Observations after 3 preseason games

[Arz101]

It is clear ceiling for Kirk is an Eric Decker.

This team has no #1 receiver.

Brice Butler will make 53. He has some speed outside of JJ Nelson and that is the only reason.

OLine might be a good surprise. Need them healthy. Munyer might be a lock based on his guard play. Can Cole handle 16 game season as rookie. He looks promising. Andre Smith is a weak link. Opposing teams will line up best pass rusher on right side

RBs are solid. Hope Foster is ok. RB receiving skills have to be used to hide WR deficiency. But this league will sniff it out.

TEs are a liability. No hope except for receiving skills of Seals Jones even that is a stretch.

QB room has some talent.

DLine is in for shellacking once regular season starts. Diche is a bust. Need Pierre to be 100% healthy.

Line backers are horrid. Enough said.

Fans are going to pile on DBs for not stopping RBs since DLine and LBs will let RBs get to second level easy.

DBs are good as far as pass coverage. Need to pickup that 3rd or 4th CB IN cuts or trade.

Phil Dawson is starting to worry with missing field goals.

Brewer is solid. As is Andy Lee. Coverage teams are super Blah.
All in all, Special Teams will be extra Ordinary. Not extraordinary.

Not sure what to expect from Wilks. Mostly if his in game situational handling is about average Cards will be OK. If he is next Jeff Fisher or Marvin Lewis it will not end well.

5-11 here we come unless Keim pulls the next Chandler Jones like trade and a Keim time special then 7 wins is a possibility.





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[gbrim21]

Agree with all of this. The recent bad drafts by Keim are starting to show through with lack of depth. If Nkemdiche and Reddick bust that is not great. Kirk is looking pretty average so far, doesn't look very explosive compared to NFL talent. I think he'll be good, but I'm seeing his ceiling come down from where I'd hoped. I could see him take a Golden Tate career arc, pretty meh for a couple years before developing into a solid #2.

I think this defense is going to get run on like we haven't seen for many years. Ever since Bowles (maybe Horton?) we've been good against the run. I think that ends this year. We'll have to start selling out against the run which will open up plays downfield.

This has to be the worst TE room in the NFL right?

I think we end with 6 wins, but everything hinges on Rosen going forward. If he's good and Humphries stays healthy we have a young QB, LT, RB, CB and pass rusher to build around. 4 of 5 of those spots are the hardest to fill in the NFL, and the other is a potential HOF RB. Have high hopes for 2019 based around Rosen, but 2018 is going to be rough. An offense of 2 runs and a 3 yard out route or slant. Wash rinse repeat. The silver lining this year will be the development of the young guys, and cap space next year.

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[Cheesebeef]

It is clear ceiling for Kirk is an Eric Decker.

This team has no #1 receiver.

Brice Butler will make 53. He has some speed outside of JJ Nelson and that is the only reason.

OLine might be a good surprise. Need them healthy. Munyer might be a lock based on his guard play. Can Cole handle 16 game season as rookie. He looks promising. Andre Smith is a weak link. Opposing teams will line up best pass rusher on right side

RBs are solid. Hope Foster is ok. RB receiving skills have to be used to hide WR deficiency. But this league will sniff it out.

TEs are a liability. No hope except for receiving skills of Seals Jones even that is a stretch.

QB room has some talent.

DLine is in for shellacking once regular season starts. Diche is a bust. Need Pierre to be 100% healthy.

Line backers are horrid. Enough said.

Fans are going to pile on DBs for not stopping RBs since DLine and LBs will let RBs get to second level easy.

DBs are good as far as pass coverage. Need to pickup that 3rd or 4th CB IN cuts or trade.

Phil Dawson is starting to worry with missing field goals.

Brewer is solid. As is Andy Lee. Coverage teams are super Blah.
All in all, Special Teams will be extra Ordinary. Not extraordinary.

Not sure what to expect from Wilks. Mostly if his in game situational handling is about average Cards will be OK. If he is next Jeff Fisher or Marvin Lewis it will not end well.

5-11 here we come unless Keim pulls the next Chandler Jones like trade and a Keim time special then 7 wins is a possibility.





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all makes sense to me.

why Dawson is still kick for this team is beyond me. He's a 43 year old has been who's not consistent on kick offs nor field goals.

 

[CardLogic]

1. Mike freakin' Glennon QB'ed most of the game vs. Dallas. I wouldn't base any assumptions about the offense on this game.
2. We have been spoiled with No. 11. Most receivers are going to pale in comparison. Kirk might struggle a little this season, will improve next year.
3. TE room will be improved with Gresham when he gets back. Until then it is very very lean.
4. Depth is the achilles heel of this years team!
5. I'm not opposed to going with the younger kicker, that will depend upon what the coaches have seen every day.

Too bad about DJ Foster, but from what I am seeing from the other RB's, he isn't going to make the team anyway. . .

 

[Phrazbit]

I don't get the 5-11 talk. If we're that bad then Wilks stinks.

We went 8-8 last year with a mess at QB, one quarter of David Johnson and a mess of an offensive line. I like Bruce, but were he and Betcher really worth, at least, 3 wins? I say "at least" 3 wins because the offensive talent appears to be much improved... or at least not yet injured. If BA had the offensive roster this team has I think we'd have been much better last year.

I'm also pretty sure I'm not someone people perceive as a homer. I also don't think we're a contender... I'd probably peg us for 8-10 wins, which in our division probably will leave us out of the playoffs.

 

[DVontel]

I don't get the 5-11 talk. If we're that bad then Wilks stinks.

We went 8-8 last year with a mess at QB, one quarter of David Johnson and a mess of an offensive line. I like Bruce, but were he and Betcher really worth, at least, 3 wins? I say "at least" 3 wins because the offensive talent appears to be much improved... or at least not yet injured. If BA had the offensive roster this team has I think we'd have been much better last year.

I'm also pretty sure I'm not someone people perceive as a homer. I also don't think we're a contender... I'd probably peg us for 8-10 wins, which in our division probably will leave us out of the playoffs.

We have a much tougher schedule & McCoy is a much worse offensive coach than BA.

 

[DVontel]

It’s hard for me to gauge anything on offense when Glennon is in the game though.

 

[Garthshort]

Agree with most of what Arz101 wrote, but not all. I thought that LB's were pretty good, last night. However, the opposition makes it tough to judge. Our kick coverage teams were good, particularly, Rudy Ford. McGrane is enticing, but Dawson isn't bad, either. We need our DT's back, before we can evaluate the DL. And it would be nice if we could learn WHEN or IF we are going to have Gresham and Golden off the PUP.

 

[DVontel]

Agree with all of this. The recent bad drafts by Keim are starting to show through with lack of depth. If Nkemdiche and Reddick bust that is not great. Kirk is looking pretty average so far, doesn't look very explosive compared to NFL talent. I think he'll be good, but I'm seeing his ceiling come down from where I'd hoped. I could see him take a Golden Tate career arc, pretty meh for a couple years before developing into a solid #2.

I think this defense is going to get run on like we haven't seen for many years. Ever since Bowles (maybe Horton?) we've been good against the run. I think that ends this year. We'll have to start selling out against the run which will open up plays downfield.

This has to be the worst TE room in the NFL right?

I think we end with 6 wins, but everything hinges on Rosen going forward. If he's good and Humphries stays healthy we have a young QB, LT, RB, CB and pass rusher to build around. 4 of 5 of those spots are the hardest to fill in the NFL, and the other is a potential HOF RB. Have high hopes for 2019 based around Rosen, but 2018 is going to be rough. An offense of 2 runs and a 3 yard out route or slant. Wash rinse repeat. The silver lining this year will be the development of the young guys, and cap space next year.

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Young CB? Do you mean Budda?

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Good breakdown.

I am surprised how porous our defensive line looks.

 

[DVontel]

Andre Smith, whew, that man is going to get someone killed.

McCoy is going to be Wilks downfall.

Glennon is truly atrocious. Did he even throw the ball 10 yards down the field once?

I still think Christian Kirk will be really good. Him not looking like the next coming of Odell Beckham in preseason games won’t change that.

Budda is going to be a defensive All-Pro.

I love Chase Edmonds & TJ Logan.

OL overall should look better just off the fact they’re not going to be blocking for years under BA’s long developing plays.

We gotta go DL 1st round next year. Enough said. Ed Oliver or Nick Bosa, here we come!

I’d rather get McCrane get the start over Dawson.

 

[Cards_Campos]

If defense can force Turnovers. We can win 10 games. David Johnson is a huge difference

 

[RON_IN_OC]

It is clear ceiling for Kirk is an Eric Decker.

This team has no #1 receiver.

Brice Butler will make 53. He has some speed outside of JJ Nelson and that is the only reason.

OLine might be a good surprise. Need them healthy. Munyer might be a lock based on his guard play. Can Cole handle 16 game season as rookie. He looks promising. Andre Smith is a weak link. Opposing teams will line up best pass rusher on right side

RBs are solid. Hope Foster is ok. RB receiving skills have to be used to hide WR deficiency. But this league will sniff it out.

TEs are a liability. No hope except for receiving skills of Seals Jones even that is a stretch.

QB room has some talent.

DLine is in for shellacking once regular season starts. Diche is a bust. Need Pierre to be 100% healthy.

Line backers are horrid. Enough said.

Fans are going to pile on DBs for not stopping RBs since DLine and LBs will let RBs get to second level easy.

DBs are good as far as pass coverage. Need to pickup that 3rd or 4th CB IN cuts or trade.

Phil Dawson is starting to worry with missing field goals.

Brewer is solid. As is Andy Lee. Coverage teams are super Blah.
All in all, Special Teams will be extra Ordinary. Not extraordinary.

Not sure what to expect from Wilks. Mostly if his in game situational handling is about average Cards will be OK. If he is next Jeff Fisher or Marvin Lewis it will not end well.

5-11 here we come unless Keim pulls the next Chandler Jones like trade and a Keim time special then 7 wins is a possibility.





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I don't know how you come to the conclusion about Kirk, when his QB last night couldn't throw the ball past the LOS.

I also don't get all the doom and gloom, yet. In years past, when this team played undermanned teams in preseason, a healthy Cards would struggle and fight down to the wire to pull out wins and go 4-0 or 3-1...and we'd all be excited. This preseason, this team obviously still looks to be learning and has been undermanned, themselves, and there has been little doubt about the outcome of the 3 games, so far. IMO as this team gels, they are going to be pretty good and competitive, as is...if they can develop some depth, they will be really good.

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[PJ1]

What is all this talk about Cowboys being undermanned. I heard Garrett going on about this in postgame interview. We didn't play Johnson or Fitz and handed things over to Glennon very early. Our DL was basically out. I guess we were undermanned also.

 

[cardpa]

If anything bothered me last night about the offense was how many times on third and short the receiver who was targeted ran a route that ended up short of the first down mark and then got tackled short of it.

 

[kerouac9]

If anything bothered me last night about the offense was how many times on third and short the receiver who was targeted ran a route that ended up short of the first down mark and then got tackled short of it.

Welcome to the McCoy offense.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

If anything bothered me last night about the offense was how many times on third and short the receiver who was targeted ran a route that ended up short of the first down mark and then got tackled short of it.

THIS!! And when you looked at the other routes none seemed designed to get a first down. I was incredulous. I know we are shifting offensive philosophy dramatically, but those playcalls/designs were atrocious!

Also our WRs can’t get separation. We are going to see a TON of stacked boxes.

 

[Capital Card]

Hard to judge the O without Bradford or David.

I've always held that Rookie WR's rarely do anything special. Kirk should get a lot of game experience this year, which will be beneficial as we go forward. No panic button for me at this time.

Sorry, but the change on D up front to a 4-3 is bigger than they are letting on and it is going to take time. I think RB's are going to tear us up for the first 4-6 games, until they start to put it together.

While i love the turnovers, no way that continues. So weird watching starters sitting for the 3rd preseason game. I think Denny Green just rolled over....

BA's offense is definitely gone. I think it's going to be painful to watch this change. Hopefully there will be more explosive plays once David gets to play, but this dink/dunk stuff is going to drive me crazy, and I seriously doubt we can put together enough drives to score enough points to win games. This 3-0 start to preseason bears all the hallmarks of our 5-11 past.

 

[Finito]

Wasn't Kirk the second coming after the last game? It's pre season guys....relax.

 

[StreetTruckinTitan]

I dont get to caught up in PS games. The defense and special teams isnt going to get 4-8 TOs a game going forward and the offense play calling isnt going to be as vanilla in the regular season neither. Im just holding my breath everyone of importance makes it out unscathed.

 

[CFLredzoned]

I didn't see the 4th quarter but it looked like Kanoff took a small step back from what I saw in the 3rd. He might be safe on the practice squad after all?

Glennon did look alot better than last game - checkdowns or not. But it is hard to get a good read on what's going on with all the checkdowns. Just heard local ESPN guy saying that the entire preseason has been nothing but checkdowns - for every team and every game he's watched. He's blaming it on coaches not wanting to open up the playbook. With Cards, it's probably a combination of that plus the offense, but yeah it's really hard to watch.

Humphries' pass blocking is hard to get a read on too because I'm getting the feeling that Gregory could possibly be the hardest to block edge rusher in the league when he's actually out there.

It was great to see Logan get that run and look solid the rest of the game too. Come to think of it, Logan and Chase are both hitting the holes hard and maximizing tough runs. I haven't seen any dancing you might expect from young backs. Kirby must be doing a good job with them. Definitely an upgrade over using an ex-QB or whatever Freddie Kitchens was.

It's cool to see McCrane hitting the long kicks. I think the Cardinals are gunshy though after what happened with the rookie long snapper last year. Very similar situation. The kid was great in college, in practice, in preseason. Really looked to be the long snapper of the future. The only thing he hadn't done yet was deliver a perfect snap in a super high pressure NFL game winning or losing scenario. Then when he gets his chance, he chokes and was never the same. The same thing could totally happen with McCrane and the only way to find out is to let Dawson walk and roll the dice. I don't think the Cardinals will do it.

The most alarming thing I saw last night was Keim's bugging eyes when they showed him. I was hoping he just had something in his eyes for a second or saw something that shocked him, but nope. That's just how he looks I guess when he doesn't know the camera is on him. Something is seriously wrong there.

 

[Arz101]

Welcome to the McCoy offense.

With Bradford's additional unwillingness to throw the long ball, McCoy could be a problem. For now, most of the offense is healthy and we will quickly find out. Importantly, I don;t know how you can win in NFL with short yardage drive that take long time to score touchdowns. Brad's offense works coz it's Brady. Duh!

What is your assessment of QBs so far K9?

 

[Arz101]

I don't know how you come to the conclusion about Kirk, when his QB last night couldn't throw the ball past the LOS.

I also don't get all the doom and gloom, yet. In years past, when this team played undermanned teams in preseason, a healthy Cards would struggle and fight down to the wire to pull out wins and go 4-0 or 3-1...and we'd all be excited. This preseason, this team obviously still looks to be learning and has been undermanned, themselves, and there has been little doubt about the outcome of the 3 games, so far. IMO as this team gels, they are going to be pretty good and competitive, as is...if they can develop some depth, they will be really good.

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I hope I am on the wrong end and you are correct. The season will be more fun if Cards can at least push towards 9 wins. As BA once said to M.BidWill - "I promise to keep this team interesting in December". I hope this team does that too.

 

[TJ]

Not going to throw the offense under the bus because the sample size on which you guys are judging is poor. I've never seen such a run-heavy, vanilla offense in preseason in my entire life. It's almost as if they're running the same 8 +/- plays each time. Additionally, they've been ultra conservative with Bradford. I understand the frustration about not having a #2 WR, but again, McCoy is doing his best not to show his cards.

As for the defense, it's still a relative unknown save for the lack of depth at LB. I do know is that those guys are playing their collective assess off, and gives me reassurance that we have a top-tier defense.

Not moving from my 6-10 prediction due to depth concerns, but if anything, I know this team will play hard.

 

[kerouac9]

With Bradford's additional unwillingness to throw the long ball, McCoy could be a problem. For now, most of the offense is healthy and we will quickly find out. Importantly, I don;t know how you can win in NFL with short yardage drive that take long time to score touchdowns. Brad's offense works coz it's Brady. Duh!

What is your assessment of QBs so far K9?

It also works because of Gronk, who sucks coverage from the middle of the field.

I wonder if Rosen isn't getting backdoor punished. No one saw a hand injury, but it kept him out of practice and a game. Weird.

I think that there's a significant hype machine running around Sam Bradford. I think that he's a beneficiary of a coaching system that sees three or four times more practice reps than game reps. I have little doubt that he looks AMAZING in practice. When I see him in games? I see a guy that can get you to 9 wins and a first-round playoff exit.

I think Bradford, if healthy, will be just good enough to start the whole season and then we'll wonder how we missed the playoffs when he completed 66% of his passes and threw for 3800 yards. I think our red zone offense is going to be DREADFUL.