Arians: Cardinals will evaluate special teams after another botched field goal attempt

Another bad start, another day for the Arizona Cardinals to rally.

Repeatedly, Bruce Arians’ team saw hope it could recover.

Repeatedly, any hope — a big return, kick or touchdown jaunt — was followed by Buffalo gashing the air that’d just been added to the Cardinals’ flat tire.

There was one final blow, one that looked similar to the Cardinals’ ugly snap-hold-kick combination that couldn’t put Arizona over the top against the New England Patriots in a 23-21 Week 1 loss.

Again, it came on a reasonable attempt from 32 yards out.

Trailing 23-7 and hoping to get a field goal closer, the Cardinals sent their kicking unit out for a try with 2:40 left in the third quarter. The field goal by Chandler Catanzaro never had a chance when holder Drew Butler, who had already been pulled from his punting duties Sunday due to a re-tweaked ankle injury suffered in Week 1 against the Patriots, couldn’t control a high snap from rookie long-snapper Kameron Canaday.

Catanzaro failed to fall on the loose ball that flew behind him, and Butler’s injury showed as he limped while attempting to chase after it. Instead, it was the Bills’ Aaron Williams who picked up the football and returned it 53 yards for a touchdown that flipped a play that could have made it a 13-point game into a 30-13 score instead.

Arians told Arizona Sports 98.7 FM’s Paul Calvisi after the game they would need to evaluate the special teams positions and determine if changes are needed.

“We got to evaluate that tomorrow and see what’s up,” he said of Butler’s bum ankle and Canaday’s snapping issues.

Canaday told the media in Buffalo that his head coach hadn’t said anything to him after the game. In the postgame press conference, Arians was asked how the rookie can fix his snapping issues.

“Grow the hell up,” Arians responded. “It has nothing to do with anything but what’s between his ears.”

Catanzaro took over punting duties after Butler punted four times with an average of 36.5 yards. The Arizona kicker took over punting duties and recorded a 47-yard boot but also 19-yarder.

That up-and-down day for Catanzaro was the Cardinals’ day in a nutshell.

Arizona showed confidence in its field goal unit the possession after the botched attempt.

Arians elected to attempt a 60-yard field goal, which Catanzaro drilled perfectly to make it a 30-16 deficit. But after that, as their false hope appeared repeatedly in Week 3, the Cards could only muster a safety. Otherwise, four straight drives to close the afternoon ended with a Carson Palmer interception in the 33-18 loss.

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