2006 Cardinals: Game 6 (CHI 24 ARI 23) Analysis

[Mitch]

Sorry this is late, I live on the East coast and like many of you went to work this morning with a mere 3 1/2 hours sleep and a mighty game hangover.

First of all, kudos to the Cardinal defense for playing lights-out defense for the entire evening. Kudos to Clancy Pendergast for holding the players accountable for last week's defensive meltdown versus the Chiefs...and for all the wided open pass opportunities the defense gave Damon Huard...while one hates to hear of players and coaches getting into heated exchanges, the players obviosuly heard Pendergast's message because they gave the Bears little to no room to run or pass in this game...and virtually every player on the defense came up big at one point or another...games balls here to Eric Green, Gerald Hayes, Adrian Wilson, Bertrand Berry, Darnell Dockett, Robert Griffith and Aaron Francisco for having major roles in creating six Bears' turnovers.

And the way the Cardinals started this game...for the second straight week, they looked pumped and well prepared...which is a credit to all the Cardinal players and coaches...fast starts were nowhere to be seen in Green's first two seasons.

So what went so terribly wrong? It's a simple a this...we all know that the Cardinal offensive line is the team's Achilles heel...that's nothing new...but...they have been able to keep Matt Leinart relatively clean for two games (save Oliver Ross' egregious brain fart with .05 left in the third quarter...which, as Robert Griffith stated so perfectly to Leinart and company mere seconds earlier on the sidelines, the Bears were just waiting for the Cards to turn the ball over...but...back to what the simple reason is? It's that the Cardinal coaches, starting and ending with Dennis Green, simply DO NOT learn from past mistakes.

Yesterday's meltdown was eerily similar to the previous week's...just that instead of giving up a 75 yard screen pass...the Cards gave up an 83 yard punt return (which never should have happened if Player was coached properly to hit a hang time punt that could only be fair caught or ordered to kick the ball out of bounds)...HOW MANY TIMES HAVE THE CARDINALS UNDER GREEN GIVEN UP SPECIAL TEAM TDs...and all seemingly at the WORST possible times. Is it the ST's coach? No---it's the team physchology---which is "here we go again."

The name of the game is to OUTSCORE the opponent...what the coaches should have learned from last week's game versus the Chiefs: 3 point second halves won't get it done. 3 points last week...3 points this week...and as Sir Charles Barkley forecasted while the Cardinals were not being aggressive in converting turnovers into points in the first half...Barkley said, "Twenty points won't be enough." How does Barkley know it...the ESPN crew know it...and we the fans know it...BUT THE CARDINAL COACHES DON'T KNOW IT????

For the Cardinal coaches to come out of last week's game and three point offensive performance in the second half with the notion that they need to run the ball more is just plain ignorant and moronic. Sure, IF the Cardinal QB was playing like a real rookie...sure...maybe...but Leinart has been playing with more poise and presence than any Cardinal QB since Neil Lomax....AND...at what point does the coaching staff realize: (A) Hey, we jumped out 14-0 on TD passes and (B) we really are having a hard time running the ball to begin with.

Having to watch Edgerrin James get bludgeoned by the Bears' front seven play after play...36 times...was about as stupid and ignorant as any strategy could be...the Bears even knew the Cardinals were going to run...and guess what, when they know a team is going to run, no team in the NFL will run for consistent positive yards on that front seven (or eight when they stack the box, which they did more than usual because of the Cards' inane strategy).

To make the bludgeoning even worse...there was no plan to block All World MLB Brian Urlacher...which meant he had 16 clear, free shots at James...and one fateful strip that bludgeoning can cause because at some point the RB starts hurting and stops thinking...even with 5:03 left and a 13 point lead.

The Bears went man-to-man exclusvely in the second half...which basically means that all the Cardinals had to do is clear out one side and run Boldin on a drag to the vacated side...this Bear team had no answers for Boldin's intermediate routes. Just imagine. And imagine how the Cardinals could have exploited other matchups like Lance Briggs trying to cover BJ on occasion...or the substitute SS trying to cover Leonard Pope (the forgotten man).

The truth is...the Cardinals' ultra conservative play calling on offense is made to order for the opponents' comeback efforts...it plays right into the opponents' hands...and when the play calling is tentative, the players become tentative. The Cardinals started planting the seeds for the Bears comeback late in the second quarter when they tried to run out the first half clock instead of trying to do what they did in the first quarter: score touchdowns.

At halftime the coaches should have said...even if we keep shutting their offense out we need to score 13 or 14 more points on offense...let's go take what the defense gives us. Let's be aggressive...aggressive wins ballgames...passive loses ballgames (as last week's 2nd Half versus the Chiefs should have taught them).

Now today Dennis Green fires Keith Rowen as OC...imagine how strung out to dry Rowen must feel...Edgerrin James and Dennis Green were both saying during the week they want to run the ball more...so Rowen pretty much follows suit and he gets fired....

This is a cowardly move by Dennis Green...what he should do (but won't because he's too afraid to be exposed as incompetent) is announce that he is going to call the plays...he wouldn't have to fire anyone...several head coaches have taken over the play calling when their teams have struggled...without firing the offensive coordinator.

Making Rowen the scapegoat...and by perpetuating his ugly pattern of firing assistant coaches (Wood, Wylie, Rowen, Lindsay, O'Dea)...ultimately falls back on him...and makes one seriously question his ability to select and build a staff, much in the same way one has to question his ability to build an offensive line...in three years neither the coaching staff, nor the o-line, has been settled.

The good news, if there is good news, about this loss, is...it now puts more pressure on the Bidwills to get their team in the right hands...in the hands of a coach who can communicate, teach and motivate. This time around maybe the BIDWILLS CAN LEARN FROM PAST MISTAKES...the last time they signed a young QB, they hired a defensive minded head coach and raw, inexperienced offensive coordinators. The Bidwills should find the right fit for Matt Leinart...an offensive head coach who can get this program to the Super Bowl.

When Edgerrin James signed with Arizona, I, and several others were critical of the move...and now we can see why. First of all, when a player comes in and talks more about not getting beat up in training camp...when a player is clearly trying to impose his own agenda on the organization...this was bound to explode in the organization's face...first of all, having James in the backfield was going to further expose the team's greatest weakness...the fact that the organization chose to put the cart before the horse shows just how incompetent this organization and the coaching staff is at putting a competitive team on the field.

It's not that I don't appreciate James' talent...and one has to wonder WHY James would want the ball more after he told the MNF crew that he "can't run when there's no room to run." James is a loose cannon and is taking the offense away from where its current strengths are. Teams do not HAVE to run the football effectively to win football games...just ask the Bears after last night...they apparently didn't HAVE to run or pass the ball to win last night.

Last night we saw how good and how bad the Cardinals can be...is it a matter of talent when they dominated the so-called best team in football for two quarters and 14:57 minutes?

The worst part is...the Bidwills are so chicken and/or cheap...if Leinart wins a few games they'll probably keep Green and we will be mired in the same rut again next year...like losing three "put the win in the books" games in a row at home and making NO adjustments to secure the ball, to advance the ball and close the games out. Green's been about as bad a clock and game manager as this organization has ever had...and now that the team is in close games we get to see first hand how bad he is...no wonder why he won't call plays...no wonder...just fire the assistant who was basically follwoing orders anyway. Get real.

 

[arthurracoon]

 

[pinnacle]

Mitch...I did not think of it....but clearly Player should have punted the ball out of bounds. The bears offense was dead all night...give the Cardinals defense a chance to continue doing what they were successful - stopping the bears offense. You took the game out of the defenses hand and turned it over to special teams... On this particular night when the bears were shut out on offense....any 4th quarter punt should have been punted out of bounds. Let the cardinals defense win the game..

I know..hindsight is 20-20...but a coach in that position should realize he is playing with fire and let the defense get a stop.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I agree with a lot of what you said. I also made the point that he could have just taken over the playcalling without firing him. However, changes needed to be made, and he was the best firing that could be made at the time. I think that Player and Ross should be cut/inactivated, and Rackers should get one more chance.

If you want to make a statement, do this.

Cut Player, and sign Capshaw.
Inactivate Ross for the next game.

 

[Mitch]

Mitch...I did not think of it....but clearly Player should have punted the ball out of bounds. The bears offense was dead all night...give the Cardinals defense a chance to continue doing what they were successful - stopping the bears offense. You took the game out of the defenses hand and turned it over to special teams... On this particular night when the bears were shut out on offense....any 4th quarter punt should have been punted out of bounds. Let the cardinals defense win the game..

I know..hindsight is 20-20...but a coach in that position should realize he is playing with fire and let the defense get a stop.

Pinnacle...remember when Player hit that line drive punt earlier in the game...it took the unit out of its normal coverage and Devin Hester nearly broke that one after a twenty yard gain...that should have planted the seed in the coaches' minds that with the game on the line and the defense playing great, don't over punt to Hester or give him any chance to break one.

See...these are the kinds of mental adjustments a team needs to make in order to give the team the best chance to win...just as Edge lost his head allowing himself to get stripped for a TD, the coaches lost their heads by giving Hester the opportunity to beat them....especially with a veteran punter and a cover team that has traditionally given up the backbreaking TD.

 

[spanky1]

Mitch,

I was waiting for your assessment. Thank you.

I believe that replacing Rowen was a valid response to the situation. He had "lost" the offense. Whether the bigger issue is actually Green himself will become evident over the balance of this season.

I will admit that our O-Line is struggling and that this is crutical, but perhaps Kruzack will prepare and execute a game plan that utilizes them better (they are not the worst from a pass protection perspective at any rate).

I think it is time for Latui to play more. He has a nasty streak that is sorely missing on the O-Line.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I think it is time for Latui to play more. He has a nasty streak that is sorely missing on the O-Line.

I thought that he was going to start. Very, VERY suprised that he didnt.

 

[spanky1]

Pinnacle...remember when Player hit that line drive punt earlier in the game...it took the unit out of its normal coverage and Devin Hester nearly broke that one after a twenty yard gain...that should have planted the seed in the coaches' minds that with the game on the line and the defense playing great, don't over punt to Hester or give him any chance to break one.

See...these are the kinds of mental adjustments a team needs to make in order to give the team the best chance to win...just as Edge lost his head allowing himself to get stripped for a TD, the coaches lost their heads by giving Hester the opportunity to beat them....especially with a veteran punter and a cover team that has traditionally given up the backbreaking TD.

Very accurate here Mitch.........having said this, I firmly believe that Player needs to be cut RIGHT NOW. I was for Capshaw after his impressive TC, especially considering Player's rather fat contract.

 

[TheCardFan]

Very accurate here Mitch.........having said this, I firmly believe that Player needs to be cut RIGHT NOW. I was for Capshaw after his impressive TC, especially considering Player's rather fat contract.

And really the only reason NOT to do it was we didn't want to disrupt Rackers...too late.

 

[pinnacle]

Mitch: a 2nd option would been to have hit the ball like a mile high where only a fair catch is doable....you could pretty much do anything except hit a line drive that is very returnable...which is exactly what Player did..something tells me player hit the ball wrong or lost his head for a moment...no way was that punt what anyone wanted...

 

[BigRedArk]

If we cut Player we have to find somebody to hold on FG's and extra point attempts.

 

[kerouac9]

If we cut Player we have to find somebody to hold on FG's and extra point attempts.

What's it matter if noodle leg isn't going to hit them, anyhow?

 

[BigRedArk]

What's it matter if noodle leg isn't going to hit them, anyhow?

Well it doesn't but you still have to have somebody to hold on the attempts regardless of who is doing the actual kicking though. I didn't think it was that easy to replace a holder but perhaps it is?

 

[Brewster10]

All nite i felt we were dodging a bullet with Hester... I havent seen a punt returner get so many clear shots to return punts in a long time...

It was just a matter til he housed one..

 

[Goodyear Card]

Mitch,

I wouldn't blame Green for firing Rowen. I don't think I have heard anyone defend Rowen as a good OC. I like Green as a Head Coach because he is improving the talent on the team. Unfortunately he has not be able to upgrade the OL. However, he is not like McGinnis and keeps the same losers year after year so they jell. If you are not doing your job someone will replace you. Look for big changes on the OL next year.

 

[az jam]

I do respect your opinion however:

1. You always hated Denny Green at one point you said you would never post while he was coach here. You have absolutely no objectivitly at all.

2. Remember he did not want to sign Edgerrin James. He said there were only so many piecies of the pie that needed to be filled meaning he wanted to use the cap money to sign many players to fill their needs not use it all on one. When Edgerrin flew in with Drew Rosenhaus for the negotiaons, Denny was not part of that at all. He played the company line after that and went along with the program and line. The Cards were $10 million under the cap and Denny wanted it to be used on getting more depth. The Bidwills called all the shots. You only get what you pay for and they are damn cheap.

3. Denny has pushed drafting players that have played for big time colleges and have been used to being part of a winning program. He has always believed in the draft. He has brought in some outstanding playmakers that are the core for this team.

4. Mistakes. Of course he has made many. Some are on assistant coaches, some are on free agent picks some are draft choices. I have followed football for 50 years and every coach and gm has had bad picks in the draft and in free agency as both are a crap shoot.

5. The game plan against the Bears is what the HC must oversee. It was excellent. You can play the second guess game as long as you wish but the Cards dominated the Bears. They have more talent on this team than the Cards have had in a long time.

6.Will he survive? Probaly not and whoever takes over next year will most likely make the playoffs with Denny's players.

 

[slanidrac16]

Too many times I feel we have been out coached. Players are going to make mistakes. It's the mental mistakes that have been our killers. Opposing qb's are going to throw td's. Players will miss a tackle. Thats what happens when two or more athletes compete. You win some battles and you lose some battles. If that wasn't the case every game would end up 0-0.
However, If my profession was to teach 11 guys how to cover a punt, I would know that the sidelines are my ally. It's not something that I should have to learn by watching an opposing player return a punt 85 yards to beat us, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE OPPOSITION IS ONLY 6 PTS DOWN.
Did anybody notice the Bears went into a hurry up offense with 9 minutes left to play? Remember what we did in that situation?
So Rowen is fired, yet if we don't blow a blocking assignment (sack, fumble), if the ref rules forward progress was stopped( Edge Fumble) or we don't allow an 85 yd punt return, we win, Rowen still has his job and all is fine in Cardinal land. Not to mention if Rackers makes his kick or Docketts knee doesn't touch the ground.
Ah yes, back to my point of players making mistakes. Mistakes are going to made.
This game was lost because we stopped being who we are. We became something we wish we could be. We THINK we need to run the ball. What we need is to gain positive yards. I don't care if we run it, pass it or lateral it. We should be taking what the defense gives us.
AND WE DIDN"T DO THAT. PLAIN AND SIMPLE.
I'll close with a question for the coaching staff. What would we have done if they put 10 men in the box???

 

[arthurracoon]

This game was lost because we stopped being who we are. We became something we wish we could be. We THINK we need to run the ball. What we need is to gain positive yards. I don't care if we run it, pass it or lateral it. We should be taking what the defense gives us.
AND WE DIDN"T DO THAT. PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

 

[gusmahler]

I wonder why it's so hard to find a holder. In the 80s, several teams had starting QBs as the holder (I particularly remember Theisman holding for the Skins and Montana for the 49ers). Lately, teams are going away from that, ostebsibly to have more consistency in the holding position (i.e., a punter is less likely to get injured than a QB, so you won't have to scramble to find a replacement holder in the middle of a game).

So why not have a backup WR as the holder? Carlyle Holliday, former college QB, would be a good candidate, right?

 

[Redmark]

Now today Dennis Green fires Keith Rowen as OC...imagine how strung out to dry Rowen must feel...Edgerrin James and Dennis Green were both saying during the week they want to run the ball more...so Rowen pretty much follows suit and he gets fired....

This is a cowardly move by Dennis Green...what he should do (but won't because he's too afraid to be exposed as incompetent) is announce that he is going to call the plays...he wouldn't have to fire anyone...several head coaches have taken over the play calling when their teams have struggled...without firing the offensive coordinator.

Making Rowen the scapegoat...and by perpetuating his ugly pattern of firing assistant coaches (Wood, Wylie, Rowen, Lindsay, O'Dea)...ultimately falls back on him...and makes one seriously question his ability to select and build a staff, much in the same way one has to question his ability to build an offensive line...in three years neither the coaching staff, nor the o-line, has been settled.

Agree with everything else in your post, especially about the punt plan or lack thereof; however, this was an excellent move by Coach Green. The players wonder ... why do we keep calling the same damn play when it's not working. The man responsible got fired and replaced with someone closer to the new offensive star of the team. You will now see a coach in synch with his QB and a team that is motivated to make those new calls work.

 

[ajcardfan]

I wonder why it's so hard to find a holder. In the 80s, several teams had starting QBs as the holder (I particularly remember Theisman holding for the Skins and Montana for the 49ers). Lately, teams are going away from that, ostebsibly to have more consistency in the holding position (i.e., a punter is less likely to get injured than a QB, so you won't have to scramble to find a replacement holder in the middle of a game).

So why not have a backup WR as the holder? Carlyle Holliday, former college QB, would be a good candidate, right?

It's really very simple. By having the punter hold, they and the kicker can work all practice. If you use a QB or WR, they either get less reps at their position, fewer reps as a holder, or longer practice time.

I agree though. Player as a holder has basically ruled out fakes for nine seasons now.