Harry
ASFN Consultant and Senior Writer
The Cards started on defense and so will I. Gardeck misdiagnosed and overran plays. He was likely overanxious to make plays. This ILB group is very thin. The Cards better hope that against history Hicks & Reddick stay healthy. Vallejo looks like the best of the backups. The DL looks hopeless against the run. The Cards will have to keep Swearinger in the box if they hope to hold offenses under 150 yards a game rushing. That will put tons of pressure on a secondary that would be unlikely to hold up under the best of circumstances.
Speaking of the secondary the loss of Alford kills any hope this unit works. Nichols does not look like an NFL player to me. Brooks looks a step slow. Murphy is still trying to know just where to be. I have no idea why Williams is still in the NFL. The best bet looks to me to be Jones & Brock as the top 2 with Murphy playing the slot. The safeties also look thin. Beyond the starters I don’t see guys that can play. The Cards Like Ford but I don’t see it. He’s very weak in coverage.
The only defensive unit that might work is the OLB. If Holland and Robinson play well this should be a deep group.
Turning to offense, I’m not concerned about Murray’s performance last night. I was glad to see him take more snaps. I’d actually have played him more. I tried to point out in another post that Murray needs to see as many defenses as possible. Some responded preseason defenses are just vanilla. Well did Murray look like he knew how to handle a double A gap blitz? I don’t think he had a clue how fast the NFL guys are. You have to experience it to get it. Think of it this way. Assuming in practice the guys are typically running the new offense, I hope if they blitz him this way he calls an audible or throws to a hot read. Except they weren’t in the formations he’s been running in practice, so did he not know where his hot read was? Did the designated receiver know? The Cards may not have players quick enough to threaten Murray in practice. I thought it was predictable that backed up to the goal line the Raiders would blitz him. I’m not going to ramble on about a rookie starter trying to juggle 2 offenses but I am saying this is one way you get your QB hurt.
Hundley looked good but keep in mind it was against second & third string defenders. However, as I said before I believe he is the correct backup for this offense.
The O-line looked weak again. The interior looked better than the outside. Cole & Shipley didn’t open any holes. Sweezy looked the best but got no help on that side. This was the worst job of blocking I’ve seen by a set of tight ends. There are good blocking tight ends on the street. One should be signed.
Run blocking was so poor it was just like last year for DJ. I know they like Edmonds as a receiver but once again he failed to pick up pass rushers. I don’t see how they can risk using him. He’ll get Murray hurt sooner or later.
Sheffield had the big catch and overall the receivers looked okay. I’m not sold on Wilson but I loved him sticking it to Gruden. This group will be a work in progress. I like the possibilities.
I said it elsewhere but if Keim doesn’t like what he sees he needs a mirror to see the real problem. He wasted money thinking he had a contender last year. Now this staff must pay for it. I said a year ago he should be fired. My opinion hasn’t changed. Forget the idea he can fill all these holes with cut players. What a joke?
Speaking of the secondary the loss of Alford kills any hope this unit works. Nichols does not look like an NFL player to me. Brooks looks a step slow. Murphy is still trying to know just where to be. I have no idea why Williams is still in the NFL. The best bet looks to me to be Jones & Brock as the top 2 with Murphy playing the slot. The safeties also look thin. Beyond the starters I don’t see guys that can play. The Cards Like Ford but I don’t see it. He’s very weak in coverage.
The only defensive unit that might work is the OLB. If Holland and Robinson play well this should be a deep group.
Turning to offense, I’m not concerned about Murray’s performance last night. I was glad to see him take more snaps. I’d actually have played him more. I tried to point out in another post that Murray needs to see as many defenses as possible. Some responded preseason defenses are just vanilla. Well did Murray look like he knew how to handle a double A gap blitz? I don’t think he had a clue how fast the NFL guys are. You have to experience it to get it. Think of it this way. Assuming in practice the guys are typically running the new offense, I hope if they blitz him this way he calls an audible or throws to a hot read. Except they weren’t in the formations he’s been running in practice, so did he not know where his hot read was? Did the designated receiver know? The Cards may not have players quick enough to threaten Murray in practice. I thought it was predictable that backed up to the goal line the Raiders would blitz him. I’m not going to ramble on about a rookie starter trying to juggle 2 offenses but I am saying this is one way you get your QB hurt.
Hundley looked good but keep in mind it was against second & third string defenders. However, as I said before I believe he is the correct backup for this offense.
The O-line looked weak again. The interior looked better than the outside. Cole & Shipley didn’t open any holes. Sweezy looked the best but got no help on that side. This was the worst job of blocking I’ve seen by a set of tight ends. There are good blocking tight ends on the street. One should be signed.
Run blocking was so poor it was just like last year for DJ. I know they like Edmonds as a receiver but once again he failed to pick up pass rushers. I don’t see how they can risk using him. He’ll get Murray hurt sooner or later.
Sheffield had the big catch and overall the receivers looked okay. I’m not sold on Wilson but I loved him sticking it to Gruden. This group will be a work in progress. I like the possibilities.
I said it elsewhere but if Keim doesn’t like what he sees he needs a mirror to see the real problem. He wasted money thinking he had a contender last year. Now this staff must pay for it. I said a year ago he should be fired. My opinion hasn’t changed. Forget the idea he can fill all these holes with cut players. What a joke?
