Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
First of all, I hope all of you had a very warm and enjoyable Thanksgiving. My thanks go out to Skkorp, for making ASFN what it is: the best forum any Cardinal fan could ever want for sharing information and opinions on our beloved Cardinals. I would also like to thank Jim O for his valuable contributions to this board. Thanks to Gary (Snakester) for being the most diligent analyst of Cardinal games...to Harry Greene for his insightful journalism...to Jo Sparkes for providing us with her entertaining viewpoints...to Russ Smith for being one of the most knowledgeable, dependable and dedicated Cardinal fans...to Joeshmo for being our resident capologist and all-around information guru...to K9 for being the board's devil's advocate and debate catalyst...to Jeff Gollin for being the voice of reason and epitome of class...to ArthurRaccoon for reminding us always that the Cardinal is still smiling and the glass is truly half full...to Red Desert for having the courage to wear his heart on his sleeve and the passion to stick to his convictions...to BigRed Ark for bringing a Woo Pig Sooey flavor to this board!...to our British Rock Invaders (England-on-Tour, Wembley, etc.) for bring a global perspective to the board...to JerseyGirl for bringing a woman's passion and grace to the board...and to all of you for your knowledgeable and impassioned contributions...thank you!
As for Matt Leinart...to have come right in as a rookie and performed as well as he did against Kansas City and Chicago right off the bat under the daunting circumstances of replacing a veteran Hall of Fame QB was incredibly impressive...imagine what his impact would have meant if the Cardinals had won those two games...but, alas, the Cardinals gave both games away and with that the entire team's bubble burst, leaving Leinart and others mired in frustration and despair. This was the reality and not an excuse.
As I wrote last week...following the devastating Bears loss, the negativity surrounding the Cardinals was at an all-time high...compounding matters for Leinart, in particular, were the coaching shuffles, the offensive line shuffles, the disgruntled attitudes and finger pointings of the coaches and players...the injury to Larry Fitzgerald, a key cog in the passing attack...the egocentric mien of the star free agent RB, Edgerrin James...and just plain poor coaching and team preparation for games. Leinart was given an inside view of all that can get ugly fast in the world of professional sports. Again, realities...not excuses.
Is it really any surprise that Leinart would struggle in the face of all of this?
Therefore, the way Leinart played last Sunday against the Lions should, IMO, be lauded. His 233 yards passing was impressive, particularly the way he threw the intermediate and long passes, often throwing the ball where only the WR could catch it. Equally impressive was Leinart's audible in the red zone that led to his nice TD pass to Bryant Johnson. Leinart was in command of his game...and the only area of his game that needed marked improvement was his throws on short passes, partly because he hurried those throws at times unnecessarily...and, where the dump off passes to James are concerned, James was being picked up in the middle and wasn't making much of an effort to shake his defender...
Which leads me to a concern I have about the planning of this offense. It would seem far more prudent to have James (instead of immediately running a route up the middle and abandoning the protection) protect for Leinart and then slip to the side as a safety valve where (a) his is more likely to create come space between him and his defender and (b) where Leinart can locate him faster.
The fact that the Cardinal coaches allow defenses to rush Leinart with little to no RB help in protection is mind boggling...especially when certain DEs (like Derrick Burgess, Demarcus Ware and Kalimba Edwards) are beating the Cardinal Ts regularly, one would think that leaving the RB in to help Leinart would be paramount.
Leinart now needs to assume a leadership role...which is hard to do as a rookie. He may not be able to fortify his leadership this year, but as the starting QB next year coming into camp and with an opportunity to help maximize the talents around him...hopefully with a much improved offensive line in front of him...and more creative and aggressive play calling...I believe Leinart will emerge as the bona fide leader of this offense. He will need to play a little tougher...but this is why getting his feet wet this year is a very good thing. Leinart should be much better prepared mentally and physically for the challenge next year.
This game tomorrow in Minnesota should be a very interesting one to watch. It figures to be an emotional game for Dennis Green, going back to his old stadium where he had so much success. The question is: will it be an emotional game for the Cardinal players?
I think last week the players played hard at home for themselves and for the fans. This week they are on the road...where, under Green, Cardinal teams have come out flat, allowed the other team to jump ahead, and then shown little urgency or resolve to mount a concerted comeback...the terms "playing out the string" and "going through the motions" come to mind.
Will the Cardinal players play hard for themselves knowing that the fans are back home and that Green has an added interest in the outcome of this game?
Regarding the head coach candidates who have been mentioned and rumored about in recent days...here are my thoughts...
First I want to reiterate that the Cardinals need to do for Matt Leinart what they failed to do for Jake Plummer...hire an innovative and well versed offensive head coach who can help raise the QB's game and the offense itself to the highest level.
What about Steve Mariucci? Yes, he is an offensive minded coach...so in that respect he fits the bill. He runs a version of the West Coast offense...and has a command of his X's and O's. However, with Mariucci, there is something lacking in his persona as a head coach...be it a lack of toughness or charisma...Don't get me wrong, he is a very likeable and personable guy...and he has class...but, players don't seem to be all that leery of Mooch...and players seem to have their way with him. This is why I don't think Mooch is the right guy for the job. I think he would be a very good college coach and I hope for his sake that he pursues a high profile college job...because he strikes me as another Pete Carroll waiting to happen. Mooch would have his way with college kids...the way Pete has had his way.
Speaking of Pete Carroll. Pete is a defensive coach, to begin with. But...he does have a knack for getting good offensive coaches around him. I have always liked Pete Carroll's energy and his George Allen-like enthusiasm. But, IMO, he would be crazy to leave USC...sanctions or no sanctions. He is made to order for that job. But, as far as I am concerned, Pete Carroll is not the kind of offensive head coach the Cardinals need...so if it were up to me I wouldn't even consider him.
The same for Ron Rivera...this guy is a defensive coach with charisma and moxie...but he's inexperienced...which always should be a concern...unless Rivera had an experienced offensive staff in place to come with him, I would be very skeptical of his chances here...I think he would be admired by the players and he would command their respect...but, like the Cardinal head coaches of the recent past, I don't think Rivera would bring with him that special edge in football knowledge or expertise. He would bring attitude...and maybe that's what the Cardinals need most...but attitude will only last so long if the team continues to lose and/or continues to get outcoached.
To me the ONLY college coach I would at all consider is Charlie Weis...because of his success at the pro level. If it were up to me, I would offer him as lucrative a deal as I could, even though the odds are that he will remain in South Bend for years to come. Weis is not only an offensive genius, he is a no nonsense coach who the players respect.
Assuming that Weis is not a real possibility...I am still hoping for a Vermeil/Saunders package (either as GM/HC or HC/OC). Vermeil has a gift for bringing along young QBs...and he will not be outworked by anyone. He and his coaches will fall asleep late at night watching game film...and trying to find the preparation edge that will win them ballgames.
As a final note...and a K9 pleaser/teaser at that...I am very happy that Jon Bronson was just called up to the 53 man roster. He immediately upgrades our special teams...and for a team that has been searching for help on special teams why he hasn't been on the roster since day one is another mind boggler...Bronson is one of those rare STers who can bring fear to an entire wedge. And I still think he got short shrifted at FB...I can still picture him blowing out the Steeler LBers on the ISO plays during the first exhibition game...yeah, he missed one pass protection block the next game and the experiment was over. Hopefully he will be given another chance.
As for Matt Leinart...to have come right in as a rookie and performed as well as he did against Kansas City and Chicago right off the bat under the daunting circumstances of replacing a veteran Hall of Fame QB was incredibly impressive...imagine what his impact would have meant if the Cardinals had won those two games...but, alas, the Cardinals gave both games away and with that the entire team's bubble burst, leaving Leinart and others mired in frustration and despair. This was the reality and not an excuse.
As I wrote last week...following the devastating Bears loss, the negativity surrounding the Cardinals was at an all-time high...compounding matters for Leinart, in particular, were the coaching shuffles, the offensive line shuffles, the disgruntled attitudes and finger pointings of the coaches and players...the injury to Larry Fitzgerald, a key cog in the passing attack...the egocentric mien of the star free agent RB, Edgerrin James...and just plain poor coaching and team preparation for games. Leinart was given an inside view of all that can get ugly fast in the world of professional sports. Again, realities...not excuses.
Is it really any surprise that Leinart would struggle in the face of all of this?
Therefore, the way Leinart played last Sunday against the Lions should, IMO, be lauded. His 233 yards passing was impressive, particularly the way he threw the intermediate and long passes, often throwing the ball where only the WR could catch it. Equally impressive was Leinart's audible in the red zone that led to his nice TD pass to Bryant Johnson. Leinart was in command of his game...and the only area of his game that needed marked improvement was his throws on short passes, partly because he hurried those throws at times unnecessarily...and, where the dump off passes to James are concerned, James was being picked up in the middle and wasn't making much of an effort to shake his defender...
Which leads me to a concern I have about the planning of this offense. It would seem far more prudent to have James (instead of immediately running a route up the middle and abandoning the protection) protect for Leinart and then slip to the side as a safety valve where (a) his is more likely to create come space between him and his defender and (b) where Leinart can locate him faster.
The fact that the Cardinal coaches allow defenses to rush Leinart with little to no RB help in protection is mind boggling...especially when certain DEs (like Derrick Burgess, Demarcus Ware and Kalimba Edwards) are beating the Cardinal Ts regularly, one would think that leaving the RB in to help Leinart would be paramount.
Leinart now needs to assume a leadership role...which is hard to do as a rookie. He may not be able to fortify his leadership this year, but as the starting QB next year coming into camp and with an opportunity to help maximize the talents around him...hopefully with a much improved offensive line in front of him...and more creative and aggressive play calling...I believe Leinart will emerge as the bona fide leader of this offense. He will need to play a little tougher...but this is why getting his feet wet this year is a very good thing. Leinart should be much better prepared mentally and physically for the challenge next year.
This game tomorrow in Minnesota should be a very interesting one to watch. It figures to be an emotional game for Dennis Green, going back to his old stadium where he had so much success. The question is: will it be an emotional game for the Cardinal players?
I think last week the players played hard at home for themselves and for the fans. This week they are on the road...where, under Green, Cardinal teams have come out flat, allowed the other team to jump ahead, and then shown little urgency or resolve to mount a concerted comeback...the terms "playing out the string" and "going through the motions" come to mind.
Will the Cardinal players play hard for themselves knowing that the fans are back home and that Green has an added interest in the outcome of this game?
Regarding the head coach candidates who have been mentioned and rumored about in recent days...here are my thoughts...
First I want to reiterate that the Cardinals need to do for Matt Leinart what they failed to do for Jake Plummer...hire an innovative and well versed offensive head coach who can help raise the QB's game and the offense itself to the highest level.
What about Steve Mariucci? Yes, he is an offensive minded coach...so in that respect he fits the bill. He runs a version of the West Coast offense...and has a command of his X's and O's. However, with Mariucci, there is something lacking in his persona as a head coach...be it a lack of toughness or charisma...Don't get me wrong, he is a very likeable and personable guy...and he has class...but, players don't seem to be all that leery of Mooch...and players seem to have their way with him. This is why I don't think Mooch is the right guy for the job. I think he would be a very good college coach and I hope for his sake that he pursues a high profile college job...because he strikes me as another Pete Carroll waiting to happen. Mooch would have his way with college kids...the way Pete has had his way.
Speaking of Pete Carroll. Pete is a defensive coach, to begin with. But...he does have a knack for getting good offensive coaches around him. I have always liked Pete Carroll's energy and his George Allen-like enthusiasm. But, IMO, he would be crazy to leave USC...sanctions or no sanctions. He is made to order for that job. But, as far as I am concerned, Pete Carroll is not the kind of offensive head coach the Cardinals need...so if it were up to me I wouldn't even consider him.
The same for Ron Rivera...this guy is a defensive coach with charisma and moxie...but he's inexperienced...which always should be a concern...unless Rivera had an experienced offensive staff in place to come with him, I would be very skeptical of his chances here...I think he would be admired by the players and he would command their respect...but, like the Cardinal head coaches of the recent past, I don't think Rivera would bring with him that special edge in football knowledge or expertise. He would bring attitude...and maybe that's what the Cardinals need most...but attitude will only last so long if the team continues to lose and/or continues to get outcoached.
To me the ONLY college coach I would at all consider is Charlie Weis...because of his success at the pro level. If it were up to me, I would offer him as lucrative a deal as I could, even though the odds are that he will remain in South Bend for years to come. Weis is not only an offensive genius, he is a no nonsense coach who the players respect.
Assuming that Weis is not a real possibility...I am still hoping for a Vermeil/Saunders package (either as GM/HC or HC/OC). Vermeil has a gift for bringing along young QBs...and he will not be outworked by anyone. He and his coaches will fall asleep late at night watching game film...and trying to find the preparation edge that will win them ballgames.
As a final note...and a K9 pleaser/teaser at that...I am very happy that Jon Bronson was just called up to the 53 man roster. He immediately upgrades our special teams...and for a team that has been searching for help on special teams why he hasn't been on the roster since day one is another mind boggler...Bronson is one of those rare STers who can bring fear to an entire wedge. And I still think he got short shrifted at FB...I can still picture him blowing out the Steeler LBers on the ISO plays during the first exhibition game...yeah, he missed one pass protection block the next game and the experiment was over. Hopefully he will be given another chance.
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