to a night at an obscure barn-like watering hole in Vermont when my friends and I enjoyed watching an up-and-coming rock and roll band from New Jersey called "Bruce Spirngteen and the E Street Band."
On that fabled night I knew I was watching unsung greatness in action --- and while having the chance to talk football with Brett Kollmann and profit from his video analyses, I felt the same.
Brett Kollmann's story. like Bruce Springsteen's and Mel Kiper's, is another stunning manifestation of the American Dream. When you go to the Bootleg Football Podcast on YouTube, you will see that Brett and E.J. have attracted over 93,000 subscribers.
And most recently, Brett was hired by NFL to co-host an "All 22" show with Trevor Sikkema on their new "NFL Pro" channel.
To hear Brett's remarkable story in his own words, click here for the 5-minute video:
https://youtu.be/3GMdkEp6cpE?si=r-U07THbZkUL2oMf
For those of us who follow Brett, we owe a great deal of gratitude to his wife for her prescient vision of what Brett could accomplish on his own, if given time, resources and patience.
Here is the Bootleg Football Podcast's 2026 preview of the Arizona Cardinals, tiled "One (more) Piece: The Cardinals aren't as far away as you think:"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWq3JDfO5pI
Highlights:
1. Brett and E.J. begin the show by posing the hypothetical that if Matt LaFleur would trade QB Jordan Love to his brother Mike, then the Cardinals could, in their estimation, win 9-10 games this season,
The hypothetical did not come as a surprise to me because when the Cardinals signed WR Michael Wilson to his 3-year $75M contract, Brett tweeted this:
The first thing I thought of when Brett and E.J. posed the Jordan Love hypothetical was how Jacoby out passed Love during their head-to-head meeting in Week 7 last season which was won by Green Bay 27-23.
Jordan Love: 19/29, 62.2%, 179 yards, 6.2 ypa, 1 TD, 0 int., 93.9 RTG
Jacoby Brissett: 25/36, 69.8%, 279 yards, 7.8 ypa, 2 TDs, 0 int., 110.8 RTG
The game wrecker for the Cardinals was All-World edge rusher Micah Parsons, who nailed down his 3rd sack of the game just when the Cardinals had driven 50 yards down to the Packer's 25-yard line and were threatening to score with under 2:00 left. Parsons threw aside Jonah Williams (who was given no chip or double team help) and was on Jacoby so fast that he had no time to escape or even throw the ball away.
Look, I am not saying that Jacoby Brissett is a better QB than Jordan Love. What I am saying is that Jacoby deserves the chance this season to prove his worth as the team's starter because he played well and hard enough last season to earn his chance.
2. Brett said that despite the Cardinals' defense giving up 29 points per game, which was over 488 points in 17 games, "I think the players individually were more talented than how the unit played as a whole, so maybe we could criticize coaching there for that, but the results were the result. They didn't get a pass rush whatsoever, the secondary missed a bunch of tackles, they played a bunch of Cover 2 and were bad at it. But you could twist yourself into pretzels to see the individual talents playing better this year and therefore the defense playing better."
3. Brett praised Nick Rallis for his creative Cover 2 disguises where he drops a safety into the box, leaving a single high safety, but then on the snap, has the box safety retreat to the back level to form quarters on the third level with RCB, FS, SS, LCB as means to prevent "explosive" pass plays. Yet, for as creative a disguise this scheme may seem, Brett acknowledged that it just wasn't working. He said that the more popular and effective scheme across the league is to show Cover 2 with 4 quarters look, but then roll one of the CBs down to the flat and rotate the other back three into a Cover 3. This also can help to force the run, something Brett said the Cardinals' CBs have been woeful at doing. (Note: per usual, this was outstanding insight on Brett's part).
4. E.J. feels that the return of Walter Nolen III and Josh Sweat could provide a pretty good pass rush that could help win games "if only they had a quarterback."(Note: clearly the "One (more) Piece" whom they are referring to is the quarterback).
5. While they do not think the Cardinals will be deliberately tanking for a 2027 QB like Arch Manning, they believe that while another 3-to-4-win season should cost Monti Ossenfort his GM job, the team won't do much at all to make roster additions that could help the team win more games this season.
6. Brett pointed out how the Cardinals' linebackers were inept in pass coverage last season and that the Cardinals' CBs make Rallis' schemes look worse because of their abysmal tackling. (These are points that, as you know, we have been trying to stress for months).
7. One of the great segments of the show is where Brett and E.J. wonder what Mike LaFleur's offense will look like, particularly in the running game. (Note: on this week's Red Rain Podcast, Sam predicted that Coach LaFleur is going to adopt more of the 49ers' running game schemes, particularly in using Jeremiyah Love the way Kyle Shanahan uses Christian McCaffrey in order to free up the other playmakers on the team) Brett said, "I am fascinated to see what Mike LaFleur's running scheme is going to look like."
8. They are very high on the Cardinals' offensive playmakers Trey McBride, Marvin Harrison Jr, Michael Wilson and Kendick Bourne along with the auspiciously prolific duo of Jeremiyah Love and Tyler Allgeier in the backfield.
9. Most encouraging of all, for the first time in ages, Brett and E.J. are impressed with the Cardinals' offensive line, particularly with the signing of LG Isaac Seumalo, whom they believe was the most impactful offensive line signing in the NFL this year.
10. As for the Cardinals' 2026 NFL draft, they felt that drafting the most talented player in the draft in Jeremiyah Love was the right choice, especially when they added talent to the offensive line in Chase Bisontis. Like Sam, they were not impressed with the Cardinals taking Carsoin Beck (or any QB) in round three at pick #65. They liked the picks of DT Kaleb Proctor and WR Reggie Virgil ijn Rounds 4 and 5, but they. hadn't done much pre-draft work on LB Karson Sharar or T Jayden Williams. However, E.J. was very impressed that the Cardinals made S Wydett Williams Jr. a "priority undrafted free agent," citing Wydett's stellar grades (57.6 RTG)) in pass coverage at Mississippi.
Conclusion:
It was a relief to hear Brett and E.J. feel good enough about the Cardinals' talent to feel that "the Cardinals aren't as far away as you think" That's a significant shift from last year when they called the Cardinals' rebuild "the longest, slow-burn rebuild ever."
It is also a huge credit to them that this Cardinals' preview which typically wouldn't attract much national interest, has in four days accumulated over 44,000 views. Let's make it over 45,000, Red Rainers!
Red Rain Question:
What are your reactions to the Bootleg Football Podcast Preview of the 2026 Arizona Cardinals? Please let Brett and E.J. know what you think.
Clearly Brett forgot to look at AZ defense, which, even with LA not playing play well outside of McDuffie, all three of the division teams defenses are very good when healthy. Very impressive division again. And all added quality RBs this offseason…RIP Suhey.
ReplyDeleteLike!
DeleteI agree that this team is not that far away. Ive said it before and I'll say it again, this team would contend for the division in 2008. Both the 2008 team and this team are similarly lopsided. Offenses that are loaded with talent and defenses that aren't so just fix the D and this team should be able to contend, correct? Maybe that makes sense on other organizations but in AZ, that's easier said than done. Somehow, some way this team always finds a way to shoot themselves in the foot which brings me to the question I've been asking myself for decades now.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes an Arizona Cardinal fan a real fan? The majority of Card fans are band wagon fans which makes up around 90% of Card fans IMO. Then you have the broken fan who has tried to be a loyal fan but after years or decades of loyalty has developed a condition called, "Fandom Burnout"(pointing a finger at myself). Then you have the fans who year after year, decade after decade are able to put-on rose-colored glasses and have optimism about the future. Those are the fans that amaze me. Those are the true-blue Arizona Cardinal fans IMO.
Well said, Jethro
DeleteFrom my perspective Jethro-Here's what six and a half decades of Cardinal fandom teaches you: the record is not the relationship. You come away from even the ugliest year still loving the players who fought through it and the coaches who showed up every Monday and went back to work. That's not blind loyalty. That's what being a fan actually is.
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