ARIZONA CARDINALS

A look at Cardinals trends a quarter of the way through 2015 season

Oct 7, 2015, 8:00 PM | Updated: 8:19 pm

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Believe it or not, the Arizona Cardinals are already through a quarter of their 2015 regular season.

They are 3-1 through their first four games, most of the time looking like one of the NFL’s best teams.

But how much of what they’ve done is sustainable? What aspects of their fast start will fizzle over the next 12 games?

Let’s take a look at five players who have started the season great and five who have not.

The Great Starts

Larry Fitzgerald, Jaquiski TarttWR Larry Fitzgerald

Stats: 30 receptions, 432 yards, 5 TDs

Pace: 120 receptions, 1,728 yards, 20 TDs

As great as Fitzgerald is playing, it’s hard to imagine he’ll finish with that kind of a stat line. Along with the fact that no receiver in the league should put up those kind of numbers over 16 games, that Fitz has to compete with John Brown, Michael Floyd, Andre Ellington and others for touches should limit his production. However, the 32-year-old has proven there is still plenty of tread left in his tires, and it would not be a surprise if he finishes with a line that resembles those he put up when Kurt Warner was under center.

Carson PalmerQB Carson Palmer

Stats: 1,155 yards, 10 TDs, 3 interceptions

Pace: 4,620 yards, 40 TDs, 12 interceptions

It sure is nice to have No. 3 back in the lineup, isn’t it? Palmer is off to a fairly historic start for the Cardinals, putting up numbers through the first three games that rivaled the best in franchise history. He hit a bit of a speed bump in Week 4 against the Rams, failing to throw multiple touchdown passes for the first time all season, while also being picked off in the end zone. Some critics believe Palmer’s great success over the last calendar year has a lot to do with the weak defenses he has faced, and that might be true. However, the veteran has been a different QB since the midway point of the 2013 season, and it’s not unreasonable to believe that if he stays healthy, he’ll have a season that ranks among the best in team history.

Chris Johnson, Jared Veldheer, Janoris JenkinsRB Chris Johnson

Stats: 68 carries, 302 yards, 2 TDs

Pace: 272 carries, 1,208 yards, 8 TDs

The training camp pickup has been a pleasant surprise this season, emerging as a viable No. 1 running back while presumed starter Andre Ellington has been sidelined with an injury. In fairness to the three-time Pro Bowler, the pace he’s on is not exactly the kind that could not be sustained. That said, it’s tough to imagine that with Ellington getting healthy and David Johnson lurking in the background the former Tennessee Titan and New York Jet will receive enough carries to have that kind of total. Doesn’t mean he won’t have a good year, though.

Calais CampbellDL Calais Campbell

Stats: 25 combined tackles, 0.5 sacks

Pace: 100 total tackles, 4 sacks

Campbell was dominant against the Rams, collecting 11 total tackles and half a sack. His pace is a tricky one to analyze because while it’s unlikely he will finish with 100 tackles (his career high is 72), you can be sure he’ll finish with more than just four sacks (his non-rookie year career low is six). Bruce Arians said Campbell is playing at an “extremely high level,” adding that an 11-tackle, 0.5 sack effort against the Rams “set a very nice bar for himself to see if he can maintain.”

Tyrann Mathieu, Anquan BoldinDB Tyrann Mathieu

Stats: 23 combined tackles, 1 FF, 2 INT, 6 PD

Pace: 92 combined tackles, 4 FF, 8 INT, 24 PD

Mathieu is another player who, now healthy, is showing what he’s capable of. The Honey Badger has been a terror all over the field, coming up with big tackles along with game-changing turnovers. Able to cover receivers as a corner as well as tight ends as a safety, his versatility is a big reason why the Cardinals can run the defense they do. Will he finish with close to 100 tackles? It’s possible. In fact, the only stat that should decline would be interceptions, as it’s tough to see him coming up with that many. That said, would you bet against Mathieu?

The Slow Starts

Michael Floyd. Dontae JohnsonWR Michael Floyd

Stats: 7 receptions, 89 yards, 0 TDs

Pace: 28 receptions, 356 yards, 0 TDs

To some degree, the fourth-year pro deserves a pass because he entered the year at less than 100 percent. And it should be noted that as he has worked his way back into form, the team has looked for him more. After being targeted just once each in Weeks 1 and 2, he was targeted five times in Week 3 and seven in Week 4. While the passes his way have not always led to receptions, he has also drawn some pass interference penalties and also had a great catch against the 49ers wiped out due to a holding penalty. It’s not likely the former first-round pick will live up to the hype he had entering the 2014 season, but there should be some big games the rest of the way that at least show glimpses of the kind of talent the former Notre Dame star has.

Sean WeatherspoonLB Sean Weatherspoon

Stats: 6 combined tackles, 0 sacks, 0 FF, 0 FR

Pace: 24 combined tackles, 0 sacks, 0 FF, 0 FR

The Cardinals signed Weatherspoon on a one-year deal meant to provide the team with an impact middle linebacker while giving the player a chance to rebuild his value. Oft-injured but talented, ‘Spoon has been forced to play catch up after a hamstring injury sidelined him for most of training camp and preseason. He has been healthy since the season began, though, and has seen his role deteriorate to the point where he did not even see the field Week 4 against St. Louis. Now, it’s possible that he will at some point force his way back into the lineup, but it appears injuries aren’t what’s holding him back so far. The team’s other linebackers are playing well, and speaking on giving Weatherspoon a larger role, Arians said, “It’s going to be hard right now without an injury” before noting that Weatherspoon missed too much time to injury and the players ahead of him have improved.

Janoris Jenkins, John BrownWR John Brown

Stats: 19 receptions, 228 yards, 1 TD

Pace: 76 receptions, 912 yards, 4 TDs

No one is or should say Brown is off to a poor start this season, just that many believed he would emerge as the team’s No. 1 option in the passing game and that has yet to happen. Now, how much of that is on Brown and how much is on Fitzgerald’s re-emergence? A lot, and to be fair to the second-year pro his numbers would be a lot better if not for a trio of pass interference calls (a total that leads the NFL and picked up 97 yards). “Smokey” is still regularly getting open, and as defenses pay more attention to Fitzgerald his numbers should start to pick up. We may have already seen a sign of that against the Rams, as he tied for the team lead with 10 targets and also had one run.

T.J. McDonald, Jermaine GreshamTE Jermaine Gresham

Stats: 5 receptions 51 yards, 0 TD

Pace: 20 receptions, 204 yards, 0 TD

When the Cardinals inked the former Cincinnati Bengal to a one-year deal, many assumed he would eventually take over as the team’s top tight end, at least in the passing game. So far, though, that hasn’t been the case. The 27-year-old was slowed in training camp while recovering from offseason back surgery, and though he has played some in each of the team’s first four games, he has been seldom targeted. That said, he has seen the same number of passes come his way as Darren Fells, so it’s not as if Palmer is ignoring him — just the position. Gresham dropped a key third down pass against the Rams that forced the Cardinals to settle for a field goal when a touchdown would have given them the lead, which did not help. However, while he is unlikely to approach the numbers he had just last season, when he caught 62 passes for 460 yards and five touchdowns, sooner or later the 27-year-old should at least find his way into the end zone.

Andre EllingtonRB Andre Ellington

Stats: 12 carries, 69 yards, 1 TD, 1 reception, seven yards

Pace: 48 carries, 276 yards, 4 TDs, 4 receptions, 28 yards

It’s probably unfair to put Ellington in this category since his numbers are low due to an injury, and it’s especially unfair because he was actually running well prior to his PCL sprain. However, going into the season the hope was that the third-year pro could prove himself as a No. 1 running back, and given that durability is his biggest question mark so far things are not going too well. The former sixth-round pick is expected to get back on the field Week 5 against the Detroit Lions, though what kind of role he will have remains to be seen. Chris Johnson is running well and David Johnson has had success, too, meaning the Cardinals do not need to rely as heavily on Ellington as they may have at one time. Assuming he’s healthy the rest of the way, Ellington should easily surpass the pace he is currently on. But will he come close to the total many expected of him entering the season? Given the team’s depth at running back, not likely.

 

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