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start of the Kingsbury/Murray era in the desert Stitched Kurt Warner Jersey , but starting the season with both a rookie head coach and starting QB is relatively rare. How have previous inexperienced coach/QB combos fared? (Part 2 of 2.)The Revenge of the Birds podcastGreen in the desert: A look back at previous 1st-year coach/rookie starting QB combos (Part 2)New,3commentsCardinals fans are excited about the start of the Kingsbury/Murray era in the desert, but starting the season with both a rookie head coach and starting QB is relatively rare. How have previous inexperienced coach/QB combos fared? (Part 2 of 2.) Green in the desert: A look back at previous 1st-year coach/rookie starting QB combos (Part 2)Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray come to the desert with a lot of potential—but a dearth of experience.Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsYesterday, we began our look back on the nine previous 1st-year head coach/rookie starting QB duos. Today, we finish with the final five teams, as well as some final observations.We pick things up in 2011 with a certain mobile QB who shattered NFL records in his first season.2011 Carolina PanthersBradford (that sentence is even funnier in 2019). Replacing Kelly and Bradford were former Eagles player and assistant Doug Pederson and #2 overall pick Carson Wentz out of North Dakota State. Pederson was well regarded at the time, and scouts loved Wentz, but no one was predicting that they’d be a Super Bowl team the very next season (with Foles back in the fold).The 2016 season was one for growth, as the team realized Wentz was a better option than Bradford in training camp and traded him to the Vikings for a 1st-rounder(!). Pederson turned the offense over to Wentz, who threw the ball 600+ times in his rookie year. His numbers weren’t exactly eye-popping, but they were solid for a rookie (3,782 yards, 62.4 completion %, 16:14 TD:INT ratio, 6.2 YPA). The Eagles started a surprising 3-0 in 2016 but faded down the stretch, finishing 7-9. But the next season, Wentz was the leading MVP candidate when he went down with a torn ACL, setting the stage for Foles’s Super Bowl glory.What can the Cardinals learn from this Eagles team?These things take time. It took the Wentz and the rest of the Eagles offense a year to fully learn Pederson’s system. Their offense regressed slightly back toward the middle of the pack from Kelly’s last season to Pederson’s first, but in Year 2 under Pederson, they fielded one of the best offenses in the league. So Cardinals fans should be patient if Kingsbury and Murray don’t provide fireworks right away. Those should come in Year 2.Final ThoughtsThe 2019 Arizona Cardinals will be the 10th team since 2000 to enter Week 1 with a 1st-year head coach and rookie starting QB. Here are my main takeaways from this look at the previous nine teams:The average team on this list improved by 3 wins from the previous season. That would put the Cardinals at 6-10 in 2019, which seems like a reasonable baseline expectation for the team.Of the nine coach/QB combos, four made the playoffs in their first season. More compellingly, three eventually made Super Bowl appearances, and two won it—Harbaugh and Flacco in 2012 and Pederson and Wentz in 2017.Most of the immediate success stories were teams that largely took the ball out of their rookie QB’s hands and relied on a strong running game and, ideally, a strong defense. The 2008 Falcons Youth Kurt Warner Jersey , 2008 Ravens, and 2009 Jets rode this approach to the playoffs. This doesn’t seem to be a viable approach for the Cardinals given the offensive line situation and the system Kingsbury wants to run.The other team on this list to make the playoffs was the 2012 Indianapolis Colts, who basically plugged a generational talent in at QB (Luck) to replace another one (Manning). Although the Cardinals are sky-high on Murray, I don’t think anyone would argue that he’s quite as good a prospect as Luck. So I’m not sure how instructive that Colts season would be for the Redbirds.Tannehill and Manuel were clearly lesser prospects than Murray given the scouting reports at the time and their eventual draft positions. I don’t think there’s a ton to take away from their first seasons.Of all the quarterbacks on this list, the two that resemble Murray the most seem to be Newton and Wentz—high draft picks who were expected to throw a ton in their first seasons. Newton’s mobility especially makes him an apt comparison (although not his size), although Wentz isn’t exactly immobile either (at least before his ACL injury). Both of those QBs finished short of .500 in their rookie seasons, but quickly established themselves among the best at the position—although it must be said that they both have prototypical QB size/stature. Could Murray follow a similar career trajectory despite his height/size disadvantages?Regardless of how the season turns out, the 2019 Arizona Cardinals will be a fascinating team to watch. Success or failure, the entire NFL will have its eyes on the Redbirds this season. Maybe this green duo in the desert will wither and die on the vine—or perhaps it will bloom into something truly special. A couple of years ago, Bruce Arians claimed at the start of training camp that he had 10 legit NFL WRs...that is until a number of them started missing practices due to an assortment of injuries...The Revenge of the Birds podcastCards’ WRs: Bigs, Burners and BroncosNew,25comments Cards’ WRs: Bigs, Burners and BroncosPhoto by Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesA couple of years ago, Bruce Arians claimed at the start of training camp that he had 10 legit NFL WRs...that is until a number of them started missing practices due to an assortment of injuries and then came a few cases of the drops. Of those 10 WRs in 2017 only Larry Fitzgerald and Chad Williams remain---while Jaron Brown, John Brown, J.J. Nelson and Brittan Golden are furthering their careers elsewhere. As the Cardinals head toward this year’s mandatory minicamp, they have a stable of WRs, most of whom have a legitimate chance to make the 53 man roster.What is especially attractive about this year’s stable is how deep the Cardinals are in three different categories:Bigs:* 11 Larry Fitzgerald: 6-3, 218, 35, Pittsburgh, 16th season (1st Round 2004), 4.67, 16,279 yds., 12.5 ypc Stitched Corey Peters Jersey , 116 TDs* 10 Chad Williams: 6-2, 204, 24, Grambling St., 3rd season, (3rd Round 2017), 4.37, 202 yds., 10.1, 1 TD* 18 Kevin White: 6-3, 216, 26, West Virginia, 5th season (1st Round 2015), 4.35, 285 yards, 11.4, 0 TDs* 17 Hakeem Butler: 6-5, 227, 23, R (4th Round 2019), Iowa St., 4.48, college stats: 2,149 yds., 19.5 Youth Corey Peters Jersey , 18 TDsBurners:* 13 Christian Kirk: 5-11, 200, 22, Texas A&M, 2nd season (2nd Round 2018), 4.47, 590 yds., 13.7., 5 TDs* 89 Andy Isabella: 5-9, 188, 22, Massachusetts, R (2nd Round 2019), 4.31, college stats: 3,526 yds.,15.3, 32 TDs* 14 Damiere Byrd: 5-9, 180, 26, South Carolina, 4th season (UCFA 2016), 4.28, 129 yds., 10.8, 2 TDsBroncos: (catch and run guys)* 16 Trent Sherfield: 6-1 Stitched Antoine Bethea Jersey , 219, 23, Vanderbilt, 2nd season (UCFA 2018), 4.45, 210 yds., 11.1, 1 TD* 12 Pharoh Cooper: 5-11, 208, 24, South Carolina, 4th season (4th Round 2016), 4.63, 190 yds., 7.6, 1 TD* 19 KeeSean Johnson: 6-1, 201, 22, Fresno St., R (6th Round 2019), 4.6, college stats: 3,463 yds., 12.6, 24 TDs* 83 A.J. Richardson: 6-0, 212 Youth Antoine Bethea Jersey , 24, Boise St. R (UCFA 2019), 4.55, college stats: 1,474 yds., 14.9, 11 TDsNumbers That Jump Out:* Only 1 player with significant NFL production: Larry Fitzgerald* 7 WRs with sub 4.5 speed: Byrd (4.28), Isabella (4.31), White (4.35), Williams (4.37), Sherfield (4.45), Kirk (4.47), Butler (4.48)* Rookies Isabella, Butler and Johnson combined for 9,138 yards and 74 TDs---major production at the Div. 1A levelStrong Bets to make the 53 Man Roster:1. Fitzgerald2. Kirk3. Isabella4. Butler5. JohnsonIt is unlikely that the Cardinals would risk placing any of their 2019 draft pick WRs on waivers. The chances are pretty strong that the Cardinals will keep 7 WRs because of how often they will employ 4 WR sets in the K-Raid.Which 2 WRs would you give the nod to?I think A.J. Richardson is likely to be a member of the practice squad.Will Chad Williams, Kevin White, Demiere Byrd have outstanding training camps and possibly emerge as mainstays?Will Trent Sherfield and/or Pharoh Cooper make their case on special teams?All of the burners, Kirk, Isabella and Byrd have excellent upside as punt returners, which means that Cooper will have to be outstanding to win the job---which, as we know, he is very capable of.it’s quite possible that some of these players, like Cooper, in particular, could have trade value when final cuts are made. Who are your best bets?