Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor...ans-working-through-tough-offseason/96894022/
* Sad to hear that BA lost his brother-in-law to cancer.
* When Larry Fitzgerald hugged BA on the sidelines after winning the last two games, he inadvertently tore BA's rotator cuff in two---BA is playing golf at his home in Georgia but keeping his arm low.
* BA is waiting to hear from Carson Palmer and Fitz as to whether they are returning---BA thinks both will get the itch to return fairly quickly.
* BA appears to be somewhat amenable to lessening Fitz's blocking load---one solution he mentions is adding another big, tough slot WR.
* BA vows that next year's team will "tackle better."
* BA conceded that going soft in training camp in order to keep the team healthy was, in retrospect, a mistake.
* BA claims that the team was super confident heading into the Patriots' game and that losing 2 of the first 3 games at home, with a heavy slate of away games later "took the swag" out of the team.
* BA says he still thinks Robert Nkemdiche can be a great player.
* Bickley believes that the Cardinals are an imminent playoff contender if Palmer and Fitz returns.
* Bickley cites the Seahawks' "petulance" as a cause for their demise.
My reactions:
* Carson Palmer---the play for me that summed up his season (and in part the Cardinals' season)---was his flip pass attempt under close and extreme pressure early in the 1st quarter in Carolina. Yes, if the replay was working, the play should have been called an incomplete pass. But, that play should have never happened in the first place. Having coughed the ball up 6 times versus Carolina in the NFC Championship game and digging the Cardinals into a deep early hole, Palmer should have learned not to do anything hasty or ill-advised versus that defense, especially not early in the game. In Carolina every team knows you have to whether the early storm and not let them get out on a roll and get their fans all in a frenzy.
* That play (and many others this season) caused me to wonder more than ever if Palmer is incorrigible. He does not place a premium value on ball security, at least often enough to take the Cardinals the distance. Opposing coaches have even said that part of their game plan is to capitalize on the 3-4 big mistakes he makes a game.
* Palmer's pre-season performance was supremely lackluster---and it carried over into the regular season through poor, sluggish starts in every game for the first half of the season. With all the talent around him and the first 20 plays scripted and rehearsed, those poor starts were inexcusable.
* One of Palmer's greatest strengths is his resiliency---he often bounces back from his mistakes, but sometimes he makes too many mistakes early and creates a hole which even he can't climb out of.
* Palmer suffered a concussion this season---but even then he bounced back and continued to take a pounding. The guy is tough, there's no question about that.
* Was it pure coincidence that Palmer played his best and cleanest football the very minute the Cardinals were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs? Could such performances carry over into next year? Can Palmer learn to eat the ball more rather than force it into double coverage?
* Now he's wondering if he should retire.
* I think that Palmer, Fitz and BA should give it one more year---one last supreme bid for a championship.
* But in order for them to be successful, some timely adjustments need to be made:
* Palmer has to make ball security his highest priority. But hand in hand with that, BA has to make pass protection a priority---he has to chip DEs and keep an extra blocker in the backfield 90% of the time---he has to protect Fitz's legs and physical well-being by lessening his role as an interior blocker---BA's answer to Bickley was to add another big, strong slot WR---but the best thing BA can do, despite his stubbornness, is to insert a blocking fullback to iso on the linebackers and not have to send Fitz after the linebackers---a blocking fullback would also provide added protection to the team's most prolific asset, RB David Johnson.
* Let's be real---because BA refuses to play a FB, Fitz has been the team's FB the last two years. Fitz. No wonder he is contemplating retirement. And to Fitz's credit, he has given it his all, day in, day out, game in, game out.
* BA has vowed that the team's tackling will be better. Will this apply to Patrick Peterson? Peterson's reluctance to tackle and to return punts is at the crux of what is keeping the Cardinals from realizing their greatest potential. Perhaps knowing that this season will be Palmer's, Fitz's and BA's last hurrah will provide some urgency, responsibility and leadership to Peterson's game. Perhaps his All-Pro snubbing will provide added motivation as well. Thus, imagine how good the Cardinals could be if Peterson goes all in, starts making good, solid tackles and shows as he did in 2011 that he is the most gifted punt returner on the planet.
* Fitz was a little contact shy his first few years---but Todd Haley challenged Fitz and changed all of that. This is what BA needs to do for Peterson. BA has enabled Peterson to shy away from contact---just as BA and Amos Jones enabled Ted Ginn to play shy. BA conceded that he went soft on the team in pre-season---this time around, every player has to step up. No enabling. No double standards. No false swag.
* Sad to hear that BA lost his brother-in-law to cancer.
* When Larry Fitzgerald hugged BA on the sidelines after winning the last two games, he inadvertently tore BA's rotator cuff in two---BA is playing golf at his home in Georgia but keeping his arm low.
* BA is waiting to hear from Carson Palmer and Fitz as to whether they are returning---BA thinks both will get the itch to return fairly quickly.
* BA appears to be somewhat amenable to lessening Fitz's blocking load---one solution he mentions is adding another big, tough slot WR.
* BA vows that next year's team will "tackle better."
* BA conceded that going soft in training camp in order to keep the team healthy was, in retrospect, a mistake.
* BA claims that the team was super confident heading into the Patriots' game and that losing 2 of the first 3 games at home, with a heavy slate of away games later "took the swag" out of the team.
* BA says he still thinks Robert Nkemdiche can be a great player.
* Bickley believes that the Cardinals are an imminent playoff contender if Palmer and Fitz returns.
* Bickley cites the Seahawks' "petulance" as a cause for their demise.
My reactions:
* Carson Palmer---the play for me that summed up his season (and in part the Cardinals' season)---was his flip pass attempt under close and extreme pressure early in the 1st quarter in Carolina. Yes, if the replay was working, the play should have been called an incomplete pass. But, that play should have never happened in the first place. Having coughed the ball up 6 times versus Carolina in the NFC Championship game and digging the Cardinals into a deep early hole, Palmer should have learned not to do anything hasty or ill-advised versus that defense, especially not early in the game. In Carolina every team knows you have to whether the early storm and not let them get out on a roll and get their fans all in a frenzy.
* That play (and many others this season) caused me to wonder more than ever if Palmer is incorrigible. He does not place a premium value on ball security, at least often enough to take the Cardinals the distance. Opposing coaches have even said that part of their game plan is to capitalize on the 3-4 big mistakes he makes a game.
* Palmer's pre-season performance was supremely lackluster---and it carried over into the regular season through poor, sluggish starts in every game for the first half of the season. With all the talent around him and the first 20 plays scripted and rehearsed, those poor starts were inexcusable.
* One of Palmer's greatest strengths is his resiliency---he often bounces back from his mistakes, but sometimes he makes too many mistakes early and creates a hole which even he can't climb out of.
* Palmer suffered a concussion this season---but even then he bounced back and continued to take a pounding. The guy is tough, there's no question about that.
* Was it pure coincidence that Palmer played his best and cleanest football the very minute the Cardinals were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs? Could such performances carry over into next year? Can Palmer learn to eat the ball more rather than force it into double coverage?
* Now he's wondering if he should retire.
* I think that Palmer, Fitz and BA should give it one more year---one last supreme bid for a championship.
* But in order for them to be successful, some timely adjustments need to be made:
* Palmer has to make ball security his highest priority. But hand in hand with that, BA has to make pass protection a priority---he has to chip DEs and keep an extra blocker in the backfield 90% of the time---he has to protect Fitz's legs and physical well-being by lessening his role as an interior blocker---BA's answer to Bickley was to add another big, strong slot WR---but the best thing BA can do, despite his stubbornness, is to insert a blocking fullback to iso on the linebackers and not have to send Fitz after the linebackers---a blocking fullback would also provide added protection to the team's most prolific asset, RB David Johnson.
* Let's be real---because BA refuses to play a FB, Fitz has been the team's FB the last two years. Fitz. No wonder he is contemplating retirement. And to Fitz's credit, he has given it his all, day in, day out, game in, game out.
* BA has vowed that the team's tackling will be better. Will this apply to Patrick Peterson? Peterson's reluctance to tackle and to return punts is at the crux of what is keeping the Cardinals from realizing their greatest potential. Perhaps knowing that this season will be Palmer's, Fitz's and BA's last hurrah will provide some urgency, responsibility and leadership to Peterson's game. Perhaps his All-Pro snubbing will provide added motivation as well. Thus, imagine how good the Cardinals could be if Peterson goes all in, starts making good, solid tackles and shows as he did in 2011 that he is the most gifted punt returner on the planet.
* Fitz was a little contact shy his first few years---but Todd Haley challenged Fitz and changed all of that. This is what BA needs to do for Peterson. BA has enabled Peterson to shy away from contact---just as BA and Amos Jones enabled Ted Ginn to play shy. BA conceded that he went soft on the team in pre-season---this time around, every player has to step up. No enabling. No double standards. No false swag.
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