Jurecki Breaks Down Lions Game
by: Mike Jurecki
As a local radio personality, the opinions expressed in Mike Jurecki’s columns are not necessarily those shared by the Arizona Cardinals.
Jurecki’s Observations
As the NFL weekend kicked off in full force, the Arizona Cardinals traveled to Detroit to battle the Lions. Let’s hope that this is a wake-up call for this football team. It doesn’t matter how many yards are thrown or how many touchdowns are scored, the bottom line is that as a team you can’t beat yourself. That was the main storyline, along with a few other factors. It was very uncharacteristic of a Dave McGinnis coached team to have as many penalties as they did on Sunday (12-80 yards). Starting with six false start penalties (and there could have been more) and three delay of game penalties. It seems like the Cardinals had trouble getting the plays to the quarterback. They had to burn some of their timeouts in the first half, which ended up costing them three points before the half. Even though there still should have been one second on the clock at the end of the first half, a team shouldn’t put themselves in that position.
Moving the football was something they were able to do by gaining 439 yards, but in the end turnovers were costly. As Detroit led 28-24 going into the fourth quarter, the Redbirds had good field position with first and ten at midfield with 14:41 to go in the game. On first down, quarterback Jeff Blake was sacked and lost the football which was recovered by the Lions. Six plays later, quarterback Joey Harrington threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Bill Schroeder to extend their lead to 35-24. On the next possession, Arizona had good field position again, but two plays into the drive Blake threw an interception that ended up in the hands of defensive back Dre Bly. He returned it 48 yards for a touchdown and the deal was sealed at this point (42-24).
Birdseed
Q- When was the last time the Cardinals won an opener? (See below)
Stats are for losers…
A couple of categories that should be paid close attention to as far as statistics go -- field position and the turnover battle. Field position was awful, as Arizona’s average start was at their own 27-yard line. The Lions average start was at the 40-yard line. When it was all said and done, the Lions had zero turnovers and the Redbirds had three turnovers that led to 21 points.
Can you say stud…?
There was a reason why Anquan Boldin didn’t catch a lot of passes in the preseason. It was because the team didn’t want to showcase his talents. Boldin is a tough football player who runs good routes and isn’t afraid to go over the middle. His performance on Sunday put him in an elite category. He had ten receptions for 217 yards including two touchdowns. Nobody has ever run for so many yards as a rookie in his first National Football League game. Just imagine if this guy had speed. When you look at Boldin’s numbers, six of his 10 catches came on third down, matter of fact both touchdowns were on third down. You can count on this--Mr. Boldin will start to see some double-teams.
Shipp Happens…
One of the drawbacks of signing Emmitt Smith -- it’s going to take away carries from Marcel. The offense had a hard time running the ball inside, that’s where Smith has made his living. Shipp had only two carries at the half for 20 yards and finished the game with four carries for 19 yards. The coaches must figure out how they can get Shipp his touches, a much different running back then Smith. There is a reason why they gave Shipp an extension last year!
A- In 1999 the Redbirds defeated the Eagles 25-24 in Philadelphia.
You snooze and you lose?
The Cardinals front office missed the boat when it came to signing defensive tackle Dan “Big Daddy” Wilkinson and defensive end Marco Coleman. Both of these players could have helped from a pass rush stand point. After watching Wilkinson on Sunday it was quite obvious he still has something in the tank and appeared to be a good shape. Just ask the Cardinals offensive line! Coleman signed with Eagles last Friday to add depth to their defensive line rotation.
The good thing about the National Football League is every week is a new game. Sunday’s game against Detroit is at least something to build on going into this week’s game against the Seattle Seahawks.
PS- Drinks lots of water and bring your sun block on Sunday, it's going to be warm!
by: Mike Jurecki
As a local radio personality, the opinions expressed in Mike Jurecki’s columns are not necessarily those shared by the Arizona Cardinals.
Jurecki’s Observations
As the NFL weekend kicked off in full force, the Arizona Cardinals traveled to Detroit to battle the Lions. Let’s hope that this is a wake-up call for this football team. It doesn’t matter how many yards are thrown or how many touchdowns are scored, the bottom line is that as a team you can’t beat yourself. That was the main storyline, along with a few other factors. It was very uncharacteristic of a Dave McGinnis coached team to have as many penalties as they did on Sunday (12-80 yards). Starting with six false start penalties (and there could have been more) and three delay of game penalties. It seems like the Cardinals had trouble getting the plays to the quarterback. They had to burn some of their timeouts in the first half, which ended up costing them three points before the half. Even though there still should have been one second on the clock at the end of the first half, a team shouldn’t put themselves in that position.
Moving the football was something they were able to do by gaining 439 yards, but in the end turnovers were costly. As Detroit led 28-24 going into the fourth quarter, the Redbirds had good field position with first and ten at midfield with 14:41 to go in the game. On first down, quarterback Jeff Blake was sacked and lost the football which was recovered by the Lions. Six plays later, quarterback Joey Harrington threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Bill Schroeder to extend their lead to 35-24. On the next possession, Arizona had good field position again, but two plays into the drive Blake threw an interception that ended up in the hands of defensive back Dre Bly. He returned it 48 yards for a touchdown and the deal was sealed at this point (42-24).
Birdseed
Q- When was the last time the Cardinals won an opener? (See below)
Stats are for losers…
A couple of categories that should be paid close attention to as far as statistics go -- field position and the turnover battle. Field position was awful, as Arizona’s average start was at their own 27-yard line. The Lions average start was at the 40-yard line. When it was all said and done, the Lions had zero turnovers and the Redbirds had three turnovers that led to 21 points.
Can you say stud…?
There was a reason why Anquan Boldin didn’t catch a lot of passes in the preseason. It was because the team didn’t want to showcase his talents. Boldin is a tough football player who runs good routes and isn’t afraid to go over the middle. His performance on Sunday put him in an elite category. He had ten receptions for 217 yards including two touchdowns. Nobody has ever run for so many yards as a rookie in his first National Football League game. Just imagine if this guy had speed. When you look at Boldin’s numbers, six of his 10 catches came on third down, matter of fact both touchdowns were on third down. You can count on this--Mr. Boldin will start to see some double-teams.
Shipp Happens…
One of the drawbacks of signing Emmitt Smith -- it’s going to take away carries from Marcel. The offense had a hard time running the ball inside, that’s where Smith has made his living. Shipp had only two carries at the half for 20 yards and finished the game with four carries for 19 yards. The coaches must figure out how they can get Shipp his touches, a much different running back then Smith. There is a reason why they gave Shipp an extension last year!
A- In 1999 the Redbirds defeated the Eagles 25-24 in Philadelphia.
You snooze and you lose?
The Cardinals front office missed the boat when it came to signing defensive tackle Dan “Big Daddy” Wilkinson and defensive end Marco Coleman. Both of these players could have helped from a pass rush stand point. After watching Wilkinson on Sunday it was quite obvious he still has something in the tank and appeared to be a good shape. Just ask the Cardinals offensive line! Coleman signed with Eagles last Friday to add depth to their defensive line rotation.
The good thing about the National Football League is every week is a new game. Sunday’s game against Detroit is at least something to build on going into this week’s game against the Seattle Seahawks.
PS- Drinks lots of water and bring your sun block on Sunday, it's going to be warm!
