Socci’s Notebook: Game-day notes from (red) bird watching

Preparing each week to broadcast from Foxborough or any other NFL city requires the same routine that involves three steps: collecting, organizing and repeating. Gather information, transfer it to a so-called spotter chart and, if and when appropriate in the telling of a game's story, recite one of the nuggets I or, more likely, someone else unearthed about the upcoming matchup. At the end of the day -- a dozen Sundays and one Thursday so far for this year's Patriots -- most of the minutiae is left untold. After all, what transpires on the field dictates what's said from the radio booth. This week, between a Saturday hike into Superstition Wilderness and our trek from the team hotel in Phoenix to State Farm Stadium in neighboring Glendale, I thought I'd offer a peak at some of the tidbits accumulated in the past six days that found their way onto my charts. Maybe you'll hear some a bit later. Maybe you won't. Although the Cardinals (6-7) have lost three straight games since winning four in a row to dim their playoff prospects, second-year general manager Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon still have them headed in the right direction. Two years ago, when the Pats visited the Valley of the Sun in mid-December, Arizona fielded a roster headlined by quarterback Kyler Murray and aging, past-their-prime stars J.J. Watt, DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Green and Zach Ertz. Those Cardinals won four games. Last season ended with the same win total. But (pause for effect and emphasis), the Cards got there with a rookie class that led the NFL in offensive and defensive snaps (4,654) and starts (64). Under Ossenfort, a former 15-year Patriots scout and executive, Arizona's youth movement has extended into 2024. The Cardinals have the league's fourth-youngest roster, averaging 26.7 years old, and now feature young studs selected at the top of the draft at premium positions on offense. Left tackle Paris Johnson was the first offensive lineman drafted in 2023, at No. 6 overall. Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was the first non-quarterback chosen in 2024, as the fourth pick in the first round. Murray's other top targets include tight end Trey McBride, a 2nd-rounder in 2022, and receiver Michael Wilson, a 3rd-rounder in 2023. Also of note, belying their youth under the 41-year-old Gannon, the Cardinals have committed the fewest penalties (67) in the NFL, including only 19 pre-snap infractions (tied for fewest with Detroit). On the flip side, Murray has reverted to the late-season mean of his first five seasons in the league after he was taken first overall by Arizona in 2019. While reading the Arizona Repbulic, I came across his career win-loss-tie splits as a starter: 22-16-1 thru Week 8 and 12-28 from Weeks 9-18. More narrowly, according to NFL Research, his 8-23 record in Week 11 or later is third-worst among quarterbacks with at least 25 starts in that window since 1970. In last Sunday's 30-18 home loss to Seattle, Murray was intercepted to end back-to-back possessions. The Seahawks cashed in by scoring a touchdown after each takeaway. Murray has thrown five interceptions vs. three touchdown passes during the Cardinals' current losing skid, following 16 TD's and just three picks in his first 10 contests of 2024. Defensively, coordinator Nick Rallis had drawn up pressure schemes that have enabled 14 different Cardinals to record at least one sack, including 10 who have racked up multiple sacks this season. In the last seven games, Arizona has 23 sacks, exhibiting the first half and inflicting the rest of Gannon's motto on D: "Motor and violence." But against Seattle, as both Gannon and Rallis remarked in a public critique, their motor sputtered at times. For the first time since Week 6, the Cardinals went without a sack. They also failed to procure a takeaway for the third time this season and surrendered 10 plays gaining at least 15 yards. Seattle's Zach Charbonet ripped off a 51-yard run en route to a 176-yard rushing performance and the Seahawks amassed 409 total yards. As a result, Arizona allowed 30-plus points for the third time. Bob Socci is in his 12th season calling play-by-play for the Patriots Radio Network on 98.5 The Sports Hub. Follow him on Instagram and Bluesky.