Keim Time: ‘Don’t really care’ to be a part of another tie

The Arizona Cardinals’ Sunday Night Football showdown with the Seattle Seahawks ended in a 6-6 tie.

The Cardinals were hoping to close the gap with the division-leading Seahawks, but with the tie, the Seahawks still hold a game-and-a-half edge over the Cards. Despite not getting the win, the defense had one of its most solid outings of the year, as they kept the Seahawks out of the Cardinals’ side of the 50 the whole night, except for after the blocked punt and the drive during overtime. David Johnson had another solid performance, as he had a career-high 41 touches for 171 yards, with 113 coming on the ground and 58 receiving.

General manager Steve Keim joined Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, as he does every Monday after a game, to discuss the tie and his thoughts on the Cardinals’ performance.

How do you feel about tying with your division rival?

“Disappointed. It’s one of those games that, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like it. Statistically, as watched the tape this morning, and looking at these numbers, really a domination when you look at it statistically. You’re talking about 23 to 11 first downs, 143 yards to 251, 46 minutes to 28 minutes of possession, and it’s really a good indication through seven games, the three losses and the tie that we’ve had, the reoccurring theme of missed opportunities, special teams mistakes, and it’s got to get cleaned up, and it’s got to stop in a hurry.”

When special teams makes mistakes, do you look at the kicker and punter or the whole unit overall?

“I mean, everybody’s involved to some degree. The blocked punt was an issue where our wing got too soft and a 6-foot-6 defensive lineman pressed the issue and blocked the punt and we weren’t stout enough. But the kick in itself, Chandler (Catanzaro) has got to make that kick, no secret, and that was disappointing.”

 Where is your confidence in your kicker?

“Well it’s one of those things that, he’s a professional, and he’s made some big kicks in his time here, yet at the same time, we all know that consistency is what creates longevity in the league, and we have to support him right now through a tough time and make sure that he continues to do all the little things and makes sure that this doesn’t happen again. On the bright side, there were some good things that happened in yesterday’s game, some positives I should say. I thought both sides of the ball we played extremely physical, and matched their intensity, for sure. Not only up front on the offensive line, we were able to run the football with effectiveness, and defensively we really got after (Russell Wilson). ”

 Are you bringing in a kicker this week for workouts or is that something you don’t want Catanzaro to see?

“No, I mean it’s just like any other position. We have expectations, and if you can’t meet our expectations, we’ll try and attempt to find somebody who can. Now the trying and attempting is a different story because generally, players who are on the street right now are on the street for a reason, and more than likely maybe because they missed several field goals or missed a kick in a clutch situation or have injury concerns, so there’s a lot of moving parts to that. It’s not as easy as probably most think, but it’s certainly something that on a daily basis we spend a lot of time researching.”

Is there a play that sticks out to you that wasn’t on special teams?

“This game, there was a number of plays. The strip sack from Chandler (Jones), (if only) we would have had some defenders to recover that ball, or two other things: J.J. (Nelson), if he doesn’t get his heel caught he scores in overtime, and then when David’s foot crossed the pylon, he was a little upright in his run and if he would’ve dove instead of keeping his pads up, he may have had the ball cross the goal line and it would’ve been a touchdown. There was a number of things we’ll come back on, and I’ve never, in my life, been associated with a game like this, and don’t really care to be again.”

Are you negotiating a contract with Jones?

“Yeah, well we started conversations back in training camp with his representatives. As we know, those talks take some time, and that’s something we don’t do generally through the media, but we certainly have ongoing conversations, and (I’m) really, really proud of the way he’s played, how hard he’s played, some of the things he does for us, obviously as a pass rusher, is something we haven’t had here in years.”

 Do you know or use any metrics for ties? 

“No I think just mindset-wise, when you said what you guys talked about earlier, you know when you don’t win, what is it? That’s our goal and our mindset here is to win the football game, so everything else to me is inconsequential. I really don’t want to think about it, I really want to get through this one and make sure that we’re healthy moving forward and move on to Carolina and start putting some wins on the board.”

How is Patrick Peterson’s back and how is the overall health of the team?

“Again, haven’t talked to Tom Reed or his staff today, but as of last night, Pat was a little bit sore but (he’s) a tough guy and played through the pain. Don’t know other than some bumps and bruises, so we’ll see moving forward. I know it was nice to get Mike Iupati back again. Some of the things we did in the run game I thought was very, very good, and that’s the one thing that I would say is encouraging about it all, regardless of winning or tying, because the end result really is all that matters, but you know, when you watch the tape and you think about the run that we’re about to make, in terms of almost being at the midpoint of the season, defense is playing extremely well, I mean the last several weeks we were playing fast, we minimized mental mistakes, and these guys are playing with a tremendous amount of intensity, which I love to see. You’re getting a lot of pressure from a four-man front, which we have not been able to do in years past, and we’re being able to be more creative on the back end from a blitz standpoint. Offensively, I think we’re starting to get more rhythm, although red zone woes have been some issues, but the balance we have with the run game, with David, and then Andre (Ellington), and then Carson (Palmer) played well last night, and for the most part the offensive line did a nice job. You know, you’re playing one of the best defenses in the league, you know they’re going to have some plays they’re going to make as well.”

What is the latest on John Brown?

“Just know that he’s got that condition that I know was brought to everybody’s attention, and I think more than anything, some rest was required and we’re doing some research moving forward on the best way to make sure John gets the right amount of practice time, yet at the same time doesn’t wear down. So we’ll find out a little bit more this week, I know each day he’s feeling a little bit better, so getting John back will be a huge lift for us, because we all know some of the things he does from a mismatch standpoint in the passing game.”

What is your biggest concern right now going forward?

“Moving forward? I mean, I don’t think there’s any question the consistency that we’ve shown since Week 1 on special teams is a concern, and again, that’s got to get fixed, and that’s got to get fixed now. But the other side of it is I truly do start looking at the big picture, and seeing us from an offensive and defensive standpoint, think we’re playing better football. Again, on defense for sure, flying around and doing some really, really good things, and again, I think that starts with our pass rush. And offensively, I think we’re starting to get back into more of a rhythm in the passing game, and again, understanding the balance that David brings us in the run game as well. Still very encouraged about the rest of the season and the stretch we have because again, looking at last night, and thinking about minimizing mistakes, the little things, and taking advantage of the opportunities given to us, there’s no doubt in my mind we can play with anybody each week.”