Falcons 23 Cardinals 19 Post Game Thoughts

Mitch

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If there was a tincture of a doubt that Ray Horton might not get a HC gig next year---that was eliminated today.

Not only did he turn a once hapless defense around last year---this year he has given the two toughest teams in the AFC and NFC to beat at home (Patriots and Falcons) as hard and hellish a 60 minutes as they have seen from any defense.

The only real question is---will the Cardinal players go lobby for Horton as HC?

The Cardinals' FO seems to listen to the players (see Larry Fitzgerald)---and---let's face it---what Horton is doing is special and when you have something special, you don't want to lose it.

The only two concerns I can think of regarding the defense is that players like Rhodes, Wilson and Gay still try to tackle too high---that, and down in the red zone on 3rd downs, they play a soft zone in the middle where TEs can just run, turn and sit in the soft areas for easy conversions.

And I haven't heard about Patrick Peterson...did he get hurt? Why wasn't he out there in the 4th quarter?

Interesting too that Horton is now taking Wilson out of the nickel in 3rd and longs. It shows that Horton wants to give his coverage team the best chance---and that he has the cajones to make such a move involving such a high profile player.

This is why---as much as the special things he brings to the defense---Ray Horton might wind up being a very good HC.

This week I've been touting offensive minded HCs---but after what I saw today, I am convinced Horton is the man---and I trust that he will have a plan to put the offense in the right hands.

As for the offense---the question of the day is---obviously---is 7 throws too early to give the starting QB the hook, for a rookie who has never played a snap, and, by the way, you are ahead by 13-3.

When the move was made all I thought was---it had better work.

What the move ultimately proved is that Lindley is just the same as any QB we have seen in this offense the past three years: he plays in a hurry, he locks on to his primary target and he is generally inconsistent with his throws.

At least after this his initial baptism.

He did throw two nice long balls that I think surprised both WRs Fitz and Roberts because he didn't underthrow wither one of them. And with the game on the line his throw on the fade to Fitz was picture perfect.

As for Fitz---you can tell---his spirit is broken. Too bad because his drop on the fade could have led to a stunning win.

But---Lindley deserves a mulligan.

I do not think that even he thought he would be playing three quarters today without there being an injury to Skelton. That, and having to play the best team in NFC who never loses at home, and having to work with two rookie tackles, whom, once again were sitting on islands in key passing situations with John Abraham licking his chops.

As for those situations---I will key on two plays that made the biggest difference:

1. Lindley's first series---3rd and long from deep in the Cardinals' own end---the play call was a pass to the right as we saw---but go back and watch Hyphen on the play---on that pass to the right, he runs left, right past John Abraham who already has the corner because like Batiste and most of the time with Levi Brown, Nate Potter "opened the swinging gate."

If Hyphen just chips him for a mini-second, the Cardinals save 7 points and possibly get a first down.

2. On Lindley's best drive which was fueled by great runs by Hyphen---the play that ruined it on a Kolb-esque sack for 12 yards---did you see the blocking scheme on that play?

The TE over the Falcons' left side rusher (Stephen Nicholas), Jeff King, releases, RT Bobbie Massie blocks down, allowing Nicholas to get a running start at the QB with FB Anthony Sherman assigned to block him...Nicholas was in the backfield so fast that Lindley couldn't help but panic and flush.

These plays were called for a rookie QB following a bye week---and quite frankly the thinking on the coaches' part just by the flaw in the design reveals how poor their preparation for the offense is. This is exactly why---this offense is a QB's nightmare.

Take those two plays away, which cost the Cardinals 10 points and the defense that did everything humanly possible to win the game would have most likely prevailed---and would have felt the joy and satisfaction that come with a well-earned win.

Instead---all that effort and all those great plays go for naught.

As for the special teams---the kicking game was excellent---and Wm. Powell's kickoff return was fantastic---other than that the ST play was a costly flag or missed tackle waiting to happen. Very surprised Kevin Spencer hasn't corrected this by now this far along in the season.

This game was what it was because Ray Horton had the defense prepared, totally psyched and ready.

We fans are being treated to something special.

Knowing the way things usually go---like with Kurt Warner---it will be two very good years---and goodbye.
 
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PDXChris

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Do you keep your HC choices on a etch a sketch?
 

Crazy Canuck

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If there was a tincture of a doubt that Ray Horton might not get a HC INTERVIEW next year---that was eliminated today.
 

Buckybird

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If we did indeed make Horton the HC, what does he do to make the offense better? Honestly fellas, it's not gonna change until the Redbirds get a legit QB...just the reality of it my friends!

I'm dying to hear how Horton improves this offense, outside of replacing Grimm & Miller. Without a pretty good QB it won't make much difference IMO.
 
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Mitch

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If we did indeed make Horton the HC, what does he do to make the offense better? Honestly fellas, it's not gonna change until the Redbirds get a legit QB...just the reality of it my friends!

I'm dying to hear how Horton improves this offense, outside of replacing Grimm & Miller. Without a pretty good QB it won't make much difference IMO.

Bucky, a defensive coach knows what kind of offense gives him the most trouble to defend, so I imagine that Ray Horton would have a good OC choice in mind.

That's a question he will have to answer in any HC interview he fields this year.
 

azsouthendzone

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If we did indeed make Horton the HC, what does he do to make the offense better? Honestly fellas, it's not gonna change until the Redbirds get a legit QB...just the reality of it my friends!

I'm dying to hear how Horton improves this offense, outside of replacing Grimm & Miller. Without a pretty good QB it won't make much difference IMO.

Promoting Horton helps by possibly taking him off the HC market. It also shows the organization, front office, players, and fans that enough is enough, losing isn't acceptable, and that we are going to award a coach who has proven to make a difference before another team grabs him. Improving the offense isn't happening in 2012 no matter who is coach. The question is does the offense improve in 2013 if you don't. I would rather lock up Horton than entrust Whiz and lose Horton.
 

desertdawg

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Bucky, a defensive coach knows what kind of offense gives him the most trouble to defend, so I imagine that Ray Horton would have a good OC choice in mind.

That's a question he will have to answer in any HC interview he fields this year.
Yamon, Horton's defense changes from week to week, because we play different teams each week. Really wish our offense was like that. This week we just yanked the Saints defensive gameplan and sent the blitz up the middle the whole time against Ryan and the Falcon 's running game. Would have worked to if it wasn't for those dang pesky kids!
 

Dr. Jones

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tinc·ture/ˈtiNGkCHər/
Noun: A medicine made by dissolving a drug in alcohol.
Verb: Be tinged, flavored, or imbued with a slight amount of.

Synonyms:
noun. tint - tinge - hue - colour - color - dye
verb. color - colour - paint - tinge - stain - dye - tint
 

Russ Smith

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Yes those were both huge plays although I still say if that's Ryan or Rodgers or Brady etc it's an incomplete pass.

But you're overlooking the other plays that led to the loss, Fitz WIDE OPEN in the endzone for a TD that I think I could throw, and Skelton misses him badly.

That cost us 4 points and effectively swung the game. Then the "fumble" completely swung the game.

Earlier Skelton misses 2 consecutive throws badly to end one drive and misses Fitz on 3rd and 5 to end another.

We could easily have been up 17-0 if not by more but Skelton was so unprepared to play again that Whiz eventually just couldn't stand it anymore and benched him.

I agree Fitz has checked out, didn't try and pick up the ball on the "Fumble", dropped the 4th down pass, didn't sell out for the earlier deep throw. And Lindley made a very good deep throw to Roberts but he lost his footing a bit and then couldn't haul it in.

Lindley isn't ready to play in the NFL yet that's obvious but when you spend 2 1/2 years working with a QB and 2 weeks gameplanning and then the defense and ST hand you field postion over and over and he can't do anything with it because "he doesn't play well early in games" at some point I can't blame the coach for getting tired of it. Just basic stuff stepping into throws, not looking at the intended receiver, following through on throws. We all know that Whiz teaches that stuff it was the chief complaint against Leinart that Whiz was reteaching his mechanics.

I wouldn't have benched Skelton but what the hell else can you do there are probably guys on our defense who could have made that throw to Fitz, at some point you have to make the plays when they're there to be made.

Whiz tried to go conservative with Lindley, save the one "fumble" it worked, we still would have won the game save that play.
 

Shane

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Spot on Russ as usual
 

juza76

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I d like To know what kind of solutions they can find for athe qb position next year ? Trading for flynn ? bleah no.. Draft? Wilson cant play well here .geno smith, boyd, nassib?? Who??i cant stay another season with these players sharing qb position
 
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PDXChris

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And for the record, if our QB threw 5 INT's you would be blaming Whiz and giving no credit to the other teams DC, when Ryan tries to give the game away, Horton is the second coming. We still gave up 300 yards passing and a 4th quarter TD that went 70 yards. Before we crown Horton, he did not set up most of those INT's. The last one went off of the top of a Dumpster. Put the kool aid down. This is a average defense with a terrible offense, that is this way from injuries and a terrible OC. Horton will get interviews and may get a job. Whiz may get fired or he may be forced to give up offensive control to a real OC. We don't know, but we also don't know what would have been if we were playing with half the current injuries.
 

Buckybird

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Bucky, a defensive coach knows what kind of offense gives him the most trouble to defend, so I imagine that Ray Horton would have a good OC choice in mind.

That's a question he will have to answer in any HC interview he fields this year.

I wonder what history says in winning Super Bowls as far as offensive, defensive coaches...guess We need to research that one.
 

PDXChris

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I am happy for you man. Good for you.

Don't patronize me. At least I have a real opinion instead of spewing fiction every week to reinforce my hatred for Whiz.
 

moosehead

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You know, Mitch took a hiatus awhile back and I wasn't sure why. Now I know. The guy takes the time to put his opinions and thoughts into very thorough and detailed posts, only to have a third of the board tee up and take a crack at him with elementary school-like glee.

I don't agree with everything he says, but I sure appreciate his (or anybody's) posts that take that much time and effort.

I belong to some pretty large message boards where there are some pretty animated exchanges. Decorum is generally maintained however, as the rule is "attack the argument, not the poster". If some of you could do that without the snarky tone and snide comments, the whole board would be better off. You clearly have the knowledge to engage in an exchange of opinions; demonstrate your true intelligence by framing your arguments well and presenting them logically to counter Mitch's points (or whoever you're debating) The internet pokey-chest routine gets old after awhile.
 

red desert

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You know, Mitch took a hiatus awhile back and I wasn't sure why. Now I know. The guy takes the time to put his opinions and thoughts into very thorough and detailed posts, only to have a third of the board tee up and take a crack at him with elementary school-like glee.

I don't agree with everything he says, but I sure appreciate his (or anybody's) posts that take that much time and effort.

I belong to some pretty large message boards where there are some pretty animated exchanges. Decorum is generally maintained however, as the rule is "attack the argument, not the poster". If some of you could do that without the snarky tone and snide comments, the whole board would be better off. You clearly have the knowledge to engage in an exchange of opinions; demonstrate your true intelligence by framing your arguments well and presenting them logically to counter Mitch's points (or whoever you're debating) The internet pokey-chest routine gets old after awhile.

:thumbup:
 

Crazy Canuck

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You know, Mitch took a hiatus awhile back and I wasn't sure why. Now I know. The guy takes the time to put his opinions and thoughts into very thorough and detailed posts, only to have a third of the board tee up and take a crack at him with elementary school-like glee.

I don't agree with everything he says, but I sure appreciate his (or anybody's) posts that take that much time and effort.

I belong to some pretty large message boards where there are some pretty animated exchanges. Decorum is generally maintained however, as the rule is "attack the argument, not the poster". If some of you could do that without the snarky tone and snide comments, the whole board would be better off. You clearly have the knowledge to engage in an exchange of opinions; demonstrate your true intelligence by framing your arguments well and presenting them logically to counter Mitch's points (or whoever you're debating) The internet pokey-chest routine gets old after awhile.

Hey, Newbie... we've been going back and forth with Walter for over a decade and need no lessons on decorum. He's part of the family, liked - and can give as well as take. If you stick around, you'll find that out. And, by the way, he can turn around a 800 to a 1000 word diatribe quicker than most journalists.
 
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