Its just one preseason game but:

[Catfish]

There was a lot to like about the total performance that the Cardinals put on tonight. Most of the questions have been answered.

The two J. Browns on the receiving corps are for real.

All our QBs looked accurate and poised, (even Logan Thomas after getting a chance to get over his initial butterflies). Palmer was simply superb. Stanton stepped right into his role and commanded the offense just like we hoped he would. The real surprise was Logan Thomas, whose poise grew with each snap of the ball, and who went through his reads with quickness after initial jitters. His accuracy was not a question this night, and he gave us glimpses of what might be possible as he learns the position. This could be the start of something very big indeed.

The run game was more than adequate. The O-line appears to be on its way, though you could see that Cooper is still not his old self, (whether that is due to genuine weakness resulting from his injury, or be it more of a belief in himself issue). He is certainly not like he was before the injury. Still the offense acquitted itself very well indeed.

The defense DOES belong to Minter. He showed he is in charge of it, and it was a devastating defense all night, no matter who was on the field. These guys are ball hawks, and run stuffers in the mold of the old Bears defenses. They are fast, fast, fast, and they are very strong up front. The secondary was very much fun to watch all night.

Yes, it is just one game, and game one at that, but I would believe that BA and SK are happy with the way this whole roster played tonight.

Special teams were very good also and I really like the place kicker BA suited up. His worst kick-off went 6 yards deep in the end zone, and he didn't miss any scoring chances. Great start to the Pre-Season.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

Lots to like about this game. A lot of guys stepped up and played well. LT, Palmer, John Brown and Golden to name a few.

What a difference a year makes with the offense and knowing the system.

 

[Chopper0080]

What I liked seeing

John Brown being John Brown. Dude is electric but wasn't suddenly invisible vs the jam. The Cards will do what they can to keep him frmo having to fight that too often though.

We took advantage of turnover opportunities. That is important. If you have a chance for a turnover, you need to get it.

Logan Thomas showed well. Take it for what it is, but he showed the ability to complete several short passes which is nice to see. Used his athleticism nicely on the TD pass. A good start.

I liked that the offense seemed further along than it did last year at this time. Progress is important and it seems we have taken some steps.

What I didn't like.

Interior offensive line was not great. Cooper, Larsen and Fanaika had their issues. I want to see improvement as the pre season progresses.

RB depth is an issue, especially explosiveness. Taylor still looks slow which I never saw in college.

I have to rewatch, but the OLBs didn't stand out. I want to see some flash from those guys.

 

[TJ]

Only gripes for me were no effective running game and Cooper looking a step slow.

Other than that, not much to complain about.

 

[desertdawg]

Nice Catfish, I see a team that has real confidence, they work hard and expect good things to happen on the field because they believe in everything they are doing right now. Logan came in and didn't look nervous one bit, but he had just watched Palmer and Stanton do it text book style. This whole team is in to it, Palmer looks like he is ready to be a boss. O-line did well against a tough front. Didn't even utilize Ellington, Floyd, Ginn, or get too deep into the playbook. Just kept it simple and executed it all. We learned this team won't quit last year in the San Fran game, and even though we lost that game I think we learned the importance of every game and every play mattering. The intensity must remain or it can all be in vain.

 

[D-Dogg]

No Floyd, no Ginn. WR corp is DEEP and gonna force some tough decisions.

Wish RBs were half as deep.

 

[azsouthendzone]

This isnt a running team or running league. RBs should be fine.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

No Floyd, no Ginn. WR corp is DEEP and gonna force some tough decisions.

Wish RBs were half as deep.

I think we will bring in another back after cuts.

 

[CardsFan88]

What I liked seeing

John Brown being John Brown. Dude is electric but wasn't suddenly invisible vs the jam.

I thought I saw some insane wiggle and immediately thought, if he can consistently do that, he's going to get open alot.

 

[Catfish]

RB depth is an issue, especially explosiveness. Taylor still looks slow which I never saw in college.

I would disagree with this. We ran enough that the defense couldn't sit on the pass. At the end of the game we ran even though the Texans knew we were going to run. That bodes well.

 

[TJ]

This isnt a running team or running league. RBs should be fine.

This is built to be a versatile offense that can beat teams with both the run and pass. By many pundits, Ellington is being predicted to have 1500 +/- all purpose yards.

The NFC Champ 2008 Cardinals, who were the worst running team in the NFL, were an anomaly. Yes, this is a "passing" league, but not a completely one-dimensional league.

 

[ajcardfan]

Well, I can't find a lot to worry about after that performance.

We looked really sharp and the players clearly knew what they were doing, with a couple of minor exceptions. Even the rookies looked like experienced veterans. I remember preseason games with McGinnis and Tobin where we burned all three timeouts in the first quarter because we couldn't get plays in or line up correctly.

It was just a first step and if we lose to San Diego in game 1, no one will remember how good we looked tonight. But, right now, it seems like only injuries could ruin our season as we look so well coached. And, we were very, very bland on defense. I know Bowles has a lot of stuff to unleash when it's time to play for real.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

I know Bowles has a lot of stuff to unleash when it's time to play for real.

You have to give credit to Bowles. He had his D prepared for this game.

 

[crisper57]

I'd rather be on this side of a 32-0 meaningless win than the other side.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

I'd rather be on this side of a 32-0 meaningless win than the other side.

All day long.

 

[Jay Cardinal]

This is built to be a versatile offense that can beat teams with both the run and pass. By many pundits, Ellington is being predicted to have 1500 +/- all purpose yards.

The NFC Champ 2008 Cardinals, who were the worst running team in the NFL, were an anomaly. Yes, this is a "passing" league, but not a completely one-dimensional league.

The 2008 team really came alive running the ball in the playoffs. They were horrible in the regular season, but Hightower and James at least made the defense respect the run and Warner tore them apart.

I really like Ellington, but I am not sure who will stand out between Dwyer, Taylor, and Bauman. They all seem like a similar player to me. Guess I would play the one who blocks best.

I think it will be key to get someone else to share the workload with Ellington. If he goes down, I think we start to see defenses gear up against the pass.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

I really like Ellington, but I am not sure who will stand out between Dwyer, Taylor, and Bauman. They all seem like a similar player to me. Guess I would play the one who blocks best.

I think it will be key to get someone else to share the workload with Ellington. If he goes down, I think we start to see defenses gear up against the pass.

At first Taylor looked good and then he looked like he slowed down and tried to bounce plays that he was too slow to do.

Dwyer looked big and strong and ran over a guy on one play. I liked the way he ran. Very pedestrian speed and he was trying to bounce outside when clearly he is not built to do so.

I think we look to bring in another RB after cuts.

 

[Cardiac]

There was a lot to enjoy and feel good about in regards to the first preseason game, A LOT.

I was not impressed with Stanton's accuracy, he underthrew several passes. He was not SCUD or Bones bad (few are) but I'm not thrilled with his entire performance Logan was far more accurate that advertised but he had a couple of passes that were off the mark and WR's and penalties bailed him out. Having said that I'm very excited to see how he continues to develop because he was accurate enough in this game to be a winning NFL QB.

Taylor makes me cringe with how slow he is at times but he is tough to tackle and usually gets yards after contact. Dwyer on the other hand has superior quicks and speed and is at least as punishing as Taylor. Parmele had some nice runs and Hughes is intriguing. I'm not concerned about the RB stable at this point but aside from Juke it isn't a great unit like the WR's.

Fitz, MF, Ginn, John Brown, Jaron Brown, Golden and Powell all look like keepers to me. Can't see us keep 7 WR's, especially since I believe we will keep 4 TE's and BA loves to run two TE sets. I think we can all agree that the first 4 I listed are locks for the roster so the rest of the preseason is critical for the other 3.

Cooper is a concern at this point and Fanaika is what he is, okayish at best. Larsen isn't the worst back up we have ever had but he okayish as well. Love our OT's and Potter appeared to play well at LT when he was in there. The Oline is improved over last year and I expect Coop to get back to his old self so we should have a solid to good Oline.

Bernard simply keeps making plays but he is 29 years old so it's not like he is some unearthed gem that can develop for us. Good news is our DB's look to be excellent and Bowles is a blitz scheming maniac.

We had maybe the best ILBer duo last year and now we have decent to serviceable talent this year. Since the starters on the Dline are outstanding and Rucker is a quality backup/rotation guy and we added to the unit during the draft I expect that our front 7 as a whole will be quite good. Acho, Okafor, Shaughnessy & Old Abe (when he comes back) are solid to good.

Yes the Texans are a hot mess right now and going through the growing pains of new systems with the coaching changes, but they have a ton of talent and we owned them the past two times we played them. The D scored more points then they gave up for cripes sake.

 

[ManinAZ]

The big thing I took from the game was obviously the passing attack. I get the feeling the Cards will be able to score a lot of points due to this alone. Against better defenses there will be more of a need for a run game so I hope they continue to develop that as well.

Definitely going to be a passing team and hopefully with some early leads Taylor and Dwyer can step in and help run some clock. That will be key. We know what Ellington can do with one carry and a lane but when about when the Cards need to burn some clock late in the game with a narrow lead? Or on a goal line?

What are your thoughts on the potential Run vs Pass ratio?

I am still studying the Defense so I will get back to that a bit later.

 

[Chopper0080]

I would disagree with this. We ran enough that the defense couldn't sit on the pass. At the end of the game we ran even though the Texans knew we were going to run. That bodes well.

You think that we are deep at RB, specifically with explosiveness? We have bodies, but none are capable of ripping off a splash run play past Ellington. I'm not sure how that is debateable.

 

[azsouthendzone]

This is built to be a versatile offense that can beat teams with both the run and pass. By many pundits, Ellington is being predicted to have 1500 +/- all purpose yards.

The NFC Champ 2008 Cardinals, who were the worst running team in the NFL, were an anomaly. Yes, this is a "passing" league, but not a completely one-dimensional league.

Wow, you really missed the point dude.

 

[azsouthendzone]

You think that we are deep at RB, specifically with explosiveness? We have bodies, but none are capable of ripping off a splash run play past Ellington. I'm not sure how that is debateable.

Welcome to the NFL. Who does Seattle have past Lynch? Who does KC have past Charles? SF has Gore and.....Antonio Smith?

Cards fans love to find trouble where there is no trouble. This isn't 1985. You don't need 3 stud RBs. You need WRs. Cards are built fine as-is.

 

[PJ1]

Ellington goes down you have nothing at running back from what I can see. Taylor may be an honest hardworking player but I see very little from him running the ball. Dwyer is big but I don't see much else from him and the rest are long shots to even make an NFL roster.

I was hoping we would have done something in free agency or the draft at this position.

 

[Catfish]

You think that we are deep at RB, specifically with explosiveness? We have bodies, but none are capable of ripping off a splash run play past Ellington. I'm not sure how that is debateable.

I never said we were deep at RB. I said that we ran the ball well enough to keep the Texans from loading up against the pass. I am not sure that BA considers the run as important as you do. He seems to be more of a 'we run enough to keep the defense honest' type guy.

Whether we stay pat at RB, or go after one in trade, or pick up one after cuts, I put my trust in BASK to do what is right for the team. Finding another back is easy. Finding one who fits the scheme and CHEMISTRY that our current backs have, may be considerably harder. Just like I am not pleased with Johnathon Cooper's progress so far, I am not going to complain about it. I trust in this staff to help him get to where he needs to be.

 

[Chaz]

You think that we are deep at RB, specifically with explosiveness? We have bodies, but none are capable of ripping off a splash run play past Ellington. I'm not sure how that is debateable.

I think this may be the deepest they have been at running back since I don't know when. What is a splash play? over 25 yards? Any of them are capable of that. They don't have the foot speed of Ellington (few players do) but I think they all have quick feet and are NFL quality backs.

I would rather select from this group than Wells/Hightower/Powell/LSH/Smith.