My questions, comments, concerns

[Tim]

It’s interesting that the biggest question of the preseason became – how much does preseason matter? While it is true that there isn’t a lot of scheming or game planning in preseason, I’d argue that many of the Cardinals problems in preseason had nothing to do with scheming or planning. Some of my biggest concerns are:

-The lack of a pass rush. This team cannot generate a pass rush without blitzing. Because we are forced to blitz frequently, and we use safeties on many of the blitzes, the defense is oftentimes in a cover one or cover zero position, namely one or no safeties over top. To add to that, the single safety is usually Rolle, who is a strong safety masquerading as a free safety. He is consistently out of position and receivers get over the top on him with ease. The product of all of this is a defense that will continue to be one of the worst if not again the very worst in passing touchdowns given up. This defense scares me.
-Penalties. Penalties have nothing to do with scheming or planning. They have everything to do with concentration and discipline. We were penalized like crazy in the preseason!
-Kurt. Follow me for a minute. Kurt is one of the best passers in the NFL. His timing and accuracy are fantastic. His ability to read defenses is all-world. But, as a complete quarterback, he leaves a little to be desired. His play fakes can be lazy, he fumbles snaps, he fumbles the ball an incredible amount in the pocket, he is below average when he moves his feet, etc. For him to be at his very best, he needs to get in a rhythm and throw the ball quite a bit. I think an emerging and important strength for the long term success of this team is their ability to run the ball. Whiz likes to run the ball. Beanie looks like the real deal. The offensive line looks as steady as it has in a long time. You see the conflict? Kurt doesn’t do well when there is a commitment to the run. I think this could be a growing concern this season. Kurt looked out of sorts in the preseason.

Other thoughts:
-I love an underdog as much as anyone, but Lance Long doesn’t look like NFL talent to me. I’m surprised he made the club. I’m not sure how is going to help this team, unless they are really concerned about the current injuries.
-Reggie Walker was our best LB in preseason and I’m glad he made the team. He was more of a long shot than Long. There’s no way they would’ve been able to sneak him onto the practice squad.
-Toler looks better than I thought he would. Everyone kept talking about how “raw” he is, but he was solid in preseason, and you can tell he is an incredible athlete. Corners aren’t usually that big.
-They made the right choice letting go of Pope. Patrick and Byrd are both more talented pass catchers and Becht and Spach are both better blockers. Pope doesn’t really do anything well.
-Based on preseason games, I liked Palko’s upside over St Pierre’s. Palko would have been a good #3 because an athletic QB is a good guy to have running the scout offense in practice.
-The Victor Hobson release is a surprise. We are weak at that OLB spot and he seemed like a solid vet. Berry and Okeafor don’t scare anyone anymore.
-The San Fran game is so important. With this schedule, they have to win the ones they are supposed to. I’m not sure this team is ready to play. They have a lot of work to do over the next nine days.

 

[Garthshort]

I. like most other posters, feel that at least one OLB will be picked up. And maybe a DB.

 

[WildBB]

-The Victor Hobson release is a surprise. We are weak at that OLB spot and he seemed like a solid vet. Berry and Okeafor don’t scare anyone anymore.[/FONT]

That's the only real surprise, that they let Hobson go and are a little thin there. They kept Highsmith right?

 

[shoe]

Tim I thought you were reading my mind ......It's very rare that I see a post that I agree with (the beauty of message boards) but you have nailed it. At home against the niners is a must win. We are not on the road opening day where a win is a steal. The first place schedule makes life tough, therefore the Cards must win their home games in division and must win at least five total games in division. I feel we need to be 2-2 worst case scenario after the first four with three of those at home and a bye.

 

[TJ]

I like your post time. You are spot on with a lot of things.

As for the pass rush, I think we'll be pleasantly surprised for a few reasons. First, Calais Campbell has one hell of a motor. This preseason, he was in the opponents backfield more often than not. On the other side of the line is the ever dangerous Dockett, and he's motivated this year. To him, this is a contract year and he expects to get top dollar if he makes the pro bowl. If the offense has to worry about the 3 in the trenches, that will make it easier for the linebackers to do their work. The only concern I have is depth. There is not much behind them if someone goes down.

 

[shoe]

Penalties.....that irritates me more than anything else in preseason.

 

[Tim]

I like your post time. You are spot on with a lot of things.

As for the pass rush, I think we'll be pleasantly surprised for a few reasons. First, Calais Campbell has one hell of a motor. This preseason, he was in the opponents backfield more often than not. On the other side of the line is the ever dangerous Dockett, and he's motivated this year. To him, this is a contract year and he expects to get top dollar if he makes the pro bowl. If the offense has to worry about the 3 in the trenches, that will make it easier for the linebackers to do their work. The only concern I have is depth. There is not much behind them if someone goes down.

You're right. The team has much more potential of getting to the QB up the middle with Docket and Campbell. What we are missing is the traditional pressure off the edge. We don't have anyone that can get consistent pressure from that OLB spot. Hopefully that guy is Cody Brown in years to come, but for now we have to watch Okeafor and/or Berry get stonewalled by the offensive tackles of the NFL.