Harry
ASFN Consultant and Senior Writer
During BA's tenure the Cards have struggled going to the East Coast. The Buffalo game was more of the same. I guess people are tired of hearing this but I trace much of this back to the absence of game speed preseason reps. This looked liked a team that hasn't worked together enough. You can't go back to previous year's memory because the Cards' playbook is too complex. It takes reps; lots of reps.
Okay here's the good news. Cooper still looked decent at corner. He may be a major find. I also thought Jefferson and DJ had good games.
The list on the other side of the ledger is much longer. I would agree Palmer didn't have a good game. However in his defense, the O-line left him under quite a bit of pressure and it appeared receivers often ran the wrong route. Floyd in particular had a horrible game. It started when the first ball thrown to him bounced off his number. Palmer later got openly upset with him for giving up the inside to a CB on a pylon route. I expected Floyd to play big for his upcoming contract; instead he's folded. The Bills figured out that if you took Fitz out of the game you could shut down the passing game. I know JB had a pass thrown in his direction, but I believe we need to see more of Jaron Brown.
I thought the linebackers as a group played poorly. When they rushed the passer they often seemed out of control, opening up huge rushing lanes. They seemed to totally forget to contain a dangerous running QB. Coverage downfield was spotty and the Cards seemed confused again when playing zone.
I have no way to justify TM's failure to recover on the fumble. I'm okay with his failure to grab it on first try, but after that you have to fall on it. Wanting to be a hero is not good enough. If he can't get down low enough he shouldn't be on the field.
They already got rid of the long snapper. Guys at the end of the pay chain don't even count against the cap. This was a bad oversight. Both lines played inconsistently. No one stood out though the right side of the O-line was noticeably weaker.
This was just a bad game. Hard work is the only cure.
Okay here's the good news. Cooper still looked decent at corner. He may be a major find. I also thought Jefferson and DJ had good games.
The list on the other side of the ledger is much longer. I would agree Palmer didn't have a good game. However in his defense, the O-line left him under quite a bit of pressure and it appeared receivers often ran the wrong route. Floyd in particular had a horrible game. It started when the first ball thrown to him bounced off his number. Palmer later got openly upset with him for giving up the inside to a CB on a pylon route. I expected Floyd to play big for his upcoming contract; instead he's folded. The Bills figured out that if you took Fitz out of the game you could shut down the passing game. I know JB had a pass thrown in his direction, but I believe we need to see more of Jaron Brown.
I thought the linebackers as a group played poorly. When they rushed the passer they often seemed out of control, opening up huge rushing lanes. They seemed to totally forget to contain a dangerous running QB. Coverage downfield was spotty and the Cards seemed confused again when playing zone.
I have no way to justify TM's failure to recover on the fumble. I'm okay with his failure to grab it on first try, but after that you have to fall on it. Wanting to be a hero is not good enough. If he can't get down low enough he shouldn't be on the field.
They already got rid of the long snapper. Guys at the end of the pay chain don't even count against the cap. This was a bad oversight. Both lines played inconsistently. No one stood out though the right side of the O-line was noticeably weaker.
This was just a bad game. Hard work is the only cure.
