Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
Cardinals end the season by making two very strong efforts and emphatic statements to division foes on the road. The blowout win means that the Cardinals went 4-1-1 in the NFC West and they won all three road games in the division. They have now set a record by winning 6 straight division games on the road.
Here are a mix of game thoughts with ones about next season:
QB:
Carson Palmer is a paragon of resilience. His play the last three weeks has been about as good as any stretch he's had in his 4 year tenure in AZ. Thanks to Palmer the offense has kept on ticking even after MF was cut and today after DJ was injured.
Drew Stanton won his one start this year---but once again today he was wildly inconsistent and turnover prone.
My own feeling is that the Cardinals would be better off if they added a QB who could put some competitive pressure on Palmer---and, in the process, give the team a stronger #2 option.
RB:
Been worried all year about DJ getting injured, largely because of his immense workload and because of his upright running style. This is why coaches stress pad level on contact because a low pad level protects the legs. Regardless, David Johnson was the team's MVP and put forth a running and receiving performance we Cardinals' fans have never seen before.
Andre Ellington played hard, but remains largely ineffective as a rusher.
Kerwynn Williams, on the other hand, runs with a passion and a burst that makes one sit up and take notice. He has emerged as one of the better tacklers on STs---and yes he missed the block on the punt team, but why he was put in the middle blocker role is one of the main reasons why it is completely fair to question Amos Jones' coaching decisions and preparations.
The Cardinals need to add a new RB this off-season---Williams is best as #3 RB---and it would be wise for the Cardinals to have a bona fide bell cow RB threat other than DJ so that they don't overwork him and so that he can get more reps at WR.
WR:
Fitz won the receptions title---although he says it should come with an asterisk. Ever classy. It would be hard to imagine that this was his last game, especially after how much fun the last few weeks of offense were.
J.J. Nelson continues to make strides in the offense. What a sensational catch he made on the deep fade on 4th and 7.
Jeremy Ross played well and scored a nice TD.
John Brown made a solid contribution, despite coping with his sickle cell trait.
The Cardinals need to add another WR to take MF's spot and to have some insurance in case John Brown's illness continues to affect his play.
TE:
Jermaine Gresham was quiet in the passing game but very active in the running game.
Darren Fells ran a perfect corner route and RAC for his TD. That was sweet!
If the Cardinals can re-sign Gresham and Fells, the unit will be solid again. It might be wise to draft a young TE this year, although Hakeem Valles looks like he could be a riser in year two and maybe Troy Niklas or Ifeanyi Momah makes a surprise comeback.
OL:
Harold Goodwin did a superb job of patching up the line. With Mathis, Veldheer and Humphries out, the offense didn't miss a beat---in fact it scored over 120 points the last 3 weeks.
How many times did we hear Aaron Donald's or Robert Quinn's names today? The job that Wetzel and Boehm did at LT and RG respectively was surprisingly good. Watford struggled some with William Hayes, but not often enough to hamper the offense.
Credit should go to A.Q. Shipley for being the glue in the middle. He may be the most unsung player on the offense.
The blessing in disguise for this o=line this year was the development of the young players and the depth of the unit. Humphries, Wetzel and Boehm all showed growth and promise...and they are all physical players.
DL:
Kudos to Peters, Rucker, Mauro, Campbell, Gunter and Williams---who consistently gave Todd Gurley no room to run.
Kudos to Golden and Jones for being dominant again versus a division rival on the road. Golden has been near unstoppable and Jones turned the corner for a strip sack and then stormed the middle off a textbook loop stunt with CC for another with CC meeting him at the QB.
LB:
Kevin Minter has one of his best games---not so sure his hit on Goff was a roughing penalty. But his blitzing has improved and he was a step closer in coverage today.
Sio Moore looks like a keeper. His forced fumble of Tavon Austin was a work of art.
Scooby Wright made a good STs tackle on one of the kickoffs.
DB:
Justin Bethel and Marcus Cooper were good today, both making good platys on the ball, Bethel's resulting in a pick 6.
Patrick Peterson seemed like he was just toying with guys out there and hopefully his antics as a faux punt returner are over, if the team finally acquires a legit return man.
D.J. Swearinger was outstanding in all aspects of SS play. His versatility is a real asset.
How about Harlan Miller at FS? What a head's up rangy interception of the WR pass and he did manage to trip up Gurley on the one potential home run TD opportunity he had.angled his punts very welkl
STs:
Ever since Carson Palmer settled Cat-Man down, he's been fantastic.
Brewer was good and Wile angled his punts very skillfully versus Austin, one time flipping the field in the process.
Give Amos Jones credit for coaching up the FG team to block leapers (Watford). If BA did want to make a change, John Fassell, the Rams' STs coordinator is a real good one, and as of tomorrow, he's available.
Jones did make progress on STs the past two weeks. The punt block and getting beat on a punt pass were not good---and were a reminder of past woes. Hopefully, the Cardinals' STs will improve significantly next year regardless of who is the coach.
BA:
Have to give BA a lot of credit for finishing strong. He set a very positive tone for the off-season because now the team remembers what the joy of good team wins feels like, while at the same time the team knows it has to come back stronger, more confident and much more hungry to make a splash in 2017.
Here are a mix of game thoughts with ones about next season:
QB:
Carson Palmer is a paragon of resilience. His play the last three weeks has been about as good as any stretch he's had in his 4 year tenure in AZ. Thanks to Palmer the offense has kept on ticking even after MF was cut and today after DJ was injured.
Drew Stanton won his one start this year---but once again today he was wildly inconsistent and turnover prone.
My own feeling is that the Cardinals would be better off if they added a QB who could put some competitive pressure on Palmer---and, in the process, give the team a stronger #2 option.
RB:
Been worried all year about DJ getting injured, largely because of his immense workload and because of his upright running style. This is why coaches stress pad level on contact because a low pad level protects the legs. Regardless, David Johnson was the team's MVP and put forth a running and receiving performance we Cardinals' fans have never seen before.
Andre Ellington played hard, but remains largely ineffective as a rusher.
Kerwynn Williams, on the other hand, runs with a passion and a burst that makes one sit up and take notice. He has emerged as one of the better tacklers on STs---and yes he missed the block on the punt team, but why he was put in the middle blocker role is one of the main reasons why it is completely fair to question Amos Jones' coaching decisions and preparations.
The Cardinals need to add a new RB this off-season---Williams is best as #3 RB---and it would be wise for the Cardinals to have a bona fide bell cow RB threat other than DJ so that they don't overwork him and so that he can get more reps at WR.
WR:
Fitz won the receptions title---although he says it should come with an asterisk. Ever classy. It would be hard to imagine that this was his last game, especially after how much fun the last few weeks of offense were.
J.J. Nelson continues to make strides in the offense. What a sensational catch he made on the deep fade on 4th and 7.
Jeremy Ross played well and scored a nice TD.
John Brown made a solid contribution, despite coping with his sickle cell trait.
The Cardinals need to add another WR to take MF's spot and to have some insurance in case John Brown's illness continues to affect his play.
TE:
Jermaine Gresham was quiet in the passing game but very active in the running game.
Darren Fells ran a perfect corner route and RAC for his TD. That was sweet!
If the Cardinals can re-sign Gresham and Fells, the unit will be solid again. It might be wise to draft a young TE this year, although Hakeem Valles looks like he could be a riser in year two and maybe Troy Niklas or Ifeanyi Momah makes a surprise comeback.
OL:
Harold Goodwin did a superb job of patching up the line. With Mathis, Veldheer and Humphries out, the offense didn't miss a beat---in fact it scored over 120 points the last 3 weeks.
How many times did we hear Aaron Donald's or Robert Quinn's names today? The job that Wetzel and Boehm did at LT and RG respectively was surprisingly good. Watford struggled some with William Hayes, but not often enough to hamper the offense.
Credit should go to A.Q. Shipley for being the glue in the middle. He may be the most unsung player on the offense.
The blessing in disguise for this o=line this year was the development of the young players and the depth of the unit. Humphries, Wetzel and Boehm all showed growth and promise...and they are all physical players.
DL:
Kudos to Peters, Rucker, Mauro, Campbell, Gunter and Williams---who consistently gave Todd Gurley no room to run.
Kudos to Golden and Jones for being dominant again versus a division rival on the road. Golden has been near unstoppable and Jones turned the corner for a strip sack and then stormed the middle off a textbook loop stunt with CC for another with CC meeting him at the QB.
LB:
Kevin Minter has one of his best games---not so sure his hit on Goff was a roughing penalty. But his blitzing has improved and he was a step closer in coverage today.
Sio Moore looks like a keeper. His forced fumble of Tavon Austin was a work of art.
Scooby Wright made a good STs tackle on one of the kickoffs.
DB:
Justin Bethel and Marcus Cooper were good today, both making good platys on the ball, Bethel's resulting in a pick 6.
Patrick Peterson seemed like he was just toying with guys out there and hopefully his antics as a faux punt returner are over, if the team finally acquires a legit return man.
D.J. Swearinger was outstanding in all aspects of SS play. His versatility is a real asset.
How about Harlan Miller at FS? What a head's up rangy interception of the WR pass and he did manage to trip up Gurley on the one potential home run TD opportunity he had.angled his punts very welkl
STs:
Ever since Carson Palmer settled Cat-Man down, he's been fantastic.
Brewer was good and Wile angled his punts very skillfully versus Austin, one time flipping the field in the process.
Give Amos Jones credit for coaching up the FG team to block leapers (Watford). If BA did want to make a change, John Fassell, the Rams' STs coordinator is a real good one, and as of tomorrow, he's available.
Jones did make progress on STs the past two weeks. The punt block and getting beat on a punt pass were not good---and were a reminder of past woes. Hopefully, the Cardinals' STs will improve significantly next year regardless of who is the coach.
BA:
Have to give BA a lot of credit for finishing strong. He set a very positive tone for the off-season because now the team remembers what the joy of good team wins feels like, while at the same time the team knows it has to come back stronger, more confident and much more hungry to make a splash in 2017.
