Wow!!
by packallday555 on Aug 29, 2009 1:06 AM CDT
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I really don't know what else to say but wow. I found a live feed on the interent at my girl's house, and watched the first half of the Cards game. I don't even know where to begin! Haha
Offense- They look great. Rodgers on a 34 yard scamper haha? Is it just me or does he look MUCH more mobile? He looks a lot better then last year. He is more patient, he is keeping plays alive, and he made some great audibles resulting in positive plays for the offense. He really can do it all, and I think this year is going to catapult him up into that elite class with Brady, Manning, and Brees. All the WRs look great. Driver is his usual self doing it all. Jennings one play out there was a great one. Nelson with a few catches, and a TD. Jones looking like his old self. I don't know if anyone on the team has better hands then him. How about Finley? This guy is a stud. 1 on 1 with Rodgers-Cromartie, and comes up with the TD. All the RBs looked great. Grant looked really good to me. He ran hard and always seemed to fall forward for 2-3 yards after being hit. I love how Rodgers is scrambling around keeping plays alive. The o-line looks much bigger, and is actually moving defensive fronts backwards on running plays (never saw that last year). The TEs also did a great job of blocking as well. The offense really looks like they can do it all. I know it's preseason but I heard the announcers say the Cardinals 1st string defense had not given up a point in their previous two games. We sure as hell ended that tonight.
Defense- This is what really got me most excited. I wanted to see how our defense would do against Warner, Fitz, and Boldin. I wasn't sure how we would do to be perfectly honest, but boy did the defense far surpass my expectations. We caused 3 TOs in the 1st half, against arguably the best offense in the league. I love what Capers has done to the defense. It's so uptempo, agressive, and unpredicatable. There always seems to be 7-8 guys up by the LOS, and you never know whose coming and whose not. I saw us in the 3-4, 4-3, 4-2-5, and 1-5-5. This is exactly what we need because each one plays to certain players strengths. Honestly, Warner didn't know how to handle the pressure, and looked really confused when we came out in the 1-5-5. (He ended up getting sacked and fumbled. Williams picked it up but did not establish possession, as he only had 1 foot in bounds.)
The players that really stood out to me in the new system were Woodson, Jenkins, Jolly, Hawk, Chillar, Kampman, Collins, and A. Smith. Woodson forced two fumbles, recovering one himself, and was all over the field. Jenkins was getting in the backfield on almost every play. Jolly got great penetration as well, and made a great tackle to save what probably would have been a first down on a dump off to Hightower. Hawk looked really good against the run. Chillar is probably who surprised me the most. He is a great blitzer, and was good against the run and pass. This new uptempo system really seems to fit his style, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him starting next to Barnett week 1. Kampman looked good dropping back into coverage, and brought some good pressure off the edge. He also looked great as a DE in the 4-2-5, as we would expect him too. Collins had some nice pass deflections, and seemed to have a lot of tackles. Smith is the SS we picked up from the Steelers this offseason, and he looked great. He laid the wood on a Cards receiver coming over the middle (causing him to drop the ball), and then had a INT, returning it to the Cards 10. Which resulted in a Rodgers TD pass. I think he might be able too challenge Bigby for the starting job. I love how aggressive Capers is in his play calling, and with the ballhawkers we got in the secondary, I am expecting us to have a lot of takeaways this season.
There really weren't too many negatives but I did notice a few. Crosby missed what I thought would be a little chip shot for him. I'm not sure how far away it exactly was, but it was no more the 40 yards. Looked like Ruvell Martin (yes you read right) didn't get the ball down great for him though. Which made me wonder, why in the hell is Ruvell Martin the holder haha?? The defense gives up the big play every once in a while because sometimes the blitzes get picked up, but I think the big plays we create from our pressure will favor us more so then the opposition.
All and all, I'm really excited. The fact that our defense looked this good against the Cards high powered offense really seems promising too me. The combination of getting all of our defensive players back healthy, and our new defensive system has so far proved to be crucial for us. I can't wait to see how the regular season turns out for us this coming year.
P.S.- Sorry this post is so long, and enthusiastic, but I was more then pleased with what I saw tonight.
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Ruvell Holding
We were discussing this in the game thread. We think it’s because Matt Flynn is the top holder right now. This way, if Flynn is still injured for the start of the season, then we’d probably leave him as the emergency 3rd QB, and he can’t play unless both Rodgers and Brohm get hurt. That would leave Martin as the holder. They’re probably just trying to get Martin some reps in a game situation.
Discussing the holder is weird
I made a comment on another thread about how WR Ruvell Martin struggled as the holder. I never have, and I never expected, to comment about the holder’s performance.
Long snappers and holders
Two important but under acknowledged performers on special teams. The punters and kickers take all of the glory or criticism, but they depend on these people so much.
Offense, Defense
On offense, they did look great, but don’t get too excited about the offensive line. I heard from Cardinals fans who are worried that they aren’t generating much pass rush. Rodgers has shown off his mobility in the past. The first game I thought of was the November 2007 game in Dallas when he subbed for Favre and it seemed like he caught the Cowboys off guard because they weren’t expecting a Packer QB who could run a little.
On defense, this is 3rd game in a row they’ve played great.
O really?
I suppose I always assumed the Cards front 7 was pretty good, or at least last postseason they were, and I think they only lost one starter from last year. It does help that Rodgers can run around, and keep things alive.
by packallday555 on Aug 30, 2009 12:18 PM CDT up reply actions
Dockett and Dansby
Those two are good to great. Dockett was good at getting into the backfield against the Packers. But there are two d-lineman, Campbell (unproven 2nd year player) and Robinson (veteran journeyman who’s too small at NT), aren’t exceptional. The LB Hayes is good in coverage and poor against the run, according to the Football Outsiders Almanac, while the other veteran LBs Okeafor (more of a pass rusher) and Haggans (played only on special teams last season).
Statistically
The Cardinal defense was one of the worst ever to make a Super Bowl. The Cards ranked 19th in overall defense (note that Green Bay was ranked 20th). Arizona’s passing D was especially lame, ranked 22nd in the league (note that GB was 12th), but teams ran on them also, as the rush D was ranked 16th (GB was 26th). When one considers how hideously bad their division was and that their schedule was relatively easy as a result, I do not think that one can consider the Arizona D a tough test.
No Stats
Sorry to say, but stats don’t matter-rings do. I believe that Arizona was a bit of a cinderella last year, and will be dropped in the first round, but their D was still Super Bowl-caliber down the stretch.
by br0nxb0mbers23 on Aug 31, 2009 4:00 PM CDT up reply actions
Right
In the postseason last year their defense really stepped it up. They picked off Delhomme 5 times in the Divison game, and they had some big stops against the Eagles in the NFC Championship. I guess I was kind of assuming that their defense would pick up where they left off, and I saw from one of the Cards fan that their 1st stringers hadn’t given up any points through the first two games. I think there defense, as well as the Bills were both fairly good tests. Both teams have some good players on defense. Bills- Schobel, McKelvin, Greer, Whitner, Mitchell. Cardinals- Dockett, Dansby, Rodgers-Cromartie, Hood, Wilson.
by packallday555 on Aug 31, 2009 4:38 PM CDT up reply actions
OK, well
As you read these points, please remember that I raise these issues not to detract from Arizona winning on the road three times to make the Super Bowl, but to counter a claim that their defense is actually good.
1) The Cardinals failed to get that ring. Their defense surrendered a late drive down the field and a touchdown pass to lose the game.
2) Just because a team makes the Super Bowl does not mean that their defense is the reason why. Football is both offense and defense. Arizona admittedly had an excellent offense. However, their defense was quite subpar all season long, which is what the stats show. The impression that their defense stepped up in the post-season is largely due to low expectations, as point four below will demonstrate.
3) In what was a down season for the NFC, the top seeds largely self-destructed, paving the way for the lower seeds to advance. The Giants fell to the Eagles and who will ever forget the epic meltdown of Jake Delhomme?
4) Even in winning games, the Cards surrendered 24 pts to Atl, 13 to Car (despite Delhomme handing out turnovers like they were candy), 25 to Phil, and finally 27 to Pittsburgh. They generally won their games by outscoring their opponents. They allowed an average of just over 22 points per game in the postseason. Meanwhile, their offense was averaging 373 yards and more than 29 points per game.
The Cardinals were carried by their offense. Their defense played well enough to allow the offense to outscore their foes, until the Super Bowl.
Good points
I don’t by any means think their defense is excellent, but I do think their respectable, and will be more like the defense of the 08’ playoffs rather then the defense of the 08’ regular season.
by packallday555 on Aug 31, 2009 4:54 PM CDT up reply actions
My response
I was responding to the claim by bronxbombers that their defense was “Super Bowl caliber down the stretch.” I can live with them being credited with faint praise as respectable, but I am not sure that they were even that good (by championship standards). I stand by my statement that the ’08 Cards were one of the worst defenses to make the Super Bowl.
Based on this discussion, I looked back at some of the play-by-plays of last season’s Cards run. I had forgotten that they allowed the Falcons to come back from a 14-3 deficit to take a 17-14 lead in the final ten minutes before halftime. Now, in all fairness, the second Falcon TD came after a Warner INT in his own territory and the defense later logged a safety and returned a Ryan fumble for a 27-yard TD (were these Falcon blunders by a rookie QB or Card credits?— debatable)… but right after gaining the 30-17 lead, they allowed the Falcons to again drive to close the score to 30-24. The offense took the ball at that point and managed to burn the final 4:15 to prevent the defense from having to again test their mettle.
The Card defense also allowed the Iggles to come back from a 24-6 deficit to take a 25-24 lead early in the 4th quarter. After that lead change, the Card offense proceeded to take the ball on a 14-play, 7:52 drive to a TD and 2-pt conversion to take the momentum back and win the game.
In the Super Bowl, I had forgotten that Pittsburgh had a 20-7 lead going into the fourth quarter. Arizona finally put on a momentum push and got 16 unanswered points against a top defense, at which point the Arizona defense allowed the Steelers to drive 78 yards in 8 plays and 2:02, to retake the lead with 35 seconds left on the clock.
My point: I hope that no one else refers to the ’08 Cards defense as “Super Bowl caliber” since they ceded more leads in crucial spots than a team getting such a moniker should. Those surrendered leads were DURING the time when people claim that they were so much improved, their playoff run. A superlative passing offense and a weak NFC playoff field got the Cards to their first Super Bowl, in my opinion.
Just like the Bears game
It was very impressive, but still just the preseason. Although, It’s looking more and more likely opening night will yield a lot of points.
"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." -Sir Winston Churchill
35-27 Green Bay
Didn't come up here to read. Came up here to hit.
-Hank Aaron
by br0nxb0mbers23 on Sep 2, 2009 8:46 AM CDT up reply actions
Switch those numbers around, and you have the final tally!
"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." -Sir Winston Churchill
What makes you say that?
Didn't come up here to read. Came up here to hit.
-Hank Aaron
by br0nxb0mbers23 on Sep 2, 2009 6:58 PM CDT up reply actions
Just playing around
The line for the game is -3 for the Pack. Given the nature of the rival, and the fact the Bears have played very well at Lambeau under Smith’s guidance, it’s not unrational to think it will be a very close game and may come down to one score.
"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." -Sir Winston Churchill
Monday Night Football
Remember back in Week 16 of last year, on Monday Night Football? It was the bears Special Teams that were just simply amazing, and the Packers couldn’t stop the returns, and could do nothing about the blocked field goals. You’re right, it will be close.
Didn't come up here to read. Came up here to hit.
-Hank Aaron
by br0nxb0mbers23 on Sep 3, 2009 8:13 AM CDT up reply actions
First time Lovie lost in Lambeau
Those games are going to happen from time to time. Don’t forget we had Kyle “freakin” Orton, and severely banged up defense.
"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." -Sir Winston Churchill
Bum
What a bum…anyway, I think that game will be a huge game in the season because it will determine how the Bears can play at Lambeau.
Didn't come up here to read. Came up here to hit.
-Hank Aaron
by br0nxb0mbers23 on Sep 3, 2009 3:22 PM CDT up reply actions
Rodgers
Lovie has been great against Brett Favre. He knows how to fluster Favre, and turn him into that INT machine he sometimes can be. Rodgers is the total opposite of Favre, and I think he’ll play a big part in our games this year. Last year the offense was great against you guys, it was just the defense, and special teams that let us down. With our improved defense I’m pretty confident in our 2 games against you guys this year.
by packallday555 on Sep 3, 2009 4:15 PM CDT up reply actions
I think Rodgers is way better than Favre at the end of his career.
Watch highlights, you’ll see.
Didn't come up here to read. Came up here to hit.
-Hank Aaron
by br0nxb0mbers23 on Sep 4, 2009 1:04 PM CDT up reply actions
I really agree
It seems crazy to say because Favre was so good, but Rodgers reeally is the WHOLE package. Accuracy, arm strength, intelligence, and mobility. He is great in the first 3, and has good mobility.
by packallday555 on Sep 4, 2009 11:58 PM CDT up reply actions
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