Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
In some ways this week's game was one of the most challenging games the Cardinals have played this year. You already know all of the reasons why---but---one of the reasons is that the 49ers are making progress under Jim Tomsula and, as we saw, they still are a very physical and prideful football team.
Therefore, for the Cardinals to have persevered in this game, no matter how frustrating it was at times, and to win in SF for the first time since 2008, is laudable.
BA said it so well in his press conference that it is a luxury to be able to address improvement areas following a narrow win. And clearly, that is what the team intends to do, including new Papa Peterson who called the defense in today to get, as he said, "things fixed."
What Peterson is alluding to one would assume were the breakdowns in coverage where SF TEs were left uncovered on simple crossing patterns---the first of which came on a Gabbert scramble that put Markus Golden in the dubious position of having to decide whether to abandon coverage in order to tackle the QB or stick with the coverage and hope a teammate nearby could be there to make the tackle. Golden went for the QB and the QB threw to the TE. The second of which occurred when Gabbert scrambled again, only this time has the wherewithal to spot the open TE to the opposite side of the field. Why the TE was wide open on that play remains a mystery that Peterson and his teammates are trying to fix.
Gabbert, because of his mobility, presented the defense with a real problem---which is always the case when a defense plays as much man to man as the Cardinals do. What was frustrating is how easily Gabbert was able to bolt right through the pressure as Cardinals' rushers were not staying in their lanes, or getting off their blocks in time.
What's interesting is how BA's approach to offense is having an effect on the other offenses in the NFC West. Yesterday before the game, Jim Tomsula was saying that he wanted to take many more "shots downfield" than what they did in Seattle. Meanwhile, the Rams are running a whole lot of trips, stacks and bundle formations...and late in the 4th quarter, on a key 3rd and 6, the Seahawks, up 2, threw a gutsy pass over the middle which resulted in a surprising TD. In short, being super aggressive on offense is the rage of the NFL right now and BA has his fingerprints all over the trend. Plus---the two and three TE sets are now very in vogue around the league and not just in the NFC West.
If the SF was a battle of TEs---they would have won. The Cardinals' TEs were struggling, getting flagged for false starts, missing key blocks and not having much of a role in the passing game, save for a key reception by Jermaine Gresham in the 4th quarter. BA will be working extra hard on the TEs this week in practice.
He will also be working hard to figure out why his offense is struggling so badly in short yardage situations, as the line is not getting off the ball as they should and because of what looks to be missed assignments---like why didn't Mike Iupati block the ILB in his A gap who was closest to the short-yardage run away from his side.
It is not ideal to have smallish RBs like Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington be the ball carriers on third and short. It was great to see David Johnson, use his vision and power to cut back for his short yardage TD. David Johnson would appear to be best option in this role, and if Kerywnn Williams is promoted, even though his is a short RB, he has a knack for plowing into small creases in short yardage situations.
While the defense gave up its fair share of chunk yard plays---it may have been a blessing in disguise that Chandler Catanzaro missed the extra point, because it put an added sense of urgency for the defense to keep SF out of the end zone---which they managed to do thanks to a huge dialed up blitz sack of Gabbert by Tony Jefferson and then a dropped pass over the middle and then a throw underneath the sticks to Boldin that was two yards short---which, in retrospect for SF and Tomsula, Gabbert threw all too regularly underneath the sticks on third downs, and if not mistaken, SF was something like 0-9 in 3rd down conversions.
Huge plays on defense were delivered by Tyrann Mathieu who was all over the field making plays, which included 11 solo tackles, 3 pass breakups and a superb interception. Deone Bucannon made a huge play on 2nd and 1 in the 4th quarter where Sf could take the lead where he shot the gap and tackled Draughns for a 4 yard loss, setting up another 3rd down which Gabbert did not convert.
The kicking game had its warts---but Troy Niklas' huge hit on Bruce Ellington on one of the kickoffs was big, as was Alani Fua's recovery of Ellington's muffed punt.
The WRs had key catches to set up the FGs and TDs---like Palmer's stumbling bumbling falling backward lob to J.J. Nelson which he took to the SF one yard line---and Smokey Brown's 42 yard bomb---and Fitz's textbook out pass on 3rd down to the left sideline that moved the sticks on the GW drive---a drive which was led and finished off by the Cardinals' gutsy veteran QB, Carson Palmer. Palmer and company, just like the Cardinals' defense, stepped up when the chips were on the line---and in a game that felt and looked like it was going in frustratingly and painstakingly slow motion---the Cardinals picked up the pace very resiliently and tenaciously in crunch time.
Most importantly, what BA and his coaches have managed to do is create a fine blend of coaching preparation combined with superb player ownership.
Therefore, for the Cardinals to have persevered in this game, no matter how frustrating it was at times, and to win in SF for the first time since 2008, is laudable.
BA said it so well in his press conference that it is a luxury to be able to address improvement areas following a narrow win. And clearly, that is what the team intends to do, including new Papa Peterson who called the defense in today to get, as he said, "things fixed."
What Peterson is alluding to one would assume were the breakdowns in coverage where SF TEs were left uncovered on simple crossing patterns---the first of which came on a Gabbert scramble that put Markus Golden in the dubious position of having to decide whether to abandon coverage in order to tackle the QB or stick with the coverage and hope a teammate nearby could be there to make the tackle. Golden went for the QB and the QB threw to the TE. The second of which occurred when Gabbert scrambled again, only this time has the wherewithal to spot the open TE to the opposite side of the field. Why the TE was wide open on that play remains a mystery that Peterson and his teammates are trying to fix.
Gabbert, because of his mobility, presented the defense with a real problem---which is always the case when a defense plays as much man to man as the Cardinals do. What was frustrating is how easily Gabbert was able to bolt right through the pressure as Cardinals' rushers were not staying in their lanes, or getting off their blocks in time.
What's interesting is how BA's approach to offense is having an effect on the other offenses in the NFC West. Yesterday before the game, Jim Tomsula was saying that he wanted to take many more "shots downfield" than what they did in Seattle. Meanwhile, the Rams are running a whole lot of trips, stacks and bundle formations...and late in the 4th quarter, on a key 3rd and 6, the Seahawks, up 2, threw a gutsy pass over the middle which resulted in a surprising TD. In short, being super aggressive on offense is the rage of the NFL right now and BA has his fingerprints all over the trend. Plus---the two and three TE sets are now very in vogue around the league and not just in the NFC West.
If the SF was a battle of TEs---they would have won. The Cardinals' TEs were struggling, getting flagged for false starts, missing key blocks and not having much of a role in the passing game, save for a key reception by Jermaine Gresham in the 4th quarter. BA will be working extra hard on the TEs this week in practice.
He will also be working hard to figure out why his offense is struggling so badly in short yardage situations, as the line is not getting off the ball as they should and because of what looks to be missed assignments---like why didn't Mike Iupati block the ILB in his A gap who was closest to the short-yardage run away from his side.
It is not ideal to have smallish RBs like Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington be the ball carriers on third and short. It was great to see David Johnson, use his vision and power to cut back for his short yardage TD. David Johnson would appear to be best option in this role, and if Kerywnn Williams is promoted, even though his is a short RB, he has a knack for plowing into small creases in short yardage situations.
While the defense gave up its fair share of chunk yard plays---it may have been a blessing in disguise that Chandler Catanzaro missed the extra point, because it put an added sense of urgency for the defense to keep SF out of the end zone---which they managed to do thanks to a huge dialed up blitz sack of Gabbert by Tony Jefferson and then a dropped pass over the middle and then a throw underneath the sticks to Boldin that was two yards short---which, in retrospect for SF and Tomsula, Gabbert threw all too regularly underneath the sticks on third downs, and if not mistaken, SF was something like 0-9 in 3rd down conversions.
Huge plays on defense were delivered by Tyrann Mathieu who was all over the field making plays, which included 11 solo tackles, 3 pass breakups and a superb interception. Deone Bucannon made a huge play on 2nd and 1 in the 4th quarter where Sf could take the lead where he shot the gap and tackled Draughns for a 4 yard loss, setting up another 3rd down which Gabbert did not convert.
The kicking game had its warts---but Troy Niklas' huge hit on Bruce Ellington on one of the kickoffs was big, as was Alani Fua's recovery of Ellington's muffed punt.
The WRs had key catches to set up the FGs and TDs---like Palmer's stumbling bumbling falling backward lob to J.J. Nelson which he took to the SF one yard line---and Smokey Brown's 42 yard bomb---and Fitz's textbook out pass on 3rd down to the left sideline that moved the sticks on the GW drive---a drive which was led and finished off by the Cardinals' gutsy veteran QB, Carson Palmer. Palmer and company, just like the Cardinals' defense, stepped up when the chips were on the line---and in a game that felt and looked like it was going in frustratingly and painstakingly slow motion---the Cardinals picked up the pace very resiliently and tenaciously in crunch time.
Most importantly, what BA and his coaches have managed to do is create a fine blend of coaching preparation combined with superb player ownership.
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