Double Coverage: The scoop on the Cardinals from Arizona Sports’ Kevin Zimmerman

The Denver Broncos head down to the desert a desperate team in need of a win to take on another such team, the Arizona Cardinals, on Thursday Night Football.

How does rookie Josh Rosen look thus far in the starting role? Do either the Broncos or the Cardinals retain all of their coaching staff come Friday?

To answer these burning questions, Broncos Insider Cecil Lammey caught up with Cardinals reporter Kevin Zimmerman of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

(Also, check out Cecil’s Broncos insights.)

Cecil Lammey: How is rookie quarterback Josh Rosen developing as the starter?

Kevin Zimmerman: Let’s just say that the Cardinals offense has been so poor that fans are hoping — and reporters are asking — if Rosen should take on more responsibility. The rookie has looked well-prepared and steady as you could expect since he entered for Sam Bradford in the middle of the third game of the year against the Bears. With the exception of a few inaccurate balls thrown two games back, he’s impressed with his arm strength and accuracy — the ability to fit the ball into tight windows and anticipate where to place balls for receivers that look decently covered have been impressive.

The numbers don’t look great, but Rosen’s receivers have dropped a lot of balls and the run game hasn’t given him much to play off of. It’s hard to expect much more out of Rosen considering the circumstances around him.

CL: Why hasn’t offensive coordinator Mike McCoy used running back David Johnson as the centerpiece of the offense?

KZ: Ah, the weekly question for McCoy that we haven’t gotten a great answer about. Through the first two games, it was because the Cardinals ditched the run after falling behind by multiple touchdowns in the first half of each game. Then came a crucial third-down play against the Bears in which Johnson was yanked for rookie Chase Edmonds because the coaches didn’t like a missed assignment. Since Arizona has been better about at least trying to get the running game going, but Johnson has gotten little help from the offensive line. And then last week, Johnson dropped a catchable pass and fumbled on a run play.

So, the short answer is that the Cardinals took a while to try to get the ball to him. Now Johnson just isn’t performing or getting any help trying to play up to the high standard he set in 2016. But yeah, we still don’t have an answer for why Johnson isn’t being utilized as a receiver, something former coach Bruce Arians has already questioned himself.

CL: With the offense struggling, how hot is McCoy’s seat with the team?

KZ: This week feels like a boiling-over point if the Cardinals lose after another anemic outing. The flummoxing thing is why McCoy has struggled to adapt to his personnel’s best skills (Johnson’s pass-catching abilities) or its biggest flaws (the offensive line’s poor run blocking on between-the-tackle runs).

Last week, McCoy did throw in some wrinkles that helped. Arizona came out passing the ball early to set up the so-far poor run game. He used rookie receiver Christian Kirk in unique ways — jet sweeps and screen passes — just to stretch the Minnesota defense a tad. And it worked. It just didn’t show in the numbers and might not be enough to save his job if the Cardinals don’t produce a lot this week.

CL: There are rumors of the Cardinals trading All-Pro cornerback Patrick Peterson. What could they get for him in return?

KZ: Head coach Steve Wilks called that ludicrous this week, for whatever that’s worth. I’ve honestly have no idea on what he’s worth because I don’t think cornerbacks at his level get traded in their prime without some egregious asterisk beside them. That said, it would have to be a high draft pick, plus another or a starting-caliber player on the table if the Cardinals wanted to listen.

Kirk Cousins, in his postgame interview, straight up admitted to ignoring Stefon Diggs last Sunday because of Peterson. He’s that good.

CL: What is the upside for young tight end Ricky Seal-Jones?

KZ: He’s a sneaky good player if this offense can get off the ground. An undrafted wide receiver out of Texas A&M, he’s really developed into a true tight end in his second season and has earned a lot of trust from the coaching staff to play a lot, whether he’s blocking or running routes. I’m not sure veteran Jermaine Gresham is all the way recovered from an Achilles injury this year, but that Seals-Jones is still getting so many snaps says a lot about his talent, I think.

CL: Does Rosen’s teammates like him?

KZ: Larry Fitzgerald has already talked about this team being Rosen’s team. Kicker Phil Dawson couldn’t remember another time a rookie less than half his age gave him words of encouragement after Dawson missed a game-winning field goal opportunity.

Ever since the draft, we’ve been trying to figure out all the pre-draft knocks against the guy. He comes off arrogant, maybe, if you hear soundbites and read about his hot tub time at UCLA. But when you see him work, you can tell that confidence helps him. He talks a lot about sometimes even faking that confidence in terms of commanding the huddle and leading his teammates even if he’s unsure of a play-call or situation. He understands he has to carry himself that way as a QB.

Long answer short, yes. The Cardinals felt comfortable ditching the Sam Bradford experiment because Rosen carried himself like he owed the job since the day he starting minicamp. His teammates seems to love his work ethic and willingness to ask questions, which itself was a weird knock on a guy who should know what he’s doing.

CL: What does head coach Steve Wilks think of this rough season? Did he know or project that it would or could be this bad in 2018?

KZ: The toughest part about uncovering truths about this team is that Wilks hasn’t changed his tune much from after Week 1’s loss to now. You hear the same buzzwords in most answers. The Cardinals lack execution, need better technique, and must played disciplined football. It doesn’t lead to many answers, but Arizona apparently hired him because he doesn’t lose his head and remains a steady leader.

He called this year a retooling and not a rebuild, so I think he and the rest of the Cardinals are genuinely surprised by the results. Even if we here in the Arizona media step away from it and try to look at it objectively, it’s hard to believe this team should be this far away from winning considering the stars they have on defense, plus David Johnson..