As the Denver Broncos conclude their preseason against the Arizona Cardinals, I sat down with Scott Allen from Raising Zona to get his takes on Arizona.
The preseason will be completed on Thursday night. Denver’s record may not reflect on how great the month of August has gone, but there is reason to have some optimism for the Denver Broncos going into the 2019 season.
If there is one thing that I was hoping to see more of, it would be the first team offense. But with the multiple injuries that the team and the rest of the NFL has seen, better to play it safe with the 22 men that will take the field in 2019.
For Denver’s final preseason game, it will be the backups as both teams will be looking at what they have before the final roster cuts are made on Saturday. Plenty of men will be playing for their jobs on Thursday night.
As the Broncos get set to face off against the Arizona Cardinals, I decided to chat with Scott Allen, who is the site expert over at Raising Zona. Let’s hear what he has to say about the Cardinals offseason.
PO: The big story for the Cardinals is that the team decided to part ways with Josh Rosen and draft Kyler Murray. What are your thoughts on the decision to “give up” on Josh Rosen only one year in?
RZ: I like you put “give up” in quotes. I was dead set on taking Murray over Rosen right before the draft and honestly thought they wouldn’t pull the trigger. They didn’t need a QB. Once they drafted Murray and were able to deal Rosen immediately for another second round pick, it made sense. Murray knows this offense better than Larry Fitzgerald does, Fitz has even said that.
We’ll see how the offense translates to the regular season. We haven’t seen anything really to this point. Most in Arizona would have been fine keeping Rosen and I think had Murray not been there in the draft, he was the only quarterback the Cardinals would have replaced Rosen with this year.
PO: Kyler Murray is now the face of the franchise. How do you believe he will do in his first year in Arizona?
RZ: Million dollar question. He’ll go through some growing pains but I also think he’ll succeed more than the so-called experts believe as well. One thing we are already seeing, he’s going to be able to get out of most jams with his legs but he also learned some of those defenders will catch up to him quicker than they did at Oklahoma. Personally, I think he’ll be fine and put up some decent numbers.
PO: How would you grade the Cardinals offseason? Any moves that you liked and/or disliked?
RZ: Overall offseason, B+. I gave the draft an A- but free agency is always a crap shoot. I like who they got but some of them have injury history. Jordan Hicks, Max Garcia, Marcus Gilbert all have injury history. Garcia is still on PUP. Robert Alford who was brought into because of the suspension to Patrick Peterson, is now hurt and likely out for at least two months if not longer. They already dumped one free agent receiver signing in Kevin White for another, Michael Crabtree.
Who knows how it will pan out. Have to give it a chance though.
PO: What is one thing that you are looking for in the Broncos vs. Cardinals game on Thursday?
RZ: There are some backups on the bubble. Want to see what Cardinals running backs Dontae Strickland and D.J. Foster can accomplish. I want to see the players work on reducing penalties. The team had 14 of them last Saturday against the Vikings. None of the Cardinals starters are going to play, so I’m not expecting much to be honest.
PO: Is there one player on the Cardinals roster that Broncos Country should keep an eye on that not a lot may know about?
RZ: Pete Robertson. The linebacker has balled this preseason. He has really opened some eyes. The guy should make the team based on his performance. I think he should see some playing time on Thursday.
Thank You Scott for taking the time out to chat with me. Keep a lookout over at Raising Zona for Scott’s interview with me.