AZ 38 TB 33: How? Why? What's Next?

[TJ]

Obviously, we are going to beat the snot out of the Lambs in England. It is deja vu, karma, whatever, it will happen.

It's called "regression to the mean." Rams have no business being 4-2 and will eventually come back to earth. Kudos to them for having an impressive start, but their level of talent is fairly average and just like seasons past, will not be able to finish off the season. We have a chance to start their downward spiral back to mediocrity. The ghost of Jeff Fischer will always haunt that team.

 

[iLLmatiC]

I would really like to see more of Tramon Williams at CB2. He seemed to be all over the WRs when coming in for PP. Yeah, he had a long throw against him, but even on that play, he was all over the WR.

He's more of a natural corner than Bethel is. We should stick Bethel back on special teams to pair with Buddah.

 

[MrYeahBut]

It's called "regression to the mean." Rams have no business being 4-2 and will eventually come back to earth. Kudos to them for having an impressive start, but their level of talent is fairly average and just like seasons past, will not be able to finish off the season. We have a chance to start their downward spiral back to mediocrity. The ghost of Jeff Fischer will always haunt that team.

With no fanfare, Gurley went off for 116 yds on 23 carries. So there's that to contend with.

 

[TJ]

He's more of a natural corner than Bethel is. We should stick Bethel back on special teams to pair with Buddah.

Agree. Putting TW as CB2 allows Bethel to go back to special teams full-time. Kill two birds with one stone.

 

[Harry]

Mitch, much here to digest. I certainly agree on the coaching regarding zone play. The safeties, especially Branch need to respond quicker. Once the receiver gaps or Branch anticipates a gap will occur above the the underneath coverage the safety has to come up. Mitch’s point about a Dansby is well taken. On the game thread I slammed his being on the field for an obvious passing down. He can no longer cover. He’s not a 3 down LB. I wonder if this is tied to his HOF Int total. That would be typical BA. He’s left the Cards twice over money. They owe him nothing but his paycheck. I know that sounds cold.

I thought Reddick continued to show growth. He caught Winston’s foot before Jones hit him. The penalty call was silly. The fact that opposing teams aren’t continuously attacking his position says volumes about his play. The Cards did a nice job of pairing him with Martin who BTW was held on several plays.

Mitch and I part company on the special teams. I oppose fair catching at the 5 yard line. There’s so little to lose. The kick returns are still pitiful. Other areas showed improvement but despite Baker’s nice play the gunners still are being outkicked by Lee.

 

[splitsecond]

The Cardinals proved 2 things in this game we already know about them: (1) that when they want to play, they can be very good; (2) when they lose interest, they pretty much self-destruct. There's still no telling which Cardinals' team will show up from week to week. But, Peterson has added some electricity and that kind of buzz can push a team over the hump (or should i say "humph"?).

I had goosebumps today when the crowd was chanting AP-AP-AP! God that felt so good!

The interest / no interest thing also plagued the 2008 team, and I would argue it was even worse then. Seattle has had issues with that in the past too to start seasons. its a true test of the coaching staff to get that fixed. I think they can.

As far as the chants, it all still seems surreal to me. Sitting there in the stadium watching all of that unfold and seeing Carson and Larry playing like they were 5 years younger was a truly special thing to experience, even if it is just one game.

 

[Vermont Maverick]

So true. He rarely fumbles, but when he does, they are at the worst possible moment in the game.

How is "leading by 19" the "worst possible moment"? I'd say it's the "best possible moment".

 

[Mitch]

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TOP 5 GRADES:
CB Patrick Peterson, 87.3 overall grade

Edge Chandler Jones, 82.8 overall grade

TE Jermaine Gresham, 82.0 overall grade

S Tramon Williams, 81.9 overall grade

WR Larry Fitzgerald, 80.2 overall grade

PERFORMANCES OF NOTE:
HB ADRIAN PETERSON, 79.1 OVERALL GRADE
This was the Adrian Peterson the Saints expected to get this season, even to some close to the “old school” Adrian Peterson, even down to throwing a fumble into an otherwise excellent game. Peterson got off to a fast start and meshed very quickly with the combination of Jermaine Gresham and the returning D.J. Humphries on the left side of the line, gaining 57 yards on eight carries off left end exploiting their blocking and shaky run defense from the Bucs’ defensive backs.

LT D.J. HUMPHRIES, 79.9 OVERALL GRADE
Humphries turned in the best game of his pro career on his return to the field for the first time since he left the Week 1 defeat to the Lions. Humprhies allowed two hurries and was a force in the run game creating vertical movement on the left side for Peterson to exploit on his explosive debut. In combination with improved displays from A.Q. Shipley (74.9 overall grade) and Jared Veldheer (75.6 overall grade) this was a performance to give hope that this Cardinals’ offensive line could start to come together in the coming weeks.

CB PATRICK PETERSON, 87.3 OVERALL GRADE
Peterson was stingy in coverage, being targeted four times and not allowing a reception while notching a pass break up. Peterson shut out opposing WR Mike Evans when matched up against him on four targets. Teams will continue to shy away from Peterson’s side as he’s only surrendered seven catches on 20 targets thus far. Peterson left the game late with a leg injury so it remains to be seen how that will effect him going forward.

EDGE CHANDLER JONES, 82.8 OVERALL GRADE
Chandler Jones was a tough task for Tampa Bay’s offensive line, he accounted for 10 total pressures and recorded two sacks. Jones finished the game with a pass-rush productivity (PRP) of 17.8, which is currently tops for Week 6 among edge defenders. Jones did most of his damage rushing from the right side, recording seven pressures on 34 pass-rush snaps. Jones seven sacks thus far put him on pace for his career-high of 14 in 2015.

 

[crisper57]

"What's Next" is absolute chaos in the NFC. Only one team is 5-1 (Eagles). The "good" teams are either 4-2 or 3-3 for the most part. And there are a lot of them. The last 10 games of the season are going to mirror the college football season in terms of each week dramatically reshaping the postseason. If the Cards can win in London and get to the bye week relatively intact, the middle stretch of the schedule sets up really nice for them (Niners, Seattle traveling on short rest, @Texans, hosting Jags). If they play like they did yesterday, they can easily be 7-4 by the end of that stretch in a division where 9-7 or 10-6 might be enough.

 

[JeffGollin]

Prime concern: Parity means every game will be a must-win and probably close. Which means the officials will have too big a say on the outcome of each game.