Harry
ASFN Consultant and Senior Writer
Second preseason game was worrisome but not fatal. It’s hard to tell what they didn’t have or didn’t want to show. My biggest concern remains Murray. I feel like I’m listening to Allen Iverson when Murray says these games don’t count. The score doesn’t count. Skill improvement surely does. Of course it’s easier to look good when the other team can’t hit you and you’ve seen all your opponents move but it doesn’t yield growth. If Murray doesn’t come around to accepting this, the Cards have a major problem. If he manifests this attitude how does that impact the play of his teammates who need to improve.
I don’t fault Kingsbury for a bland game plan. I do fault him for the hideous execution. Sure they were up against a strong defense, but once again Kingsbury was out coached.
There we a few players who were bad enough to get noticed. Gowan seemed more focused on tackling than preventing receptions. Whittaker was even worse than last week. Williams was slow in coverage. Weaver, who needs to make an impression, missed an open tackle while filling a hole at the line. You just don’t get many chances to impress. Alford looked rusty but showed athleticism. Dimukeje got no closer to a roster slot as the game seemed to move too fast for him. Kirk had a chance to impress but gained no separation. I don’t see in him a player who’s grown much since he was drafted. I know they weren’t all there but for all the talk of an improved offensive line I didn’t see it in either the running or passing game. Several others had less egregious showings, but weren’t worth a comment beyond the tackling overall was atrocious.
There is no doubt the secondary looked weak. Still their performance should look much stronger when the real pass rush plays. That should be the most exciting part of the future.
On the plus side, despite the bad interception, McCoy looked decent. Both reserve backs looked good. Murphy had a nice game, even without the interception. Butler looked okay. Everybody gets beat here and there. I thought the Collins/Simmons combo looked good. You’ve got to cut them some slack being so young, but the potential is huge. I thought Mauro looked like he belonged for depth.
On the whole this looked like the old first of four preseason exhibition games. It’s always critical not to read too much into preseason games. Still I can’t help feeling that Kingsbury blew the preseason last year and I hope this is just not more of the same. I still feel confident the talent and competence the Cards added this offseason will have them contending for a playoff. This should be an explosive offense and a bend but not break defense. I still have a positive feel about the season.
I don’t fault Kingsbury for a bland game plan. I do fault him for the hideous execution. Sure they were up against a strong defense, but once again Kingsbury was out coached.
There we a few players who were bad enough to get noticed. Gowan seemed more focused on tackling than preventing receptions. Whittaker was even worse than last week. Williams was slow in coverage. Weaver, who needs to make an impression, missed an open tackle while filling a hole at the line. You just don’t get many chances to impress. Alford looked rusty but showed athleticism. Dimukeje got no closer to a roster slot as the game seemed to move too fast for him. Kirk had a chance to impress but gained no separation. I don’t see in him a player who’s grown much since he was drafted. I know they weren’t all there but for all the talk of an improved offensive line I didn’t see it in either the running or passing game. Several others had less egregious showings, but weren’t worth a comment beyond the tackling overall was atrocious.
There is no doubt the secondary looked weak. Still their performance should look much stronger when the real pass rush plays. That should be the most exciting part of the future.
On the plus side, despite the bad interception, McCoy looked decent. Both reserve backs looked good. Murphy had a nice game, even without the interception. Butler looked okay. Everybody gets beat here and there. I thought the Collins/Simmons combo looked good. You’ve got to cut them some slack being so young, but the potential is huge. I thought Mauro looked like he belonged for depth.
On the whole this looked like the old first of four preseason exhibition games. It’s always critical not to read too much into preseason games. Still I can’t help feeling that Kingsbury blew the preseason last year and I hope this is just not more of the same. I still feel confident the talent and competence the Cards added this offseason will have them contending for a playoff. This should be an explosive offense and a bend but not break defense. I still have a positive feel about the season.
