The Cardinals dropped to 1-3 in a 17-13 loss to the Rams on Sunday afternoon and General Manager Steve Keim said on Monday morning that he “never envisioned this type of start” for a team that’s gone to the playoffs the last two years.
That’s where the team is, though, and they don’t have much time to brood before facing the 49ers on Thursday. According to Keim, there’s also no place for panic about a season that is unfolding counter to the expectations heading into the season.
The Cardinals turned the ball over five times against the Rams and committed penalties that helped slow drives that showed some promise. They also gave up several big plays through the air to the Rams offense and let Tavon Austin break loose for a long punt return that was made into a bigger gain thanks to a facemask call. That set the Rams up deep in Cardinals territory for the game-winning touchdown and added up to a lot of little things that Keim says need to get cleaned up for the team to get back on the right side of the final score.
“Panic, to me, is a word when you do things out of the realm and you need to do things unorthodox and I don’t know that we need to do that,” Keim said on “Doug and Wolf” on Arizona Sports 98.7. “I think we have some good football players who need to play better and guys who need to get their heads straight in terms of preparation off the field -- the mental side of it. We played with urgency and physicality this past game. But like I said, it’s the little things, attention to detail that’s hurting us.”
The Cardinals are expected to be without quarterback Carson Palmer this Thursday after he suffered a concussion, which is something else the Cardinals have to deal with as they try to turn things around during a short week. Keim said the situation gives the team a chance to “find out what we’re made of quickly” and they’ll be hoping the answer is something different than what they’ve been the first four weeks of the year.