1 – Congratulation, Fitzgerald, on making the record for most catches on a single team!
The entire first half I was biting my nails because they didn’t target Fitzgerald. I was literally pissed that Leftwich or Rosen didn’t simply make sure they would throw it to him on every single play. Screw the gameplan, screw the advancing-aspect. Just get the ball to #11.
2 – Well, there’s a new low in town, huh? 0 points in the first half, and only three in the entire game is simply unacceptable. I know most of us has said that multiple times over the season, but that is exactly my point; the embarrassments are continuing to build up, and I think they are now at a point where Michael Bidwill simply can’t defend to the fans or to the public to protect Steve Wilks. It doesn’t matter to me whether the issue stems from the players, the coaching staff, the front office or Michael Bidwill himself. Steve Wilks is the head coach, so he is responsible for this. It’s just the way it works.
3 – I wonder if Wilks’ job situation is dependent on the alternatives? Say, for instance, that the Cards has the option to go for John Harbaugh. Does that change it for Michael Bidwill? Or what if they were impressed with some of the young guys (John DeFilippo and Brian Flores) they brought in, before hiring the more experienced Steve Wilks, so that Bidwill is now willing to reconsider? Or does he decide to keep Wilks because he doesn’t believe there are better options out there?
4 – I have heard multiple national reporters and journalist say that the stadium is called “the Farm”. Has any of you ever heard that from anyone local? It’s an honest question, because I simply haven’t read anything about it.
5 – Before this game, when did J. J. Nelson last have a catch? Well, I looked it up. October 19th against the Broncos.
P.S. Between Christian Kirk and Trent Sherfield, I am not that worried about the receiving corps going forward. I thought Sherfield did really well, and also, there is certainly enough other problems to look at.
P.P.S. I think Chad Williams is out before next season. ‘The most important ability is availability’, as they say.
6 – It doesn’t really make sense to mention that the run defense was bad once again, does it?
7 – I liked how they used Patrick Peterson as the punt returner. He was easily the best option, and kick return, special teams and field position is such an underrated factor. I have never understood why, but I guess it’s just the way it is. Luckily, the coaches apparently don’t underrate it.
8 - The last couple of weeks I have been thrilled to see that defense still matters, even though the NFL has done almost everything possible to make it easier on the offenses and harder on the defenses. Yes, you could argue that the offenses in this game was horrible (and you would be right), but that was in part because of the defenses, and besides, look at the Cowboys beating the Saints because of great play on defense, look at the Bears beating the Rams in part because of great play on defense. The Ravens playing the Chiefs very hard because of great play on defense. I much prefer a game like the Cards versus the Lions than some shootout where all that matters is to have the ball on the last drive because the offense score every time they have it. I think they are the most boring games.
9 – Before this season, I initially wanted the Cards to make Matt Patricia their head coach. Now I got to see him go head-to-head with Steve Wilks, and obviously that only reaffirmed the thought, but I also want to highlight that the last four games versus the Panthers, the Bears, the Rams and now the Cardinals, the Lions have fought really hard and played well. I think Patricia is a good head coach.
10 – I heard some boos when punting the ball away on 4th down in the Cards’ own territory in the 4th quarter with the Lions up by 10. Why on earth would you go for it? Why would you trust the offense to get even one yard when they have been putrid for the entire game? The defense where much more effective, so why wouldn’t you think that having them on the field gave you the best chance to win the game?
11 – Benson Mayowa has been a pleasant surprise to me. He played really well again in this game, as he has done in several games this season. I didn’t expect much from him going into the season, but he has been a fine addition to the edge rushing-rotation.
12 – I’m still excited for Josh Rosen next season and going forward. I know I am in the minority to even think about that stuff.
13 – The Cardinals started their 9th different offensive line-combination in this game. Everyone knows that continuity and cohesiveness is the most important thing to any offensive line. Why oh why would you then replace the right tackle from the last game, Will Holden, with Joe Barksdale who they just signed the other day? I guess they decided that, because they have substituted so many times, it didn’t matter if they would change the starting five one more time. Look, Barksdale is probably a better player than Holden, but it’s not by much at this point, and the cohesiveness within the unit makes up for it, so stop screwing with concepts that are well known to be preferable!
14 – The Cardinals played well in Kansas City against the Chiefs, and they played well in Green Bay against the Packers. Both times they have been absolutely disgraceful the next week. How do you even do that? Playing tough at perhaps the two most iconic stadiums, against perhaps the best team and the best quarterback in the NFL, and even winning one of those games are supposed to give you confidence. It is supposed to encourage you and convince you that you can play with any team in this league. So you go out and get destroyed – in different ways, even – the following week? That is the equivalent to self-destruction.
15 – I know a lot of people are now looking at the draft standings (and honestly, I am too), so I thought I would clarify the situation a little the best I can.
The Cards are currently standing at the #2 spot behind the Niners (by the way, only because the Cardinals beat the Niners twice).
Head-to-head matchups does not matter, though, regarding the draft order as the basic idea is to strengthen the worst team in the league, and since the team with the lowest strength of schedule is naturally considered the worst in the NFL, they therefore get the highest pick.
The Cardinals and Niners both have the same record as the Raiders, but those two have a tougher strength of schedule, and because they play the same schedule minus two teams, the schedules cancel each other out other than those two teams. Right now, though, the Niners has played the two teams that are not on the Cardinals’ schedule (the Buccaneers and the Giants), and those two has a combined record of 10-16. The Cards has only played the Redskins that are not on the Niners’ schedule, and the Redskins has a record of 6-7. So, the gist is that right now the Niners has had a tougher strength of schedule (-5) than the Cardinals (+5), and thus the Niners get the #1 overall pick.
If all three teams lose out, the Raiders will probably get the #3 pick since their schedule is much harder (their opponents are a combined +22 right now, and as far as I can calculate, their SOS can’t get worse than the Cards’ and the Niners’, but don’t take my math for too much), while the #1 and #2 pick are solely determined by the Giants and the Buccaneers on the Niners’ side, and the Redskins and the Falcons on the Cards’ side. Right now, the combined records are 10-16 for both combinations. The more games the Redskins and Falcons lose, the easier the Cards’ SOS will become, and thus the bigger their chance of the #1 overall pick, and obviously it is vice versa for the Niners. That’s also why it is sort of a tricky situation next week where a win for the Cards will most likely take them out of the race, while a loss will improve their SOS because it will give the Falcons one more win.
Should the two teams end with the same SOS, which is a real possibility, the next tiebreaker is record within the division, and the Niners will win that tiebreaker easily since they are 0-4 while the Cardinals are 2-2 (again because of two victories over the Niners).
For what it’s worth, each week Football Outsiders projects the draft order using their DVOA-ranking system. According to them the Cards has a 46.6% chance of getting the top pick. The Niners are second with a 34.2% chance, and the Raiders are third with 10.6% chance. ESPN projects the order as well, though they use their own grading system. According to them, the Cardinals has a 57% chance of getting the #1 overall pick, while the Niners has a 32% chance and the Raiders has a 7% chance.
The entire first half I was biting my nails because they didn’t target Fitzgerald. I was literally pissed that Leftwich or Rosen didn’t simply make sure they would throw it to him on every single play. Screw the gameplan, screw the advancing-aspect. Just get the ball to #11.
2 – Well, there’s a new low in town, huh? 0 points in the first half, and only three in the entire game is simply unacceptable. I know most of us has said that multiple times over the season, but that is exactly my point; the embarrassments are continuing to build up, and I think they are now at a point where Michael Bidwill simply can’t defend to the fans or to the public to protect Steve Wilks. It doesn’t matter to me whether the issue stems from the players, the coaching staff, the front office or Michael Bidwill himself. Steve Wilks is the head coach, so he is responsible for this. It’s just the way it works.
3 – I wonder if Wilks’ job situation is dependent on the alternatives? Say, for instance, that the Cards has the option to go for John Harbaugh. Does that change it for Michael Bidwill? Or what if they were impressed with some of the young guys (John DeFilippo and Brian Flores) they brought in, before hiring the more experienced Steve Wilks, so that Bidwill is now willing to reconsider? Or does he decide to keep Wilks because he doesn’t believe there are better options out there?
4 – I have heard multiple national reporters and journalist say that the stadium is called “the Farm”. Has any of you ever heard that from anyone local? It’s an honest question, because I simply haven’t read anything about it.
5 – Before this game, when did J. J. Nelson last have a catch? Well, I looked it up. October 19th against the Broncos.
P.S. Between Christian Kirk and Trent Sherfield, I am not that worried about the receiving corps going forward. I thought Sherfield did really well, and also, there is certainly enough other problems to look at.
P.P.S. I think Chad Williams is out before next season. ‘The most important ability is availability’, as they say.
6 – It doesn’t really make sense to mention that the run defense was bad once again, does it?
7 – I liked how they used Patrick Peterson as the punt returner. He was easily the best option, and kick return, special teams and field position is such an underrated factor. I have never understood why, but I guess it’s just the way it is. Luckily, the coaches apparently don’t underrate it.
8 - The last couple of weeks I have been thrilled to see that defense still matters, even though the NFL has done almost everything possible to make it easier on the offenses and harder on the defenses. Yes, you could argue that the offenses in this game was horrible (and you would be right), but that was in part because of the defenses, and besides, look at the Cowboys beating the Saints because of great play on defense, look at the Bears beating the Rams in part because of great play on defense. The Ravens playing the Chiefs very hard because of great play on defense. I much prefer a game like the Cards versus the Lions than some shootout where all that matters is to have the ball on the last drive because the offense score every time they have it. I think they are the most boring games.
9 – Before this season, I initially wanted the Cards to make Matt Patricia their head coach. Now I got to see him go head-to-head with Steve Wilks, and obviously that only reaffirmed the thought, but I also want to highlight that the last four games versus the Panthers, the Bears, the Rams and now the Cardinals, the Lions have fought really hard and played well. I think Patricia is a good head coach.
10 – I heard some boos when punting the ball away on 4th down in the Cards’ own territory in the 4th quarter with the Lions up by 10. Why on earth would you go for it? Why would you trust the offense to get even one yard when they have been putrid for the entire game? The defense where much more effective, so why wouldn’t you think that having them on the field gave you the best chance to win the game?
11 – Benson Mayowa has been a pleasant surprise to me. He played really well again in this game, as he has done in several games this season. I didn’t expect much from him going into the season, but he has been a fine addition to the edge rushing-rotation.
12 – I’m still excited for Josh Rosen next season and going forward. I know I am in the minority to even think about that stuff.
13 – The Cardinals started their 9th different offensive line-combination in this game. Everyone knows that continuity and cohesiveness is the most important thing to any offensive line. Why oh why would you then replace the right tackle from the last game, Will Holden, with Joe Barksdale who they just signed the other day? I guess they decided that, because they have substituted so many times, it didn’t matter if they would change the starting five one more time. Look, Barksdale is probably a better player than Holden, but it’s not by much at this point, and the cohesiveness within the unit makes up for it, so stop screwing with concepts that are well known to be preferable!
14 – The Cardinals played well in Kansas City against the Chiefs, and they played well in Green Bay against the Packers. Both times they have been absolutely disgraceful the next week. How do you even do that? Playing tough at perhaps the two most iconic stadiums, against perhaps the best team and the best quarterback in the NFL, and even winning one of those games are supposed to give you confidence. It is supposed to encourage you and convince you that you can play with any team in this league. So you go out and get destroyed – in different ways, even – the following week? That is the equivalent to self-destruction.
15 – I know a lot of people are now looking at the draft standings (and honestly, I am too), so I thought I would clarify the situation a little the best I can.
The Cards are currently standing at the #2 spot behind the Niners (by the way, only because the Cardinals beat the Niners twice).
Head-to-head matchups does not matter, though, regarding the draft order as the basic idea is to strengthen the worst team in the league, and since the team with the lowest strength of schedule is naturally considered the worst in the NFL, they therefore get the highest pick.
The Cardinals and Niners both have the same record as the Raiders, but those two have a tougher strength of schedule, and because they play the same schedule minus two teams, the schedules cancel each other out other than those two teams. Right now, though, the Niners has played the two teams that are not on the Cardinals’ schedule (the Buccaneers and the Giants), and those two has a combined record of 10-16. The Cards has only played the Redskins that are not on the Niners’ schedule, and the Redskins has a record of 6-7. So, the gist is that right now the Niners has had a tougher strength of schedule (-5) than the Cardinals (+5), and thus the Niners get the #1 overall pick.
If all three teams lose out, the Raiders will probably get the #3 pick since their schedule is much harder (their opponents are a combined +22 right now, and as far as I can calculate, their SOS can’t get worse than the Cards’ and the Niners’, but don’t take my math for too much), while the #1 and #2 pick are solely determined by the Giants and the Buccaneers on the Niners’ side, and the Redskins and the Falcons on the Cards’ side. Right now, the combined records are 10-16 for both combinations. The more games the Redskins and Falcons lose, the easier the Cards’ SOS will become, and thus the bigger their chance of the #1 overall pick, and obviously it is vice versa for the Niners. That’s also why it is sort of a tricky situation next week where a win for the Cards will most likely take them out of the race, while a loss will improve their SOS because it will give the Falcons one more win.
Should the two teams end with the same SOS, which is a real possibility, the next tiebreaker is record within the division, and the Niners will win that tiebreaker easily since they are 0-4 while the Cardinals are 2-2 (again because of two victories over the Niners).
For what it’s worth, each week Football Outsiders projects the draft order using their DVOA-ranking system. According to them the Cards has a 46.6% chance of getting the top pick. The Niners are second with a 34.2% chance, and the Raiders are third with 10.6% chance. ESPN projects the order as well, though they use their own grading system. According to them, the Cardinals has a 57% chance of getting the #1 overall pick, while the Niners has a 32% chance and the Raiders has a 7% chance.
