Chiefs 27 Cardinals 17 Thoughts

[Garthshort]

My point about the OL is that I think that they'll improve as the year goes on and they gain experience as a unit. Of course an injury could change all that. I'll wait for the regular season to get a read on their progress, though I admit that there is plenty of work to do.

B/t/w, the Bleacher Report had some nice things to say about Michael Floyd, and it concerned his blocking on the long run by William Powell. The play was to the other side of the field, from where MF was lined up, and he chased the RB down the field and made a nice block allowing Powell to pick up addl yardage. According to the BR this was typical of his play at Notre Dame. Did anyone notice?

 

[Hopper15]

Cards are in big trouble at QB and on their Oline. I think you guys better buckle up for a long season.

 

[Duckjake]

Cards are in big trouble at QB and on their Oline. I think you guys better buckle up for a long season.

Not really. In 2007 Eli Manning tied for the league high in interceptions with 20, had a 56.1 completion percentage, a 73.9 QB rating. The Giants had the 17th ranked scoring defense and Brandon Jacobs as their leading rusher, and the Giants won the Super Bowl.

If they can do it so can the Cards and Double Deuce.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

While we might not have the worst Oline in the NFL, we're definitely in the lower quarter IMO.

LT-regarded as one of the worse pass protectors in the league! Is perception not the reality when talking about Levi? IMO when blocking a teams best edge rusher, a LT shouldn't need help almost every play because he is supposed to be considered the best pass blocker on the team...Levi needs 2 players too help him. Never should've been resigned!

LG-College started slow last year & might have been the Olines most consistent player. Good pickup.

C-Seindlein sometimes gets overpowered by biggest inside players but has been the most solid player on a average line for years.

RG-Snyder has always been considered a liability in pass pro, but very good in the run game. Can play G & OT but better inside. If the Cards still throw 60+ % of the time, Snyder was a mistake in FA.

RT-Bridges wins the job by default. He's solid but has never started for long stretches of his career for a reason. Nasty, emotional leader who can play but is limited. Solid but less than desirable starter.

Agree or disagree? IMO that's not the makings of anything but average to bad & will always limit a teams ability to win...Kurt Warner or Manning isn't QB'ing this team so it's limitations are magnified.just my 2 cents Fish.

I agree.

Sendlien is the best lineman we have on our line right now. If that is the ceiling of talent, then that is all you need to know about the ability of the offensive line.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

My point about the OL is that I think that they'll improve as the year goes on and they gain experience as a unit. Of course an injury could change all that. I'll wait for the regular season to get a read on their progress, though I admit that there is plenty of work to do.

So 5th verse same as the 1st ?

 

[kerouac9]

Y'all kind of need to chill out a little bit. 2nd game in six days and they've been on the road the entire time. After 10 days in Flagstaff. They're not going to look solid coming out of that experience.

They might have lost three or four practices for travel alone at this point. That's hundreds of reps and maybe 10+ hours of classroom time and film study. That stuff matters.

We can all hope that Floyd's preseason is for the same reason as Boldin's. People might not remember but the Cards were so impressed with Boldin in rookie camp and training camp that they intentionally "hid" him in the preseason. He didn't play much and they didn't scheme him that much then he burst on the scene in the Detroit game. It didn't take long for it to get out that the Cards knew all along how good he was they were just hiding him.

If Floyd can be half that good this year it'll be great. Remember Boldin did that with Blake and McCown at QB, it is possible to have a great year with mediocre QB's.

Of course, Boldin was the only NFL-caliber offensive weapon on that team, and Floyd is going to have to fight for Fitz's scraps.

It's stunning that last year Fitz was superior to Boldin's rookie year in pretty much every single way and we treat it like it's no big deal.

Also, we were the worst team in the NFL by far in Boldin's rookie year. He got fat on a bunch of five-yard dumpoffs on third-and-15 that he got 11 yards on the play. It was riveting to watch, but he was a diamond in a field of turd.

 

[Duckjake]

Y'all kind of need to chill out a little bit. 2nd game in six days and they've been on the road the entire time. After 10 days in Flagstaff. They're not going to look solid coming out of that experience.

They might have lost three or four practices for travel alone at this point. That's hundreds of reps and maybe 10+ hours of classroom time and film study. That stuff matters.



Of course, Boldin was the only NFL-caliber offensive weapon on that team, and Floyd is going to have to fight for Fitz's scraps.

It's stunning that last year Fitz was superior to Boldin's rookie year in pretty much every single way and we treat it like it's no big deal.

Also, we were the worst team in the NFL by far in Boldin's rookie year. He got fat on a bunch of five-yard dumpoffs on third-and-15 that he got 11 yards on the play. It was riveting to watch, but he was a diamond in a field of turd.

On the other hand opposing defenses knew Boldin was all we had and he still put up fantastic numbers with crummy QBs. As a rookie. He even averaged 8 yards per carry running the football. The Q was the GAM.

Question: are we going to be happy or the team successful if Floyd has 50 catches for 688 yards and 3 TDs?

Even more amazing to me is Rob Moore's 1997 season: 97 receptions, 1,584 yards with the rookie Jake Plummer(269), Kent Graham(250), and Stoney Case (55) throwing the football and zero running game.

 

[kerouac9]

On the other hand opposing defenses knew Boldin was all we had and he still put up fantastic numbers with crummy QBs. As a rookie. He even averaged 8 yards per carry running the football. The Q was the GAM.

Question: are we going to be happy or the team successful if Floyd has 50 catches for 688 yards and 3 TDs?

Even more amazing to me is Rob Moore's 1997 season: 97 receptions, 1,584 yards with the rookie Jake Plummer(269), Kent Graham(250), and Stoney Case (55) throwing the football and zero running game.

http://www.nfl.com/player/anquanboldin/2505587/situationalstats?season=2003

Meh. They shut him down more or less in the first halves of games, then when the Cards were down 24-6 at halftime, they let him do his thing.

Had twice as much yardage in the second halves of games than the first. Scored 7 TDs in the second halves of games against just 1 in the first half. 30% more receptions in the second halves of games.

Anquan Boldin had a remarkable individual rookie season, but that rookie season was enabled by a level of non-competitiveness by the team around him that I'm not sure that I've seen before or since.

 

[Russ Smith]

Y'all kind of need to chill out a little bit. 2nd game in six days and they've been on the road the entire time. After 10 days in Flagstaff. They're not going to look solid coming out of that experience.

They might have lost three or four practices for travel alone at this point. That's hundreds of reps and maybe 10+ hours of classroom time and film study. That stuff matters.



Of course, Boldin was the only NFL-caliber offensive weapon on that team, and Floyd is going to have to fight for Fitz's scraps.

It's stunning that last year Fitz was superior to Boldin's rookie year in pretty much every single way and we treat it like it's no big deal.

Also, we were the worst team in the NFL by far in Boldin's rookie year. He got fat on a bunch of five-yard dumpoffs on third-and-15 that he got 11 yards on the play. It was riveting to watch, but he was a diamond in a field of turd.

Boldin was a ROOKIE, Fitz was a multiple time Pro Bowler of course he had a great year last year but comparing that to Boldin's ROOKIE year?

And I agree Boldin didn't have a Fitz to compete with, that's why I said if Floyd can do half of what Boldin did it will be great. Frankly I'd be surprised if he does that.

101 catches 1377 yards 8 TD's, if Floyd puts up 50+ catches 650 + yards 4+ TD's I'd be surprised. There's competition for PT a terrible OL and mediocre QB's it's going to be tough to put up those kind of numbers.

 

[THESMEL]

We passed more than any team in history over them years, running was and after thought and we dared the defense to blitz our oline us every freaking down! Our starting RB had 143 carries a season 2 years in row- Thats like the amount a real starting RB gets in 4-5 games in the NFL!

Now during that time we had 2 -26 sack seasons while passing 600+ times with a QB that can't outrun most lineman in the NFL. But the man did have a quick release and GSOT experience! ( they used a run game)

Kurt set individual game records in QB ratings and completion percentage - playoff and SB records- while passing Q who had franchise recieving records that were beat by Fitzgeralds new records.

We went our first Superbowl and then a 10-6 and the divisional playoffs on this Olines shoulders- The pressure was on the Oline every stinking down every stinking game for every stinking season by design.

We added a lil balance each of the last couple years and are still well above NFL normals. We were 24th in Rush attempts last year. And 3 or more recievers is our base formation.

THAT IS WHY I pee on these particular cheerios, if you want to argue about this - i'd be the right MFer

How many playoff games has the great Joe Thomas been too!

I don't think anyone could argue that our O-Line has been a bottom 7 unit for 5 years.

We needed a HOF QB with one of the quickest, most accurate releases in history to make them look like a top-20 line.

Russ Grimm, and ultimately, Whiz himself are completely to blame for this.

 

[kerouac9]

Boldin was a ROOKIE, Fitz was a multiple time Pro Bowler of course he had a great year last year but comparing that to Boldin's ROOKIE year?

And I agree Boldin didn't have a Fitz to compete with, that's why I said if Floyd can do half of what Boldin did it will be great. Frankly I'd be surprised if he does that.

101 catches 1377 yards 8 TD's, if Floyd puts up 50+ catches 650 + yards 4+ TD's I'd be surprised. There's competition for PT a terrible OL and mediocre QB's it's going to be tough to put up those kind of numbers.

That's all well and good, but Jeff Blake >>>>>>>>>> Kevin Kolb & John Skelton. The offense in 2003 was designed to get the ball to Anquan Boldin as much as possible, especially after defenses dropped into prevent defenses halfway through the second quarter after building up a four-score lead.

I think that Floyd could have 4+ TDs, but I don't think there's a chance he gets 50 catches and 650 yards is the absolute ceiling.

 

[daves]

Also, we were the worst team in the NFL by far in Boldin's rookie year. He got fat on a bunch of five-yard dumpoffs on third-and-15 that he got 11 yards on the play. It was riveting to watch, but he was a diamond in a field of turd.

HUH???

He was indeed a diamond in a field of turd, but my recollection of his performance was completely different from yours, so i went ahead and started checking the game logs from Boldin's rookie season. Just looking at the first three games, EVERY SINGLE 3rd down completion to Boldin went for a 1st down or TD.

1 @ DET
   1 3rd &  2: 20 yds, 1st down
   2 3rd &  2:  7 yds, TD
   3 3rd & 14: drew PI, 1st down
   4 3rd &  4: 14 yds, 1st down
   5 1st & 10: 13 yds, 1st down
   6 3rd &  9: 71 yds, TD
   7 3rd &  7: 21 yds, 1st down
   8 2nd & 14:  2 yds
   9 2nd & 10:  1 yd
  10 3rd &  9: 39 yds, 1st down
  11 2nd &  3: 29 yds, 1st down

2 vs. SEA
   1 3rd &  5:  5 yds, 1st down
   2 2nd &  8:  5 yds
   3 3rd &  3:  6 yds, 1st down
   4 3rd & 10: 14 yds, 1st down
   5 1st & 10:  7 yds
   6 2nd & 15:  7 yds
   7 3rd &  2:  8 yds, 1st down
   8 1st & 10: 10 yds, 1st down

3 vs. GB
   1 3rd & 10: 38 yds, 1st down
   2 1st & 10: 22 yds, 1st down
   3 3rd &  6:  6 yds, 1st down
   4 1st & 20: 20 yds, 1st down
   5 2nd &  7: 13 yds, 1st down

I don't know where to find a breakdown of all his catches for the season, but i'd be shocked if he wasn't near the top of all WRs at converting 3rd downs.

Ah, there i see in the link you later posted to Boldin's situational stats that just under 62% of his receptions went for 1st downs. I can't find the percentage of 3rd down passes that went for 1st downs but based on his first 3 games i expect that the percentage was extremely high. For comparison, Randy Moss, who led the league in receiving in 2003 as a 6th-year player who was used as MUCH more of a downfield threat, with a MUCH better QB, had about 68% of his receptions go for 1st downs.

One of the only joys of that 2003 season was watching Boldin consistently bull his way through multiple tacklers for clutch 1st downs.

...dave

 

[az1965]

TE (3): HOUSLER, Skelton, Heap.

What about King? I think King should start.

 

[Duckjake]

http://www.nfl.com/player/anquanboldin/2505587/situationalstats?season=2003

Meh. They shut him down more or less in the first halves of games, then when the Cards were down 24-6 at halftime, they let him do his thing.

Had twice as much yardage in the second halves of games than the first. Scored 7 TDs in the second halves of games against just 1 in the first half. 30% more receptions in the second halves of games.

Anquan Boldin had a remarkable individual rookie season, but that rookie season was enabled by a level of non-competitiveness by the team around him that I'm not sure that I've seen before or since.

I saw it just two years ago. 7-41, 10-41, 18-36, 13-31, 6-27, 7-38. 31st in passing yards, 32nd in rushing yards, 30th in points allowed, and the offense generated just 13.68 ppg, a half point a game more than the 2003 team. Finished dead last in a Division that didn't even produce a winning team.

 

[Phrazbit]

I saw it just two years ago. 7-41, 10-41, 18-36, 13-31, 6-27, 7-38. 31st in passing yards, 32nd in rushing yards, 30th in points allowed, and the offense generated just 13.68 ppg, a half point a game more than the 2003 team. Finished dead last in a Division that didn't even produce a winning team.

I think that season would have been drastically different if not for Derek Anderson. He was so colossally bad that it seemed to sucked the life out the roster. I really am baffled by that decision. I really wish I could have been a fly on the wall when they discussed making him the starter... hell, even signing him in the first place. As much as I mock Kolb, he does not come anywhere near the level of ineptitude that Anderson rocked.

The guy is the worst NFL QB I have ever seen get a starting gig. There are probably worse dudes out there but not that have gotten the amount of PT that Anderson has during his career. He even sucked in college. You all are lucky I wasnt posting back then. Every Sunday I responded to Anderson they way an old man does to a flaming bag of feces on his doorstep.

 

[Duckjake]

I think that season would have been drastically different if not for Derek Anderson. He was so colossally bad that it seemed to sucked the life out the roster. I really am baffled by that decision. I really wish I could have been a fly on the wall when they discussed making him the starter... hell, even signing him in the first place. As much as I mock Kolb, he does not come anywhere near the level of ineptitude that Anderson rocked.

The guy is the worst NFL QB I have ever seen get a starting gig. There are probably worse dudes out there but not that have gotten the amount of PT that Anderson has during his career. He even sucked in college. You all are lucky I wasnt posting back then. Every Sunday I responded to Anderson they way an old man does to a flaming bag of feces on his doorstep.

First DeWreck Anderson then Kevin Kolb. I don't even want to imagine who the Cardinals brain trust would take at QB in the first round next season. Ah, they won't do that. They'll wait until the 6th round and take somebody like Dayne Crist of Kansas.

 

[Totally_Red]

First DeWreck Anderson then Kevin Kolb. I don't even want to imagine who the Cardinals brain trust would take at QB in the first round next season. Ah, they won't do that. They'll wait until the 6th round and take somebody like Dayne Crist of Kansas.

Or trade a second and Patrick Peterson for Mike Kafka.

 

[kerouac9]

HUH???

He was indeed a diamond in a field of turd, but my recollection of his performance was completely different from yours, so i went ahead and started checking the game logs from Boldin's rookie season. Just looking at the first three games, EVERY SINGLE 3rd down completion to Boldin went for a 1st down or TD.

1 @ DET
   1 3rd &  2: 20 yds, 1st down
   2 3rd &  2:  7 yds, TD
   3 3rd & 14: drew PI, 1st down
   4 3rd &  4: 14 yds, 1st down
   5 1st & 10: 13 yds, 1st down
   6 3rd &  9: 71 yds, TD
   7 3rd &  7: 21 yds, 1st down
   8 2nd & 14:  2 yds
   9 2nd & 10:  1 yd
  10 3rd &  9: 39 yds, 1st down
  11 2nd &  3: 29 yds, 1st down

2 vs. SEA
   1 3rd &  5:  5 yds, 1st down
   2 2nd &  8:  5 yds
   3 3rd &  3:  6 yds, 1st down
   4 3rd & 10: 14 yds, 1st down
   5 1st & 10:  7 yds
   6 2nd & 15:  7 yds
   7 3rd &  2:  8 yds, 1st down
   8 1st & 10: 10 yds, 1st down

3 vs. GB
   1 3rd & 10: 38 yds, 1st down
   2 1st & 10: 22 yds, 1st down
   3 3rd &  6:  6 yds, 1st down
   4 1st & 20: 20 yds, 1st down
   5 2nd &  7: 13 yds, 1st down

I don't know where to find a breakdown of all his catches for the season, but i'd be shocked if he wasn't near the top of all WRs at converting 3rd downs.

Ah, there i see in the link you later posted to Boldin's situational stats that just under 62% of his receptions went for 1st downs. I can't find the percentage of 3rd down passes that went for 1st downs but based on his first 3 games i expect that the percentage was extremely high. For comparison, Randy Moss, who led the league in receiving in 2003 as a 6th-year player who was used as MUCH more of a downfield threat, with a MUCH better QB, had about 68% of his receptions go for 1st downs.

One of the only joys of that 2003 season was watching Boldin consistently bull his way through multiple tacklers for clutch 1st downs.

...dave

How many "clutch" first downs can there be when you're down 28-7 in the first quarter?

Like that Seattle game: 8 catches, 62 yards in a game that we lost 38-0. Awesome?

 

[Russ Smith]

HUH???

He was indeed a diamond in a field of turd, but my recollection of his performance was completely different from yours, so i went ahead and started checking the game logs from Boldin's rookie season. Just looking at the first three games, EVERY SINGLE 3rd down completion to Boldin went for a 1st down or TD.

1 @ DET
   1 3rd &  2: 20 yds, 1st down
   2 3rd &  2:  7 yds, TD
   3 3rd & 14: drew PI, 1st down
   4 3rd &  4: 14 yds, 1st down
   5 1st & 10: 13 yds, 1st down
   6 3rd &  9: 71 yds, TD
   7 3rd &  7: 21 yds, 1st down
   8 2nd & 14:  2 yds
   9 2nd & 10:  1 yd
  10 3rd &  9: 39 yds, 1st down
  11 2nd &  3: 29 yds, 1st down

2 vs. SEA
   1 3rd &  5:  5 yds, 1st down
   2 2nd &  8:  5 yds
   3 3rd &  3:  6 yds, 1st down
   4 3rd & 10: 14 yds, 1st down
   5 1st & 10:  7 yds
   6 2nd & 15:  7 yds
   7 3rd &  2:  8 yds, 1st down
   8 1st & 10: 10 yds, 1st down

3 vs. GB
   1 3rd & 10: 38 yds, 1st down
   2 1st & 10: 22 yds, 1st down
   3 3rd &  6:  6 yds, 1st down
   4 1st & 20: 20 yds, 1st down
   5 2nd &  7: 13 yds, 1st down

I don't know where to find a breakdown of all his catches for the season, but i'd be shocked if he wasn't near the top of all WRs at converting 3rd downs.

Ah, there i see in the link you later posted to Boldin's situational stats that just under 62% of his receptions went for 1st downs. I can't find the percentage of 3rd down passes that went for 1st downs but based on his first 3 games i expect that the percentage was extremely high. For comparison, Randy Moss, who led the league in receiving in 2003 as a 6th-year player who was used as MUCH more of a downfield threat, with a MUCH better QB, had about 68% of his receptions go for 1st downs.

One of the only joys of that 2003 season was watching Boldin consistently bull his way through multiple tacklers for clutch 1st downs.

...dave

ESPN had 62 of 101 for first downs so essentially 61%. Fitz last year was like 75% so he was better at the first down thing.

I would add in Boldin's defense he played for a WR coach turned OC who openly admitted he didn't want to be an OC, Fitz is playing for a coach who while many may think he's incompetent, he is the most successful coach in the Arizona Cards history, by a mile. I think we can all agree that Whiz' offense is more proven than Jerry Sullivan's was?

Also note yes Boldin had more yards in the 2nd half, so did Fitz. Just over 71% of his yards last year came in the 2nd half or OT, he had over 1000 yards in the last halves of games. 6 of his 8 TD's etc. NOw the games were more meaningful than Boldin's rookie year but that wasn't Anquan's fault.

 

[kerouac9]

ESPN had 62 of 101 for first downs so essentially 61%. Fitz last year was like 75% so he was better at the first down thing.

I would add in Boldin's defense he played for a WR coach turned OC who openly admitted he didn't want to be an OC, Fitz is playing for a coach who while many may think he's incompetent, he is the most successful coach in the Arizona Cards history, by a mile. I think we can all agree that Whiz' offense is more proven than Jerry Sullivan's was?

Also note yes Boldin had more yards in the 2nd half, so did Fitz. Just over 71% of his yards last year came in the 2nd half or OT, he had over 1000 yards in the last halves of games. 6 of his 8 TD's etc. NOw the games were more meaningful than Boldin's rookie year but that wasn't Anquan's fault.

So is there a difference between the way defenses play when the game is 17-14 versus when it's 24-0? Because I'm going to guess that there is. Doesn't take anything away from Boldin's remarkable rookie season accomplishments.

 

[Russ Smith]

So is there a difference between the way defenses play when the game is 17-14 versus when it's 24-0? Because I'm going to guess that there is. Doesn't take anything away from Boldin's remarkable rookie season accomplishments.

Yes, but that helps everyone not just Boldin. That was my point, Boldin caught 101 passes while everyone knew we were throwing in the 2nd half and that he was the primary target.

Yes teams play soft zones in those situations and yes Boldin got some benefit of that. I think he proved after that his rookie year wasn't a fluke.

Fitz last year was remarkable 2 bad QB's, no other productive Wr and even the run game wasn't great although better than the Boldin rookie year run game.

It's why I'm still probably crazily hoping Ryan Williams and Beanie can be healthy enough to split the carries this year and both get 800+ yards.

take a lot of the pressure off our crappy QB's and OL.

 

[kerouac9]

Yes, but that helps everyone not just Boldin. That was my point, Boldin caught 101 passes while everyone knew we were throwing in the 2nd half and that he was the primary target.

Yes teams play soft zones in those situations and yes Boldin got some benefit of that. I think he proved after that his rookie year wasn't a fluke.

Fitz last year was remarkable 2 bad QB's, no other productive Wr and even the run game wasn't great although better than the Boldin rookie year run game.

It's why I'm still probably crazily hoping Ryan Williams and Beanie can be healthy enough to split the carries this year and both get 800+ yards.

take a lot of the pressure off our crappy QB's and OL.

Who's the "everyone" in that scenario? Bryan Gilmore? Bryant Johnson? Teams aren't focused on taking away Boldin in that scenario; they're focused on keeping him out of the end zone, which they were very effective in doing.

The Cards offense in the last half of losses in 2011 was exactly the same as the offense in the entirety of 2003: give the ball to the #1 WR; he's who people are here to see. I'm sure Fitz was happy to get Ron Bartell's first NFL regular season TD reception, but mostly the offense came down to forcing the ball to Fitz. He was the #1 target on INTs last year by far.

It bears mentioning that Boldin was never as productive again as he was his rookie season when we were getting destroyed over and over and over again. 2005 was the closest he came in another non-competitive season. 5-11 with 5 losses by double-digits. Yuck.

 

[Duckjake]

So is there a difference between the way defenses play when the game is 17-14 versus when it's 24-0? Because I'm going to guess that there is. Doesn't take anything away from Boldin's remarkable rookie season accomplishments.

It has always been one of life's mysteries why when defenses go into prevent mode, defensive linemen are teeing off on the QB ignoring the run and there are 6 DBs in the game, that offenses find it easier to throw the football and Defenses continue to do it. Especially in the NFL where almost no lead is safe.

 

[Russ Smith]

Who's the "everyone" in that scenario? Bryan Gilmore? Bryant Johnson? Teams aren't focused on taking away Boldin in that scenario; they're focused on keeping him out of the end zone, which they were very effective in doing.

The Cards offense in the last half of losses in 2011 was exactly the same as the offense in the entirety of 2003: give the ball to the #1 WR; he's who people are here to see. I'm sure Fitz was happy to get Ron Bartell's first NFL regular season TD reception, but mostly the offense came down to forcing the ball to Fitz. He was the #1 target on INTs last year by far.

It bears mentioning that Boldin was never as productive again as he was his rookie season when we were getting destroyed over and over and over again. 2005 was the closest he came in another non-competitive season. 5-11 with 5 losses by double-digits. Yuck.

OK but there's 2 obvious reasons why. After that first year he played 10 games and then 14 games, then 16, 12, 12 and 15. So he was never healthy after his rookie year. And, we added Larry Fitzgerald who is a great player and obviously is going to take away some targets from Boldin.

I don't agree that he caught more balls in part because the other Wr's were so weak. But he had seasons of 7 9 and 11 TD's, he was always good he just got hurt so much because of the way he plays.

Not as good as Fitz, but a very good player for years.

Just wish he'd been willing to see it that way and stick it out instead of wanting more money in the end, but that's how the NFL goes.

 

[Russ Smith]

It has always been one of life's mysteries why when defenses go into prevent mode, defensive linemen are teeing off on the QB ignoring the run and there are 6 DBs in the game, that offenses find it easier to throw the football and Defenses continue to do it. Especially in the NFL where almost no lead is safe.

I think part of it is mental. QB's know their performance won't lose the game because they're already behind, so they play looser?

I made that comment repeatedly on Jake early in his career, he'd throw balls in the 2nd halves of games he never threw in the first half. not just jump balls but the guy is open but it's a tight window. In the first half he'd dump that off to Centers, in the 2nd half he threw it.