Arizona Cardinals: 4 Things to Work on During the Bye Week

A 1-4 record.

There is no way you can make that sexy.  The Arizona Cardinals are in a very precarious situation right now.  The rumblings are starting to get louder about the trade made with the Philadelphia Eagles that brought Kevin Kolb over for a draft pick and DRC.

Kevin Kolb isn't looking like the best investment right now. 

But that would be a major cop-out if we thought that Kevin Kolb is the big reason the Cardinals are 1-4. He's not the big reason at all.

In fact, he's more like a few grains of sand in the great sand castle of "disappointment" right now. 

So what is it? What's the clear-cut panacea to fix the Cardinals right now?

Nobody wants to call the season a failure already. 1-4 is bad but not necessarily insurmountable—especially in the NFC West. But even the "weak" NFC West excuse is wearing thin, with San Francisco turning out to be a pretty good team.

Here are four things the Cardinals need to work on during the bye week.

1. Kevin Kolb Needs to Gain Some Composure

The offensive line is bad for the Arizona Cardinals.

That's a fact nobody is disputing, but Kevin Kolb does have his fair share of blame here.

He does not have the offense down yet, and that's clear by some of the decisions and mistakes he's making on the field.

Over- and under-throwing passes to wide open receivers is one of the most heart-wrenching things for fans to deal with.

Leaving the pocket at the first chance is not optimal either, especially when he makes bad decisions on the run.

Perhaps this isn't Kolb's fault. Perhaps there was too much hype that he had to live up to.  He's getting a big salary that seems like wasted money so far, but it is way too early to make judgement calls on whether he is a bust.

But 1-4 doesn't do much to quiet the peanut gallery thus far.

His comments after the game left some of us bewildered—including Coach Whisenhunt.

Kolb said, "It starts with meetings, showing up to work on time, getting your work done, and all the stuff a professional is supposed to do. Maybe it takes a game like this to figure that out."

No, Kevin. It should have taken the last four games to figure that out. Take the bye week to examine yourself and what you can do better to lead this team. 

It may be time to go see the wizard and ask for more heart because yours, along with Cardinals fans', seems to be getting ripped out each week.

2. Scale the Defense Back

Are you a little surprised like I am that the defense has regressed from last year?

Yeah, I said it. I think this year's defense is worse than last year's. 

You would think Ray Horton would have this defense humming by now.

It's not, and clearly there have been some murmurs that the defensive schemes are too complicated. That may be true—especially on a short year with a prolonged lockout that has hurt quite a few teams.

So maybe it's time to scale back the defense a bit. With so many young players on the roster, it's time to re-evaluate what you have and work to the strengths of the team.

That doesn't mean going from 3-4 to 4-3. That's ludicrous at this point.

But look at what you have as far as talent and get the best you can out of them—even if it means humbling yourself a bit.

It's disappointing to see the number of blitzes that we've seen this year, and the lack of a pass rush it's produced. The secondary gives up yards by the truckload. Tackling seems to be on an invitation-only basis. 

Of course, the defense isn't to blame for the latest debacle on Sunday.  The offense put them in the worst possible situations time and time again.

This bye week should get Ray Horton to look at his playbook, get rid of the irrelevant and stick to the basics. 

But judging by the year so far, the entire playbook looks irrelevant.

3. Get Healthy

The Cardinals have had their fair share of injuries this year, starting with rookie running back Ryan Williams, who really showed promised in the offseason. 

The second injury was to Greg Toler, who was the starting cornerback opposite Rodgers-Cromartie last year. His leadership would have been crucial this year, as he was developing into a very good starter. 

Now, Beanie Wells hurt his hamstring, taking him out of one game. This bye week, he is nursing the hamstring, which basically just needs rest.

Daryn Colledge suffered a concussion that would have sidelined him this week if he had a game. Joey Porter has been fighting with some tough knee problems that don't appear to be too serious. The bye week could not come at a better time for him.

The one injury that's going to be tough on the team is Kerry Rhodes and his broken foot. He confirmed that he will undergo surgery and will miss a month.

Besides Rhodes, the other injuries seem to be just a product of needing rest.  But if the Cardinals plan to make a run after the bye week, they're going to need a fresh pair of legs and a lot of good fortune.  

It all starts with the Pittsburgh game next week in Arizona.  

4. Leave the Past Behind

It looks like doom and gloom right now for the Cardinals. They are three games behind the surprising 49ers and one game behind the Seattle Seahawks.

They are 1-4. They have tough games with Pittsburgh and Baltimore next on the schedule.  

They are banged up, and their pride seems to be lacking. 

So what do you do now?

Forget the past.

That's so easy to say being an outsider looking in, but there are 11 games left. Nobody is expecting a 12-4 finish by any stretch of the imagination. But if they can forget about their first five games and make a strong push to be a more disciplined team, they can make a push for the division.

They have five games left in the division—two against the division-leading 49ers.

They had some heartbreaking losses to Washington, Seattle and New York Giants, all winnable games that were lost late.

It is possible for the Cardinals to start fresh, but they have to want it.

They have to be able to finish what they start. They have to be able to hold leads and run the ball down the opponent's throats.

A win against Pittsburgh would go along way to giving the fans something to cheer about and look forward to after the bye week.