Monday, December 5, 2011

Cards vs. Cowboys 12/4/11

Cards 19 Cowboys 13

Don't tease us Whiz.  Its not fair to actually run an offense like you did in the second half and make us think that you finally get it.  Running the ball and throwing to 'other' WRs as a steady diet is not like you and I'm concerned you've abandoned that stellar offense you have so carefully guarded over the last 2 years.  Of course, its all too late (a standard in Cardinal philosophy: win when it doesn't matter), so I'm not too excited.  However, this does bode well for their future. 

The offense was a tale of two halves.  The first half was abysmal.  They netted 49 total yards.  Kolb was sacked 4 times and all of them had a deer in the headlights quality to it.  They passed almost exclusively and did it poorly.  The second half success was driven by their ability to run the football.  It started there and gave Kolb the security to throw under less duress.   Beanie ran well, and the line looked solid on the run.  Fitz was the usual, while they finally threw to someone else.  Roberts had 111 yards and made some huge catches.  Housler even made a guest appearance. 

Kolb played terrible in the first.  Kolb played terrific in the second.  I'm going to give him credit for just the second because they finally gave him an offense he could be successful in.  As I said from the beginning, he'll be good if he gets better play calling. 

Speaking of the play calling, it seems I'm not the only one puzzled by the questionable play selection by the Cards offense.  Dockett voiced his opinion and said ,"we got a running style team...we got some bulldogs up front.  Run the ball."  Maybe Whiz is finally listening to reason.

Oh, but I can't give him full credit for 'getting it'.  Monday, on the that terrible sports show on 620 in the evening, Ken actually said the following: (paraphrased)  We can run the ball better when the defense plays well, because it keeps the defense off the field.  It allows us to control the game from a running stand point.  And yes, I think he was serious.  That of course runs contrary to the philosophy of more than 100 years of football that states: a good running game controls the game clock, which allows the defense to stay off the field, keeping them fresh.  You have to appreciate the subtle difference here.  The latter states that the running game helps the defense, Whiz is saying that bad defense kills the running game.  I could write a dissertation on how wrong his perspective is, but I don't want to do that here.  I will say what he truly means though; the reason the running game has sucked since he's been here is because his defense played so bad.  Really?  I wonder what Dockett would say about that?

The real player of the game was the entire defense.  They are playing like one of the best D in the NFL.  The Cowboys offense had been explosive before this game and the Cards shut them down to 13 points.  Once again, Dockett and Campbell played amazing.  The LBs locked into Murray and shut him down.  And the DBs all played at a high level.  Jefferson played O.K., but you can tell he isn't confident.  PP21 keeps showing signs that he is going to be a top five corner soon.  Horton is looking more and more like the real deal.  I'm in love with this defense.  If the offense can ever establish a real running game this team is going to be really really good.  Really.

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