KC@ARI: Heroes and Goats

[kerouac9]

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1. Kerwynn Williams, RB. 19 rushers for 100 yards was enough to silence the #freekulabafi moment for a while. Williams wasn't exactly a revelation, but he was a fiesty between-the-tackles runner more than capable of keeping the offense on schedule.

2. Frostee Rucker, DE. Rucker remains a solid rotational player in this defense, and stepped forward with a Darnell Dockett-caliber pass rush.

3. Alex Okafor, OLB. The second-year pro continues to develop into what we hoped to consistently see from Sam Acho. Okafor has a great attitude and needs to be inspired to continue to develop his rush repertoire.

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1. Chandler Catanzaro, K. It would be worth the time to bring in a free agent kicker or two to inspire Catanzaro to continue his development and remind him that no special teams player is on scholarship.

2. Jonathan Cooper, OG. Fans who have been calling for weeks for Cooper to be promoted from the bench hopefully saw why he'd been planted there. Cooper's technique is that of a 4th rounder. He's got to listen to coaching and understand how far he needs to go.

3. Tony Jefferson, S. The entire interior defense--linebackers and safeties--are responsible for covering tight ends, but the production here against a completely expected line of attack was a bad reminder of what we hoped we'd fixed from 2013.

 

[Russ Smith]

Cooper missed some blocks and his pass blocking is a work in progress but several of those runs were seemingly keyed by him.

If you do a coaches tape review this week can you check the TD run by Charles. Seemed to me live the motion TE wasn't set prior to the snap, he got the key block on the play, I was watching off internet so poor feed but was pretty surprised that play didn't come back.

 

[juza76]

Totally agree with you especially regarding cooper
Many think he is the reason why we put more yardage
I think the reason we run better was chief defense and a quick healthy running back

 

[BIGRED1959]

Stephan taylor's first run of the game was a 2 yard loss because cooper let the defender burst right in.....

However he did seem to hunker down a bit....in the long run he will we a good player, he needs time and also to gain a bit of focus and confidence back.

 

[TJ]

Totally agree with you especially regarding cooper
Many think he is the reason why we put more yardage
I think the reason we run better was chief defense and a quick healthy running back

There were more productive runs up the middle than I've seen in quite some time. If your assertion has merit, then either the solution to our running game was a healthy back, or new personnel on the line. Hopefully both.

Either way, Cooper looked a hell of a lot better than Larsen or Fanaika, bad technique or otherwise. Certainly not a goat. Take him out and put Dan Williams for his weak tackling job on Charles during that 63 yard TD run.

 

[b8rtm8nn]

I want to see where Darren Fells grades out after this game - more reps than Housler and Carlson combined, so he must be blocking someone correctly. If he did it well, that would make him a hero...

 

[TJ]

I want to see where Darren Fells grades out after this game - more reps than Housler and Carlson combined, so he must be blocking someone correctly. If he did it well, that would make him a hero...

The o-line play was as good as I can remember. It would've been better had Stanton stepped up in the pocket in the first quarter.

Carlson has been atrocious in blocking, and we already know how well Housler blocks by now. I didn't pay attention to Fells, so I couldn't ascertain how well he played, but the line played well, particularly in run blocking (4.3 ypc)

 

[kerouac9]

Stephan taylor's first run of the game was a 2 yard loss because cooper let the defender burst right in.....

However he did seem to hunker down a bit....in the long run he will we a good player, he needs time and also to gain a bit of focus and confidence back.

Cooper looked absolutely terrible in the first couple of plays. You're right, though, as the game went on he settled in a little bit and I ended up watching other things.

Still too often--particularly in the passing game--he ended up turned around or not blocking anyone. It was more along the lines of it not being pretty, but getting the job done more or less. I'll have to look at the coaching tape a little more to see where Williams was being so productive on runs up the middle--averaged 5.0 YPC.

Don't know how Dan Williams can be that responsible on a 60+ yard TD that went outside the offensive tackle. I think Patrick Peterson is the guy who lost control of his gap there.

 

[Iceman]

The Honorable mention Hero(s) should be Todd Bowles and the 2nd half defense. They made huge adjustments on the run game and completely took Charles out of the game. The INT by Snowman, pressure/sacks on Smith and forced fumble on Kelce, to me, won us the game. Again, we all know that our defense is the reason we are 10-3. As long as our defense can keep us in the game, we find ways to win on offense.

 

[Stout]

We had a 100yd running back. Sure, Cooper made mistakes and showed he is raw and rusty, but he was NOT one of the goats.

 

[Chopper0080]

First off, thanks for doing this week in and week out.

I have been out of town, so I haven't been able to watch the games like I usually do, and I hope to start tonight or tomorrow. I plan to focus on Cooper, and hopefully I will see him getting better with every snap. We will see. One area I believe was helped was having a healthy back who brought a little elusiveness. More than anything, I think Ellington had lost his quickness in the hole and on the cutback, which help the running game down. Injuries do that to players. From what I saw, Williams was able to make the correct cut, and avoid the solid hit which allowed him to keep his runs positive. Again however, this is after a very limited viewing experience.

Nice new Hiro.

Jefferson gives up so much in coverage that we are really limited vs the pass when he is in. Bucannon hasn't been a huge upgrade either, but seems to play tighter coverage and isn't at such a size disadvantage.

Our lack of athleticism at ILB is glaring IMO. It will make our games vs Seattle and SF even more difficult because of the disadvantage it puts us in when playing man coverage. Also, could be brutal in the playoffs vs Rodgers and Romo (underrated scrambler). Not a killer, but gives our defense less room for error.

I can't tell you how disappointed I was watching our defensive backs play in the first half (which is aout all I saw). You have to know how limited alex Smith is, and it was disappointing to see them give up so much cushion. Biggest difference between our secondary and Seattle's is that the Seattle secondary refuses to concede any yards while our secondary seems to try and just stop first downs. I hope that we can develop that sort of mentality over the next few years.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Larson needs to be mentioned as a Goat and Jaron Brown as a hero!!

 

[TigToad]

Justin Bethal is a hero for picking up that ball on the "fumble" even tho it appeared to be pointless.

 

[football karma]

always a little curious about schemes where Larry Foote is responsible one on one with Jamal Charles. Was that by design?

 

[MadCardDisease]

We had a 100yd running back. Sure, Cooper made mistakes and showed he is raw and rusty, but he was NOT one of the goats.

I agree. Cooper had a few plays where he lost his technique but for the most part he played really well in his first start. Definitely not a goat.

 

[kerouac9]

First off, thanks for doing this week in and week out.

I have been out of town, so I haven't been able to watch the games like I usually do, and I hope to start tonight or tomorrow. I plan to focus on Cooper, and hopefully I will see him getting better with every snap. We will see. One area I believe was helped was having a healthy back who brought a little elusiveness. More than anything, I think Ellington had lost his quickness in the hole and on the cutback, which help the running game down. Injuries do that to players. From what I saw, Williams was able to make the correct cut, and avoid the solid hit which allowed him to keep his runs positive. Again however, this is after a very limited viewing experience.

Nice new Hiro.

Jefferson gives up so much in coverage that we are really limited vs the pass when he is in. Bucannon hasn't been a huge upgrade either, but seems to play tighter coverage and isn't at such a size disadvantage.

Our lack of athleticism at ILB is glaring IMO. It will make our games vs Seattle and SF even more difficult because of the disadvantage it puts us in when playing man coverage. Also, could be brutal in the playoffs vs Rodgers and Romo (underrated scrambler). Not a killer, but gives our defense less room for error.

I can't tell you how disappointed I was watching our defensive backs play in the first half (which is aout all I saw). You have to know how limited alex Smith is, and it was disappointing to see them give up so much cushion. Biggest difference between our secondary and Seattle's is that the Seattle secondary refuses to concede any yards while our secondary seems to try and just stop first downs. I hope that we can develop that sort of mentality over the next few years.

A couple people have pointed it out, but I think that with the injuries to the secondary and having to play more conservative to protect the offense, we're not bringing pressure like we were earlier in the year right now. That leads to your corners having to play off coverage because they're going to have to cover forever.

I think that the lack of athleticism at ILB is problematic, but more against the burner running backs. I don't think we've had a problem containing scrambling QBs, but the gap control is a huge problem against backs like Charles.

I don't think I've seen a single snap where Bucannon is playing an actual safety role. He's exclusively right now a passing-down ILB; not sure how he compares with Jefferson in a more traditional SS role. There's certainly a size difference there.

Ellington has been a problem for a few weeks now. I think he was making the offensive line look worse than it was. Cooper's a goat because his technique was bad, and technique is something that he should've been working on for the last ten weeks. He's just playing out of control at times, although he did settle in from a terrible start.

 

[Shaggy]

I really think all the RBs played well yesterday. Grice got one carry for like 8 yrds, Taylor was tearing through players, Hughes was great on the screen and Williams got the most carries and did well with them. It was great to see a RB committee that played so well.

 

[Garthshort]

Please take Cooper off the Goats list. It's not just a coincidence that with him starting we were able to run the ball. And I'm guessing that BA asked you to post that so the fans couldn't ask why the team didn't start him sooner. And the best news is that he'll only get better.

 

[Iceman]

Please take Cooper off the Goats list. It's not just a coincidence that with him starting we were able to run the ball. And I'm guessing that BA asked you to post that so the fans couldn't ask why the team didn't start him sooner. And the best news is that he'll only get better.

He stepped it up later in the game for sure. He will continue to get better and the run game will benefit. Different offense next week. Mark it down!

 

[kerouac9]

Please take Cooper off the Goats list. It's not just a coincidence that with him starting we were able to run the ball. And I'm guessing that BA asked you to post that so the fans couldn't ask why the team didn't start him sooner. And the best news is that he'll only get better.

This sounds like a lot of people who are confusing results with process. I'll go through some of Cooper's worst blocks when I have time to go through the coaching tape.

Anyone who knows anything about offensive line play would easily put Cooper on the goats list. It was an ugly game for him.

 

[Brian]

Cooper was much better in the run game than he was in pass pro. Don't forget the size of the man he was facing, sometimes with no help.

Dan's play on the long Charles run really pissed me off. He had every opportunity in the world to extend his arms and tackle and he chose to give him the forearm shiver. I always hate when I see defenders do that at any level. They've been taught since pop-warner how to wrap up players and I still see players go for the big blow rather than what has always and will always work. AW did alot of it later in his career and it never worked.

 

[CFLredzoned]

Don't know how Dan Williams can be that responsible on a 60+ yard TD that went outside the offensive tackle. I think Patrick Peterson is the guy who lost control of his gap there.

I wouldn't say he's fully responsible, but he should have had the tackle. It was actually kind of weird looking. He had him, but for some reason didn't close his arms to make the tackle. In Dan's defense, maybe he's so large, he can't close his arms outside a certain distance. Maybe anything greater than 2 feet from his body is outside his tackle radius.

 

[TJ]

This sounds like a lot of people who are confusing results with process. I'll go through some of Cooper's worst blocks when I have time to go through the coaching tape.



Anyone who knows anything about offensive line play would easily put Cooper on the goats list. It was an ugly game for him.

I know a lot about line play, and I'm not thinking he's a goat at all. I'm also not listing him as a hero, if that makes you feel any better.

I actually think Larsen and Massie had worse performances, but the point remains that collectively, this was one of the better performances by this group.

 

[Stout]

I know a lot about line play, and I'm not thinking he's a goat at all. I'm also not listing him as a hero, if that makes you feel any better.

I actually think Larsen and Massie had worse performances, but the point remains that collectively, this was one of the better performances by this group.

Bingo.

 

[football karma]

btw: isnt that a llama rather than a goat?