As Catfish so aptly predicted---this was the ultimate trap game---Cleveland had 10 days to prepare--yes they were without Colt McCoy---but, their head coach coached in the NFC West last year and knows the Cardinals well---their backup QB played in the NFC West for years and Seneca Wallace presented a much different challenge for the Cardinals---as we saw---you HAVE to keep contain on him---you CANNOT edge blitz to his inside shoulder as Mike Adams did and expect a good outcome. Plus---they have one of the most talented and physical offensive lines in the NFL and a beast of a RB in Hillis. Furthermore---their defense is physical and potentially dynamic all across the board--they are stout up front, their DEs in rookie Sheard (whom I am many other hear wanted so badly to be a Cardinal) and Gocong are very good---their LBers (D'Quell and Maiava) are active and physical and Joe Haden is a potentially elite CB. And then, for added measure their STs featuring Josh Cribbs in the return game is formidible.
Sure---they've been losing games---but like the Cardinals 7 weeks ago, they are on the verge of turning the corner and turning it, imo, for good the next few years.
Thus---the beginning of this game did not surprise me in the least----
But---after Hillis was ripping the field up and Wallace was calmly making good reads and throwing darts---what I began to wonder is when the wake-up call on defense would come---and it did, imo, when D-Wash stepped up and laid two ferocious licks on Hillis---that and a rejuvenated Kerry Rhodes and Richard Marshall started filling the gaps with authority.
Meanwhile---the offense was getting out-quicked---and John Skelton was feeling his way through the pressure---there were some passes he threw that could have been caught, albeit they were a little off the mark---but when you look at some of those throws Skelton was trying to throw them around the hands-up pressure he was getting up the middle.
Skelton's drive at the end of the half was a thing of beauty---and I sensed right then that he was going to find a way to pull this one out.
Even after Adams' gaffe, and the long TD pass---I sensed that it now became Skelton time.
He got so unlucky on the Skrine interception---and to be quite frank I felt that if Early Doucet had played with full concentration that this game could have been much different---Doucet dropped three passes that could have been crucial to the outcome, including the slant pass he dropped at the 5 yard line on 2nd and 16 after the turnover and failed shuffle pass (which BTW, versus a goal-line defense stacked to stop the run after Beanie has just scored on them---was such a curious call, especially with Fitz matched up one on one to the outside, and with a running game that was starting to turn 2 yards into 4.
The officiating was infuriating at times---especially on the third and short where the Cardinals clearly stuffed Hillis short of the marker---and yet, did you see what I saw---as the players were unpiling---the official who had the original mark right took a one yard step in Cleveland's direction---I would want to ask about that guy---it was an egregious decision on his part and I was furious that Whisenhunt didn't challenge---there is a time when a HC has to do right by his defense and have their backs---and this time in addition to the early decision not to challenge the pass to the five yard line on the opening drive where it looked as if the WR landed his shoulder out of bounds---and yet no challenge from Whisenhunt---when he did challenge it was clear that the play was going to stand---maybe he was trying to ice the kicker as he did the previous week---
However, Whisenhunt made up for it all when he challenged the Wallace fumble---a call that I was sure he wasn't going to get (at least we didn't have Mike Perriera or whatever his name is---chiming in against the Cardinals as he ALWAYS does)---and yet we learn about the back of the hand rule and Whisenhunt wins the challenge.
Say what you will about Skelton---but 313 yards and 13 unanswered points from a 17-7 deficit and again he pulls off the win.
To me there is no QB controversy---when you are basically 5-1 and have led the team from behind in all of those games---you are the man. It's sickening to me to hear the disrespect he gets. He has what, 9 NFL starts? What do you people expect?
The main thing I have said all along about his is he plays unafraid---and that is a gift for a young inexperienced QB---and when he makes a mistake he has the fortitude to come right back and overcome it.
Yet the scrutiny he is receiving from fans and his own HC is mind-boggling to me---sure if he were a five year veteran like Kolb---but this kid has transitioned as an afterthought starter from the Patriot League to a 7-3 record in the NFL for a team that has gone 5-15 in games without him.
And yet I know---one stinker of a game and he will be summarily dismissed by many of the fans and possibly by that man whose job he helped to save this season and last. That's the great irony to me. Skelton wins another comeback game and the HC is quick to remind the media about the missed seam pass to Fitz earlier in the game---on a pass that if Fitz doesn't slip because of the ridiculously slippery UofP grass, that Fitz still could have easily caught. How about the strikes Skelton threw to Roberts (TD under pressure) and Heap? How about the game winning strike to Fitz that was thrown on the money with touch?
I don't know about you, but I am not expecting EVERY pass to be thrown on the money---not with the pressure our QBs get. I expect him to be close, which he was on almost all of his throws, save four or five.
In light of the circumstances---and the opportunistic plays from Scho and PP21---and the timely response to the 17-7 deficit, I think this was a GREAT win!
