Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
Still trying to simmer down after this nailbiter...as I am sure we all are.
Let's start with the negatives:
1. Special teams...one can make a pretty strong case that KC's win is a tribute to their special teams...they blocked a punt which turned the momentum of the game in the Chiefs' favor (blocked because they knew Player was going to kick to the right again, as he did the time previously when they nearly blocked the punt while storming up the middle)...and their kickers were lights out...both the punter, Colquitt and the placekicker, Tynes. Conversely, Scott Player was poor all afternoon and Neil Rackers (curiously heading for a drink of water when he should have been running into the game) missed a 51 yarder that normally he would make. (Note: at least the bench strategy wasn't to rush Rackers into the game with 18 seconds and ticking without spiking the ball first...)
2. The offensive line...too many mistakes once again...can't block two key second and third and ones during a key drive in the 4th quarter...two costly penalties by Leonard Davis at LT (Note: the o-line curse began the day Dennis Green switched Leonard Davis to LT and hasn't gotten one iota better in that time three years ago...and if the Cardinals re-sign him to major bucks to play LT beyond this season...the curse may not be lifted for another half a decade).
3. Losing Larry Fitzgerald...tough break...(Note: one still must wonder what the coach's wisdom was in keeping a mere 4 WRs on the roster...).
4. Shabby tackling by the linebackers...yes, the defense held Larry Johnson down in tremendous fashion...but the linebackers did not tackle well all day...Hayes was the only physical tackler at times (but...two illegal contact calls were not good), but Huff and Dansby did not get the job done nearly as well as they should have...Huff whiffing on several occasions...and Dansby offering a soft shoulder to Larry Johnson on LJ's crossing route TD that most other LBs in the league would have decked Johnson on...Johnson was completely lined up for a big, ball jarring hit on the play. (Note: Dansby will get good credit for his sacks in the positives section).
5. Soft CB coverage...better at times...but still a problem that was made less conspicuous by several Chiefs' WR drops.
6. 4th Quarter penalties...on every drive on both sides of the ball and on every kickoff return...(Note: 4th quarter penalties are the result of two things: (a) poor team discipline; (b) poor coaching).
7. Two classic rookie QB mistakes...the forced out pass 4th quarter interception...and the sack on the bootleg taken way out of the pocket that Leinart could have easily throw out of bounds. (Note: on the bootleg play...the Cards coaches went to the well one too many times...the Chiefs were sitting on that one after Leinart had run the same play to the other side one play previously...there are other kinds of play action passes than bootlegs...it would have been smart to see a mix there).
8. Robert Tate defending a WR in the end zone about as poorly as a CB can...holding him, never looking back for the ball, etc., etc. That was a gift TD.
The Positives:
1. Matt Leinart...for a rookie starting his first game, he deserves high praise. He came right out of the gates and set a positive tone for the entire game...his play fired everyone up...the defense...the fans...everyone alas, but his own offensive linemen, who played half-hearted football for three quarters to follow...Leinart's TD tosses to Boldin and Fitzgerald were picture perfect...most of his passes were well thrown and he showed good athleticism in passing on the run...and despite some glitches early in the two minute drill (yes, this just in, the Cardinals have one!) he managed to get the offense into field goal range...(Note: no muffed or fumbled snaps...no fumbles...no trip-ups over the o-linemen's feet...just the one interception).
2. Edgerrin James...did everything humanly possible to move the chains...even stayed on his feet one time after taking four huge shots...this guy played with great courage and determination today...and deserves a win.
3. The WRs...Boldin was excellent, Fitz was off to a fast start before he was injures...BJ had a fine day (6/82 yards...too bad about the end zone drop...it looked like the ball got to him faster than he anticipated) and Troy Walters was a solid contributor (good catches...great one on the last play).
4. Fred Wakefield...good TE blocks.
5. Duece Lutui...focused in on him when he entered the game and he got a good push on several plays, one leading to an 8 yard run by Edge over his hole.
6. Chike Okeafor defending the run...three excellent tackles on LJ...(Note: but, he and Berry were not a factor once again as pass rushers...this is a major cause for concern, IMO).
7. DTs Clancy, Dockett, Smith, Watson and Cooper...great day for all three plugging up the middle and stifling the Chiefs' vaunted running game. Getting their hands up on short passes (Okeafor included) was huge as well.
8. Karlos Dansby's sacks...two nice ones.
9. Antrell Rolle's tackles...big...loved the pass breakup he had late in the game too. Eric Green had a couple nice tackles too.
10. Adrian Wilson...great sack (Note: why he isn't rushing the passer EVERY third down is a mystery...the guy is phenomenal)...and good pass breakup to Gonzalez in the second half (Note: lost in the stopping the Chiefs' running game is the fact that the Cardinals held Tony Gonzalez to one catch).
11. Aaron Francisco...man, he forces the run like he's shot out of a cannon...he was the one who spilled LJ from underneath on LJ's second fumble...
12. Robert Griffith...he broke up a deep pass and a key one late!
This loss was a tough pill for the Cardinals to swallow...but it should show them that smarter, more efficient QB play, fewer turnovers and more aggressive defense can get them knocking on the door for wins...this game should bring the Cardinals closer to knowing how good they could be...past history would suggest that the Cardinals have already turned in their one all-out effort for the month...but perhaps the best thing for the Cardinals right now is the fact that they play on Monday Night Football next week...it's a home game again against an undefeated team, the 5-0 Bears, and an opportunity to turn major heads if they can pull off the upset.
As much as the Chiefs deserve credit for their comeback...and the coaching adjustments they made, from the blocked punt to the load up on the weak Arizona o-line to the screen pass against the Cardinals' soft zone...the Chiefs, like the Rams, got very lucky in this game...RB Dee Brown fumbled twice on the two yard line on their last drive...and the ball fell right into the arms of a Chiefs' TE who was lying on the turf...and, Neil Rackers' miss was lucky for them, because we've seen Rackers make far more from that range than most kickers do...and one could argue that the Chiefs got very lucky that they weren't flagged for holding on the now infamous screen pass...I was sure of it at first...on the replay, I was less sure, as it appeared that the o-lineman had the angle on him and Wilson did very little to resist.
Finally...while Dennis Green deserves credit for going to Leinart and for actually calling some plays for the first time in three years...even if the Cardinals play close to .500 ball for the rest of the season and finish 6-10 or 7-9...the Bidwills have to bring in the right coach for the Leinart Era as soon as possible...they have too much invested in Leinart not to put his and the team's future in the best possible hands...which would mean bringing in an offensive staff with experience and creativity...and hopefully one that will bring a smashmouth mentality to the running game, to boot.
Let's start with the negatives:
1. Special teams...one can make a pretty strong case that KC's win is a tribute to their special teams...they blocked a punt which turned the momentum of the game in the Chiefs' favor (blocked because they knew Player was going to kick to the right again, as he did the time previously when they nearly blocked the punt while storming up the middle)...and their kickers were lights out...both the punter, Colquitt and the placekicker, Tynes. Conversely, Scott Player was poor all afternoon and Neil Rackers (curiously heading for a drink of water when he should have been running into the game) missed a 51 yarder that normally he would make. (Note: at least the bench strategy wasn't to rush Rackers into the game with 18 seconds and ticking without spiking the ball first...)
2. The offensive line...too many mistakes once again...can't block two key second and third and ones during a key drive in the 4th quarter...two costly penalties by Leonard Davis at LT (Note: the o-line curse began the day Dennis Green switched Leonard Davis to LT and hasn't gotten one iota better in that time three years ago...and if the Cardinals re-sign him to major bucks to play LT beyond this season...the curse may not be lifted for another half a decade).
3. Losing Larry Fitzgerald...tough break...(Note: one still must wonder what the coach's wisdom was in keeping a mere 4 WRs on the roster...).
4. Shabby tackling by the linebackers...yes, the defense held Larry Johnson down in tremendous fashion...but the linebackers did not tackle well all day...Hayes was the only physical tackler at times (but...two illegal contact calls were not good), but Huff and Dansby did not get the job done nearly as well as they should have...Huff whiffing on several occasions...and Dansby offering a soft shoulder to Larry Johnson on LJ's crossing route TD that most other LBs in the league would have decked Johnson on...Johnson was completely lined up for a big, ball jarring hit on the play. (Note: Dansby will get good credit for his sacks in the positives section).
5. Soft CB coverage...better at times...but still a problem that was made less conspicuous by several Chiefs' WR drops.
6. 4th Quarter penalties...on every drive on both sides of the ball and on every kickoff return...(Note: 4th quarter penalties are the result of two things: (a) poor team discipline; (b) poor coaching).
7. Two classic rookie QB mistakes...the forced out pass 4th quarter interception...and the sack on the bootleg taken way out of the pocket that Leinart could have easily throw out of bounds. (Note: on the bootleg play...the Cards coaches went to the well one too many times...the Chiefs were sitting on that one after Leinart had run the same play to the other side one play previously...there are other kinds of play action passes than bootlegs...it would have been smart to see a mix there).
8. Robert Tate defending a WR in the end zone about as poorly as a CB can...holding him, never looking back for the ball, etc., etc. That was a gift TD.
The Positives:
1. Matt Leinart...for a rookie starting his first game, he deserves high praise. He came right out of the gates and set a positive tone for the entire game...his play fired everyone up...the defense...the fans...everyone alas, but his own offensive linemen, who played half-hearted football for three quarters to follow...Leinart's TD tosses to Boldin and Fitzgerald were picture perfect...most of his passes were well thrown and he showed good athleticism in passing on the run...and despite some glitches early in the two minute drill (yes, this just in, the Cardinals have one!) he managed to get the offense into field goal range...(Note: no muffed or fumbled snaps...no fumbles...no trip-ups over the o-linemen's feet...just the one interception).
2. Edgerrin James...did everything humanly possible to move the chains...even stayed on his feet one time after taking four huge shots...this guy played with great courage and determination today...and deserves a win.
3. The WRs...Boldin was excellent, Fitz was off to a fast start before he was injures...BJ had a fine day (6/82 yards...too bad about the end zone drop...it looked like the ball got to him faster than he anticipated) and Troy Walters was a solid contributor (good catches...great one on the last play).
4. Fred Wakefield...good TE blocks.
5. Duece Lutui...focused in on him when he entered the game and he got a good push on several plays, one leading to an 8 yard run by Edge over his hole.
6. Chike Okeafor defending the run...three excellent tackles on LJ...(Note: but, he and Berry were not a factor once again as pass rushers...this is a major cause for concern, IMO).
7. DTs Clancy, Dockett, Smith, Watson and Cooper...great day for all three plugging up the middle and stifling the Chiefs' vaunted running game. Getting their hands up on short passes (Okeafor included) was huge as well.
8. Karlos Dansby's sacks...two nice ones.
9. Antrell Rolle's tackles...big...loved the pass breakup he had late in the game too. Eric Green had a couple nice tackles too.
10. Adrian Wilson...great sack (Note: why he isn't rushing the passer EVERY third down is a mystery...the guy is phenomenal)...and good pass breakup to Gonzalez in the second half (Note: lost in the stopping the Chiefs' running game is the fact that the Cardinals held Tony Gonzalez to one catch).
11. Aaron Francisco...man, he forces the run like he's shot out of a cannon...he was the one who spilled LJ from underneath on LJ's second fumble...
12. Robert Griffith...he broke up a deep pass and a key one late!
This loss was a tough pill for the Cardinals to swallow...but it should show them that smarter, more efficient QB play, fewer turnovers and more aggressive defense can get them knocking on the door for wins...this game should bring the Cardinals closer to knowing how good they could be...past history would suggest that the Cardinals have already turned in their one all-out effort for the month...but perhaps the best thing for the Cardinals right now is the fact that they play on Monday Night Football next week...it's a home game again against an undefeated team, the 5-0 Bears, and an opportunity to turn major heads if they can pull off the upset.
As much as the Chiefs deserve credit for their comeback...and the coaching adjustments they made, from the blocked punt to the load up on the weak Arizona o-line to the screen pass against the Cardinals' soft zone...the Chiefs, like the Rams, got very lucky in this game...RB Dee Brown fumbled twice on the two yard line on their last drive...and the ball fell right into the arms of a Chiefs' TE who was lying on the turf...and, Neil Rackers' miss was lucky for them, because we've seen Rackers make far more from that range than most kickers do...and one could argue that the Chiefs got very lucky that they weren't flagged for holding on the now infamous screen pass...I was sure of it at first...on the replay, I was less sure, as it appeared that the o-lineman had the angle on him and Wilson did very little to resist.
Finally...while Dennis Green deserves credit for going to Leinart and for actually calling some plays for the first time in three years...even if the Cardinals play close to .500 ball for the rest of the season and finish 6-10 or 7-9...the Bidwills have to bring in the right coach for the Leinart Era as soon as possible...they have too much invested in Leinart not to put his and the team's future in the best possible hands...which would mean bringing in an offensive staff with experience and creativity...and hopefully one that will bring a smashmouth mentality to the running game, to boot.
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