Sunday, November 27, 2011

Cards vs. Rams 11/27/11

Cards 23 Rams 20

Beanie played like a man on fire as did his offensive line.  I've been begging for a running game like the one they ran against the Giants, but they've shown little interest in abiding.  Today, he ran over and through the Rams.  Yes the Rams run D is terrible, but Beanie only had 20 yards against them at the first meeting.  So the 228 yards he got today is a marked improvement.  They ran the ball 38 times vs passing it 26 times.  That's what they should have been doing since Day 1.  The pessimist in me says they won't do this again this year, however I'm more of an optimist these days and hope they will finally see the light. 

By the way, notice how the Cards starting QB has a QB rating of 30 and they still win?  When you run the football this well, QB play doesn't matter. (see Tim Tebow)

Speaking of Skelton, he still looks below average.  He still has good pocket presence and places the ball well deep, but he struggles on shorter routes.  He also is at 50% completion rate and a 64 QB rating. (those numbers are actually up from his career stats)  So I don't see much controversy brewing when Kolb gets healthy.  However, Kolb was starting to produce numbers similar to these before he got hurt.  So we'll see if he's still got those accursed happy feet. 

The LBs continue to improve as well as the DBs.  Besides Jefferson, I've seen growth by all the players, and that includes Rashad Johnson.  A.J. is getting worse.  But PP21 is starting to become the complete player he looked like at LSU.  This guy is the real deal.  The D line used to be the only thing good about this defense, but now it looks like everyone else is catching up. 

Patrick Peterson is a lock for rookie of the year, if they consider special teams.  He ran his 4th punt return for a TD today which ties him for the most all time in one season.  He'll break that record by two.  Hyphen and PP21 are going to have a day real soon where both run one back.  They are something special to watch. 

Kuddos to Whiz for winning three of his last four.  Winning takes a ton of the sting off, but it doesn't erase the six pitiful  losses he shouldn't have (I don't blame him for the Giants one).  At this point they should be
7-4.  They should have beat the Skins, Hawks, and Vikings.  I truly hope he has woken up from his 5 year slumber and finally runs the air out of the football like he did today.  But I thought he figured it out after N.Y. and look how bad he was after that. 

That being said, I predicted that this team would lose enough games to miss the playoffs and win too many to get a good draft position.  And that they'd win ugly (in other words, the wins were useless at building an identity to carry them into next year).  So far, minus today's game and N.Y., I was right.  Let's hope I'm wrong from here on. 

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

No depth at RB?

So Bob McManaman reported this week that the Cards running woes are hurting the team.  Holy *#$@ you gotta be %&*$@ kidding me!  It only took 2 years for people to figure that out?  (Yeah, that's right, I swore.  It takes stupidity at high levels to get it out of me, which of course makes me wonder why I don't swear more on this blog sight.)

Anyway, the saddest part about the report is that the Cards still don't get it.  Saying stuff like, "there is no real reliable backup behind Wells," proves it.  Goodness gracious Whiz, are you really this myopic?  So the problem here is that there isn't a good backup, huh?

So basically they are saying that this offense is so technical only backs named Beanie Wells can comprehend it.  Which, if that were true, then they're stupid for not implementing a system that works for the players they have.  But if its not true then they can't draft/scout RBs, because they haven't put anyone back there that can figure it out.  So which is it?  Are you stupid, or just imcompetent at scouting?

But that really doesn't even matter, because the real problem is that this offensive system is crap.  And I mean the runny kind.  To actually think that they don't have depth at one of the least difficult positions to fill makes me want to punch holes in my wall.  You mean to tell me that Chris Ogbonnaya is a one in a million find, and the Cardinals missed out on him?  Or Kevin Smith is now all the sudden good?  Fred Jackson is now trying harder?  Marshawn Lynch finally gets the complex offense that Seattle runs?  Are you kidding me?  These guys are a dime a dozen... no 11 cents a dozen.  You can find them anywhere, and you don't even have to draft them.  Arian Foster is a perfect example of that.  He wasn't drafted and he's tearing it up.  Ben Tate, his backup, is producing just as good when he's out.  And if they both go down, Derrick Ward will be the next sensation in Houston.  How hard is this? 

IT DOESN'T FREAKIN MATTER WHO YOUR RUNNING BACK IS:
GOOD OFFENSIVE  LINE + COMMITTED TO THE RUN = SUCCESSFUL RUNNING GAME.

I can think of two exceptions to that rule:  Adrian Peterson and Barry Sanders.  Those guys would be good anywhere.  No one else fits that.  NO ONE!  Not LeSean McCoy, Ray Rice, Emmitt Smith, or Marshall Faulk.  Running back should always be the last position you worry about.  But the Cards are so flippin' dumb, they've drafted 2 backs in the first 2 rounds in the last 2 years.  DUMB!  And then they further expose their nit wittedness, they say crap like, "these guys just aren't picking up the system."  I would hate to have to explain this to Whiz, because I'd be like Tom Hanks from League of their Own explaining how to hit the cut off man without making him cry.  "Okay Ken, so you hand the ball off... to the running back... and then he runs threw the hole.  Can you handle that?"

I wish we could trade Alfonso Smith to the Raiders for one game.  Let him start.  Then see what kind of numbers he would produce.  But even if he did great and then came back here and just "couldn't get it", I'm thinking the Cards brain trust would just shake there heads with their palms up clueless as to why he can't produce here. 

DUMB!