Game 6 Impressions: Seahawks 22 Cardinals 10

[RugbyMuffin]

Dems...thus far this year (not just today) seems like every time a pass is thrown in Fitz's direction and he doesn't make the catch, he's either mad at the official for not throwing a flag, or he's pouting in disgust at the throw...like he was when Hall overthrew him. In baseball, pitchers don't try to show up their teammates when they make an error. I don't like what Fitz is doing...and quite frankly, had Fitz shielded the CB better (the way Mike Williams did all day) and done his job better he would have caught the best pass Hall threw to him on the slant on 3rd and long.

Fitz did say after the game that he didn't play well. That's good. This team needs his leadership.

Fitz needs to step up, and make plays. Nothing more to say there. Fitzgerald has not been the same since 2008. He has gone from a guy I expected to catch everything, to a guy that is getting the "he drops too many passes" category.

He cemented himself as a top 10 WR, and that would be a fall from top 5, furthermore the direction he is heading is the wrong way.

There were one or two today that he should catch.

Good gracious, yesterday was 150 ways to lose a game.

 

[kerouac9]

Fitz needs to step up, and make plays. Nothing more to say there. Fitzgerald has not been the same since 2008. He has gone from a guy I expected to catch everything, to a guy that is getting the "he drops too many passes" category.

He cemented himself as a top 10 WR, and that would be a fall from top 5, furthermore the direction he is heading is the wrong way.

There were one or two today that he should catch.

Good gracious, yesterday was 150 ways to lose a game.

One or two, but that would have just have posted 7 receptions for 50 yards. Fitz is frustrated because he's one of the guys who made this bed and now has discovered that no one can get him the ball.

All those people who said "Max Hall at least could get the ball to Larry!" when DA was the starter are awful quiet now.

Larry Fitzgerald is probably calling Lee Evans to find out how to get through the day. We invested $10 million a year in a WR and didn't think about who was going to get him the ball.

 

[slanidrac16]

Mitch, I see 3 major reasons for this loss.

1. Whiz. He had 2 weks to pre pare for this game. His play calling was atricious, predictable and not geared to get Hall settled in to a rythmn. If there ever was a game for us to lean on the running game this was it. Rookie QB, rain, windy, on the road and the defense playing pretty good. I also disagree that the defense quit. Run out of gas ? Perhaps.

2. Our return team. The 2 mistakes by Wright and Roberts lead to 10 EASY point's.

3. Hightower's fumble. We finally got into a groove then BAM. It was downhill after that. I don't know what Whiz's problem is with Beanie, but he needs to get over it.

Hall was fed to the wolves this game. Crossing patterns, dump offs and a running game should have been the plan. I'm not saying Hall is the answer, but he sure didn't get much help.

 

[Vermont Maverick]

Mitch-

Always liked ya, and respect your knowledge, as I have said many times. But I gotta say, I don't know how you handled coaching. Coaches need an even-keel. If we win, you gush and backslap with the Koolaiders. If we lose, you cry with the Darksiders. It's always so easy for you the day after to see exactly what's going on...until it all changes the next Sunday.

 

[kerouac9]

Mitch, I see 3 major reasons for this loss.

1. Whiz. He had 2 weks to pre pare for this game. His play calling was atricious, predictable and not geared to get Hall settled in to a rythmn. If there ever was a game for us to lean on the running game this was it. Rookie QB, rain, windy, on the road and the defense playing pretty good. I also disagree that the defense quit. Run out of gas ? Perhaps.

2. Our return team. The 2 mistakes by Wright and Roberts lead to 10 EASY point's.

3. Hightower's fumble. We finally got into a groove then BAM. It was downhill after that. I don't know what Whiz's problem is with Beanie, but he needs to get over it.

Hall was fed to the wolves this game. Crossing patterns, dump offs and a running game should have been the plan. I'm not saying Hall is the answer, but he sure didn't get much help.

I don't get this. We called twice as many passes as we called runs in the first four drives. Is it Whis's fault that Hall couldn't complete any passes? You get a QB into a rhythm by calling passes and letting him complete them.

The problem is that we're passing too much. If you want to protect/hide the quarterback (which should be our goal right now), then you run more than you pass and trust your veteran defense to protect field position or keep us in the game. But instead we're calling plays like Max Hall was already Drew Brees or Kurt Warner. That's not the way to be successful.

 

[Russ Smith]

One or two, but that would have just have posted 7 receptions for 50 yards. Fitz is frustrated because he's one of the guys who made this bed and now has discovered that no one can get him the ball.

All those people who said "Max Hall at least could get the ball to Larry!" when DA was the starter are awful quiet now.

Larry Fitzgerald is probably calling Lee Evans to find out how to get through the day. We invested $10 million a year in a WR and didn't think about who was going to get him the ball.

He dropped the first pass from Hall and then dropped that 3rd down one that would have extended a drive. But from then on I agree, Max couldn't get the ball to him and he seemed totally frustrated later on some balls from DA.

He's clearly not healthy but I also think he's been exposed a bit. Kurt was so good he could get the ball to Larry and just let Larry make a great catch even if he wasn't open. We don't have that luxury now DA throws uncatchable balls and Max is still at that point where he doesn't like to throw to someone who's not clearly open. Fitz is the only guy he will do that too but he was nowhere near Larry.

 

[Rats]

Mitch, I see 3 major reasons for this loss.

1. Whiz. He had 2 weks to pre pare for this game. His play calling was atricious, predictable and not geared to get Hall settled in to a rythmn. If there ever was a game for us to lean on the running game this was it. Rookie QB, rain, windy, on the road and the defense playing pretty good. I also disagree that the defense quit. Run out of gas ? Perhaps.

2. Our return team. The 2 mistakes by Wright and Roberts lead to 10 EASY point's.

3. Hightower's fumble. We finally got into a groove then BAM. It was downhill after that. I don't know what Whiz's problem is with Beanie, but he needs to get over it.

Hall was fed to the wolves this game. Crossing patterns, dump offs and a running game should have been the plan. I'm not saying Hall is the answer, but he sure didn't get much help.

Agree everything stated is all you need to know about this road game in Seattle. Not many of us expected a Win in Seattle but the play of the offense and the Turnovers just show that this team was not ready to play coming off the bye and had a poor game plan on Offense.

 

[JeffGollin]

I applaud Mitch and all of you for being willing to spend so much time dissecting what went wrong (or right) in Seattle.

I couldn't do it - it's too much like pulling all the teeth in your mouth, very slowly and one at a time.

That said - the best way I can put all of this in perspective is that I saw a lot of incredibly bad football played by a majority of teams yesterday.

By comparison, the Cardinals outplayed those teams.

But - based on their performance yesterday - they wouldn't have beaten most of them.

Certainly the turnovers would have been a huge factor. But even if we didn't turn the ball over, we'd still be a headless-juggernaught - a pretty good football team without a QB who can make even a handful of plays necessary to move chains, score in the red zone or pull us out of a hole.

I'm not saying it will never happen (or that Max Hall or Derek Anderson will magically rise from the ashes to work a miracle or two) but right now I don't see it.

If there had been even the tiniest uptick in Hall's play, it would be heartening (& there was a slight gleam of light in DA before it flickered out), but right now, I see the Cardinals as grounded.

Some teams have enough other arrows in their quivers to make up for poor QB play - think the Ravens defense or the Steeler running game a decade ago - but the Cardinal defense (with all its high points) and its running game (with all its potential) aren't dominating enough to make up for the lack of quarterbacking poise, presence and execution.

It's going to take a miracle (i.e the light bulb going off for Hall; a change in our offensive scheme; maybe the return of Breaston and the "derustification" of Doucet; something).

That's all I gotta say. All else is irrelevent.

 

[Duckjake]

Agree everything stated is all you need to know about this road game in Seattle. Not many of us expected a Win in Seattle but the play of the offense and the Turnovers just show that this team was not ready to play coming off the bye and had a poor game plan on Offense.

I still say you can't fault any one player or aspect of the Cards play this season overall other than at QB. For some reason one guy or another makes a critical mistake or two every game but plays reasonably well the rest of the time. That's why you see so many posts here saying somebody didn't play well and then 4-5 replies saying he did.

It's like the pass blocking where the OT inexplicably blocks down and leaves an outside rusher an open lane to the QB for a sack or hurry that kills a drive then blocks well the rest of the game.

Or things like what were brought up by desertdawg and fitz rules in this thread.

 

[john h]

I think we all feared this outcome, especially after hearing that Whiz basically dealt away the bye week, despite having a totally wet behind the ears rookie at QB and and so many glaring areas to improve.

Let me ask this. The players get the week off for beating the Saints. That was the deal. What do they get this week for the clunker they gift wrapped for the Seahawks this week?

No cancelled practice for bowling this week?

We saw so many boneheaded plays in this game, and yet it was still a game until the defense quit in the 4th quarter.

Rather than dwell on the mistakes...why don't we just open a suggestion box. I will provide my suggestions, and feel free to do the same. WE DO THIS TOGETHER, right?

QB:

As surprised as I was that Max Hall was so mentally weak in this game, I bet you no one is more surprised that Hall himself.

That said, this is a young man who is not physically ready to perform week after week in the NFL...not just yet.

He needs a whole Lotta Love..as in...John Lott.

Right now, what he may be able to do is come in off the bench in an uptempo offense and provide a temporary spark.

The problem is...Derek Anderson confessed during the bye week that he has been suffering internal bleeding. Not good.

Do we finally understand why Kurt Warner retired?

While yes there are talented WRs to throw the ball to in Arizona...but the way the offense is coached, the QB has to endure shot after shot after shot and hang in there until the last second to make plays...only to take another straight on shot or side slammer.

Being the QB in Arizona is sexy with a caveat...kind of like dating a Super Model, only she has halitosis.

Neither Derek Anderson nor Max Hall is going to hold up physcially in this offense.

And let's end the debate right now...neither would Matt Leinart.

So many of us fans at ASFN have been clamoring since last February for the Cardinals to make some big move at QB...and now we are vindicated.

If the Cardinals do not sign another QB this week, their team management deserves to be fired, including the head coach.

It should have happened before the trading deadline.

And it certainly should have happened during the bye week.

With the MASH unit that is to become of the QBs in this system, a 4th QB is imperative. Waive WR Max Komar and re-sign him to the PS.

RB:

You just can't trust either one of these guys. You can't. They break your hearts. THT runs so hard...you want to love him...but he put the ball on the ground at the WORST time in this game...and he blew this football game...certainly not alone...but he & Roberts blew it the most. Fluffing his hair on the sideline doesn't cut it. He's been there, done that and bought the t-shirt too often on this one. Beanie too. Beanie runs too high and he tiptoes. He plays half-tough, half-scared. And even worse, he fumbles.

LSH is a winner.

WTF is Jason Wright doing trying to intercept a bouncing kickoff headed right to LSH?

Wright's a solid ST player but he does not do enough to warrant a roster spot.

I say bring is a vet like Willie Parker. Get some leadership for THT and Beanie, and a guy you can count on to run hard and hold onto the ball.

FB: Maui'a...good on STs...is he improving at FB? Hard to tell.

OL: These guys are so bad in pass pro...it's a joke. Either they miss their assignments or they get out-run, out-quicked, out-hustled, out-scratched.

They open some holes...but other than that, they are flat-out losers, and they deserve to lose. No QB would want to play for these jokers. Go ahead take last week off guys, and oh, BTW, thanks for taking this week off too.

Russ Grimm, imo, should have been fired after he was watching Bruce Springsteen at the half-time show of the Super Bowl rather than being in the locker room to prep his guys for the 2nd half. I bet you this, Ol' Russ had a fun week off.

WR: Fitz morphed into Super WR two years ago and now he's a Super Diva. His attitude sucks. And with the soft coaches around him now...no more Haley to scream at him...he's turned into a soft wedge of brie.

Breaston...might well be the team offensive MVP if he can suit up. Looks like this may be an uneventful, injury-riddled, wasted year before he gets signed by Todd Haley to a mega-million dollar deal.

The rest...young, injury prone, erratic.

Although, take away Roberts' one EGREGIOUS gaffe...he had a very good game. Let's give him that...and he is a rookie, albeit an ill-prepared punt returner.

TE: Patrick has talent...but the coaches and he himself can't put it to use. Fail-fail on both accounts. Spach wouldn't make any other roster. Dray plays with purpose and attitude, despite limitations. Great block he made on the LSH KO return.

NT: Total joke. Waste of a starter who is too old, slow and can't run and a 1st rounder who apparently is too fat and under-motivated. Anyone see the 4th rounder from 2006 out there? He's toast.

DE: Branch is suddenly the most physcial DE on the roster. That tells you that Dockett has been like the team, he plays when he wants to...and that Campbell (who played his best game today) has been underachieving in general. But, Branch has been physical and determined. Think the coaches will start him? No Fn way. Plus, get the feeling some othe team is going to cash in on Branch next year?

ILB: Daryl Washington was a man out there today (we finally have an ILB who has a forward gear!...and yet, he may get benched for Hayes this week, if you can believe that...watch, it's likely going to happen) and Paris Lenon has been playing his heart out. These guys are not the problem.

OLB: These guys are the problem. They have hit a wall. They can't run. They are good for about three plays a game.

You know who should play in Porter's spot? Adrian Wilson. He can still run and he's more sudden and fierce on the edge than Porter. Porter might be able to be good at Berry's old role...fresh legs may get him occasionally close to the QB without it being a coverage sack.

Look at the Seahawks on the edge today. Look at the Cardinals. They killed us. Easily. No contest. And they aren't really that great, if the truth be told, which is why they double the edge with their safeties to ensure more pressure. At least their coaches understand this. Did they ever loosen the pressure in this game?

We have to hope that O'Brien Schofield is the real deal, because he's the only real hope for the future, unless miraculously, Will Davis' light goes on. He looks like a decent run defender, but he's got no edge game about him otherwise.

CB: Greg Toler is the best CB on the team and one of the team's best seven players. DRC is not. DRC is more a part of the problem than the solution. He's All-World physically...and All-Vacuum mentally....and that's an insult to Hoovers everywhere.

I saw it and many of you did last week...YOU CANNOT PLAY MIKE WILLIAMS WITH CUSHION. YOU CAN'T. At least Toler battled him...DRC gave him the spots and easy catches, save the great back shoulder snag he made.

S: Rhodes is the defensive MVP thus far. By far the most consistent and disciplined, right-place, right-time player. Wilson is a lost man in a lost world. He should be in a position to lead this team in tackles and sacks...instead he's a man without a position.

K/P/LS: Pretty good all-around, save some recent broken in half Graham Crackers.

Whiz:

Really over his head now as a head coach without Warner bailing him out. He's bascially playing cat and mouse with the players...and it remains very clear, the players only play when they want to...and when they do not want to, it can get very ugly, very fast. Basically, Whiz has about as much infuence on his players as a run of the mill NBA coach.

Davis:

Would not even be a DC on a decent college team. Has no sense of how to put the pedal to the metal. Like today...just when the offense gets a spark, his defense starts to play bend and then starts to quit. This was a game they could have dominated...especially versus the Seahawks' inferior o-line, which was made all the more inferior when Russell Okung was KOed in the 1st quarter.

Spencer:

Top flight ST coordinator...but...having already watched Andre Roberts catch a punt at the two yard line and muff other punts, you would think Spencer would have coached him to fall on a muffed punt. The blame needs to be shared for that one, sorry to say. Or get another player in there.

GM/Ownership

Best at saving or pinching money in the NFL. Too bad their dream of paying their QB $300K for the next four years took a hit today. But...this week's memo to Whiz, may be..."stick with Max. Good for PR."

Mitch you sounded Pi---off today. Who is not. I think you left off your list perhaps the most responsible man for putting us in the positions we are in. That would be Rod Graves who may be the General Manger or may be just a puppet. I would fire him first and before anyone else and appoint a ream GM and give him "REAL" GM responsibilities. I second you on Max Hall not being able to last an NFL season even if he could play. A few more starts and he will be carted off on a stretcher. He just is not big enough or strong enough, to be an NFL QB. Not now, now next week or next year. What he needs cannot be taught. I think it is likely we will not even come close to saving the season. I doubt we are a .500 team. Anderson might win a couple of games. I doubt that Hall will win any. Anderson may be bad but if he is coughing up blood we are left with Hall and a guy who has never thrown a ball in the NFL just about anyone we could sign would be better than what we have. Even if he is 48 years old. I state again that at this time next year I do not think Hall will be on any NFL roster. He just does not have the physical tools to play in the NFL. Size does matter, Arm strength does matter, size of hands does matter. These are the starting points when guys go to the NFL try out camps. If you can only throw the ball 45 yards or cannot make the cross the field pass with a bullet you are at a big disadvantage. As the announcers wisely said Hall may have leadership qualities but eventually you have to produce to be a leader or you very quickly lose all respect.

What is the sad story here is that nearly all on the board thought we were really going into the season with QB problems. Fans are not supposed to be smarter than management, The GM, or the coaches. Sadly in this case we stood head over heals in our assessment of our QB problem. Hopefully the Bidwills will enjoy all the money they will make this year.

 

[john h]

Good points Mitch...

- Who should the Cards go after when you say they should "bring in another QB this week?"

- You summed up our RB's perfectly!! Man they can rip your heart us! Can't believe Beanie is still running so upright... Do the coaches see what we see??

- You're off of Fitz. His attitude is not a problem at all. In fact, I wish the rest of the team had his attitude. He only wants to win, period. And for a guy like him, it has to be infuriating to not have a QB who can deliver the damn ball!!

- DRC remains a PUNK! My distaste for this PUNK grows with each passing week... How many offsides today for him?? How many times did he allow a 3rd down conversion today?? Mike Williams, who wasn't even in the league last season, literally toyed with DRC today. What a joke...

- Branch and Campbell came to play today. Very encouraging to see.

- As has been said week after week, Haggans and Porter are shot. They're firing blanks and it's killing us.

So furstrating... the west has never been so easy to win. Ugghhhh....

The defense other than who ever covered Williams did not look that bad. The offense was the best thing that Seattle had going for them. I think Williams made some big time catches who anyone would have a hard time covering. Our team makes more mental errors than anyone in the NFL. Sometimes we just appear dumb.

I also think Fitz has the right to be pis---off as the QB's time after time throw balls short, over him and all around him. It is going to cost us his services and like others we lost last year he will go on to be not just good but great or very good. Some of the guys we lost will likely be pro bowlers. Even Dansby is looking all world as is Boldin. Someone please tell me does Graves have anything what so ever to do with who we acquire or trade? I have been asking that question for ten years and I still do not know just what this guy does. Obviously he is a friend for life to the Bidwills. Warner made him look good for 2-3 years but other than that just what has he done (assuming he does something) that has helped this team. Unlike many GM's you hear next to nothing about him. Does he ever appear at press conferences in AZ? This guy is a thorn in my side. Any other GM like him would have been fired years ago. Would any real GM even consider coming here knowing he would likely be just icing on a cake?

 

[john h]

Dems...thus far this year (not just today) seems like every time a pass is thrown in Fitz's direction and he doesn't make the catch, he's either mad at the official for not throwing a flag, or he's pouting in disgust at the throw...like he was when Hall overthrew him. In baseball, pitchers don't try to show up their teammates when they make an error. I don't like what Fitz is doing...and quite frankly, had Fitz shielded the CB better (the way Mike Williams did all day) and done his job better he would have caught the best pass Hall threw to him on the slant on 3rd and long.

Fitz did say after the game that he didn't play well. That's good. This team needs his leadership.

How can any receiver get fired up knowing the QBs who are going to be throwing to him are Hall and Anderson? Fitz was an all pro last year and will be one again when he has a QB who can throw the ball. Why would he not get pis---off when time after time the ball is not thrown where it can be caught? He wants to win and probably more so than anyone on the offense as you can see it. Yell, scream, who knows what he says in the huddle? The entire team should be as p----off as he is. Enjoy him while you can. The unintended consequences of not having a QB this season have far reaching effects beyond just a QB. It can hold us down for some years to come. Someone should pay for this stupidity but we do not even know who it is?

 

[john h]

I agree.

But many here,just like the FO & coaches will failto accept the fact we're in deep poo. We have so many players that will be FA's after this season that it's sickening.

I also agree. Enough said.

 

[Matt L]

If you want to protect/hide the quarterback (which should be our goal right now), then you run more than you pass and trust your veteran defense to protect field position or keep us in the game. But instead we're calling plays like Max Hall was already Drew Brees or Kurt Warner. That's not the way to be successful.

THANK YOU!

It looks like we are calling the same offense like we have Kurt Warner at QB and Anquan as our second receiver.

Instead we have Andre Roberts as our number two and and our QB doesn't have the arm strength to throw the deep out.

 

[cardpa]

I still say you can't fault any one player or aspect of the Cards play this season overall other than at QB. For some reason one guy or another makes a critical mistake or two every game but plays reasonably well the rest of the time. That's why you see so many posts here saying somebody didn't play well and then 4-5 replies saying he did.

It's like the pass blocking where the OT inexplicably blocks down and leaves an outside rusher an open lane to the QB for a sack or hurry that kills a drive then blocks well the rest of the game.

Or things like what were brought up by desertdawg and fitz rules in this thread.

I agree you can't fault one individual player or play, but I can certainly fault one individual coach for this abomination at QB.

 

[john h]

Man Beanie lost 2 fumbles in a 179 carries last year and how many this year? 1? THT is being put in a bad place starting. He sucked as a starter and continues to suck as a starting featured RB.

THT has 3 -100 yard games in 31 or so starts? I know what I'm watching, I don't have a clue what others are watching. THT's best games were coming in after Edge softened them up! the 4th down for the playoff first down, the game winning TD, the actuall wins in 2008, Edge softened them up and THT came in with fresh legs.

So The Bean needs to start and stay in and bruise the defense, set them up for the change up later on in the game. slowly Whiz is giving him carries but we only had 20 run plays to what 35 or more pass plays again?

Its just fundementally sound football, Seattle was balanced and kicked our AZ without Monkeys flying out their AZ, they just waited for our 5 turnovers and read the note" these cardinals will self destruct in 5 minutes" poof!

We need to Start the Bean and let him establish the run and the play action. increase the volume of offensive plays, and not have to play from behind. WE were only 3 behind until the Roberts muff.

evidenced by 37+ TOP minutes for seattle

Seattle played with 8 or sometimes 9 in the box yesterday and dared Hall to throw. You cannot run all the time or pass all the time with this team. We do not have a Kurt Warner who could pass most of the time. With 8-9 in the box you are not going to run very much either. If you have no QB then you ship is just going to sink. That is just a fact. What team ever won on a regular basis without at least an average or better QB? If we win another game it will be because Anderson happens to have a good day which are few and far between. Maybe our defense can make some lowly team cough the ball up enough that we can win a game or two. At the moment I guess we will win 5 games. It looks to me like Buffalo ends up with the Auburn QB who is a real QB of the future if not today.

 

[MadCardDisease]

I'm not sure why people are complaining about Billy Davis. The defense played well enough to win here. They threw up their hands when they'd been on the field forever without getting any support from the offense.

It's not the defense who turned the ball over 5 times. It was the defense who held the Seattle Seahawks to 6(!) field goals. Billy Davis had a good game plan. His colleagues in the offensive meeting rooms let him down.

I totally agree. The Defense did a great job yesterday. Especially considering how many times they were forced to defend a short field.

 

[Russ Smith]

Seattle played with 8 or sometimes 9 in the box yesterday and dared Hall to throw. You cannot run all the time or pass all the time with this team. We do not have a Kurt Warner who could pass most of the time. With 8-9 in the box you are not going to run very much either. If you have no QB then you ship is just going to sink. That is just a fact. What team ever won on a regular basis without at least an average or better QB? If we win another game it will be because Anderson happens to have a good day which are few and far between. Maybe our defense can make some lowly team cough the ball up enough that we can win a game or two. At the moment I guess we will win 5 games. It looks to me like Buffalo ends up with the Auburn QB who is a real QB of the future if not today.

I'd have to watch it again to be sure but I don't think they really did play 8 or 9 in the box that much. And when they did, they often had 5 of 6 DB's in the game so it wasn't 4 DL's 3 LB's and a strong safety in the box. I think that's why when we did run, we were effective, they had a small defense out there except on the D line.

I really think that's what confused Hall so much, they had so many DB's out there he was no longer sure of his reads, how many guys are in coverage, how much more range does the backup S have than the LB they pulled etc.

The really weird thing to me was how confused Hasselbeck was. On tv(or the monitor on my computer) it's hard to see what our secondary was doing but we had at least 3 coverage sacks and several more where Hasselbeck didn't know where to go. Then suddenly a switch flipped either by us or by them and they played catch with Mike Williams the rest of the game.

That was really weird the contrast between the first 3 quarters and the 4th was amazing for Hasselbeck.

 

[splitsecond]

Seattle played with 8 or sometimes 9 in the box yesterday and dared Hall to throw. You cannot run all the time or pass all the time with this team. We do not have a Kurt Warner who could pass most of the time. With 8-9 in the box you are not going to run very much either. If you have no QB then you ship is just going to sink. That is just a fact. What team ever won on a regular basis without at least an average or better QB? If we win another game it will be because Anderson happens to have a good day which are few and far between. Maybe our defense can make some lowly team cough the ball up enough that we can win a game or two. At the moment I guess we will win 5 games. It looks to me like Buffalo ends up with the Auburn QB who is a real QB of the future if not today.

Dual threat QB's rarely make it in the NFL.

 

[JeffGollin]

I totally agree. The Defense did a great job yesterday. Especially considering how many times they were forced to defend a short field.

Yes and No.

They kept Seattle from scoring in the red zone 5 times. Heroic!

But I still don't understand how 194 and 215 pound RB's can mover our 245 - 325 lb guys backward as though they were on roller skates.

That plus our inability to contain Williams (Were we putting a second guy on him much of the time)?

 

[Mitch]

I thought I needed to vent last night just to try to get a good night's sleep. Yet, that didn't work at all.

Some of the rants I made were of the "alter ego" type...you know the kind where you think you know what the real truth is, but you don't really want to say it...but you are so p'ed off, you feel like you have to say it, even though you still hope you are wrong.

Vermont Maverick asked how I could have handled the emotion of coaching and rightfully so, he pointed out that I gush with the Koolaiders when things go right and go on p'ed off rants when things go wrong.

For right or for wrong Vermont, whenever my team lost, I mostly blamed myself. Especially when they didn't play well. I would think back to the week of preparation and wonder specifically what I could have done better...and thus by Monday afternoon I was all the more eager to make whatever adjustments I felt I could.

Football is an extremely emotional game. I don't know how Whiz and some of the stoics do it. Like Dems has pointed out, Whiz must be churning like a madman inside. But, he doesn't show it.

Last night while tossing and turning, I wondered whether it was fair to believe and hope that the coaching staff could take full responsibility for these Jeckyl and Hyde performances.

What I kept thinking was...why does Pittsburgh come to play every week, when teams like the Cardinals don't?

My answer was simple: Dick LeBeau.

There are coaches who set high standards and prepare so well and so thoroughly that the players cannot help but tune in. There are coaches who have charisma...such charisma that you want to run through brick walls for the guy.

It saddens me that we do not seem to have a coach like that on the current Cardinals' staff.

This is why the players play only when they want to...and obviously they don't seem to care too much about non-competitive, gift-wrapped embarrassments like the last three road games.

However, and this is where I arrived at a kind of epiphany late last night...what we have is a paragon of patience as a head coach. He's not an emotional guy, nor is he a rah-rah guy...nor does he seem like the kind of charismatic coach you want to run through brick walls for...yet...what this ultimately means is that the PLAYERS have to take the ownership of the team and its leadership. And that...when it happens regularly...is the BEST scenario, because the players play the games and they are the ones putting it all on the line.

The problem for Whiz this year is, his main leader on offense has retired. And this is an offense that is now starving for leaders. It's young, for the most part, and it's evolving, sometimes alas, more in the two steps back one step up mold, or one step up, two steps back...whichever comes first.

What encouraged me so much about Max Hall these past three weeks is how in command he has been in terms of preparation, focus and energy.

Because of that, I never suspected he would play as poorly as he did yesterday. I expected him to make some mistakes, but I also expected him to rally back from them, as he did two weeks ago.

Today I have been regarding Whiz's press conference remarks with less suspicion and more appreciation.

I really like the fact that Whiz is sticking with Hall, if Hall's cleared to play. And I like what Whiz had to say about him. I also like how Whiz is holding THT accountable for the fumble...and I like that Whiz gave Andre Roberts his fair share of praise along with the rightful criticism.

Like I said, Whiz is a paragon of patience.

Late last night I also vowed to myself that I was going to try to smell the roses more during the games...even when we finally get a TD and then the defense responds by keeping the opponents' offense on the field for practically the whole duration of the 4th quarter exactly as they defense did two games ago in San Diego.

And to help me do that, I looked way back into the past...to a game that was played on Monday October 31, 1966. I was 11 years old. It was a kid's dream day and night: Halloween, trick or treating in my Cardinals' larry Wilson #8 uniform, reaping pillowcases full of candy...

And then with candy strewn all over the den carpet, and our new color TV aglow, it was time for Monday Night Football, Chicago Bears at the St. Louis Cardinals! Busch Stadium. Full Moon. The Cardinals' moon-white helmets. The red Cardinals flashing and streaking in the lights. The hallowed arches up near the light stanchions. The crowd of red.

The 5-1-1 Cardinals soon to be 6-1-1 after two Johnny Roland TD plunges, a Jim Bakken field goal and a game winning pick six by my idol Larry Wilson...whose number 8 I was donning that night all over the neighborhood. Howard Cosell, Dandy Don. An 80 yard TD by Gale Sayers to keep things interesting right to the end. But when Dandy Don sang, "Turn out the lights the party's over," the Cardinals were celebrating!

Here it is 44 years later and that game is still so emblazoned on my mind. I remember that night as the most sheer and genuine excitement I had ever experienced to that date.

The French philosopher Gaston Bachelard once wrote in his Poetics of Reverie that when we are children and we experience something for the first time, all the senses that rush to the front of our minds while we are first experiencing it (like a snowfall---the sight, the touch, the smell, the taste) and those senses come rushing back to us (consciously and subconsciously) when ever we experience a similar sight later in life.

Well, when I went to bed that night, I went over to the rack on my wall where I kept the small bubble gum NFL helmets...you know, the ones that came in clear egg shells and you had to assemble yourself by clipping the grey plastic facemask on and then placing the decals on the sides of the helmets, and the stripes down the middle of the helmet for the teams like the Lions and Colts...

Well, I used to keep the little helmets of the first place teams on the top of the rack and keep the teams lined up like in order of the standings underneath...and I still remmeber it being well after midnight, with the full moon pouring into my room and there I was at the rack moving the Cardinals' helmet up to the next shelf...and admiring the bright red bird that twinkled before my eyes in the deep moonlight....and still marveling at the play of a young up-and coming CB named Roger Wherli...and still in total awe of my idol Larry Wilson, who had preserved this most precious Halloween Night victory.

This week the Cardinals play on Halloween...it doesn't happen often...it's kind of like a cosmic event, really...and my hope is to enjoy the game like that little kid did 44 years ago...how could I have forgotten that little kid yesterday?...I vow to have him with me this week.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Now THAT is one helluva post Walter!

You found your groove... stay with it buddy!!

 

[Duckjake]

I really think that's what confused Hall so much, they had so many DB's out there he was no longer sure of his reads, how many guys are in coverage, how much more range does the backup S have than the LB they pulled etc.

But that's what you see every game from College defenses now. He should have been accustomed to it.

 

[Rivercard]

I'd have to watch it again to be sure but I don't think they really did play 8 or 9 in the box that much. And when they did, they often had 5 of 6 DB's in the game.

According to Pete Carrol, they actually had 9 DB's on the field a few times.

 

[Russ Smith]

According to Pete Carrol, they actually had 9 DB's on the field a few times.

I don't doubt it, I saw 7 a few times and you often can't see all 11 players.

What was annoying is I don't think they did that just because they wanted to, they did it because we were in 4 WR packages so much. We should have just run into it.