Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
The Fox announcers prior to the game reported that the Cardinal players, almost to a man, said they should be 4-2 and that they believed they could run the table on the remaining schedule. As for the 4-2 comments, why this rhetoric is permitted and condoned (and possibly even encouraged) by the coaches and the organization is extremely troubling. Obviously the players are in denial. Then, after forecasting running the table, the players went out and allowed the 0-5 Raiders to jump all over them from the start...which is the pattern for Dennis Green's Cardinals on the road...it's been the same script for the three road games this year...Seattle and Atlanta jumped out as well, sat on the Cardinals, and the Cardinals play with virtually no urgency on offense whatsoever to even threaten the lead...
About the two-minute offense (or lack thereof)...there is another important reason to go into the two-minute offense other than trying to make the most of all the precious seconds remaining...it's to try to get a young, struggling QB into a rhythm...Marc Trestman, despite his apparent ineptitude at running a regular offense, at least understood that when the regular offense was struggling (the young QB-Jake) it was helpful and wise to turn up the tempo to try to create rhythm and momentum.
Yesterday, the two-minute offense may have been the answer for the struggling Leinart...although we will never know, because regardless of who is calling the plays and strategies for the Cardinals under Green, the two-minute offense isn't even an option...in fact, the play-callers still think it's a good idea to start each possession with an Edgerrin James dive into the line for 0 yards, especially when the team is up against the clock...or...even worse, right when the Cardinals' defense has created an exciting turnover, so instead of running onto the field and taking the momentum in hand and taking shots at the end zone, the Cardinals think this is a better time to try to establish a non-existant running game. Go figure.
The lowly Raiders at least understood how to try to capitalize on momentum, for when they created turnovers, Andrew Walter went immediately up top for Randy Moss...no perfunctory run calls to diffuse momentum...go right for the jugular. It's that understanding by the Raiders alone that indicates how better coached they are than the Cardinals.
Speaking of the running game...it's time to talk about Edgerrin James. Edgerrin James has very little game left in him right now. He absorbed a 36/55 punishing on Monday night, and absorbed a variety of tough hits from Brian Urlacher, in particular. James is dancing at the holes because all he can see now are closed holes (even when there are small to medium holes), and all he can think about is covering up for the next hit...this is why James doesn't want to ever carry the football in a pre-season game, he is concerned about the punishment he takes druing the season, which is what makes James an enigma (say one thing and mean another)...he says he wants the ball as many times as possible, yet, James is wilting under the pounding. Right now the wilting is winning out...and one has to wonder if he is going to treat some games in the near future as pre-season games, especially if the coach he came to play for, the coach that wouldn't pound on him, is on his way out.
Some may argue that Edge's pounding has everything to do with the poor offensive line, but really, if a back carries the ball 36 times, he's going to get tackled close to 36 times or more anyway...and sometimes the hardest hits to absorb are the ones a RB takes going full speed...and Edge only takes a handful of those a game because he only hits a hole hard about five times a game.
Regardless, Edge has been part of the team's problem...as I and some others forecasted from the get-go. He's a high profile player who demands special treatment...who feels like he can say anything to the media and criticize the coaches for not running him more...who feels like he can maintain his own agenda, regardless of what the team's agenda is. True leaders want to contribute in pre-season games because they don't want special treatment, and, they value the coordination of teamwork and execution.
What was wrong with Matt Leinart yesterday? Wouldn't you have liked to have known what was going through his mind almost from the start yesterday. Leinart did not have that sparkle in his eyes...he looked visibly upset from the start. It made me wonder...and I would bet it has to do with the coaching changes, not feeling comfortable with the play-calling transition, and even worse, not feeling happy to be on a team where the players put forth such questionable effort.
I wondered whether Leinart was privvy to some sort of a team-wide schism on the issue of the current coaching situation...and I imagined that some players might have had the termerity to suggest at some point during the week that they come out flat versus the Raiders so that Green gets fired...a game they HAD to know could help shape the future of the coaching staff in Arizona.
Regardless...did the Cardinal players on the whole play like they were worried about losing their head coach? On the whole, the answer is a resounding no.
Did the Cardinal players on the whole play like a team that truly believes they can run the table? Emphatically no.
Such is the culture with the Cardinal players...and they have assumed this culture from their head coach...supply the media with the "could haves", "should haves," give the fans an inkling of hope by talking about dreams like running the table...and when the chips are down: show little urgency on the field...and at times, just quit.
How about the play-calling? It was just as expected...really. To hand the play calling off to a novice at this juncture of the season was about as stupid as fumbling the ball up 13 points with 5:03 on the clock. Leinart was hampered by the added confusion and plays coming in late and really the same type of ultra conservative play calling that has stopped the offense in its tracks...which includes having no idea whatsoever as to how to capitalize off of turnovers.
Leinart was also hampered by an extremely flawed game plan...how in the world the Cardinals offensive coaches would think that Oliver Ross could handle Derrick Burgess on an island (with no help from a TE or RB) is just plain idiotic. Even if they initally believed that Ross could handle Burgess, once they saw that he couldn't, why weren't there adjustments, such as keeping the RB in to Lienart's blind side to double on Burgess?
Further evidence of the flawed game plan was manifested by the Cardinals' lack of forethought as to what kind of pass coverage the Raiders were going to throw at them. The Raiders did the smart thing, they manned up on the receivers and they doubled on Boldin...and they counted on the Cardinals' schemes to be zone oriented while their pass rush would force Leinart into quick throws. The Cardinals still don't have a man package of WR routes that would take a defense out of man...they don't run rub offs, drags, go and fade patterns away from the safety. Man is often easier to beat than zone...especially for coming up with the big play.
Leinart was visibly despondent and no one seemed to know what to say and few teammates and coaches even tried to snap him out of it. This team has zero morale on offense...
The defense did not quit...they hit hard...unfortunately they had a poor game plan and effort themselves to start the game...the outcome of the game hinged on rattling Walters and for the first half they did little to nothing to rattle him...the pass rush was downright poor in the first quarter and Pendergast wasn't sending near enough blitzes...he and the team clearly underestimated the Raiders' ability to get the ball up field with Walter standing tall and untouched in the pocket. The Raiders first five opponents clearly knew what to do because the Raiders were until yesterday the most sacked team and last in the NFL in virtually every offensive category. Yesterday they torched the Cardinals for 400 yards and 17 first half points.
To Bertrand Berry's credit, he made noise after the first quarter...and others came harder at Walter, but with an offense that was ill-prepared to capitalize on turnovers for the third consecutive week, it was all to no avail.
Kudos to Adrian Wilson and Eric Green for continuing to lay the wood on people...and Gerald Hayes remains an unsung hero in the middle.
And I thought the rest of the defensive line (Dockett, Watson -first sack-, Cooper, Okeafor and Lewis) played great in the 2nd half. Cooper was all over the field making plays.
And Neil Rackers snapped out of his funk...going 3 for 3 in his last three attempts.
And kudos to A.J. Schable for hopping on Wakefield's fumble...which could have made the game more of a blowout early...and to Scott Player for making a tackle (first one ever?) on yet another long punt return.
Finally, John Clayton just reported that the Bidwills want to keep Green through 2007 if they can help it, so they don't have to pay him $2.5M if he's relieved of coaching duties.
I'll let you comment on Clayton's report...
About the two-minute offense (or lack thereof)...there is another important reason to go into the two-minute offense other than trying to make the most of all the precious seconds remaining...it's to try to get a young, struggling QB into a rhythm...Marc Trestman, despite his apparent ineptitude at running a regular offense, at least understood that when the regular offense was struggling (the young QB-Jake) it was helpful and wise to turn up the tempo to try to create rhythm and momentum.
Yesterday, the two-minute offense may have been the answer for the struggling Leinart...although we will never know, because regardless of who is calling the plays and strategies for the Cardinals under Green, the two-minute offense isn't even an option...in fact, the play-callers still think it's a good idea to start each possession with an Edgerrin James dive into the line for 0 yards, especially when the team is up against the clock...or...even worse, right when the Cardinals' defense has created an exciting turnover, so instead of running onto the field and taking the momentum in hand and taking shots at the end zone, the Cardinals think this is a better time to try to establish a non-existant running game. Go figure.
The lowly Raiders at least understood how to try to capitalize on momentum, for when they created turnovers, Andrew Walter went immediately up top for Randy Moss...no perfunctory run calls to diffuse momentum...go right for the jugular. It's that understanding by the Raiders alone that indicates how better coached they are than the Cardinals.
Speaking of the running game...it's time to talk about Edgerrin James. Edgerrin James has very little game left in him right now. He absorbed a 36/55 punishing on Monday night, and absorbed a variety of tough hits from Brian Urlacher, in particular. James is dancing at the holes because all he can see now are closed holes (even when there are small to medium holes), and all he can think about is covering up for the next hit...this is why James doesn't want to ever carry the football in a pre-season game, he is concerned about the punishment he takes druing the season, which is what makes James an enigma (say one thing and mean another)...he says he wants the ball as many times as possible, yet, James is wilting under the pounding. Right now the wilting is winning out...and one has to wonder if he is going to treat some games in the near future as pre-season games, especially if the coach he came to play for, the coach that wouldn't pound on him, is on his way out.
Some may argue that Edge's pounding has everything to do with the poor offensive line, but really, if a back carries the ball 36 times, he's going to get tackled close to 36 times or more anyway...and sometimes the hardest hits to absorb are the ones a RB takes going full speed...and Edge only takes a handful of those a game because he only hits a hole hard about five times a game.
Regardless, Edge has been part of the team's problem...as I and some others forecasted from the get-go. He's a high profile player who demands special treatment...who feels like he can say anything to the media and criticize the coaches for not running him more...who feels like he can maintain his own agenda, regardless of what the team's agenda is. True leaders want to contribute in pre-season games because they don't want special treatment, and, they value the coordination of teamwork and execution.
What was wrong with Matt Leinart yesterday? Wouldn't you have liked to have known what was going through his mind almost from the start yesterday. Leinart did not have that sparkle in his eyes...he looked visibly upset from the start. It made me wonder...and I would bet it has to do with the coaching changes, not feeling comfortable with the play-calling transition, and even worse, not feeling happy to be on a team where the players put forth such questionable effort.
I wondered whether Leinart was privvy to some sort of a team-wide schism on the issue of the current coaching situation...and I imagined that some players might have had the termerity to suggest at some point during the week that they come out flat versus the Raiders so that Green gets fired...a game they HAD to know could help shape the future of the coaching staff in Arizona.
Regardless...did the Cardinal players on the whole play like they were worried about losing their head coach? On the whole, the answer is a resounding no.
Did the Cardinal players on the whole play like a team that truly believes they can run the table? Emphatically no.
Such is the culture with the Cardinal players...and they have assumed this culture from their head coach...supply the media with the "could haves", "should haves," give the fans an inkling of hope by talking about dreams like running the table...and when the chips are down: show little urgency on the field...and at times, just quit.
How about the play-calling? It was just as expected...really. To hand the play calling off to a novice at this juncture of the season was about as stupid as fumbling the ball up 13 points with 5:03 on the clock. Leinart was hampered by the added confusion and plays coming in late and really the same type of ultra conservative play calling that has stopped the offense in its tracks...which includes having no idea whatsoever as to how to capitalize off of turnovers.
Leinart was also hampered by an extremely flawed game plan...how in the world the Cardinals offensive coaches would think that Oliver Ross could handle Derrick Burgess on an island (with no help from a TE or RB) is just plain idiotic. Even if they initally believed that Ross could handle Burgess, once they saw that he couldn't, why weren't there adjustments, such as keeping the RB in to Lienart's blind side to double on Burgess?
Further evidence of the flawed game plan was manifested by the Cardinals' lack of forethought as to what kind of pass coverage the Raiders were going to throw at them. The Raiders did the smart thing, they manned up on the receivers and they doubled on Boldin...and they counted on the Cardinals' schemes to be zone oriented while their pass rush would force Leinart into quick throws. The Cardinals still don't have a man package of WR routes that would take a defense out of man...they don't run rub offs, drags, go and fade patterns away from the safety. Man is often easier to beat than zone...especially for coming up with the big play.
Leinart was visibly despondent and no one seemed to know what to say and few teammates and coaches even tried to snap him out of it. This team has zero morale on offense...
The defense did not quit...they hit hard...unfortunately they had a poor game plan and effort themselves to start the game...the outcome of the game hinged on rattling Walters and for the first half they did little to nothing to rattle him...the pass rush was downright poor in the first quarter and Pendergast wasn't sending near enough blitzes...he and the team clearly underestimated the Raiders' ability to get the ball up field with Walter standing tall and untouched in the pocket. The Raiders first five opponents clearly knew what to do because the Raiders were until yesterday the most sacked team and last in the NFL in virtually every offensive category. Yesterday they torched the Cardinals for 400 yards and 17 first half points.
To Bertrand Berry's credit, he made noise after the first quarter...and others came harder at Walter, but with an offense that was ill-prepared to capitalize on turnovers for the third consecutive week, it was all to no avail.
Kudos to Adrian Wilson and Eric Green for continuing to lay the wood on people...and Gerald Hayes remains an unsung hero in the middle.
And I thought the rest of the defensive line (Dockett, Watson -first sack-, Cooper, Okeafor and Lewis) played great in the 2nd half. Cooper was all over the field making plays.
And Neil Rackers snapped out of his funk...going 3 for 3 in his last three attempts.
And kudos to A.J. Schable for hopping on Wakefield's fumble...which could have made the game more of a blowout early...and to Scott Player for making a tackle (first one ever?) on yet another long punt return.
Finally, John Clayton just reported that the Bidwills want to keep Green through 2007 if they can help it, so they don't have to pay him $2.5M if he's relieved of coaching duties.
I'll let you comment on Clayton's report...
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