Game Thoughts: Titans 20 Cardinals 17

[82CardsGrad]

Ummm... sure. They were trying to make a tackle because they did such a poor job covering him.


I wonder if they hated DRC for that play? Or, were they happy that he bailed them out by separating him from the ball? What do you think?

Re-read my post... the part where I said "smart play"....

 

[Duckjake]

Smart play... but Britt was a sitting duck and was tee'd up by for DRC by the other defenders who were.... you know, actually attempting to make a tackle!

What other defenders? Didn't Britt get up and start to run because no one had touched him? Then DRC hit him and the ball came out. I don't remember anyone else being involved in the tackle.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

It is never fun to lose.

But that game was worth the price of admission. Just a good football game all the way around. Of course when broken down I will be able to be a little more angry and dissapointed for the "loss oppourtunity" so to speak, still the effort was there for both teams, and from our team on a day where there was little motivation to be had.

 

[Totally_Red]

The bottom line is...the Cardinals are at their best when the Big 3 of Fitz, Boldin and Breaston are moving the chains, and today there just wasn't enough of that.

Nice analysis. The excerpted part above really says it all IMO. Matt had a good second half after a shaky start, but bottom line this offense needs to generate more than 10 points.

OTOH, we just can't rely on our defense to make stops at the end of the games. If we have learned anything over the Ken Whisenhunt era it is that. If you have a 4th and 1 in the opponent's territory, (with all deference to the Belichick second-guessers), go for it. I trust the offense even with Matt at the controls far more than I trust the defense.

 

[Osbern61]

Nice analysis. The excerpted part above really says it all IMO. Matt had a good second half after a shaky start, but bottom line this offense needs to generate more than 10 points.

OTOH, we just can't rely on our defense to make stops at the end of the games. If we have learned anything over the Ken Whisenhunt era it is that. If you have a 4th and 1 in the opponent's territory, (with all deference to the Belichick second-guessers), go for it. I trust the offense even with Matt at the controls far more than I trust the defense.

You know, I had forgotten all about the fact that it was fourth and 1. I know its 20/20 hindsight but going for it would have been a good idea, given how our defense tends to give up yards by the boatload in 4th quarters.

 

[mrbyte]

I really liked how aggressive Bill Davis was on the last drive, unlike the previous DC. Because of this, I feel very encouraged...

First off. I look forward after every game to reading your thoughts I usually agree with most of it and get some real interesting perspective.
that said....your encouraged!! really??
They drove the ball 99 yards on us converting 4th downs on the way and they aren't the first this year to have driven the length of the field to win the game. or last year for that matter (Super Bowl anyone?)
Bill Davis was supposed to be the guy to change that, and as such Bill Davis stated he wanted to eliminate the 'big play' well mission failed Bill..and while we are at it we are leaking yards everywhere run and pass. We don't seem to be able to stop anyone. and before the goal line stands are produced as evidence that we can, We need to be stopping them before they get to the one.

I think our D sucks worse than last year to be honest, I think we have the personnel but they just dont seem to perform consistantly right now we have to outscore opponents because we just can't stop them.

 

[cardpa]

I still think you need to lay some fault at the feet of Whiz. I suspect Warner was not feeling up to par all week and he still got most if not all of the reps with the first team. The reps should have been split between Warner and Leinart Or at least 60/40 so Leinart would have been better prepared if he indeed needed to start yesterday which as we all know happened. I like Whiz and think he's the best thing to happen to this team since they moved to AZ.

Ware, Brown, Wilson and to some exent Rolle are all liabilities in coverage. None of them can read quick enough on a regular basis to provide consistent coverage. The results is they are a step behind too many times.

 

[Totally_Red]

I still think you need to lay some fault at the feet of Whiz. I suspect Warner was not feeling up to par all week and he still got most if not all of the reps with the first team. The reps should have been split between Warner and Leinart Or at least 60/40 so Leinart would have been better prepared if he indeed needed to start yesterday which as we all know happened. I like Whiz and think he's the best thing to happen to this team since they moved to AZ.

Ware, Brown, Wilson and to some exent Rolle are all liabilities in coverage. None of them can read quick enough on a regular basis to provide consistent coverage. The results is they are a step behind too many times.

I can't really second-guess Whis on the practice snaps. All indications were that Kurt was on track to play. So if Whis does split the reps, and Kurt plays and the Cardinals lose he gets second-guessed on that. Matt gets 25% of reps which seems reasonable to me. Yeah in hindsight he should have gotten more last week, but Whis can only go off what the doctors tell him. Warner got a clean bill of health on Tuesday, and Whis had to go off of that IMO.

 

[ReddBird]

Thanks for a great post. This loss hurt but give Young and the Titans credit; they played their hearts out. Give the Cards credit, too, for giving their all.

Either team could have won and should have won. Great end to a game that I can't stand to watch over again.

 

[Buckybird]

I think our D sucks worse than last year to be honest, I think we have the personnel but they just dont seem to perform consistantly

2+ years of average to terrible defense says we dont have the personell. We have 4-5 good players & maybe 3 great ones (Dansby, DRC, DD)

Stop being like the coaches & overevalueting the talent, it's just not where it needs to be.

 

[Spielman]

The problem was, despite ML's solid play, the offense, usually good for 28 ppg with Warner only scored 10 points in this game.

And here's me thinking that a team that doesn't turn the ball over is invincible.

Seriously, Leinart didn't make big mistakes, and when they had to get more aggressive because they were behind again late, he delivered. But the ultra-conservative approach? Makes it hard to win when you don't score.

The total lack of a pass rush in crunch time was fatal. On one of those 4th down plays, I commented that the Cards mounted the most pathetic blitz I'd ever seen. Huge numbers, straight up the middle, banking on getting to Young quickly... and the Titans picked it up. Somehow, nobody came free. Young actually had a pocket around him, and about twice as much time as he needed. Embarrassing.

 

[nashman]

^The ultra conservative approach doesn't fall on Leinart who played well with the plays he was given! Whiz should have opened up the playbook much earlier in the game you can't be so afraid of a turnover at the cost of being anemic on offense! All in all it was a great game we just came up short with no time to respond. I personally thought they definately should have went for it on 4th and 1 at worst they get better field position but could have ran more time off the clock or maybe ended the game by keeping our drive alive!

 

[Duckjake]

Here's a game thought. Last year after getting embarrassed by the Patriots the Cards won 4 straight and made it to the Super Bowl.

This year the Titans after getting embarrassed by the Patriots have won 5 straight games.

Maybe the key to winning in the NFL isn't having a great QB or Defense but to get embarrassed by the Patriots.

 

[Mitch]

First off. I look forward after every game to reading your thoughts I usually agree with most of it and get some real interesting perspective.
that said....your encouraged!! really??
They drove the ball 99 yards on us converting 4th downs on the way and they aren't the first this year to have driven the length of the field to win the game. or last year for that matter (Super Bowl anyone?)
Bill Davis was supposed to be the guy to change that, and as such Bill Davis stated he wanted to eliminate the 'big play' well mission failed Bill..and while we are at it we are leaking yards everywhere run and pass. We don't seem to be able to stop anyone. and before the goal line stands are produced as evidence that we can, We need to be stopping them before they get to the one.

I think our D sucks worse than last year to be honest, I think we have the personnel but they just dont seem to perform consistantly right now we have to outscore opponents because we just can't stop them.

Bill Davis had the guts to run several 6 man blitzes during the drive. To me that's an encouraging sign. VY handled the blitzes well, but the Cardinals did not get burned badly on any of them. I bet BD wishes he would have blitzed on the last play now because, the key to the play was VY being able to step up unthreatened to nearly the 11 yard line to throw a quick dart to the back of the end zone. Had VY been forced to throw the ball from the 17-18 yard line instead and been forced to throw it over the likes of Calais Campbell the DBs would have had more time to react to the ball.

What I said in conjunction with being encouraged by BD's calls is that the Cardinals' DBs don't play the ball nearly well enough. BD is putting them in position to make plays and, quite frankly, they are not reacting quickly enough and when they have chances on the ball, they misplay them, as BMF did on the errant end zone pass, that really could have ended the game...it was one of the few passes VY forced on the last drive.

 

[Buckybird]

as BMF did on the errant end zone pass, that really could have ended the game...it was one of the few passes VY forced on the last drive.

Mitch I think that was the series before.

And by the way, that was blatant offensive PI on the attempted pick

 

[Mitch]

Mitch I think that was the series before.

And by the way, that was blatant offensive PI on the attempted pick

Either way, BMF, IMO, could have made a stronger play on the ball.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Bill Davis had the guts to run several 6 man blitzes during the drive. To me that's an encouraging sign. VY handled the blitzes well, but the Cardinals did not get burned badly on any of them. I bet BD wishes he would have blitzed on the last play now because, the key to the play was VY being able to step up unthreatened to nearly the 11 yard line to throw a quick dart to the back of the end zone. Had VY been forced to throw the ball from the 17-18 yard line instead and been forced to throw it over the likes of Calais Campbell the DBs would have had more time to react to the ball.

What I said in conjunction with being encouraged by BD's calls is that the Cardinals' DBs don't play the ball nearly well enough. BD is putting them in position to make plays and, quite frankly, they are not reacting quickly enough and when they have chances on the ball, they misplay them, as BMF did on the errant end zone pass, that really could have ended the game...it was one of the few passes VY forced on the last drive.

I agree that it's encouraging to see Davis call a more aggressive game with the blitzes... However, what's very, very discouraging is that those blitzes didn't produce. Did we ever really get serious/meaningful pressure on VY from these blitzes?? I could be wrong, but DD's 3 sacks came on non-blitz calls... We simply don't have the talent on defense to get the job done, be it in the context of a blitz and applying consistent pressure on the QB, or defending the pass...

 

[Buckybird]

I agree that it's encouraging to see Davis call a more aggressive game with the blitzes... However, what's very, very discouraging is that those blitzes didn't produce. Did we ever really get serious/meaningful pressure on VY from these blitzes?? I could be wrong, but DD's 3 sacks came on non-blitz calls... We simply don't have the talent on defense to get the job done, be it in the context of a blitz and applying consistent pressure on the QB, or defending the pass...

been saying the same thing since the offseason. And we dont get to the QB that leaves us in man to man coverage with basically 1 guy (DRC) that has those skills. How about the lack of speed in our secondary minus DRC? Time to put in Toler at the nickle because he has the speed & skillset

I would have played a straight zone against VY all 99 yards & make him find the open WR.

 

[187]

Our OLB talent is below average at best and the secondary has never been able to get it together consistently. Adrian Wilson is a huge liability in coverage, Rolle is streaky, I don't have much faith in any corner whose initials aren't DRC, and none of our LB's can play in coverage besides Dansby. At least Hayes is a stud against the run but the rest of our OLB's are pretty much worthless. Too many needs on this defense right now, I need to check out if there are any decent FA's this year that would fill a need and not demand a huge contract.

A Q trade would be nice.

 

[ajcardfan]

The total lack of a pass rush in crunch time was fatal. On one of those 4th down plays, I commented that the Cards mounted the most pathetic blitz I'd ever seen. Huge numbers, straight up the middle, banking on getting to Young quickly... and the Titans picked it up. Somehow, nobody came free. Young actually had a pocket around him, and about twice as much time as he needed. Embarrassing.

That was because they ran the EXACT same blitz on 3rd down. It actually worked because Rolle knocked down Young forcing an incompletion. I thought they were showing it and were going to drop out of it, maybe confusing his read of the coverage. Or, change it up with a stunt But, nope, they ran it just the same and surprise, surprise it was all picked up easily.

Thanks for pointing that out. Of all the plays to complain about on that drive, that one annoyed me the most.

 

[82CardsGrad]

That was because they ran the EXACT same blitz on 3rd down. It actually worked because Rolle knocked down Young forcing an incompletion. I thought they were showing it and were going to drop out of it, maybe confusing his read of the coverage. Or, change it up with a stunt But, nope, they ran it just the same and surprise, surprise it was all picked up easily.

Thanks for pointing that out. Of all the plays to complain about on that drive, that one annoyed me the most.

Took the words right out of my mouth...

 

[Buckybird]

That was because they ran the EXACT same blitz on 3rd down. It actually worked because Rolle knocked down Young forcing an incompletion. I thought they were showing it and were going to drop out of it, maybe confusing his read of the coverage. Or, change it up with a stunt But, nope, they ran it just the same and surprise, surprise it was all picked up easily.

Thanks for pointing that out. Of all the plays to complain about on that drive, that one annoyed me the most.

our blitz packages are very simple to read, we only have a few.

1) AW on the edge, he's coming

2) Dansby, Hayes up the middle

3) AW, Rolle up the middle

Thats it!!! Watch the Eagles & Steelers & ask yourself if we run anything even remotely close to what they do.