The changes Mike LaFleur must make amid disastrous stretch for Cardinals

GLENDALE — Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur said it best following the team’s fourth-straight loss on Sunday:

“There’s a lot to fix right now.”

Arizona’s first major midseason change came Sunday in trading under-performing wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. to Houston.

As for where to go next? That one feels pretty obvious given the track record.

The Cardinals defense needs a new voice

Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rallis stuck around after former head coach Jonathan Gannon and most of the previous coaching staff were shown the door.

But five weeks in, it’s a lot of the same results we’ve seen.

For the fourth time this year, the Cardinals gave up at least 30 points. Since Week 6 (Oct. 12) of last season (16 games), that number now sits at 11 games. That’s a full calendar year of more 30-point performances than not.

The offense didn’t help the unit’s cause much on Sunday with its inability to move the ball and keep the Lions off the field, but that’s another change for another section.

“Right now, my focus is me fixing everything and talking to these players, talking to these coaches and figuring out how this never ever happens again as long as I’m here,” LaFleur said when asked if he was going to make any changes to the defensive coaching staff.

“I get what the narrative is in terms of however many 30-point games in a row, but we have to be better as a team. It starts with me,” he added.

The bad defensive showings continue to stack up, and with no turnaround in sight, something has got to give.

Unlike Gannon during the end of his tenure in Arizona, LaFleur has to make a change.

Sunday’s 412 yards of total offense and 45 points allowed to former Cardinals coaching mate and current Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing should be the final nail in the coffin for Rallis.

It’s not like the Cardinals don’t have a natural successor, either, in Teryl Austin.

Even in an interim role for the remainder of the season, he brings a wealth of knowledge as a former defensive coordinator.

A change at defensive coordinator doesn’t change the personnel Arizona has to work with, but it could shake something loose.

If anything, it shows LaFleur’s proactiveness to try and remedy things.

Jacoby Brissett’s role

What Jacoby Brissett brings to the locker room as a leader and mentor is great.

What he has helped tight end Trey McBride and wide receiver Michael Wilson achieve in their respective careers since taking over the starting reins from Kyler Murray last year is impressive.

But overall, the signal caller just isn’t putting together enough wins to warrant his current starting role.

Sunday’s loss brought his record as the Cardinals’ starter to 2-15 dating back to Week 6 of last year.

LaFleur, however, doesn’t appear ready to make a switch.

As noted above, the defense hasn’t helped Brissett and the offense (and vice versa). Neither does having an offensive line struggling to find consistency and dealing with injuries or a run game that was nonexistent last year and hasn’t been there at the clip many expected despite upgrades.

 

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“I have way too many other things that I need to correct right now,” LaFleur said Sunday when asked if he would consider making a quarterback change.

“Jacoby was not the problem. We were a problem as a team today and again, that starts with me.”

Still, there’s only so many losses a team can endure under a quarterback before it is forced to make a change. Between last year and this season, Arizona is about there (if not already).

Brissett might have gotten starter money out of the team this offseason, but that shouldn’t stop the Cardinals from pulling the plug on the veteran.

Give Gardner Minshew II a chance at running the offense. Better yet, throw the keys Carson Beck’s way.

At the very least, have the rookie active on game days instead of serving as the emergency quarterback.

Yes, the Lions were rushing the passer with ease, but Sunday was a prime opportunity to log some valuable game reps for Beck with the game well out of reach by the fourth quarter.

Even Minshew could have benefitted from the live reps, yet he was the only active Cardinal who did not play on Sunday.

Sooner or later, the Cardinals are going to need to see what the rookie has. Losses like Sunday and Arizona’s playoff probability being already razor thin speeds up the succession timeline that much more.

Get Jeremiyah Love more targets

Since Jeremiyah Love was drafted, the No. 3 overall pick has received just as much hype for his potential as a pass catcher as he has a running back.

Harrison and Wilson both applauded his pass-catching abilities, saying he fits right in with the wide receivers room.

Love also flashed his hands during training camp in one-on-ones with Mack Wilson Sr. and other drills.

But five games in, and Love is hardly a threat to impact the game on that side of the offense. Seeing just 14 targets, the running back has caught 11 of them for 36 yards and a touchdown.

He has negative yardage across the past two games and has yet to surpass 20 receiving yards in a game.

Tyler Allgeier, meanwhile, is right there with Love in targets (12), receptions (12) and yards (44).

Even with Love’s lingering ankle issue, it wouldn’t be hard to find him more targets out of the backfield by snagging some from his veteran running mate.

If anything, Allgeier could fill the potential void of fewer targets with more carries as another way to keep Love involved while also not overextending him.

That doesn’t necessary solve the run game issues, but it at the very least gives Love more opportunities for that home run.

Something new in the trenches

Hope for the Cardinals offensive line to return to some form of consistency took a catastrophic shot last week with the team placing left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. on injured reserve with a torn bicep.

Rookie Jayden Williams gave it all he could in place of the franchise cornerstone but just couldn’t handle the brunt of a Lions pass rush that racked up five sacks.

And unlike last week, the Cardinals have another option to consider in newcomer Jedrick Wills Jr.

Coming over in the wake of the Johnson injury, Wills didn’t have a ton of time to nail down the playbook and get to know his teammates before Sunday.

A full week of game prep, however, could catapult Wills into the equation for next week.

Even then, that shouldn’t stop general manager Monti Ossenfort from looking for right guard help in free agency or via trade.

With both Chase Bisontis and Isaiah Adams on injured reserve, Arizona is down to its third-string option Jon Gaines II at guard. After that, it’s Hayden Conner as the only other interior option on the 53-man roster.

Spooky season or not, that kind of depth at guard would scare any offensive coordinator.

Either way, improved play is needed along the trenches, especially after watching Brissett go down five times and the run game record 56 yards on 18 carries on Sunday.

“Disappointed in our run game,” LaFleur said. “They’re a good run defense. They always have been. They’re stout inside. It’s never been easy to run the ball against the Detroit Lions, but we’re better than that in the run game. We’ve got to get it fixed.”

With the Los Angeles Rams up next, that they do.

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