Cardinals: Three Storylines to Follow vs. Saints

The Arizona Cardinals are in desperate search for a win. Will it come in Week 7's Thursday Night Football battle?

Donnie Druin | Oct 20, 2022

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Arizona Cardinals

The hype and build-up leading to Thursday Night Football between the Arizona Cardinals and New Orleans Saints is nearly over.

With just two wins on the season (none of them at home), all eyes will be on the Cardinals and how they'll bounce back on the national stage.

It's a short week. Both teams are banged up. Thursday Night Football has provided some sloppy play in recent memory - can either team tonight change that?

Arizona certainly hopes so.

Here's three storylines to watch as the action unfolds at State Farm Stadium:

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (10) warms up during practice on Sept. 11, 2020, at Dignity Health Arizona Cardinals Training Center in Tempe, Ariz. — Sean Logan-USA TODAY Sports

1. The DeAndre Hopkins Effect

Have you heard DeAndre Hopkins is playing football today?

This feels like an obvious but notable thing to follow on Thursday night, as one of the best receivers in football is expected to help his offense.

Very groundbreaking.

Yet the dynamic will be interesting to watch on exactly how much better the Cardinals are with Hopkins.

Will his presence on the field make a night-and-day difference? Or will the same holes and exploits continue to haunt Arizona?

Not only the performance on the field, but his guidance and leadership with teammates has been praised as well. How will Hopkins make his team better in that aspect?

It won't be a one-man show in the desert tonight, but maybe we'll find out if Hopkins was the secret ingredient missing all along.

2. Kliff's Play-Calling

Earlier this week, everybody blew a small quote up about Kliff Kingsbury stating he would hand over play-calling duties if it meant winning.

A few notes:

Kingsbury is not giving up play-calling. That's kind of why he got the job in the first place, as he was labeled an offensive guru. If Kingsbury can't call plays, he can't coach the Cardinals.

You know this. I know this. Let's move on.

The great thing about play-calling is Kingsbury's play-scripting. Typically, the first 10-15-20 plays are scripted in order to get a feel for what the defense is doing, and the offense normally adjusts from there.

The Cardinals haven't scored a single touchdown in the first quarter this season but have had success in the second half. Kingsbury scripts the plays.

See the dots connecting here?

The Cardinals are much better when Kyler Murray utilizes his legs and he's able to dictate the tempo when Arizona goes no-huddle.

Will Kingsbury alter the script to open the game? Can the Cardinals target Rondale Moore more than -2 yards past the line of scrimmage?

We'll find out in just a few hours, but another slow start may really bring the boo-birds out at State Farm Stadium.

3. Urgency

The headline is short and sweet.

The Cardinals find themselves backed into a corner. They're 2-4, playing some terrible football (offensively at least) and can't seem to find luck anywhere.

This is the point in the season where you find out just how good you are, and just how bad you and your teammates want to win.

It's a short week. You're banged up plenty. The team coming into town is also hungry to change their trajectory as well.

Simply put, there needs to be some fight in this football team. Fans want to see some urgency, and quite frankly, that's the minimum of what should happen tonight.

After their last home loss against the Eagles, Kyler Murray sat at his locker, in full uniform, for about an hour.

Sure, it caused our interview with him after the game to be delayed, but he was pissed. Losing isn't who he is, or what he wants to be involved with. He's not okay with it, he's not there for just a paycheck.

That same urgency, desire to win, whatever you want to call it, needs to be reflected by the entire 53-man roster tonight.

Plenty of people have been calling for Kliff Kingsbury's job, but there's a handful of jobs on the field that also should be contemplated if things again go south.

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1. The DeAndre Hopkins Effect

2. Kliff's Play-Calling

3. Urgency

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