Cardinals Cover 2

Ep. 840 - Beat a division foe. Sweep the season series. Send the fans home happy. That’s what the Cardinals accomplished in Week 18. And no, the goal of making the playoffs was not reached, but a 47-24 win over the San Francisco 49ers is a decent consolation prize. Craig Grialou and Paul Calvisi discuss what happened on Sunday; from Kyler Murray’s four touchdown passes, the improved play of Marvin...

Ep. 839 - It is the last Football Friday of the 2024 season. So, how do you want to go out? How do you want to be remembered? With a win, of course. The Cardinals will look to do just that on Sunday. They host the San Francisco 49ers in the regular-season finale. Craig Grialou and Zach Gershman discuss why a win in Week 18 matters to the coaches and to the players, and why it should matter to the...

Ep. 838 - On this first day of 2025, the focus remains on 2024, at least in terms of the football season. Yes, the calendar has flipped to the *new* year, but there remains one more game to be played before the *new* season can be discussed. With that said, however, Craig Grialou and Dani Sureck talk about what they’d like to see in the regular-season finale that may carryover to next season, i.e....

Ep. 837 - Heart-breaking. There’s no other way to describe it. The win was there until it wasn’t. And that’s been the story of the Arizona Cardinals’ season more times than not in 2024. Craig Grialou and Paul Calvisi, aka Paulie Play-By-Play, look back at the 13-9 loss on Saturday night in Los Angeles. For much of the game, the offense looked good; in fact, the numbers said as much. Defensively, t...

Ep. 836 - So, the stakes are not as high as we all had hoped, but there is still plenty on the line coming up on Saturday night in Los Angeles. Craig Grialou and Zach Gershman look ahead to the Week 17 matchup against the Rams, an opponent the Cardinals have not seen since early September. A lot has changed since then, which is discussed when Jourdan Rodrigue joins the show, as she did ahead of We...

Ep. 835 - And that’s the sad reality, unfortunately. Losing at Carolina plus the Rams winning at the New York Jets equaled playoff elimination for the Cardinals. So, what happened? How did the Cardinals fall to a three-win team (at the time) in a got-to-have-it game? Craig Grialou and Paul Calvisi discuss the 36-30 defeat to the Panthers in overtime. Yes, injuries were a factor; too many penalties...

Ep. 834 - The Cardinals took care of business last week, beating a three-win opponent. They face another three-win opponent this week. Craig Grialou and Zach Gershman, before he heads to the airport to join the team on its flight to Carolina, discuss the game against the Panthers coming up on Sunday. What are the key matchups? What must the Cardinals do in order to win to help keep their playoff h...

Ep. 833 - One of the bigger questions this offseason has been answered in-season: Budda Baker isn’t going anywhere. He and the Cardinals reached agreement on a three-year contract extension, keeping him in Arizona through the 2027 season. Craig Grialou and Dani Sureck react to the news. They then discuss why the team rewarded the player, and maybe more importantly, the person; what the extension s...

Ep. 832 - It was a much-needed win on Sunday. No, it wasn’t perfect. But thanks to the play of James Conner and Trey McBride, the Cardinals “stayed relevant” in the playoff hunt, according to head coach Jonathan Gannon. And let’s not forget the defense. In fact, that’s where Craig Grialou and Dani Sureck begin their discussion when looking back at the 30-17 victory over the New England Patriots. T...

Ep. 831 - No, a win doesn’t clinch a spot in the playoffs. But if the Cardinals want to keep their postseason hopes alive, then they need to win on Sunday. They need to beat the New England Patriots at State Farm Stadium. Craig Grialou and Zach Gershman look ahead to the matchup in Week 15; what it’s going to take to get past the Patriots, get back in the win column and get those positive vibes ba...

Ep. 830 - Hey, it’s just a suggestion. But it is an aspect of the Cardinals offense that, in recent weeks, appears to be missing; at least to both Craig Grialou and Dani Sureck. That’s the main topic of discussion on Wednesday’s show; what if Kyler Murray were to have more rushing attempts, might that help spark the offense? The Cardinals are searching for answers in the midst of a season-long thr...

Ep. 829 - So much was on the line Sunday. And so much was lost. No, the season isn’t over. The playoffs are still very much in the picture. It’s just now the road to get there has become a lot more difficult to travel for the Arizona Cardinals. They no longer control their own destiny. So, what happened? Craig Grialou and Paul Calvisi look back at the 30-18 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks; turno...

Ep. 828 - The stakes could not be any higher. Win, and the Cardinals are back in first place in the NFC West; more importantly, they control their own destiny the rest of the way. Lose, and the road to postseason football becomes a lot more difficult. Plus, it’s the Seahawks, and who doesn’t enjoy beating the Seahawks? Craig Grialou and Zach Gershman discuss the matchup coming up on Sunday at Stat...

Ep. 827 - Two games. Two winnable games. Yet, the Cardinals were on the short end against both the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings. So, what must change to change the outcome this week? Craig Grialou and Paul Calvisi offer their thoughts, whether it’s finishing in the red zone or the defense finishing by getting off the field. The one big difference this week: the Cardinals are home; it’s t...

Ep. 826 - Six times; more times than any other game this season. Six times the offense reached the red zone, yet only one time did the trip result in a touchdown. That’s not good enough. And that’s why, at least a big reason why, Craig Grialou and Dani Sureck are discussing a loss rather than a win. The two look back at Sunday’s 23-22 loss; the offensive struggles near the goal line, the inability...

Ep. 825 - The number is seven. There are seven coaches, including the head coach and both the offensive and defensive coordinators, who have ties to the Minnesota Vikings organization. Will that mean anything on Sunday? Maybe. Maybe not. There’s also a handful of Vikings personnel who have ties to the Cardinals as Craig Grialou and Darren Urban discuss on the show. Their conversation, though, begi...

Ep. 824 - On this, the day before Thanksgiving, it makes sense for Craig Grialou and Dani Sureck to say what they’re thankful for. Family. Close friends. Good health. How about a Cardinals team that’s going to be playing meaningful football in December, and hopefully January. Yes, to all. But, what about Trey McBride? He leads the team in both receptions and receiving yards, but is he appreciated...

Ep. 823 - Blame the noise. Blame the weather. Credit the defense. Whatever the reason, the Cardinals offense did not show up in Seattle on Sunday. From Kyler Murray on down, it was a struggle. Craig Grialou and Paul Calvisi look back at what went wrong - the inability to get the run game going, the inability to stop defensive lineman Leonard Williams from getting into the backfield - in a 16-6 los...

Ep. 822 - So, how do the Cardinals play coming out of the bye week? That’s been the question all week considering how well the team was playing going into the bye week. Craig Grialou and Zach Gershman explain why they believe there will be no drop-off on Sunday in Seattle. It helps, the guys think, that it’s a division game and a game with major implications in the standings. With weather potentia...

Ep. 821 - It is a day of returns. Right tackle Jonah Williams is back on the 53-man roster, rookie defensive lineman Darius Robinson is back practicing, and more importantly, Dani Sureck is back on the show. She and Craig Grialou discuss whether the team should reinsert Williams into the starting lineup given how well Kelvin Beachum has played in Williams’ absence; how excited Robinson is to be on...

Ep. 820 - The bye week is over. Time to get back to work. And that’s exactly what the Cardinals did on Monday with what head coach Jonathan Gannon called a “bonus” practice. Craig Grialou and Zach Gershman discuss what they saw and, more importantly, who they saw. (Spoiler alert: rookie defensive lineman Darius Robinson was on the field.) Also, the guys look back at what was a very successful Week...

Ep. 819 - Six wins. A four-game winning streak. Sole possession of first place in the NFC West. Things are going well for the Arizona Cardinals thus far in 2024. Surprised? Some people may be. The coaches and the players in the building are not. As the Cardinals head into their bye week, Craig Grialou and Zach Gershman look back at the season’s first 10 games, look ahead to the season’s final seve...

Ep. 818 - It is yet another Victory Monday. And that means, hot dogs. Yes, hot dogs. Paul Calvisi explains before he and Craig Grialou discuss the Cardinals’ 31-6 win over the New York Jets on Sunday. That’s four straight wins, and each win has been a little bit different. This week it was Kyler Murray, or as Jonathan Gannon described, “the best player on the planet;” Trey Benson who had his best...

Ep. 817 - You know what’s better than five wins? Six wins. And six wins going into the bye week would be impressive for a Cardinals team many didn’t see competing let along leading the NFC West at the midway point of the season. Craig Grialou and Zach Gershman discuss what it’s going to take to reach six wins given what’s standing in the Cardinals’ way, a New York Jets team that is much more talen...

Ep. 816 - The first-place Arizona Cardinals practiced on Wednesday, and just like previous Wednesdays the players were “all business” according to head coach Jonathan Gannon. In other words, a team that’s won three straight and four of five remains focused on the day-to-day. No one is looking ahead, more importantly, no one is looking ahead to the bye week. The focus is on the New York Jets, a tea...