Cardinals v Chargers game thread

[thirty-two]

Just got back.

Happy about the game despite the final score.

Hate to lose at home even if they don't count.

Note to Chargers' fans - this was a preseason game and not a Super Bowl. Wow. We were near some Bolts' fans that were pretty quiet the entire game, but started to get vocal with the mishandled hand-off TD and then after the final TD. Suddenly the Chargers are awesome and the Cards suck. One guy kept saying "Get used to that!" Uh. Idiot.

Yeah, what was up with that "Let's go Chargers" chant right after the TD at the end of the game. Okay?

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

Did anyone else notice Sendline get PWNED by the NT on Beanies 2ND RUN?

 

[PJ1]

You were disheartened that a bunch of scrubs who wont make their team drove down and scored on a bunch of guys who wont make our team?

None of it matters at all, but our 1s beat their 1s in the first half and thats the only thing of significance that happened in this game.

San Fran went 4-0 last year in preseason. The Colts went 0-4. It doesn't mean jack squat.

The game was a blast, the crowd was great (even for a preseason game) and our offense got going in a big way. Final score doesn't matter, I already forgot what it was.... Who won?

Yup I sure was. Would really have liked for them to close this one out. A big deal? Of course not but I get sick of our D gagging late in games.

 

[Shane]

Yup I sure was. Would really have liked for them to close this one out. A big deal? Of course not but I get sick of our D gagging late in games.

That wasnt really "our D" was it?

 

[Dayman]

I don't understand why some people are ostensibly writing off Beanie's rookie year. In the second half of the 2009 season, he ran for 483 yards on 106 attempts (4.6 ypc) and scored 6 TDs. He then went on to run for 91 yards against the Packers in the playoffs, including a key 42 yarder. Once he got acclimated, he performed like a solid NFL starter with a chance at becoming elite.

Admittedly, he was a different player last year, but it's been reported a few times that he dealt with multiple injuries throughout the season. Judging by the player I watched two years ago, as well as this preseason, I believe those injuries limited him more than we realized.

Who knows? Maybe he is the soft running back we watched last year who constantly went down on first contact. But I think it's insane to dismiss him as a quality player when he's shown a decent amount of skill and production in his limited playing time. I mean, people still bring up his alleged fumbling problem, and he didn't even lose one all of last year. In fact, he's only lost 2 fumbles in 292 career carries, yet he's still disparaged for his ball security issues.

If Beanie only shows a slight improvement over last year's performance, I'll be ready to consider him yet another bust in the Cardinal backfield. For now, I believe he'll resemble the man who shoved Giant defenders away with ease on his way to the end zone.

 

[TJ]

Change of direction, burst, vision, and the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield are not determined by your level of competition. You change direction the same against scrubs as you do against great players. Same goes for vision, burst, and catching the ball. These are some of the reasons that running backs are easier to evaluate.

You're right, because 75% of the running backs who reach the NFL level possess the skill set that you describe, which is why it's so easy for the average fan to "evaluate running backs." We saw a similar skill set from JJ Arrington when he came to the Cards. When the wins and losses counted, he turned out to be a wasted pick.

I dont know how many time I have to tell you before you comprehend the fact that competition plays a large role in how a running back performs. You can be good at changing direction and have great vision, but if you are going against a defense that is using their entire playbook and have faster playmakers, the ability to change direction and see the field is altered. In addition to which, your sample size is wayyyyyyyyy to small to make any determination that he is better than running back "X" or running back "Y."

Furthermore, you're trying to tell me that these superior qualities, which once again have been displayed for one quarter of preseason football, are easily determined based on a couple of plays; and is enough evidence for you to come to the conclusion that he is a better running back than Beanie. Please enlighten me as to how he has performed in the regular season when the Ws and Ls count. That's what matters.

It's obvious you are eager to get Wells off the roster. Fair enough. But to discount his performance this entire preseason all while heralding Williams as the 2nd coming of Walter Payton, with one quarter of preseason football as the backbone of your argument, is absurd. Lest we forget that Beanie had a good rookie season as the #2 back in a pass-happy offense in 2009. 800 yards, 4.6 ypc, and 7 TDs. And had he not underwent knee surgery last season and subsequently dealt with infections in that same knee, he may have capitalized off those numbers. To add, we were behind early in almost every single game last season and were forced to abolish the run entirely.

Beanie is running hard right now and has been pretty consistent getting positive yardage. Urban, Somers, and Jurecki echo my sentiments. At the moment, he is showing no signs of regression and I'm confident he'll give us a steady running game this season. It sucks that Williams cannot play this year as I think he would have been a fine compliment to Beanie, but even if he were healthy, Wells would still be the more talented and experienced running back of the two.

 

[Garthshort]

As fans we want to win every game. But I'm guessing that the coaches had some third stringers, that they wanted to look at. It doesn't seem that third stringers helped themselves, but who knows. At least it will be easy cutting down to 80 players.

 

[crisper57]

That was the most encouraging preseason game I can remember. They leapt ahead over last week for the most part. Starting to see how all those new pieces will come together.

And the game itself was entertaining to boot.

 

[Chopper0080]

You're right, because 75% of the running backs who reach the NFL level possess the skill set that you describe, which is why it's so easy for the average fan to "evaluate running backs." We saw a similar skill set from JJ Arrington when he came to the Cards. When the wins and losses counted, he turned out to be a wasted pick.

I dont know how many time I have to tell you before you comprehend the fact that competition plays a large role in how a running back performs. You can be good at changing direction and have great vision, but if you are going against a defense that is using their entire playbook and have faster playmakers, the ability to change direction and see the field is altered. In addition to which, your sample size is wayyyyyyyyy to small to make any determination that he is better than running back "X" or running back "Y."

Furthermore, you're trying to tell me that these superior qualities, which once again have been displayed for one quarter of preseason football, are easily determined based on a couple of plays; and is enough evidence for you to come to the conclusion that he is a better running back than Beanie. Please enlighten me as to how he has performed in the regular season when the Ws and Ls count. That's what matters.

It's obvious you are eager to get Wells off the roster. Fair enough. But to discount his performance this entire preseason all while heralding Williams as the 2nd coming of Walter Payton, with one quarter of preseason football as the backbone of your argument, is absurd. Lest we forget that Beanie had a good rookie season as the #2 back in a pass-happy offense in 2009. 800 yards, 4.6 ypc, and 7 TDs. And had he not underwent knee surgery last season and subsequently dealt with infections in that same knee, he may have capitalized off those numbers. To add, we were behind early in almost every single game last season and were forced to abolish the run entirely.

Beanie is running hard right now and has been pretty consistent getting positive yardage. Urban, Somers, and Jurecki echo my sentiments. At the moment, he is showing no signs of regression and I'm confident he'll give us a steady running game this season. It sucks that Williams cannot play this year as I think he would have been a fine compliment to Beanie, but even if he were healthy, Wells would still be the more talented and experienced running back of the two.

I guess that I am failing to put this in a way that is clear for you.

First off, please don't patronize me about putting words in your mouth, and then state that I am "heralding Williams like he is the 2nd coming of Walter Payton." Especially when your statement is far more sensational.

Secondly, how hard is to accept Chris Wells faults. The coaches specifically brought in Ryan Williams because Wells' had an inability to make defenders miss, pick up the blitz, and catch the ball out of the backfield. Even from a limited sample size in preseason and their respective college performances it is obvious that Ryan Williams is superior to Chris Wells in short area burst, vision, and catching the ball out of the backfield. It isn't like I am trying to say that Williams runs with more power than Wells, or that he is faster because Ryan Williams isn't. Because the Cardinals run a significant number of plays out of spread formations, this puts Wells at a disadvantage because it does not play to his strengths. Lateral quickness is very important for runningbacks in a spread formation and Ryan Williams has unquestionably superior lateral quickness that Chris Wells.

I respect that Wells has run better this preseason than he has in the past, but frankly that doesn't cover up the weaknesses in his game. People need to realize that this isn't the 70's, 80's and 90's anymore and that the ability to make defenders miss is a more important trait than a great stiff arm. Running hard is no longer the most desirable trait for a back and that is why backs like Chris Johnson, LeSean McCoy, and Jamal Charles are among the best in the league rather than players like Cedric Benson, Marshawn Lynch, and Brandon Jacobs. Make no mistake Felix Jones and Ahmad Bradshaw are starting for a reason and it is because they have certain skill sets, skill sets that Ryan Williams also shares.