Steve Young did not mince words when describing the state of the NFC West five weeks into the 2022 NFL season.
Talking on KNBR's "Tolbert & Copes" show Wednesday, the 49ers' great shared his thoughts on the rest of the division, including the Arizona Cardinals.
"Tom, the Cardinals are winging it. That's their plan; they wing it," Young said. "They've gone all in with Kyler Murray and wing it every week. And every once in a while, it'd hit."
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Young added that he no longer considers the Cardinals a threat in the NFC West. While Murray and the offense might look good one week, Arizona is inconsistent.
"All in all, over a period of time, I'm over the Cardinals because, to me ... you're not going to be a great football team winging it," Young continued.
"'What's our offense? We wing it,' " Young said, much to the delight of the hosts. "Nice try."
Additionally, a point was brought up on how Murray's new $230 million contract originally had a clause in it which stated that the 25-year-old had to do at least "four hours of Independent Study" each week during the "Playing Season." After a negative public reaction to the clause, Arizona removed it from the final contract language.
San Francisco 49ers
After hearing that, Young said "it all makes sense" as to why the Cardinals seemingly have an inconsistent offense.
As it stands, San Francisco -- at 3-2 on the year -- appears to be the team to beat in the division after their dominant victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 5 at Bank of America Stadium.
Young stated earlier in the conversation that the perception around the 49ers has changed and teams are more focused on San Francisco, compared to their division rivals, as a result.
The defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, and the aforementioned Cardinals all sit at 2-3 and have their own respective issues to sort out, from ineffective offensive lines to defensive deficiencies and so on.
RELATED: Why Whitner argues 49ers only behind Eagles for best in NFC
With arguably the best defense in the NFL and an offense that slowly is getting "in sync," per quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, the 49ers are shaping up to be what fans were hoping to see heading into the season.
If all goes well, San Francisco could parlay their early success into being the top team in the division by the season's end.