AZ 31 WAS 23

[Mitch]

This win was vintage BA. He went back to, as he said, "my roots" of "no risk, no biscuit."

This is how BA taught the Cardinals to win 4 years ago---aggressive play calling on offense and all-out pressure on defense when the game is on the line.

Still wondering why this type of effort and approach took so long to materialize this year---but, right now it just feels super good to see the Cardinals playing with urgency and aggressiveness in the 4th quarter.

There were lulls in all three phases in quarters 2 and 3---no question.

Thus, BA and the players have to focus on bringing this 4th quarter approach to all 60 minutes.

In light of this superb win---the game ball goes to BA. Thank you coach for bringing the fun and that good old feeling back.

 

[PJ1]

I have a feeling if we don't get that 4th and 1 BA would be bashed unmercifully.

 

[juza76]

why we cant win a game by large difference, ok what is matter is a win, but one problem of arians tenure here was the inability to kill the game
is mentality weakness,they cant be concentrate a full game,what?

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

I have a feeling if we don't get that 4th and 1 BA would be bashed unmercifully.

I personally liked it...he was playing to win the game.

 

[PJ1]

I personally liked it...he was playing to win the game.

I did too.

 

[PJ1]

why we cant win a game by large difference, ok what is matter is a win, but one problem of arians tenure here was the inability to kill the game
is mentality weakness,they cant be concentrate a full game,what?

Not sure how you question this win. The Redskins aren't a joke. Nice win full of big plays by the Cards.

 

[Shane]

I have a feeling if we don't get that 4th and 1 BA would be bashed unmercifully.

As he should you're the hero when it works in the goat when it doesn't

 

[JeffGollin]

Nice close game. The two teams matched up well. Pass Rush Presure: similar. QB Play: Similar. OL Blocking: Similar. Receiving: Similar. Pass Defense: Similar

Margin of Victory:

David Johnson

Crowd Noise (caused several motion flags)

 

[TheCardFan]

I have a feeling if we don't get that 4th and 1 BA would be bashed unmercifully.

100% agree. I can't remember the last time a team went for it inside their own 35 yard line at the end of a game (3:47 left) they were winning. You have to make that or you deserve to get bashed.

 

[WildBB]

Still wondering why this type of effort and approach took so long to materialize this year---but, right now it just feels super good to see the Cardinals playing with urgency and aggressiveness in the 4th quarter.

Injuries and a lack of cohesion along the OL. Palmer hasn't had much time in the pocket and wasn't sharp early as I'm sure you know.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Nice to grab a W... But, and maybe it's just me, but this team continues to underwhelm... So many area of weakness there just isn't enough room here.
We have created a situation where Palmer literally has to be superman in order for virtually any play to have a chance of success. Our oline simply can't protect him. He made several incredible throws today, the best being perhaps his TD bomb to JJ Nelson... and he also made plays with his legs - which is not putting Carson in a situation to succeed...
But the old guys got it done today, boosted by the young turk David Johnson. Palmer, Fitz and Campbell were ballin - and Gresham came to play as well...But it was the 3 old guys, along with DJ being DJ, that brought us the W today. Oh, and the crowd as well... We had that place rocking today!
Fitz became the youngest in NFL history to reach 1,100 receptions and man, I can't believe the level of toughness he is displaying week in and week out!

John Brown is damaged goods and I feel for the poor kid... such a bummer.
Every time I think it's impossible for Butler to be any worse, he proves me wrong.
CB#2 remains a gaping, GRAND CANYON size hole for this team...
Andre Eillngton... really? Just go with Kerwyn Williams from now on...
Tyvon Branch? Ughhh...

In the end, there is not much at all about this team that gets you excited. No legit game-breaking potential anywhere on the field. The bomb to JJ Nelson took an incredibly perfect throw and I wouldn't expect to see much of that again... so we have to hope for 15 play, 7-8 minute drives where Palmer, DJ and Fitz keep the chains moving. But that type of offense isn't able to be executed consistently throughout the game and so, as we see fairly routinely now, in the 2nd and 3rd (and even the 4th) quarters, the offense struggles to put up points... Today, if Campbell doesn't get that strip sack, my hunch is that the outcome could very well have been different.

 

[Buckybird]

I'll take this win because they desperately needed to show some heart coming down the stretch. They played with some heart & emotion, led by a willingness by BA to get Fitz to #3 all time at home...well played BA. Oh & that guy David Johnson played ok again too. Lol 12 games in a row with 100 total yards! Wow

I think the key was keeping cardinals killer Jackson to 1 big play. Whew

 

[Reign Blood]

We're just getting warmed up! Let's do this!

 

[Redneck Voodoo]

I'll say just a few things to prove my football acumen.

#1 Fitz is a god and I'm proud to be a fan of the team he represents.

#2 DJ is a FHOF'er if he stays healthy.

3# Palmer was balls on when it counted most.

#4 Floyd had a couple of huge blocks down the stretch and made a couple of catches at crucial times. With all of his warts, it's very hard for me to hate on the guy. I still think he has what it takes to be bigtime. (Probably all emotion).

#5 Thanks JJ, for showing up tonight.

#6 Butler is probably a nice guy (who knows, maybe he's an ass) but he needs to go.

#7 O-Line? WTH?

The End.

 

[Buckybird]

I will add this, thank goodness Cousins was off target on that last throw or it's a walkin TD & possible OT game in case nobody saw that

 

[nashman]

I will add this, thank goodness Cousins was off target on that last throw or it's a walkin TD & possible OT game in case nobody saw that

Off target because we finally blitzed his ass on that last drive the prevent crap is what got them down there anyway pass after pass

 

[Bert]

I have a feeling if we don't get that 4th and 1 BA would be bashed unmercifully.

Not by me, I promise. There was zero hesitation for me. I wanted them to go for it 100%. There's no way we wanted to punt that ball away and rely on the defense when they only needed a FG.

Season has been a disaster anyways, just freaking go for it. Especially the way DJ was rolling.

Even if we hadn't made it, I think it was absolutely the right call there. There is zero doubt in my mind that if we had punted they would have gotten atleast a field goal. Butler would have cranked it 20 yards, they woulda got atleast 15 on the return... You know the drill.

 

[Redneck Voodoo]

Not by me, I promise. There was zero hesitation for me. I wanted them to go for it 100%. There's no way we wanted to punt that ball away and rely on the defense when they only needed a FG.

Season has been a disaster anyways, just freaking go for it. Especially the way DJ was rolling.

Even if we hadn't made it, I think it was absolutely the right call there. There is zero doubt in my mind that if we had punted they would have gotten atleast a field goal. Butler would have cranked it 20 yards, they woulda got atleast 15 on the return... You know the drill.

I look at it like this: You're an NFL team with playoff ambitions - If you can't get a half-yard, you don't deserve to be in the playoffs anyway. Maybe that's unfair... but it's the way I see it as a fan.

 

[Garthshort]

It's VERY EASY to like the call because it worked. My guess if you asked a panel of five coaches/experts, the majority would have voted for punting. And those who voted, "go for it", would have sited our losing record, and added, "what do you have to lose".

 

[schutd]

It's VERY EASY to like the call because it worked. My guess if you asked a panel of five coaches/experts, the majority would have voted for punting. And those who voted, "go for it", would have sited our losing record, and added, "what do you have to lose".

Those coaches would also be making that call based on the assumption that their punter didnt suck donkey balls.

 

[Lorenzo]

Off target because we finally blitzed his ass on that last drive the prevent crap is what got them down there anyway pass after pass

those last two blitzes worked like a champ! dallas blitzed wash early in the game in a similar manner and it held them to FG attempts, but they went away from it once they got ahead. my guess is it is a gamble because they have WRs that can beat one on one coverage over the top. Reed(if I have his name right their star TE) was a big loss for them. that guy is the beast Vernon davis should have been.

 

[Mitch]

Offense:

Minuses:

* After another brisk tempo first possession TD, once again the offense goes into a stall---slower tempo and penalties.
* Floyd's drop
* Throwing the fade to Floyd with Norman on him and lesser defenders covering Fitz (like throwing to Smoke with the Vikings' 2 best CBs on him)
* Ulrich John's whiff on Murphy's sack
* Palmer taking that sack on the 3rd down play that led to Catanzaro's missed 54 yard FG

Plusses:

* Superb first drive for TD
* David Johnson's 180 all purpose yards, 2 TD
* Great blocks by Ulrich John and Nelson on Johnson's quick screen TD
* Fitzgerald playing like the consummate pro, running DBs over and reaching out for 1st downs
* Palmer playing error free and even ad libbing on a play and finding Fitz for a big first down
* Gresham running over Norman to move the chains
* DJH playing with confidence and pop next to Mike Iupati
* Floyd's perfectly executed switch route and catch for the TD
* BA going for it on 4th and 1 with game on the line---and DJH and Iupati caving in the left side of the line
* BA passing the ball to try to run out the the clock
* Palmer dropping the ball perfectly into the bucket and Nelson making a fantastic TD catch in traffic

 

[Mitch]

Defense:

* With the exception of Calais Campbell (great strip sack), Markus Golden (played better contain on QB) and Patrick Peterson (good coverage), it's hard to say if anyone else on the defense had a plus performance.
* Marcus Cooper was way too passive once again---Jefferson was not himself---Swearinger wasn't cleaning up as he has in the past---the ILB tandem of Minter and Bucannon has possibly their worst game (when one would fill, the other didn't scrape and clean up)---the tackling as a whole was shoddy---Chandler Jones, save for batting down a pass where he stood still, was practically invisible.
* And yet, at the end of the day they only gave up 333 yards and came up with the big interception at the end
* But this unit has to play much better than this.

Special Teams:

* Butler---man---
* Peterson---loved that he turned in a good return early in the game---is he showing signs of stepping up?
* Catanzaro---good, solid day 4/4 opts, 1/2 FG (miss from 54), 6 touchbacks

 

[CFLredzoned]

I think that was the first game this year where Palmer didn't make any big mistakes. Not only that, but he made several pinpoint accurate throws that he hasn't been making all year. I think this might reach back some to the Atlanta game. So I wonder if he's just getting over something that's been bothering him since the end of last season? And I wonder if Palmer throwing lasers is what it takes to lift up that receiving corp? Without that, are they just an average receiving corp that can't get any separation? Have they ever been able to get any separation going back to last year? I don't remember. But I have to admit, it was pretty refreshing having Spielman calling the game, pointing out your obvious flaws. I don't think Washington is known for having a great secondary. So it's probably not good when you can't get any separation on them.

On the 4th and 1, the OL did a great job not allowing any penetrators. If you remember last time against Seattle, somebody (I think DJH?) got too excited and whiffed on a guy off the edge that blew up the run. It was interesting what BA said after the game, if the play didn't work and Washington scored, he was confident in his offense to go back down and score again. I guess there was still 4 mins or so left. So yeah, it would have been hard for them to burn a full 4 mins from the 40.

The only thing that really concerned me was all the hits Palmer was taking. There were probably at least 5 times I saw an unblocked defender take a clean shot on him. You have to hand it to Palmer for not turning the ball over on any of those.

* Marcus Cooper was way too passive once again---Jefferson was not himself---Swearinger wasn't cleaning up as he has in the past---the ILB tandem of Minter and Bucannon has possibly their worst game (when one would fill, the other didn't scrape and clean up)---the tackling as a whole was shoddy---Chandler Jones, save for batting down a pass where he stood still, was practically invisible.

On Cooper, I think that is just is who he is. I remember talking about him when he first came on and had the big first(?) game with the picks. I remember seeing him on Cardinals OT and remarking at what a big dude he was for a CB. And the consensus at the time was that he would have trouble covering quicker receivers. So I think maybe (out of necessity) we're asking him to be something that he's not. And when it comes to quicker receivers, he really has no choice but to give them a ton of cushion - or get beat over the top.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

I have a feeling if we don't get that 4th and 1 BA would be bashed unmercifully.

Justifiably so, but while he could be criticized, no one should have been shocked he did it. That is BA for better or worse. .....Better this time at least, lol.