Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
The more I watch the Cardinals' offensive line in game tapes of the second half of the season, the more impressed I am. First of all, as I have stated in previous posts, there seems to be no question that the line was much more consistent in pass protection when John Skelton was the QB---because Skelton defined the pocket for them, and especially for LT Levi Brown, who repeatedly rode his man wide of Skelton. The interior of LG Daryn Colledge, C Lyle Sendelin and RG Rex Hadnot was very solid in pass pro. And, when Jeremy Bridges played RT, the Cardinals had their best pass protection. Bridges may not be flashy or technically perfect, but he gets the job done.
Over the past two seasons, one of the major improvements the team has shown is in opening holes in the running game, particularly to the left side of the line where Levi Brown is a consummate mauler.
Adding a very good blocking FB in Anthony Sherman last year made the running game even more productive---despite the fact that Beanie Wells was banged up and that having lost Ryan Williams to injury, the Cardinals did not have a viable #2 RB option. When LaRod Stephens-Howling was used in spot duty, he was effective and showed some good bounce to the outside. Alfonso Smith ran well in his limited chances---as he hit the holes hard, albeit perhaps a little too hard at times in that it caused him to lose his legs a little.
Say what you will but get this: now with the addition of RG Adam Snyder, and if for now you count Jeremy Bridges as the RT, all five of the offensive linemen have multiple playoff game experience as starters and three of them (Brown, Sendlein and Colledge) have started in Super Bowls---Snyder has last year's NFC Championship under his belt as a starter---and Bridges has started 3 playoff games, one with Carolina ands two with Arizona in 2009---in fact, Bridges made one of the key plays in the Cardinals extraordinary 51-45 OT win over the Packers, when he recovered a Kurt Warner fumble induced by Clay Matthews---on the first play of what was a key TD drive.
Watching Bridges' play down the stretch last year---the guy was very very solid all the way around. And one thing I really like about him is that even when he wasn't starting he was always on his feet yucking it up with his teammates on the sidelines---keeping the starters fired up---and keeping his head in the game.
Bridges has gotten the tag of versatile backup---and that he certainly is---but could this year be his time to shun that tag? He has 55 career starts and has started 4 or more games for the Cardinals each of the last three years---he even played perhaps his best game filling in at LT in 2009 when the Cardinals beat Brett Favre and the Vikings---and Bridges worked his tail off in trying to thwart Jared Allen---and was deserving of a game ball for his effort.
Bridges isn't a fatty either---he keeps himself in good shape at 6-5, 318---and he is going to turn 32 this month, which isn't too bad considering he still has a good deal of tread on his tires.
The bottom line is that whenever Bridges plays, the unit seems to play better as a whole. Thus, maybe we shouldn't overlook him.
I am not saying the Cardinals shouldn't try to add another tackle to the mix---but, if let's say the Cardinals wind up drafting David DeCastro or Cordy Glenn and that player becomes the starter at RG, it's possible that Bridges could stave off Snyder at RT and thus Snyder becomes the versatile backup.
Having watched Snyder at RG, however, I really like him there---and like him there a lot. He was the 49ers' best puller---and his pass protection was so good that on most plays he stonewalled the DT at the line of scrimmage and locked him up right there.
But I think Bridges is an unsung player---and I would be very curious to know what his thoughts are this off-season because if he ever had a chance to emerge as a starter in Arizona, this may well be the year.
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/B-ww...ona+Cardinals+Wild/0REMqoN-5ur/Jeremy+Bridges
/Users/waltermitchell/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Masters/2012/04/06/20120406-083456/Green+Bay+Packers+v+Arizona+Cardinals+Wild+0REMqoN-5url.jpg
Over the past two seasons, one of the major improvements the team has shown is in opening holes in the running game, particularly to the left side of the line where Levi Brown is a consummate mauler.
Adding a very good blocking FB in Anthony Sherman last year made the running game even more productive---despite the fact that Beanie Wells was banged up and that having lost Ryan Williams to injury, the Cardinals did not have a viable #2 RB option. When LaRod Stephens-Howling was used in spot duty, he was effective and showed some good bounce to the outside. Alfonso Smith ran well in his limited chances---as he hit the holes hard, albeit perhaps a little too hard at times in that it caused him to lose his legs a little.
Say what you will but get this: now with the addition of RG Adam Snyder, and if for now you count Jeremy Bridges as the RT, all five of the offensive linemen have multiple playoff game experience as starters and three of them (Brown, Sendlein and Colledge) have started in Super Bowls---Snyder has last year's NFC Championship under his belt as a starter---and Bridges has started 3 playoff games, one with Carolina ands two with Arizona in 2009---in fact, Bridges made one of the key plays in the Cardinals extraordinary 51-45 OT win over the Packers, when he recovered a Kurt Warner fumble induced by Clay Matthews---on the first play of what was a key TD drive.
Watching Bridges' play down the stretch last year---the guy was very very solid all the way around. And one thing I really like about him is that even when he wasn't starting he was always on his feet yucking it up with his teammates on the sidelines---keeping the starters fired up---and keeping his head in the game.
Bridges has gotten the tag of versatile backup---and that he certainly is---but could this year be his time to shun that tag? He has 55 career starts and has started 4 or more games for the Cardinals each of the last three years---he even played perhaps his best game filling in at LT in 2009 when the Cardinals beat Brett Favre and the Vikings---and Bridges worked his tail off in trying to thwart Jared Allen---and was deserving of a game ball for his effort.
Bridges isn't a fatty either---he keeps himself in good shape at 6-5, 318---and he is going to turn 32 this month, which isn't too bad considering he still has a good deal of tread on his tires.
The bottom line is that whenever Bridges plays, the unit seems to play better as a whole. Thus, maybe we shouldn't overlook him.
I am not saying the Cardinals shouldn't try to add another tackle to the mix---but, if let's say the Cardinals wind up drafting David DeCastro or Cordy Glenn and that player becomes the starter at RG, it's possible that Bridges could stave off Snyder at RT and thus Snyder becomes the versatile backup.
Having watched Snyder at RG, however, I really like him there---and like him there a lot. He was the 49ers' best puller---and his pass protection was so good that on most plays he stonewalled the DT at the line of scrimmage and locked him up right there.
But I think Bridges is an unsung player---and I would be very curious to know what his thoughts are this off-season because if he ever had a chance to emerge as a starter in Arizona, this may well be the year.
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/B-ww...ona+Cardinals+Wild/0REMqoN-5ur/Jeremy+Bridges
/Users/waltermitchell/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Masters/2012/04/06/20120406-083456/Green+Bay+Packers+v+Arizona+Cardinals+Wild+0REMqoN-5url.jpg
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