Things Don’t Look Much Brighter Despite Record

[cardpa]

Well, I guess I'm in the minority with Harry. I'm not sure it was the worse game they played however if you analyze this game anyone with a sense of good football one would agree that the offensive performance of the Panthers was dismal at best and outright horrendous at times. Yesterday, Mayfield did his best Ryan Finley impersonation at QB. The Carolina offense spent a little over 8 minutes on the field in the second half yesterday and only 21 minutes the entire game. This game was still in doubt with 11 minutes left (13-10) until the Mayfield INT and then the even more confusing play call of throwing it on short (less than a half yard) on fourth down by Carolina at the nine minute mark.

As for the defense shutting down the Carolina offense may I remind you that the Panthers are averaging a measly 166 YPG passing (30th) and are dead last in overall YPG. They are not exactly a offensive Juggernaut.

The Cardinal offense went over six quarters without scoring a TD. Two of the three yesterday were short field drives, the second one a total of 5 yds. and the third 31 yds. against a defense that looked pretty gassed by that point. The reality is this offense had one good TD drive the entire game. These were not exactly time consuming long drives and if you think this defense is going to keep gift wrapping balls back to this offense I just have to say is I don't see that continuing to happen.

Harry is absolutely correct about Moore and Dortch. If the lack of communications between your head coach and your quarterback is to the point of shouting at each other across the field doesn't concern you then I'm not sure what would.

Yes, a win feels good however it doesn't necessarily mean the overall performance of the team is going to suddenly jump by leaps and bounds.

I know I will get the Debbie downer, can't enjoy the victory, always negative, yadda, yadda, yadda. I can't help but still see all the warts this team still has and considering what has transpired to date, I don't see them disappearing anytime soon.

 

[Redsz]

It seems like 2-2 reflects the team pretty well. Jekyll and Hyde so far this season.

 

[TRW]

That first half was up there in the worst category for sure. Others have far more eloquently enumerated the many issues, especially on offense, than I can. A win is a win, no doubt about it. But I am not getting suckered into any hope again like I did last year. This is a terribly coached team, unprepared week in and week out, with a QB who makes too many dumb plays and when the attrition due to injury happens, as it most certainly will, it will be even worse.
So, I enjoy the win but am not ready to say this team will magically explode when DHop, Hamilton or whoever comes back. Not..going...to...do...it. I salute you who are optimists and hold the contrarian view and hope you are right and I am wrong.

 

[Outerlimits]

I was already counting on this team losing this week and winning next week. Yet somehow a Geno Smith led offense just scored 48 points while Kyler keeps struggling in the first half.

I think cheese is rubbing off on me.

While I don't disagree, the Seattle defense allowed the Lions to score 45 on them as well.

Still, Cards pulling off a stunner against Philly, causing us to go crazy with excitement(along with props from media) and then getting destroyed against the Seahawks wouldn't be a complete shocker to me honestly. Lol.

 

[Paso Fino]

Credit should be given to where it is warranted. Baker Mayfield did a great job helping the Cardinals yesterday.

In the second half it seemed that Carolina's defense ignored covering the right side and let KM run free at will

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Gambo himself said that they wouldn't have beaten any other team in the NFL yesterday with the way they played, and he's on state tv! Can anyone here say they've seen an uglier overall FIRST HALF of football than yesterday? That was just crap on the field.

They would have beaten Houston, Washington at the very least.

 

[MadCardDisease]

The Cards’ offense is perhaps the most predictable I’ve seen.

I've been saying this all season. By constantly being in shotgun or often an empty backfield the defense rarely has to worry about the run. The MO to contain Kliff's offense is 2 deep safeties and keep everything in front of you. Take away the middle and deep passing routes. Tempt Kliff to throw endless passes behind the line of scrimmage and wait for the Cards offense to make a mistake.

Until Kyler gets under center and the Cardinals start using an effective play action with a running game I don't see things getting much better anytime soon. It's truly become a College offense going against NFL Defenses and it's a Joke.

 

[Arz101]

Gambo himself said that they wouldn't have beaten any other team in the NFL yesterday with the way they played, and he's on state tv! Can anyone here say they've seen an uglier overall FIRST HALF of football than yesterday? That was just crap on the field.

State Media it is.

They know going negative when they win gives them street creed so when they try to mop up the failures they have equity to tap into. It is all well planned propaganda from 98.7 team.

 

[keith wenzel]

I do not post often but here is what I see. Yes, yesterday was not a great piece of work but they won the game. I am not sure how much offense you are going to get when your top receivers have yet to play together and have missed 8.5 of the 12 possible games total between them. Factor in the TE group that has also missed time and you options are limited. The defense has been a pleasant surprise outside of the Chiefs game who put 41 on the Tampa Bay defense last night and we know how good they are, so I am not sure I agree with all the gloom and doom. Things could be better but they sure could be worse.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

That first half was up there in the worst category for sure. Others have far more eloquently enumerated the many issues, especially on offense, than I can. A win is a win, no doubt about it. But I am not getting suckered into any hope again like I did last year. This is a terribly coached team, unprepared week in and week out, with a QB who makes too many dumb plays and when the attrition due to injury happens, as it most certainly will, it will be even worse.
So, I enjoy the win but am not ready to say this team will magically explode when DHop, Hamilton or whoever comes back. Not..going...to...do...it. I salute you who are optimists and hold the contrarian view and hope you are right and I am wrong.

It was bad offensively sure; it was great defensively though. It would have been a worse category if they were down say like 20-0 like they were against the Raiders just 2 weeks ago.

 

[Dback Jon]

Agree with the above, and I also hope that when our NT (Lawrence) returns and teams with Watt and Allen our DL will be good. Gardeck and Golden have to improve our pass rush. If we can finish our first six games, no D Hop, 3-3, we'll still have a shot at the playoffs.

The bad news was Harry's scouting of the Eagles, who will be a very tough opponent. Harry did mention that they dropped a lot of passes, last week, which gave me hope. But then I remembered the terrible weather conditions that they played in.

Still a lot of FB to be played.

Iggles benefited from the bad weather far more than it hurt them. Offensively, they were garbage

 

[Garthshort]

According to Harry, they dropped a lot of passes. And, I'm attributing that to the bad weather.

 

[slanidrac16]

Harry, looks like I’m seeing things much like you. I knew the rose colored glasses were going to come out.
Ruhle may be the only coach in the NFL worse than Kingsbury.
The defense has played a bit better than expected but in two games we were way behind. I have not been close to being convinced this team will win more than 6 games.
Missing open receivers for easy first downs may be okay against teams like the panthers. But failing to make first downs and turning the ball over on downs will be disastrous against good teams.

 

[BirdGangThing]

Agreed, this win was of no kliffnificance. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we won and all but these first halves are so unproductkliff, we literally can't get anything going on offense and then we ask our defense to make up the klifference. No bueno says Jay Leno.

 

[Russ Smith]

If the 49ers win tonight we're tied for first despite playing basically 2 good halves in 4 games.

If we can tread water 3-3 before D Hop gets back we have a shot because there isn't a great team in our division. SF and the Rams have great defenses but injuries etc have impacted their offenses.

if we can get D Hop back with McBride and Rondale getting healthy and helping out the offense should get better. I have to keep saying it we IMO need less Conner until we're in short yardage, great guy but too slow.

 

[ajcardfan]

Considering the historic failure of this franchise it shouldn’t be surprising that the fan base includes a sizable number of optimists or they wouldn‘t keep selling all those tickets. I’m sure several of them will object to this post. However, IMO, they continue to be victims of wishful thinking.

I’ll be told the Cards are 2-2, not great, but not a cause for major alarm. My concern is simple. Sunday I saw one of the worst performances by a Cardinal team that I have witnessed. This is a bad team, though not all bad. However I don’t see the playoffs in their future. First, consider who they have beaten; quite possibly the 2 worst teams in the league. Second, consider it took until the second half of the fourth game for the Cards even to acquire a lead during regulation time. Third, if this isn’t the worst play calling and play design you’ve seen, I’m surprised you still view football. Assuming they are not decimated by injury, the team will get better when Hopkins returns. Just not enough better for a successful season.

Certainly the defense has exceeded expectations, though I don’t see them beating many teams that have a good passing offense. The Cards’ offense is perhaps the most predictable I’ve seen. Consider the use of Rondale Moore. The Cards have been saying how his absence has limited the offense’s options. Yet, Sunday did we see any impact plays by Moore? In fact, they weren’t even really attempted unless you count those weird behind the line calls. Dortch, who has been one of the few offense threats, was largely ignored except for punt returns. They finally did run Murray some, but not enough. The Cards’ offensive alignments and personnel packages virtually telegraphed what the play would be. Thus Carolina often seemed to be in the perfect defensive alignment for almost every play. I’ve covered elsewhere issues of red zone strategy and timeout usage. The level of chaos is staggering. So much so it appeared at one point Murray and Kingsbury were shouting at each other.

Next week the Cards play the Eagles. The Eagles are undefeated, but looked terrible last Sunday. That said, this figures to be a bad matchup for the Cards. The Eagles dropped an incredible number of passes. Hurts is not a great passer, but he’s decent and a solid rushing threat. If they don’t keep him contained he’ll burn them. AJ Brown will required safety assistance over the top. They use 3 WRs often, employing numerous crossing routes to confuse the CBs. He’s a special player, like Hopkins. The Eagles defense was sound against both the rush and the pass. The Eagles got penetration and constantly harassed Lawrence. If the Cards start slowly again, they will risk getting blown out.

I don’t see a path to victory in this game. The Eagles are a far better team than expected. They are well coached and even if the Cards take a step forward it won’t likely be enough.

Ok.

But can rattle off a list of worse performances by the Cardinals as long as my arm.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Well, I guess I'm in the minority with Harry. I'm not sure it was the worse game they played however if you analyze this game anyone with a sense of good football one would agree that the offensive performance of the Panthers was dismal at best and outright horrendous at times. Yesterday, Mayfield did his best Ryan Finley impersonation at QB. The Carolina offense spent a little over 8 minutes on the field in the second half yesterday and only 21 minutes the entire game. This game was still in doubt with 11 minutes left (13-10) until the Mayfield INT and then the even more confusing play call of throwing it on short (less than a half yard) on fourth down by Carolina at the nine minute mark.

As for the defense shutting down the Carolina offense may I remind you that the Panthers are averaging a measly 166 YPG passing (30th) and are dead last in overall YPG. They are not exactly a offensive Juggernaut.

The Cardinal offense went over six quarters without scoring a TD. Two of the three yesterday were short field drives, the second one a total of 5 yds. and the third 31 yds. against a defense that looked pretty gassed by that point. The reality is this offense had one good TD drive the entire game. These were not exactly time consuming long drives and if you think this defense is going to keep gift wrapping balls back to this offense I just have to say is I don't see that continuing to happen.

Harry is absolutely correct about Moore and Dortch. If the lack of communications between your head coach and your quarterback is to the point of shouting at each other across the field doesn't concern you then I'm not sure what would.

Yes, a win feels good however it doesn't necessarily mean the overall performance of the team is going to suddenly jump by leaps and bounds.

I know I will get the Debbie downer, can't enjoy the victory, always negative, yadda, yadda, yadda. I can't help but still see all the warts this team still has and considering what has transpired to date, I don't see them disappearing anytime soon.

I don’t really think you’re in the minority here. I just don’t see the reason to dwell on the darkness around us and likely still on the horizon after at least a small ray of light shines in.

There will be plenty o’time for that I’m guessing after the Eagles run us out of our own stadium again.

Also, there were just some statements made in the original post that were laughable even from this avowed darksider’s eyes. One of the worst performances ever? I mean, that’s ridiculous if you’ve watched this team for only the last 10 games, much less 30 years!

 

[SissyBoyFloyd]

We are tied for the lead in our division, but you wouldn't know it from reading most comments on this board. Who would have thunk it?

 

[ajcardfan]

We are tied for the lead in our division, but you wouldn't know it from reading most comments on this board. Who would have thunk it?

This. There is plenty of time to burn the place down with everyone trapped inside.

 

[Krangodnzr]

I don’t really think you’re in the minority here. I just don’t see the reason to dwell on the darkness around us and likely still on the horizon after at least a small ray of light shines in.

There will be plenty o’time for that I’m guessing after the Eagles run us out of our own stadium again.

Also, there were just some statements made in the original post that were laughable even from this avowed darksider’s eyes. One of the worst performances ever? I mean, that’s ridiculous if you’ve watched this team for a more than just the last 10 games, much less 30 years!

Truth.

 

[PACardsFan]

Considering the historic failure of this franchise it shouldn’t be surprising that the fan base includes a sizable number of optimists or they wouldn‘t keep selling all those tickets. I’m sure several of them will object to this post. However, IMO, they continue to be victims of wishful thinking.

I’ll be told the Cards are 2-2, not great, but not a cause for major alarm. My concern is simple. Sunday I saw one of the worst performances by a Cardinal team that I have witnessed. This is a bad team, though not all bad. However I don’t see the playoffs in their future. First, consider who they have beaten; quite possibly the 2 worst teams in the league. Second, consider it took until the second half of the fourth game for the Cards even to acquire a lead during regulation time. Third, if this isn’t the worst play calling and play design you’ve seen, I’m surprised you still view football. Assuming they are not decimated by injury, the team will get better when Hopkins returns. Just not enough better for a successful season.

Certainly the defense has exceeded expectations, though I don’t see them beating many teams that have a good passing offense. The Cards’ offense is perhaps the most predictable I’ve seen. Consider the use of Rondale Moore. The Cards have been saying how his absence has limited the offense’s options. Yet, Sunday did we see any impact plays by Moore? In fact, they weren’t even really attempted unless you count those weird behind the line calls. Dortch, who has been one of the few offense threats, was largely ignored except for punt returns. They finally did run Murray some, but not enough. The Cards’ offensive alignments and personnel packages virtually telegraphed what the play would be. Thus Carolina often seemed to be in the perfect defensive alignment for almost every play. I’ve covered elsewhere issues of red zone strategy and timeout usage. The level of chaos is staggering. So much so it appeared at one point Murray and Kingsbury were shouting at each other.

Next week the Cards play the Eagles. The Eagles are undefeated, but looked terrible last Sunday. That said, this figures to be a bad matchup for the Cards. The Eagles dropped an incredible number of passes. Hurts is not a great passer, but he’s decent and a solid rushing threat. If they don’t keep him contained he’ll burn them. AJ Brown will required safety assistance over the top. They use 3 WRs often, employing numerous crossing routes to confuse the CBs. He’s a special player, like Hopkins. The Eagles defense was sound against both the rush and the pass. The Eagles got penetration and constantly harassed Lawrence. If the Cards start slowly again, they will risk getting blown out.

I don’t see a path to victory in this game. The Eagles are a far better team than expected. They are well coached and even if the Cards take a step forward it won’t likely be enough.

If you thought this was one of the worst Cardinal performances ever, then you obviously haven’t watched this franchise play much. In my 58 years of watching them, I would say I’ve seen at least 300-400 games where we played SIGNIFICANTLY worse. And I’m being kind with that number.

 

[slanidrac16]

Truth.

I think Harry is basing his opinion on perception.
The Bears, Falcons and Jets are all 2-2. I have to believe nobody on this site are thinking those 3 teams are playoff bound.
Y’all can wish and hope but perception wise throughout the league and media the Cardinals are not striking fear in anybody.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I think Harry is basing his opinion on perception.
The Bears, Falcons and Jets are all 2-2. I have to believe nobody on this site are thinking those 3 teams are playoff bound.
Y’all can wish and hope but perception wise throughout the league and media the Cardinals are not striking fear in anybody.

I think the Falcons might be a surprise 9-8 playoff pretender.

 

[Zalixar]

I think the Falcons might be a surprise 9-8 playoff pretender.

Patterson going on IR. Not sure they do much without him.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Patterson going on IR. Not sure they do much without him.

Oh that’s a big loss. Is he down for the season IR or just four weeks?