Monday Ten Thoughts

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This game was frustrating because for all of last season, the thought at the end of games was that "if the Cards only had decent QB play......."

So they get decent QB play last Sunday, but they still get a L. Better style points maybe, but an L.

I suspect what this year may show is that last year's D wasn't as good as it appeared. Last years terrible offense never forced the opposing offense to "open it up". It was poor against the run, so teams with even a one score lead were content to run, burn clock and if stopped, were content to punt it away. This year's offense won't give other teams that luxury --
 

Cardiac

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This game was frustrating because for all of last season, the thought at the end of games was that "if the Cards only had decent QB play......."

So they get decent QB play last Sunday, but they still get a L. Better style points maybe, but an L.

I suspect what this year may show is that last year's D wasn't as good as it appeared. Last years terrible offense never forced the opposing offense to "open it up". It was poor against the run, so teams with even a one score lead were content to run, burn clock and if stopped, were content to punt it away. This year's offense won't give other teams that luxury --

Very solid theory and concern. I think Horton didn't care about defending the run because we would get enough stops that the opposing O had to throw the ball and this is where the D excelled.

It's a passing league so if you are going to be outstanding in only one phase of the game it better be against the pass. The big issue this year is that I do believe the secondary has been weakened with the loss of Rhodes and to an extent Adub.

So if Horton was still the DC and we kept Rhodes and Wilson then this D would actually be better than last year and no I don't think they would give up more points than last year because our improved O would force other teams to pass more.

I do believe you are correct about this years D and they will be exposed more because the O will force teams to throw the ball more and with the lack of pass rush the Cards will give up more points.
 

Catfish

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Mitch-----I also didn't like using Smith as a backup to Mendenhall. It should have been
Ellington, with his great vision and cutting ability. There were 4 times that Smith ran right into the pile, and three of those plays had big holes just off to his left. They were not seen by him. Ellington surely gets into the secondary on all three. He makes our run game more dangerous, therefore more respected and useful to free up the pass by keeping the defense honest.
 

Jay Cardinal

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Mitch-----I also didn't like using Smith as a backup to Mendenhall. It should have been
Ellington, with his great vision and cutting ability. There were 4 times that Smith ran right into the pile, and three of those plays had big holes just off to his left. They were not seen by him. Ellington surely gets into the secondary on all three. He makes our run game more dangerous, therefore more respected and useful to free up the pass by keeping the defense honest.

I like Ellington as a developmental player, but similar to Larod Stephens Howling, he is not built to take the pounding of repeated runs up the middle. So unless he bulks up quite a bit (probably at the expense of speed) I am pretty sure we will see him as a 3rd down/change of pace back.

Also while I do like Ellington's vision and cutting, I think you need more power and tackle breaking ability to run up the middle and Smith provides that better at this stage in his career.
 

BigRedRage

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I say pound the rock right between colledge and Levi so Levis man is concerned about the inside instead of running around levis outside.
 

Duckjake

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I say pound the rock right between colledge and Levi so Levis man is concerned about the inside instead of running around levis outside.

That's not a bad idea. Except we don't have an Adrian Peterson or Jamaal Charles. I did like that the Cards tried a couple of draw plays to the left side Sunday to try to slow down the pass rush.

I have never been able to figure out what it is about the Cards offense that other teams seem to know exactly what we are going to do. Their pass rushers pin their ears back and the DBS blanket our WRs when we try to pass and their DBs are on top of our ball carriers before they can get to the los when we try to run.

Of course it doesn't help that there are 2-3 defensive linemen 5 yards in our backfield at the same time our poor RB gets the hand off.
 

BigRedRage

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That's not a bad idea. Except we don't have an Adrian Peterson or Jamaal Charles. I did like that the Cards tried a couple of draw plays to the left side Sunday to try to slow down the pass rush.

I have never been able to figure out what it is about the Cards offense that other teams seem to know exactly what we are going to do. Their pass rushers pin their ears back and the DBS blanket our WRs when we try to pass and their DBs are on top of our ball carriers before they can get to the los when we try to run.

Of course it doesn't help that there are 2-3 defensive linemen 5 yards in our backfield at the same time our poor RB gets the hand off.

As long as it got positive y ards it would keep them on their toes. If you have that DE go around levis left side it should be a huge hole for the RB. A LB would likely be right there but as long as you get in the ends head the job is done.
 

Duckjake

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As long as it got positive y ards it would keep them on their toes. If you have that DE go around levis left side it should be a huge hole for the RB. A LB would likely be right there but as long as you get in the ends head the job is done.

The coaches film is up on game rewind. We'll be lucky to win 3 games with our defense. :(
 

john h

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1. Some good teams lost 4th quarter leads and their games yesterday:

Bengals
Packers
Bucs (wow what a way to lose a virtually guaranteed win, huh?)

And like the Cardinals, all of those teams were on the road where momentum shifts can make a huge difference.

2. I find it uncanny that we as fans knew so little about Todd Bowles defense and what he was going to throw at the Rams, and yet, the Rams' offensive line seemed to know exactly where the blitzes were coming every time the Cardinals' blitzed.

It makes you wonder whether the defense we saw in pre-season (package and blitz-wise) was already the one we now see in games, because the Rams sure were prepared for all of it. No pressure wrinkle worked. Even with the 2nd string RT in the game.

3. Tyrann Mathieu did one heckuva job on Tavon Austin---the problem was that it didn't free Mathieu up to blitz, which has to be corrected because Mathieu is such a force in bringing pressure.

4. The Cardinals' throwing and pass catching in this game was the best we have seen since the Green Bay playoff extravaganza. Talk about being locked in. Michael Floyd's one handed catch on the deep ball---Roberts' sensational catch on the sidelines and everywhere in between---and even Dray and Sperry's catches were squeaky clean.

5. The wheel route---in retrospect---if you are going to run that play on such an important third down, you are much better off running it to the right, not the left, because it is a much easier throw for a right handed QB.

Notice how much Palmer overthrew Fitz on the first fade pass left. It was SO great BA came right back with the same call on second down and notice how Palmer adjusted his throw and made it perfect.

Throwing left with accuracy requires quicker footwork and shoulder turn (squaring)---and it is harder to do this under pressure.

6. BA's credibility---you know I think we understand (to a small degree) why BA called Levi Brown "elite." First of all, it was wishful thinking...but the hope was that Brown could resume his best form from the last eight games of 2010, especially because BA&SK had bigger needs to fill (at least in how they prioritized the needs).

But now---the whole "we don't throw to the RBs" statement that BA was adamant about, and yet in the most crucial spot in the game, BA throws a wheel route to a rookie RB who had only played a few snaps in the game.

Plus---did you notice how often BA went to empty backfields in order to get 5 "quicks" on third downs? BA didn't even keep 5 WRs on the roster---so yesterday we saw the RBs being used as slot receivers.

If you recall, there was a key missed third down in the 3rd quarter in the red zone when Palmer's pass was tipped by a Ram DT---and that pass was intended for a well-covered Alfonso Smith (that's right it was Alfonso Smith #29)---even Ronde Barber saw that the tipped pass was lucky for the Cardinals because it looked like the Ram CB was going to easily jump the route.

The point is---right now---in key situations, do we really want to be passing to RBs coming off the slot?

6. Another thing---BA kept throwing the WR screens to the right, almost right into the hands of a waiting Jake Long, when he should have been throwing them to the left. Why? That's one key way to slow down Robert Quinn. You make him think he may have to stop to deflect a pass---or---you run screens and draws to his side (the 49ers always slow Quinn down on those).

7. Next time we play the Rams we should make a point to run right at Quinn and put a pounding on him early and often. Run the power off-tackle play and mix it up by cracking down on him one play and kicking him out the next. We allowed him to play in a tuxedo all game. Not good.

8. What would it hurt to see what our best tackle, Eric Winston could do on the left side?...and have Brown compete with Massey for the RT spot. Winston did a fine job on Jake Long---as good as any Cardinal RT has---and Long's about the best LDE we face.

Sure he's not ideally suited, but he's one tough competitor who will fight and battle more than Levi Brown will.

If BA and HC stay with Levi Brown at LT, they are going to have to tell him---anytime we iso you on the RDE and you start to get beat badly, hold, trip, tackle, do whatever you can to make sure the RDE does not blindside Palmer.

It is the lesser of two evils---the offense with Palmer is good enough to make up the ten yards---but protecting Palmer's health (and the ball) is THE #1 priority. It has to be.

Saying this to a tackle actually gives him a safety net because just knowing that the coaches would rather you hold than give up a thunderous blindside strip sack, allows you to play more aggressively. It actually relieves some of the pressure, especially when the coaches know they can't realistically give the LT help on every pass play.

I did this once with a sophomore LT who was talented but very nervous. Same scenario coming off a bad game where he got exposed. I just kept reminding him---safety net---we will find a way to get the yards back---and it was amazing what a difference this made. He hardly gave up another sack all season.

9. Palmer HAS to step up in the pocket much more than what he does. He is way too stationary---which is a tackle's worst nightmare.

10. What Todd Bowles really needs to do is start getting better athletes on the edge in passing situations---it is mind boggling that John Abraham only played 20 snaps---BA said it was because the Rams were running versus the nickel, but the running game wasn't hurting us---the one time we got some pressure on Bradford, he just easily sidestepped the pocket to his right and was able to throw for an easy first down. This was Bradford---imagine what it will be like when we play Kaepernick and Wilson. You have to have quick twitch athletes on the edge who can disengage and chase in a flash---not bull rushers like Campbell (wow, LDE, really?), Shaughnessy (who is better inside than out), Alexander (who allowed Bradford to slip right past him so easily) and Acho (too slow). We really have to play Abraham at RDE on all passing situations and consider sliding Dansby or Brinkley over to the left edge---get Minter more involved in the middle---and then use Washington as a middle and edge rover when he returns. Defending the edge is this defense's biggest weakness and the other teams know it.

Most of the talking heads I have been listening to lay it all on the 3rd down wheel route we called with two minutes left. One had the odds of a wheel route being successful vs a couple of other plays. The wheel route he had at a 23% chance of success. Where he got those numbers I do not know. The two other plays he mentioned were way higher than that. That play surely had to be approved by the HC and was not just a OC call? I would guess that even among just our fans they would not have selected that play given a choice of other plays. If you have 2-3 yds to go on 3rd down late in the game it just seems that was an inappropriate call if not a dumb one. There were various plays earlier in the game that could have changed the outcome but that was the last one and the one that will be best remembered. I sort of doubt we can repeat our passing success in that game.
 

DutchmanAZ

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That's not a bad idea. Except we don't have an Adrian Peterson or Jamaal Charles. I did like that the Cards tried a couple of draw plays to the left side Sunday to try to slow down the pass rush.

I have never been able to figure out what it is about the Cards offense that other teams seem to know exactly what we are going to do. Their pass rushers pin their ears back and the DBS blanket our WRs when we try to pass and their DBs are on top of our ball carriers before they can get to the los when we try to run.

Of course it doesn't help that there are 2-3 defensive linemen 5 yards in our backfield at the same time our poor RB gets the hand off.

Someone posted here recently about Levi having a "tell" (I think it was Quinn who was referenced in the article) letting him know when there would be a pass play. If there's any truth to that, this could be the reason. Of course, the other linemen may be also have "tells" as well, further complicating things.
 
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