The Cards had played only 3 weeks when I started getting a few emails asking if the Cards could salvage the season. Now it’s a deluge. If you mean can they make the playoffs: no! If you’re asking will they improve: yes, but not enough for an exclamation point. They will get better, but don’t expect consistency and the competition is improving as well.
The Cards are a team of extremes. The Cards secondary is too young. Their pass rush is too old. The QB is actually better, but the receiving corps is worse. The middle of the O-line is slightly improved, while the tackle slots are in decline.
I still think Kolb could be fine, but he is surprisingly amateurish for having been tutored by Andy Reid. Reid thought Kolb could start, but then Reid's only real option was McNabb and we’ve seen him in action. It didn’t take Vick long to unseat Kolb. Yes, there was an injury, but there is also no comparison in game impact. It will take until next year to see what the Cards have at QB, but there is still reason for hope. Kolb has skills. If he can acquire the polish and learn to read defenses better, he can play in this league. I sure wish Whisenhunt and Warner got along better. Warner can teach, but there are apparently issues between them. We’ll see if I’m right soon about whether Tebow was the logical successor. He doesn’t have an arm like Warner’s but Tebow knows how to win if he’s allowed to play his game.
Then there’s the question of weapons for Kolb. Heap looks older than his years. Except for Fitzgerald, the receiving corps rarely catches much. I’m tired of hearing about receivers being allowed to leave due to injury potential. So that’s how Doucet got to be the number 2 receiver? They’re kidding, right? Of course, he won’t be re-signed either. The Cards have some backs, but still can’t figure out how to use a screen to penalize blitzes. The Cards’ own depth concerns appear to have limited Kolb’s running. So, from where will the improvement come? The offense won’t be getting much better, except they will run more.
Improvement will come from the defense. Though the secondary is young, it is also talented. O'Brien Schofield and Stewart Bradley will gradually contribute more. The line battles for time should help as well. There is talent on this defense, but a better job by the DC would help.
Finally, I’m getting asked if Whisenhunt is vulnerable. I believe not, but a better GM would have long ago put an end to this Steelers cronyism. This is Arizona. It’s one thing to want to emulate another program’s success. It’s quite another to want to be the other program. I’m not certain if Whisenhunt is still trying to prove he should have been the choice at Pittsburgh, but instead he needs to get his focus on Arizona. If you don’t have the players to make a system work; you change the system to fit the personnel. Otherwise, you keep losing.
This team won’t win the Luck sweepstakes. Too many teams are trying deliberately to win that. I’m thinking 4-5 wins is about the best this club can manage. They should have won 7-8, but that chance has passed. It's true the lock out hurt them more than others, but Seattle, Tennessee, Cleveland and others have made changes and still gotten more of the job done.
The Cards are a team of extremes. The Cards secondary is too young. Their pass rush is too old. The QB is actually better, but the receiving corps is worse. The middle of the O-line is slightly improved, while the tackle slots are in decline.
I still think Kolb could be fine, but he is surprisingly amateurish for having been tutored by Andy Reid. Reid thought Kolb could start, but then Reid's only real option was McNabb and we’ve seen him in action. It didn’t take Vick long to unseat Kolb. Yes, there was an injury, but there is also no comparison in game impact. It will take until next year to see what the Cards have at QB, but there is still reason for hope. Kolb has skills. If he can acquire the polish and learn to read defenses better, he can play in this league. I sure wish Whisenhunt and Warner got along better. Warner can teach, but there are apparently issues between them. We’ll see if I’m right soon about whether Tebow was the logical successor. He doesn’t have an arm like Warner’s but Tebow knows how to win if he’s allowed to play his game.
Then there’s the question of weapons for Kolb. Heap looks older than his years. Except for Fitzgerald, the receiving corps rarely catches much. I’m tired of hearing about receivers being allowed to leave due to injury potential. So that’s how Doucet got to be the number 2 receiver? They’re kidding, right? Of course, he won’t be re-signed either. The Cards have some backs, but still can’t figure out how to use a screen to penalize blitzes. The Cards’ own depth concerns appear to have limited Kolb’s running. So, from where will the improvement come? The offense won’t be getting much better, except they will run more.
Improvement will come from the defense. Though the secondary is young, it is also talented. O'Brien Schofield and Stewart Bradley will gradually contribute more. The line battles for time should help as well. There is talent on this defense, but a better job by the DC would help.
Finally, I’m getting asked if Whisenhunt is vulnerable. I believe not, but a better GM would have long ago put an end to this Steelers cronyism. This is Arizona. It’s one thing to want to emulate another program’s success. It’s quite another to want to be the other program. I’m not certain if Whisenhunt is still trying to prove he should have been the choice at Pittsburgh, but instead he needs to get his focus on Arizona. If you don’t have the players to make a system work; you change the system to fit the personnel. Otherwise, you keep losing.
This team won’t win the Luck sweepstakes. Too many teams are trying deliberately to win that. I’m thinking 4-5 wins is about the best this club can manage. They should have won 7-8, but that chance has passed. It's true the lock out hurt them more than others, but Seattle, Tennessee, Cleveland and others have made changes and still gotten more of the job done.
