10 thoughts - Jets game

[Gandhi]

1 – This is the offense we all envisioned going into the season.

2 – Maybe I can ask @BACH to make a short analysis on Evan Brown? He keeps impressing me (Brown, that is. Sorry, Bach).

3 – Kudos to all the DBs, but Garrett Williams is their best cornerback.

4 – Not only did Murray set his career high in straight completions with 17. He also surpassed Carson Palmer in that. According to the Next Gen Stats’ metric, the probability of Murray’s completion streak - with those exact pre-snap situations - was 0.2453% (which is 1 in 408).

I have not seen him play better than now where he is in a controlled and effective system. It suits him very well.

5 – Unfortunately, the coaches’ All 22-tape is not yet available on my app, so I cannot tell you the exact number of pressures from Baron Browning, but I can tell you that he was consistently beating (arguably) future Hall of Famer Tyron Smith and first round-pick Ola Fashanu. This has the looks of a great trade.

6 – Very good performance by Taylor-Demerson. Didn’t feel much that Jalen Thompson was not in the game.

7 – Close to a coming out-game for Tre Benson. Almost the same number of rushing carries as Connor and ran for 6.2 yards per carry.

8 – ESPN has a metric called Football Power Index that indicates a teams’ strength relative to other teams. Based on that, the Cardinals have a 60.1% chance of making the playoffs, and 49.1% chance of winning the NFC West. I think we all considered those numbers impossible only a month ago, and I know for myself that I will very, very gladly take it.

9 – Jesse Luketa played very well in the preseason, and this is now his second impressive game in a row when it counts.

10 – Philosophically, I am still not a fan of the strategy, but the bend-but-don’t-break defense haven’t given up a touchdown in the last two games, and three of the last four.

 

[oaken1]

1 – This is the offense we all envisioned going into the season.

2 – Maybe I can ask @BACH to make a short analysis on Evan Brown? He keeps impressing me (Brown, that is. Sorry, Bach).

3 – Kudos to all the DBs, but Garrett Williams is their best cornerback.

4 – Not only did Murray set his career high in straight completions with 17. He also surpassed Carson Palmer in that. According to the Next Gen Stats’ metric, the probability of Murray’s completion streak was 0.2453% (which is 1 in 408).

I have not seen him play better than now where he is in a controlled and effective system. It suits him very well.

5 – Unfortunately, the coaches’ All 22-tape is not yet available on my app, so I cannot tell you the exact number of pressures from Baron Browning, but I can tell you that he was consistently beating (arguably) future Hall of Famer Tyron Smith and first round-pick Ola Fashanu. This has the looks of a great trade.

6 – Very good performance by Taylor-Demerson. Didn’t feel much that Jalen Thompson was not in the game.

7 – Close to a coming out-game for Tre Benson. Almost the same number of rushing carries as Connor and ran for 6.2 yards per carry.

8 – ESPN has a metric called Football Power Index that indicates a teams’ strength. Based on that, as well as the seven opponents’, the Cardinals have a 60.1% chance of making the playoffs, and 49.1% chance of winning the NFC West. I think we all considered those numbers impossible only a month ago, and I know for myself that I will very, very gladly take it.

9 – Jesse Luketa played very well in the preseason, and this is now his second impressive game in a row when it counts.

10 – Philosophically, I am still not a fan of the strategy, but the bend-but-don’t-break defense haven’t given up a touchdown in the last two games, and three of the last four.

If we had a disruptive high pressure DT and a star pass rusher this bend don't break defense would look light years better than it does. Because it would force more turnovers and 3 and outs.
Browning was a bigger addition than I thought. He ain't the star pass rusher. But he is definitely the guy that plays across from him.
If we get like,... Mason Graham, and a solid edge in round 2...and Beej Ojulari finally stays healthy...this defense could be a wrecking crew next season

 

[Beaver]

Hopfully KM can keep the consecutive completion streak going and break the record at 26.

 

[slanidrac16]

Good post.
10. I think this is our philosophy. It’s very hard for an offense to maintain 10-11 play drives with Penalties, dropped balls and such.
It’s easier to defend 20 yards of field than 80. The D is designed for our opponents to earn every inch.

 

[Totally_Red]

7. It was great to see Trey Benson up his game. It would really help the team if he can take 40% of the snaps and be versatile enough to play 3 downs and virtually anything except goal line carries. I'm not taking Conner out of the game on the goal line, but a 2 back situation might be a nice addition to the play book.

 

[Bkbobo]

7. It was great to see Trey Benson up his game. It would really help the team if he can take 40% of the snaps and be versatile enough to play 3 downs and virtually anything except goal line carries. I'm not taking Conner out of the game on the goal line, but a 2 back situation might be a nice addition to the play book.

Plus we would be able to save Conner for the playoffs

 

[oaken1]

7. It was great to see Trey Benson up his game. It would really help the team if he can take 40% of the snaps and be versatile enough to play 3 downs and virtually anything except goal line carries. I'm not taking Conner out of the game on the goal line, but a 2 back situation might be a nice addition to the play book.

Would love to see them start running a lead back toss from the Pro Set

 

[Chris_Sanders]

My thought is that everything from a national media standpoint is about the Jets. It's super frustrating

 

[Cardinal88]

My thought is that everything from a national media standpoint is about the Jets. It's super frustrating

I’m okay with it. Let’s stay under the radar and keep earning wins. Let the chips fall where they may. Reminds me of the disrespect we got when we went to the Super Bowl. Not that I prodicting it but it would be nice

 

[GeorgiaCard88]

I’m okay with it. Let’s stay under the radar and keep earning wins. Let the chips fall where they may. Reminds me of the disrespect we got when we went to the Super Bowl. Not that I prodicting it but it would be nice

Agreed- getting a big head in week 10 is not what this team needs. They are playing above their talent in a lot of areas. Keep em hungry for approval

 

[Gandhi]

If we had a disruptive high pressure DT and a star pass rusher this bend don't break defense would look light years better than it does. Because it would force more turnovers and 3 and outs.
Browning was a bigger addition than I thought. He ain't the star pass rusher. But he is definitely the guy that plays across from him.
If we get like,... Mason Graham, and a solid edge in round 2...and Beej Ojulari finally stays healthy...this defense could be a wrecking crew next season

While I agree with your point in general, Oaken, I think that the chance of getting Mason Graham is long gone. However, this draft class should be filled with great d-line prospects.

 

[Gandhi]

Good post.
10. I think this is our philosophy. It’s very hard for an offense to maintain 10-11 play drives with Penalties, dropped balls and such.
It’s easier to defend 20 yards of field than 80. The D is designed for our opponents to earn every inch.

Yes, I agree, and it is obviously working, so it is a little silly that I argue against it. The winner is always right. I just don’t like when the opponent slowly moves the ball that much. It is demoralizing to me. Wouldn’t it be at least exciting if they had a great pass rush? I mean, I would actually rather have that, and then the opponent instead moves the ball through longer plays.

 

[Gandhi]

Plus we would be able to save Conner for the playoffs

That point is essential.

 

[Gandhi]

My thought is that everything from a national media standpoint is about the Jets. It's super frustrating

I know, Chris, and even though it doesn’t really matter, it is still frustrating. I mean, most of us are Cards fans for enjoyment and entertainment, and part of that is to hear the world talk about them. Kind of like when they had the first pick in the draft. Everybody focused on them. It was fun.

 

[oaken1]

While I agree with your point in general, Oaken, I think that the chance of getting Mason Graham is long gone. However, this draft class should be filled with great d-line prospects.

Possibly. Lots can happen between now and April.
We know a couple QBs nobody is talking about right now will go in the top 5.. there will be a Wr, a corner or two, a couple OTs, and some edge rushers that will all go round 1.... so it depends how the draft falls...
But my point was more for the position than the name

 

[Krangodnzr]

1 – This is the offense we all envisioned going into the season.

Agreed. I said to my brother, @Redrage, a few years ago that there was going to be a major correction in the future where teams were going to bring back smash mouth football and that is clearly what JG and Petzing want to do.

2 – Maybe I can ask @BACH to make a short analysis on Evan Brown? He keeps impressing me (Brown, that is. Sorry, Bach).

The whole line is playing fairly well. Very impressed with the whole regime's attitude and talent evaluation.

3 – Kudos to all the DBs, but Garrett Williams is their best cornerback.

I'm a big fan of him, and mocked him to the Cardinals over and over before they selected him. What separates average or bad DBs and good one is that they make plays on the ball consistently. Williams clearly has a knack for getting to the ball.

4 – Not only did Murray set his career high in straight completions with 17. He also surpassed Carson Palmer in that. According to the Next Gen Stats’ metric, the probability of Murray’s completion streak - with those exact pre-snap situations - was 0.2453% (which is 1 in 408).

I have not seen him play better than now where he is in a controlled and effective system. It suits him very well.

It's funny that the narrative was that Murray didn't like playing under center, and now he's so lethal at it.

5 – Unfortunately, the coaches’ All 22-tape is not yet available on my app, so I cannot tell you the exact number of pressures from Baron Browning, but I can tell you that he was consistently beating (arguably) future Hall of Famer Tyron Smith and first round-pick Ola Fashanu. This has the looks of a great trade.

Someone else said that the play on the back half of the defense has allowed Rallis to be more creative with the front seven and I definitely agree. Williams, Melton, and STV are clearly giving the Cardinals much better pass coverage. Budda has become a chess piece again.

6 – Very good performance by Taylor-Demerson. Didn’t feel much that Jalen Thompson was not in the game.

DTD is a future mainstay. Fantastic draft pick.

7 – Close to a coming out-game for Tre Benson. Almost the same number of rushing carries as Connor and ran for 6.2 yards per carry.

Benson is so talented and really has a lot tread left on his tires after not getting too many carries in college. The Cardinals need to start using him and Demercado more to preserve Conner down the stretch.

8 – ESPN has a metric called Football Power Index that indicates a teams’ strength relative to other teams. Based on that, the Cardinals have a 60.1% chance of making the playoffs, and 49.1% chance of winning the NFC West. I think we all considered those numbers impossible only a month ago, and I know for myself that I will very, very gladly take it.

I expected between 7-10 wins this year. Right now the Cardinals are outperforming my expectations.

9 – Jesse Luketa played very well in the preseason, and this is now his second impressive game in a row when it counts.

More and more, Luketa is looking like a viable rotation edge. He has value that doesn't always show up on the stat sheet. That one forced fumble he had against San Fran was epic; before forcing the fumble, he took out Trent Williams at the point of attack.

10 – Philosophically, I am still not a fan of the strategy, but the bend-but-don’t-break defense haven’t given up a touchdown in the last two games, and three of the last four.

I've learned over the years that if you're adverse to giving up the big play, bend don't break is kind of the way to go.

 

[CardNots]

My thought is that everything from a national media standpoint is about the Jets. It's super frustrating

It’s about star power and their love affair with great QBs in their golden years. Remember Brett Farve?

 

[oaken1]

It’s about star power and their love affair with great QBs in their golden years. Remember Brett Farve?

its about the east coast bias in the media, and new york being the biggest media market in the country

 

[Gandhi]

I know, Chris, and even though it doesn’t really matter, it is still frustrating. I mean, most of us are Cards fans for enjoyment and entertainment, and part of that is to hear the world talk about them. Kind of like when they had the first pick in the draft. Everybody focused on them. It was fun.

I have been reading around the internet today, and in all fairness, I want to acknowledge when the media does what I am criticizing them for not to do. I am not sure how much I can copy onto here, so I will just do a little and then link to the rest of the articles.

This is from CBS: (https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...ders-ravens-steelers-in-top-5-before-matchup/)

“When the season started, my thinking was the Arizona Cardinals would be a nice story -- an undermanned team that was well coached to the point they would be a tough out every week, but one that might not win a lot of games.

Ten games into the season, they are much more than that.

They are winning. They are leading the NFC West. They are for real.

The Cardinals dominated the New York Jets and Aaron Rodgers on Sunday to win their third straight game and improve to 6-4 on the season. They did so with Kyler Murray playing near-flawless football, a running game again keyed by the toughness of James Conner, and a no-name defense that flies around and plays all out on every play.”

“But it's the defense that is the true surprise so far. It is tied for 13th in scoring defense at 22 points per game, but it has allowed just 14.0 points per game in the three-game winning streak. It gives up 5.5 yards per play on the season, but 4.4 over the last three. A pass rush that averages 2.4 sacks per game has averaged 3.3 per game over the past three.”

This is from ESPN: The Big Thing: Are the Cardinals for real? (https://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/st...solak-cardinals-caleb-williams-trade-deadline)

“This offense has been long in the making, and now that it is fully realized, it is extremely cool to watch. It starts with the running game, which is the most unique in football. By ESPN's charting numbers, the Cardinals pull an offensive lineman on 32% of their rush attempts, which is the most of any team. They also have at least two tight ends on the field on 49% of their snaps (only the Chiefs do it more frequently). That's seven bodies to block in the running game before we even count wide receivers, and with all those pullers flying across the formation, there are now two problems for defenses to solve.

The first: Where is the ball going? The second: Are we even going to survive at the point of attack if we figure that out?”

“So much of the Murray skepticism over the first five years of his career was misplaced criticism of his supporting cast and offensive environment. The change at playcaller from Kliff Kingsbury to Drew Petzing has been tectonic. Murray is taking about half as many snaps in empty formations, throwing 60% fewer screen passes and facing only 6.7 yards to go on third down this season (lowest in his career). He's also dropping back against base defenses on a whopping 27.4% of his dropbacks and hitting a play-action fake on 30% of his dropbacks -- both career highs.”

“I have never been more confident in the system that Petzing is deploying in Arizona -- it's unique, coached well and a headache to stop. This offense can win the Cardinals some games. But if the offense sets the floor, the defense sets the ceiling -- and it's the defense that has really taken me aback the past two Sundays. By success rate and EPA, the game against the Bears was the best defensive performance of the entire Cardinals season, and the Jets game was third best.”

 

[slanidrac16]

Yes, I agree, and it is obviously working, so it is a little silly that I argue against it. The winner is always right. I just don’t like when the opponent slowly moves the ball that much. It is demoralizing to me. Wouldn’t it be at least exciting if they had a great pass rush? I mean, I would actually rather have that, and then the opponent instead moves the ball through longer plays.

Of course it would be nice. But how would have Ojilarge(sp) worked out? What affect would Robinson had if he’d been here from day one.
I still don’t see us going out and signing a 130m pass rusher…not even next year. I believe they have the confidence to use the draft and smart free agency.

 

[Hoodhero]

My thought is that everything from a national media standpoint is about the Jets. It's super frustrating

NY MEDIA = "All the Cards can do is run the ball and you had extra time to prepare. Jets D is garbage". K1 went 22 of 24 on your 2nd ranked pass defense. Fools don't watch games

 

[Gandhi]

Possibly. Lots can happen between now and April.
We know a couple QBs nobody is talking about right now will go in the top 5.. there will be a Wr, a corner or two, a couple OTs, and some edge rushers that will all go round 1.... so it depends how the draft falls...
But my point was more for the position than the name

That is true. Nobody knows anything. I will say, though, that there is no one in the draft that I would like more than Mason Graham. Could you see him and Darius Robinson wreaking havoc from the inside, while a new edge rusher stud comes from the outside? That is a dream to me, but I will be shocked if he falls out of the top ten.

 

[Gandhi]

The Cardinals need to start using him and Demercado more to preserve Conner down the stretch.

I think that his is what we will see. The offense goes as much through Connor as it does through Murray, so it is not like Connor will suddenly be used in a rotational role, but I do think Benson will get more and more carries.

More and more, Luketa is looking like a viable rotation edge. He has value that doesn't always show up on the stat sheet.

Yes, and much of that value comes on special teams. One of their best.