Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
The Players Continue to Rule the Roost
Do you attribute last year's turnaround to Ken Whisenhunt and his staff---or to the players who finally said enough of this sh#%---or to both?
What this year's pre-season has suggested thus far--->the players' hands are firmly on the light switches. There has been no evidence thus far of a carry-over of momentum from last year.
Perhaps the one coach who deserves the most credit for helping to engineer last year's turnaround is Ray Horton. Horton gets it. He's been the most vocal of the coaches this past week---and he's been the one to call a spade a spade.
What has Horton been insisting? That "it's not a game of sometimes, but all the time." The climate that Horton grew accustomed to over the past decade was the one in Pittsburgh where if you wore the Steeler uniform you played physical, hard-hitting football in practice, in pre-season games, in the regular season games and in the playoffs. Rookies who came into the organization already had the heads-up. You come to camp ready to play physical football or you're gone.
You have to love what Horton said this week about penciling in starters:
"if you look on paper and said, 'can you pencil in your starters? Has this guy won the job?' i'd say no, because our first group, New Orleans went right down the field on the first drive, the second drive. Kansas City went down on the first one, went down on the second one. So would i say every starter's position is locked up? Nope. Uh-uh."
Adrian Wilson has been going around to his fellow veterans and demanding that they get their acts together. Wilson, who took a pay cut to remain a Cardinal for life, knows that Horton is right.
The problem remains---this group of Cardinals is just as capable of showing up soft as they did in the last two pre-season games, as it is capable of showing up hungry and resolute.
Ken Whisenhunt has not changed this climate in Arizona. Ray Horton is trying to now.
But---it's becoming more and more obvious---the players are doing their own thing.
The QB Struggles
One has to laugh when fallen starters from other teams like Tarvaris Jackson and Colt McCoy are being mentioned as trade targets for the Cardinals.
What would make anyone think Ken Whisenhunt, Mike Miller, Russ Grimm and John McNulty would suddenly take an average or slightly less than average QB and suddenly make him confident?
These coaches are QB busters.
"He missed an open guy. He missed an open guy."
Big freaking deal.
The fact is---they can't coach good enough QB play because they cannot impart any real sense of confidence in their QBs. They put all their QBs on trial to the point where their QBs play defensive offense.
in Ken Whisenhunt's 5 years in Arizona---there was only one year (2009) where the Cardinals came into camp knowing exactly who the starting QB would be---and that QB, Kurt Warner, had to not only wrest the job away from Matt Leinart, he had to convince Whisenhunt to change the offense to fit his style.
Whisenhunt wanted to run the ball on first and second downs. Warner said he needed to throw the ball early and often in order to get into a rhythm and not have to always be faced with pressure 3rd and 5s.
Warner simplified the offensive philosophy by convincing the coaches to exploit mismatches and to incorporate a set of pre-snap audibles that would allow Warner the autonomy to react to what the defense was showing him.
The results were stunning.
Put it this way---no one wanted to blitz Kurt Warner because they knew he would have the immediate answer.
But where does this leave the Cardinals now?
First of all, the coaches have not professed a commitment to any of the QBs the Cardinals have had on their roster since Warner retired.
There comes a time where---if you want to instill confidence in the player most responsible for the team's success that you have to make that commitment.
For example, why did Alex Smith suddenly have a pro Bowl year in SF last year?
Outgoing HC Mike Singleton had his daily issues and battles with Smith. No one on Singletary's team was scrutinized more that Smith was.
New HC Jim Harbaugh reached out to Smith and made a commitment to him.
Think that commitment made a difference?
The thing is---if the team senses that the HC doesn't have confidence in his QB, then why would they?
The other thing is about the Cardinals' QB situation is that they are so far behind the current offensive trends in the NFL in that the toughest teams to defend are those who have an established QB like Manning, Manning, Brady, Brees and Rodgers and whose offensive plays are called consistently at the line of scrimmage in reaction to how the defense is aligned.
A game of cat and mouse---for sure.
But the cat usually beats the mouse.
With the Cardinals' offense---which is so ridiculously predictable---the offense is most often the mouse and the defense is the cat.
One also gets the sense from what the Cardinals' coaches have said in the past about failed audible calls---that the coaches would rather have the QB run the play they called, regardless of the defensive alignment.
To think that despite all of this---and not previously having one pre-season of reps in the first team offense, that John Skelton would manage to go 8-4 in the games he played is astonishing.
Yet, alas, what kind of commitment and signs of confidence is Skelton getting from his coaches?
Whisenhunt has drawn so much attention to the QB competition that analysts on ESPN and NFL Network are breaking down the film of every one of Skelton's passes.
it's way TOO much scrutiny, especially for a young player.
And what does it take for a QB to excel in the NFL?
He has to be able to play free and loose.
Bill Belichick actually encourages his QBs to take as many risks as they want in practice---there are some days that even Tom Brady throws 2-3 interceptions---but---Belichick believes in learning from mistakes (better to learn it in practice) and he believe in having his QBs play unencumbered by the constant fear of failure.
in other words...Bellichick believes in running an offensive offense.
He also believes in exploiting LBers and safeties in the middle of the football field---and to date virtually no one has figured out a way to stop it.
What do we know about the Cardinals' plan of attack?
The LeBeau 34---Horton's Dilemma
The best news is we now have made a commitment to the LeBeau 34 in Arizona and we have a great teacher and mentor for the LeBeau 34 in Ray Horton.
The tough part is---the Cardinals' personnel from past defenses is not quite suitable for the LeBeau 34.
Horton said this week that the starters' jobs on defense are "not locked up."
Expect some surprises---some as early as week one---but several by mid-season, just as last year Horton infused the youth of the team into his defense.
The youth on the team knows nothing different.
The veterans, however, do---and they have been used to getting away with doing their own thing in key situations, which either creates a big play---or it results in an egregious miscommunication or coverage error.
There are 5 positions on the defense right now that are question marks:
LDE---Darnell Dockett is not a classic LeBeau 34 DE---as Dockett wants to out-quick his blockers and Horton wants and needs Dockett to occupy his blockers. When Dockett doesn't do his job, the defense can be run on easily up the middle.
SS---Adrian Wilson is very good playing in the box---but Horton wants and needs his safeties to be interchangeable, so that Horton can disguise his blitzes and, most importantly, his coverages. Wilson has a tough time playing in space and so it limits what Horton can do with him.
LOLB---O'Brien Schofield is not strong or stout enough to set the strong side edge, which is a mandatory aspect of the LeBeau 34. Clark Haggans is better versus the run but is not an edge pass rushing threat. What LeBeau insists about his OLBers is that they HAVE to be able to do both. Schofield can rush...but he can hold the edge and he is just learning how to cover. Sam Acho on the other side is markedly better at all three.
FS---Kerry Rhodes is not a "little guy who can hit." Rhodes brings good size to the position, but he doesn't bring a hitter's mentality. One of the ways the Steelers have been able to defend the Patriots, for example, is by punishing their WRs and TEs over the middle.
in today's game---if you don't cover, harass and punish WRs and TEs over the middle, you are going to bet beat and get beat often by a wide margin.
Don't forget too that the Cardinals play the Patriots in New England the second game of the year.
RCB---What Horton needs here is a player who can cover from a small cushion and lay vicious hits on any ballcarrier his way. Thus far, we have not seen William Gay fitting the bill---the closest to it has been rookie Jamell Fleming. With Fleming it appears like it's not a question of if, but when.
The good news is---Horton has clearly had an impact on his first two drafts and UCFA signings, because the answers may already be on the roster and they are: DE--David Carter, SS--Justin Bethel, FS--Blake Gideon, CB--Jamell Fleming. OLB Sam Acho has been one answer---now the team needs to search for an answer at SOLB. Look for the team to try to make a trade or to try to convert Stewart Bradley to SOLB.
Blaming the Woes on the Offensive Line
Enough already. These guys settled down last year and played reasonably well.
This pre-season even Ken Whisenhunt blamed them for Kolb's recent injury. Not a good precedent. .
Brown, Colledge and Sendlein have started in Super Bowls.
Snyder started in the NFC Championship game last year.
Bridges has started several playoff games and an NFC Championship.
Finally the Cardinals drafted three very talented offensive linemen in Massie, Kelemete and Potter---and they need to be groomed and pushed along.
John Skelton went 6-2 behind the line last year. Beanie had over 1,000 yards and over 4 yards per carry.
Time to start giving the players some credit.
So what are the answers?
imho---
1. The players have to decide to man up like they did last year...and this time keep it that way.
2. The coaches have to make a commitment to John Skelton and help him play confidently and loose.
3. The Cardinals need to make a trade for a SOLB.
4. Horton needs to keep insisting on discipline and toughness---and subbing out any player who isn't providing it.
5. The offensive line needs to be talked up, not trashed.
Do you attribute last year's turnaround to Ken Whisenhunt and his staff---or to the players who finally said enough of this sh#%---or to both?
What this year's pre-season has suggested thus far--->the players' hands are firmly on the light switches. There has been no evidence thus far of a carry-over of momentum from last year.
Perhaps the one coach who deserves the most credit for helping to engineer last year's turnaround is Ray Horton. Horton gets it. He's been the most vocal of the coaches this past week---and he's been the one to call a spade a spade.
What has Horton been insisting? That "it's not a game of sometimes, but all the time." The climate that Horton grew accustomed to over the past decade was the one in Pittsburgh where if you wore the Steeler uniform you played physical, hard-hitting football in practice, in pre-season games, in the regular season games and in the playoffs. Rookies who came into the organization already had the heads-up. You come to camp ready to play physical football or you're gone.
You have to love what Horton said this week about penciling in starters:
"if you look on paper and said, 'can you pencil in your starters? Has this guy won the job?' i'd say no, because our first group, New Orleans went right down the field on the first drive, the second drive. Kansas City went down on the first one, went down on the second one. So would i say every starter's position is locked up? Nope. Uh-uh."
Adrian Wilson has been going around to his fellow veterans and demanding that they get their acts together. Wilson, who took a pay cut to remain a Cardinal for life, knows that Horton is right.
The problem remains---this group of Cardinals is just as capable of showing up soft as they did in the last two pre-season games, as it is capable of showing up hungry and resolute.
Ken Whisenhunt has not changed this climate in Arizona. Ray Horton is trying to now.
But---it's becoming more and more obvious---the players are doing their own thing.
The QB Struggles
One has to laugh when fallen starters from other teams like Tarvaris Jackson and Colt McCoy are being mentioned as trade targets for the Cardinals.
What would make anyone think Ken Whisenhunt, Mike Miller, Russ Grimm and John McNulty would suddenly take an average or slightly less than average QB and suddenly make him confident?
These coaches are QB busters.
"He missed an open guy. He missed an open guy."
Big freaking deal.
The fact is---they can't coach good enough QB play because they cannot impart any real sense of confidence in their QBs. They put all their QBs on trial to the point where their QBs play defensive offense.
in Ken Whisenhunt's 5 years in Arizona---there was only one year (2009) where the Cardinals came into camp knowing exactly who the starting QB would be---and that QB, Kurt Warner, had to not only wrest the job away from Matt Leinart, he had to convince Whisenhunt to change the offense to fit his style.
Whisenhunt wanted to run the ball on first and second downs. Warner said he needed to throw the ball early and often in order to get into a rhythm and not have to always be faced with pressure 3rd and 5s.
Warner simplified the offensive philosophy by convincing the coaches to exploit mismatches and to incorporate a set of pre-snap audibles that would allow Warner the autonomy to react to what the defense was showing him.
The results were stunning.
Put it this way---no one wanted to blitz Kurt Warner because they knew he would have the immediate answer.
But where does this leave the Cardinals now?
First of all, the coaches have not professed a commitment to any of the QBs the Cardinals have had on their roster since Warner retired.
There comes a time where---if you want to instill confidence in the player most responsible for the team's success that you have to make that commitment.
For example, why did Alex Smith suddenly have a pro Bowl year in SF last year?
Outgoing HC Mike Singleton had his daily issues and battles with Smith. No one on Singletary's team was scrutinized more that Smith was.
New HC Jim Harbaugh reached out to Smith and made a commitment to him.
Think that commitment made a difference?
The thing is---if the team senses that the HC doesn't have confidence in his QB, then why would they?
The other thing is about the Cardinals' QB situation is that they are so far behind the current offensive trends in the NFL in that the toughest teams to defend are those who have an established QB like Manning, Manning, Brady, Brees and Rodgers and whose offensive plays are called consistently at the line of scrimmage in reaction to how the defense is aligned.
A game of cat and mouse---for sure.
But the cat usually beats the mouse.
With the Cardinals' offense---which is so ridiculously predictable---the offense is most often the mouse and the defense is the cat.
One also gets the sense from what the Cardinals' coaches have said in the past about failed audible calls---that the coaches would rather have the QB run the play they called, regardless of the defensive alignment.
To think that despite all of this---and not previously having one pre-season of reps in the first team offense, that John Skelton would manage to go 8-4 in the games he played is astonishing.
Yet, alas, what kind of commitment and signs of confidence is Skelton getting from his coaches?
Whisenhunt has drawn so much attention to the QB competition that analysts on ESPN and NFL Network are breaking down the film of every one of Skelton's passes.
it's way TOO much scrutiny, especially for a young player.
And what does it take for a QB to excel in the NFL?
He has to be able to play free and loose.
Bill Belichick actually encourages his QBs to take as many risks as they want in practice---there are some days that even Tom Brady throws 2-3 interceptions---but---Belichick believes in learning from mistakes (better to learn it in practice) and he believe in having his QBs play unencumbered by the constant fear of failure.
in other words...Bellichick believes in running an offensive offense.
He also believes in exploiting LBers and safeties in the middle of the football field---and to date virtually no one has figured out a way to stop it.
What do we know about the Cardinals' plan of attack?
The LeBeau 34---Horton's Dilemma
The best news is we now have made a commitment to the LeBeau 34 in Arizona and we have a great teacher and mentor for the LeBeau 34 in Ray Horton.
The tough part is---the Cardinals' personnel from past defenses is not quite suitable for the LeBeau 34.
Horton said this week that the starters' jobs on defense are "not locked up."
Expect some surprises---some as early as week one---but several by mid-season, just as last year Horton infused the youth of the team into his defense.
The youth on the team knows nothing different.
The veterans, however, do---and they have been used to getting away with doing their own thing in key situations, which either creates a big play---or it results in an egregious miscommunication or coverage error.
There are 5 positions on the defense right now that are question marks:
LDE---Darnell Dockett is not a classic LeBeau 34 DE---as Dockett wants to out-quick his blockers and Horton wants and needs Dockett to occupy his blockers. When Dockett doesn't do his job, the defense can be run on easily up the middle.
SS---Adrian Wilson is very good playing in the box---but Horton wants and needs his safeties to be interchangeable, so that Horton can disguise his blitzes and, most importantly, his coverages. Wilson has a tough time playing in space and so it limits what Horton can do with him.
LOLB---O'Brien Schofield is not strong or stout enough to set the strong side edge, which is a mandatory aspect of the LeBeau 34. Clark Haggans is better versus the run but is not an edge pass rushing threat. What LeBeau insists about his OLBers is that they HAVE to be able to do both. Schofield can rush...but he can hold the edge and he is just learning how to cover. Sam Acho on the other side is markedly better at all three.
FS---Kerry Rhodes is not a "little guy who can hit." Rhodes brings good size to the position, but he doesn't bring a hitter's mentality. One of the ways the Steelers have been able to defend the Patriots, for example, is by punishing their WRs and TEs over the middle.
in today's game---if you don't cover, harass and punish WRs and TEs over the middle, you are going to bet beat and get beat often by a wide margin.
Don't forget too that the Cardinals play the Patriots in New England the second game of the year.
RCB---What Horton needs here is a player who can cover from a small cushion and lay vicious hits on any ballcarrier his way. Thus far, we have not seen William Gay fitting the bill---the closest to it has been rookie Jamell Fleming. With Fleming it appears like it's not a question of if, but when.
The good news is---Horton has clearly had an impact on his first two drafts and UCFA signings, because the answers may already be on the roster and they are: DE--David Carter, SS--Justin Bethel, FS--Blake Gideon, CB--Jamell Fleming. OLB Sam Acho has been one answer---now the team needs to search for an answer at SOLB. Look for the team to try to make a trade or to try to convert Stewart Bradley to SOLB.
Blaming the Woes on the Offensive Line
Enough already. These guys settled down last year and played reasonably well.
This pre-season even Ken Whisenhunt blamed them for Kolb's recent injury. Not a good precedent. .
Brown, Colledge and Sendlein have started in Super Bowls.
Snyder started in the NFC Championship game last year.
Bridges has started several playoff games and an NFC Championship.
Finally the Cardinals drafted three very talented offensive linemen in Massie, Kelemete and Potter---and they need to be groomed and pushed along.
John Skelton went 6-2 behind the line last year. Beanie had over 1,000 yards and over 4 yards per carry.
Time to start giving the players some credit.
So what are the answers?
imho---
1. The players have to decide to man up like they did last year...and this time keep it that way.
2. The coaches have to make a commitment to John Skelton and help him play confidently and loose.
3. The Cardinals need to make a trade for a SOLB.
4. Horton needs to keep insisting on discipline and toughness---and subbing out any player who isn't providing it.
5. The offensive line needs to be talked up, not trashed.
Last edited:
