Goodbye Kyler Murray & the Cardinals - My Favorite Memories

by adelfish | 4 years ago | 1 Comments

Goodbye Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals

  A Love Letter From Your Head Coach

 

What a year, what a team. 

I took the Arizona Cardinals from the depths of roster purgatory, to a walkoff Super Bowl victory over Astin and his incredible Chargers. An accomplishment I will p

ut atop my Red Zone career. Now, it is time to say farewell to this incredible team.

I wanted to write my goodbye to the Arizona Cardinals in a way others could enjoy it too - so what I'm going to do is list my favorite players that suited up this cycle, and my favorite game that they had. So many great players...so many great memories, here we go.

  #1 - Kyler Murray

Back to Back MVP in Seasons 59 and 60, Season 59 RZ Bowl MVP, Offensive Rookie of the Year and Rookie of the Year, amongst other individual accolades. My favorite quarterback I've ever won with, and it isn't quite close. Multiple years of 5000 passing yards, 70% completion or higher...the kid grew into one of the best in the league. Surprisingly, it wasn't hard for me to pick a favorite game.

RZ Bowl 59 - Cardinals (30) vs Chargers (24) (OT) - 248 Yards, 4 TDS, 1 INT

Against the greatest defense we ever faced, the Cardinals faced a 17-3 halftime deficit to the Chargers. 69 total yards, 21 passing yards, and 1 interception. Yikes.

Kyler Murray threw for 4 touchdowns and 220 yards against the Chargers defense in the final two quarters and the first drive of overtime, including a game tying drive with 2 minutes to play. With a little help from a missed field goal, overtime was forced, and Murray drove the Cardinals down the field, and walked off with a Mike Williams touchdown reception. 

There were so many great games (Lions S60 Divisional Round, the 6 TD game vs the Lions in S58, the three week span of 15 TDs, 1150 Yards in S58) but the victory against the Chargers stands above all. What a game. Also, Kyler Murray really likes playing the Lions - fun fact, his first start as a rookie all the way back in Season 53 was a comeback victory over.....the Lions!

#2 - Andy Isabella

In my first season with the Cardinals, my only two wide receivers worth a damn were the corpse of Larry Fitzgerald (who promptly retired) and the 5'9 Massachusetts product Andy Isabella, a rookie taken in the second round in the same draft as Murray.

He went from Star development to X-Factor over the course of his career, was a top 5 receiver multiple times, and was the receptions leader in Seasons 60 and 57. The speedster was one of our two star receivers that paved the way for the elite Cardinals offenses of the second half of the cycle.

Season 55, Week 9 - Cardinals (52) vs Jagaurs (31) - 9 Receptions, 216 Yards, 2 TDS

Another player where picking a favorite game was difficult, but this was the signature game. The 5-2 Jaguars with Coach Smokes at the helm came to Arizona with their top ranked defense to face the 4-2 Cardinals. With Jalen Ramsey shadowing Mike Williams all afternoon (3 Receptions, 54 Yards, 1 TD), we needed someone to step up.

Factor in that this game was played on Bro Trip in Nashville, at noon on a Saturday after a very long Friday night bender, there were obstacles placed in front of us. The Cardinals rallied, and Isabella got loose, multiple times. He had a pair of 75 yard touchdowns against the vaunted Jags secondary, and totaled 216 yards before the day was over. A 50-burger against the Jags defense was something to be proud of.

#3 - Mike Williams

Screw you, Trade Committee! Astin and I had ongoing negotiations for Mikey Williams, and my original offer of a 1st round pick for him was vetoed. Wasn't deemed 'valuable' enough as a player. Then a pair of second rounders was vetoed. Eventually, the Chargers had to give the Cardinals a 5th round pick along with Williams, to receive a 2nd and 3rd.

What happened after?

Williams was the third piece of the offensive puzzle, to go with Kyler Murray and Andy Isabella. After the trade, Williams became the top deep threat on the offense, totaling 3 1000+ yard seasons, 4 years with 9 or more touchdowns, and averaging 65 receptions a year.

And yeah, he caught 3 touchdowns against his former team in that Super Bowl we talked about, but that is not my favorite game. 

Season 60, Divisional Round - Cardinals (25) vs Lions (22) - 6 Receptions, 128 Yards, 1 TD

You all know the story. With 10 seconds to go on the clock, down 22-17 in the divisional round, Kyler Murray fires to the back of the endzone 32 yards out, and Mike Williams jumps up and does what he does - makes the play. Mike Williams made so many plays in Arizona colors, but that play summed up his tenure perfectly. He daggered the hopes of the Motor City Kitties and solidified his spot in Arizona lore.

#4 - Mark Andrews

Back in Season 55, your Arizona Cardinals were in trade negotiations with the Ravens to acquire Andrews' services. Knowing he would be a 3+1 casualty, the Cards thought a 2nd round pick would be enough to entice Baltimore. It was not, and the Ravens decided to hold onto Andrews (foolishly) and let him walk...for nothing!

He inked a 5 year contract with Arizona, and the rest is history. Andrews was the final piece of the aforementioned offensive puzzle, with Murray, Williams, Isabella, and now a field-stretching tight end. 

Andrews had 6 consecutive seasons of 1000+ yards for Arizona, and 4 seasons of 10+ touchdowns. He had 2 seasons of 1600+ yards and 13-15 touchdowns, and finished second in the leauge in receiving in Season 59, for all eligible receivers.

Season 57, Week 10 - Cardinals (37) vs Ravens (27) - 9 Receptions, 214 Yards, 1 TD

After allowing him to walk, Mark Andrews eviscerated the team that drafted him in his first game back in Baltimore. The Ravens defense couldn't stop him, racking up 214 yards and a touchdown, and chewing out former Coach Kaddy Shacks in a legendary postgame presser. Andrews even accused Coach Kad of texting him instead of calling him that the Ravens weren't bringing him back, a truly disrespectful move.

#5 - Khalil Mack

Only two years of Khalil Mack's services, but he earned a special place in my heart. In a cycle where pass rush was paramount, Mack was acquired via trade with the Chicago Bears in Season 58, and ended up hoisting a championship trophy with us in Season 59.

In just two seasons, Mack accounted for 65 sacks and 11 forced fumbles. He was a one-man wrecking crew who helped the Cardinals defense ascend into top ten status. Mack even had a key play in the Super Bowl victory, sacking Cam Newton to give us a final chance to tie the game.

Season 59, Week 16 - Cardinals (38) vs Seahawks (31) - 11 Tackles, 8 Sacks, 2 Forced Fumbles

Death, taxes, Cardinals beating Seahawks in must win games. The Seahawks still managed to squeak into the playoffs at 10-6, but this was a massive Week 16 game for them. Riding high at 9-5, they had a real chance to capture the 5th seed, and even knock the Cardinals out of the playoffs.

Khalil Mack had other plans. He took the game over, sacking Blake Donnelly 8 times, forcing 2 fumbles, and assisting in generating 4 total turnovers. This was a classic Mack game, that resulted in Coach Reid postgame messaing Coach Adel, accusing him of multiple infractions (none true, of course). 

Some other great Mack games were his 5 sack performance against his former Bears in Season 58, Week 13 - or his 6 sack and a safety performance against the 49ers in Week 17 of Season 58. In just 36 games for the Cardinals, he left his mark on the organization. 

#6 - J.J. Watt

This guy was a free agent. Think about that. In Season 55, J.J. Watt was allowed to test free agency, inking a 2 year deal worth $50 million with the Arizona Cardinals (vastly underpaid). Watt played in Arizona for three seasons, totaling 125 sacks and 11 forced fumbles. He was an absolute animal that changed everything about the course of the franchise, and helped turn the team into a winner.

Season 57, Week 2 - Cardinals (23) vs Saints (20) - 10 Tackles, 6 Sacks

In Watt's final season with the Cardinals, he put on a show against the New Orleans Saints. In one of the more tense games you'll see, this game was back and forth in terms of excellent defense. The Saints boasting a defense featuring Jadaveon Clowney, Damon Harrison, Marshon Lattimore, and others was fearsome, and an offense with new quarterback Sam Darnold.

Credit to both quarterbacks, they played great against elite pass rushers, but Watt did just enough. Watt disrupted drive after drive, holding an explosive Saints offense to field goals twice. In the run game he was even better, a major part of the Saints rushing for just 17 yards on 17 attempts...pretty good stuff.

This was a major victory for the Cardinals, as Season 57 was the true beginning of an elite four season run.

Some other games worth mentioning....Season 55 Week 16 - Watt had 4 sacks against the Texans in his first game against his former team in Houston. Season 56 Week 15 - Watt had 6 sacks against the Seahawks in, you guessed it, a must-win game for Seattle (that they lost).

Honorable Mentions

Byron Murphy Jr (CB)

Hassan Reddick (LB)

James Martinez (C)

Keon Chambers (S)

 

Overall, this was an unreal cycle, capping it with my fourth ring made it so much more special. If you read this, I hope you enjoyed a trip down memory lane of the Cardinals!