Cardinals Cover 2

Ep. 536 - Three NFC West teams made the playoffs. Two teams reached the conference championship game. One team won the Super Bowl. It was quite the post-season run for the division, and maybe Cardinals fans can take some solace in having had their season end at the hands of the eventual champions. Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki discuss Super Bowl 56, a 23-20 Rams win over the Bengals. Although nei...

Ep. 535 - It is just about here. Super Bowl 56, a matchup between the Bengals and Rams, is on Sunday. Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki give their thoughts. Plus, the Cardinals connection that is really interesting. Defensive tackle Zach Kerr, who joined the Cardinals in November, has a chance to make some rather unique history: beat the team that knocked his team, his former team, out of the playoff...

Ep. 534 - Five minutes into the Pro Bowl and Kyler Murray was the talk of social media. That’ll happen when you throw the ball to the opponent. Murray, though, did respond well after the pick-6. In fact, he played the best of any of the quarterbacks on Sunday. Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki give their thoughts on the game as well as how the other Cardinals players performed. Also, what was a stren...

Ep. 533 - If five Cardinals playing in Sunday’s game is not enough incentive to watch, then maybe some not-so-subtle tweaks to how the game will be played will attract your interest. Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki explain why there will be no opening or second-half kickoff plus there is an alternative to the onside kick that might come into play. Should be a fun afternoon regardless, especially fo...

Ep. 532 - From MVP and Offensive Player of the Year to Defensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, AZCardinals.com’s annual end-of-season awards are out. A total of six different categories were voted upon. Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki reveal their choices, with a big difference of opinion on who was the better player on defense in 2021. Also, the guys discuss Championship Sunday plus...

Ep. 531 - Actually, it’s more of a Chandler Jones question. Do the Cardinals make an effort to retain one of the game’s better pass rushers? Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki debate what to do with Jones, who has more sacks than any other Cardinals player in team history. The options are many, for both sides. Grialou even floated the idea of using the franchise tag. Jones is one of nine unrestricted...

Ep. 530 - When looking at the number of unrestricted free agents-to-be on offense, there is one name that stands head-and-shoulders above the rest: running back James Conner. He is a must re-sign according to Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki as the guys discuss the team’s 10 offensive players who are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents in March. Tight end Zach Ertz also made the priority li...

Ep. 529 - How should the 2021 season be judged? A success? A failure? Or somewhere in-between? Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki give their thoughts as they continue to put Monday night’s playoff loss in the rearview mirror—though, if we’re being honest, it’s been more difficult for Grialou to distance himself from that game. Also, the first roster moves of the offseason have been made and, yes, it i...

Ep. 528 - It’s one thing to get beat. It’s another thing to get embarrassed. On national television, no less. The word ‘embarrassed’ was used by both Christian Kirk and J.J. Watt following the 34-11 loss at the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football. The Cardinals had waited six years to get back into the postseason and they did not perform well. The stage looked too big for them. Craig Grialou...

Ep. 527 - It’s been a long wait. Six years. The Cardinals are back in the postseason for the first time since 2015. Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki break down the wild card matchup with the Los Angeles Rams, the third meeting between the two NFC West rivals. Jurecki has his three keys to victory and the X-factor. The biggest X-factor just may be the location. The game is in L.A., and we know how mu...

Ep. 526 - Neither Kliff Kingsbury nor Kyler Murray have ever coached or played, respectively, in the playoffs. That may mean nothing or that may mean everything. Both, though, are looking forward to their first postseason experience. Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki discuss how much playoff experience really matters. Also, it was nothing but good news at practice on Thursday. Several injured players...

Ep. 525 - J.J. Watt said a lot. He spoke for more than 20 minutes on Wednesday, the first time he’s addressed reporters since suffering a major shoulder injury back in October. Watt will practice this week. The question, though, everyone wants to know is will Watt play. That’s the unknown at this point. The plan, both Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki believe, is for Watt to play. How much of an impa...

Ep. 524 - The door was open. There was an opportunity there on Sunday for the Cardinals to win the NFC West, which they last accomplished in 2015. The door, however, was slammed shut after a 38-30 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the regular season finale. Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki look back at what went wrong, from the offense’s inability to score touchdowns inside the red zone to the defense...

Ep. 523 - Never put anything past J.J. Watt. He’s proven that to be the case before and, apparently, he’s on the verge of doing it once again. Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki discuss Watt’s potential return. It won’t be this week, however it very well could be next week when the playoffs begin. Just the presence of No. 99 back on the field would be a boost for the defense and the team overall. Let’...

Ep. 522 - It’s been much too long since this Cardinals team last won a home game. You have to go all the way back to Week 7, at the end of October. The good news here is there is an opportunity on Sunday to end what has become a four-game losing streak at State Farm Stadium. Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki discuss why the Cardinals haven’t fared as well at home compared to on the road. Plus, if the...

Ep. 521 - Every team’s goal is to make the playoffs. The Cardinals checked that box. Every team wants to win its division. The Cardinals can still do that, but they need help. So, Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki debate winning the NFC West versus holding out a handful of players to get them healthy, or healthier, for the playoffs. It’s not a discussion of resting players. It’s a discussion about wh...

Ep. 520 - Offense, defense and special teams; all three phases had a hand in Sunday’s 25-22 win in Dallas. And just like that, the Cardinals have appeared to right the ship, get the train back on track or any other cliché that is used when a team ends a three-game losing streak. Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki discuss all the details—big and small—that led to the Cardinals franchise-best eighth roa...

Ep. 519 - It sounds simple enough. And it is why the Cardinals were so successful earlier in the season. But this team has gotten away from running the football. Now part of that is because they’ve trailed in games. Hopefully, Chase Edmonds and a returning (fingers crossed) James Conner can help the Cardinals get back on track. Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki discuss the Week 17 matchup at the Dall...

Ep. 518 - All any player wants is an opportunity. And it sounds like several players, whether it be due to injury or COVID-19, will be given an opportunity this week against the Dallas Cowboys. Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki discuss the options at outside linebacker and cornerback plus, potentially, offensive tackle. As everyone has seen, things are very fluid across the league right now. The timi...

Ep. 517 - Though he was not on the practice field on Wednesday, Rodney Hudson is back with the team. He missed the past two games—two losses—on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki discuss what Hudson’s return means for the offense, and in particular Kyler Murray. Obviously, Hudson is not the cure-all for what’s been ailing the offense. Turnovers, penalties and not enough touc...

Ep. 516 - Yes, the Cardinals clinched a playoff spot. They did so from their couch on Sunday afternoon. No, they are not playing like a playoff team. In either phase of the game, really. Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki discuss the good, the bad and the ugly from the 22-16 defeat to the Indianapolis Colts on Christmas night. That’s now three straight losses. Hardly the direction this team wants to b...

Ep. 515 - It’s not too much to ask for, is it? And if the Cardinals do win on Saturday, the gift is threefold. They clinch a playoff spot (which is first and foremost), snap a three-game home losing streak and end a two-game slide in primetime. All good things. Great things, really. Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki breakdown the matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, with Jurecki giving his three k...

Ep. 514 - The Cardinals have faced their share of first-class running backs this season. Derrick Henry, Dalvin Cook and Christian McCaffrey just to name a few. And now, Jonathan Taylor, who in 2021 may be in a class all his own. Taylor enters Week 16 leading the league in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, yards from scrimmage and total touchdowns. Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki discuss the challe...

Ep. 513 - How? How did that happen? How did the team with the best record lose to the team with the worst record? Yes, losses are going to happen. You’re going to get beat sometimes. But. Not. Like. That. Especially this late in the season. The Cardinals are limping towards the finish line. Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki discuss all the ugliness from Sunday’s 30-12 loss at the Detroit Lions. It wa...

Ep. 512 - For the fifth straight year, the Cardinals and Lions will play in the regular season; though Sunday will mark the first time since 2017 the game is played in Detroit. Craig Grialou and Mike Jurecki breakdown the Week 15 contest, with Jurecki providing his three keys to victory. Once again, the Cardinals find themselves in a win-and-you’re-in scenario. Win and they clinch a playoff spot....