49ers 20 Cardinals 17 Analysis

September 11, 2007 by Walter Mitchell

When I wrote my preview of the Cards/49ers game two days ago, it looked to me that on paper the 49ers had an edge or slight edge in all personnel units, save the QB position, where I rated the Matt Leinart/Alex Smith matchup a tie, and the WR position to AZ, where the Cardinals clearly have stronger talent (which ironically was basically negated by the Cardinal nemesis: sticky man coverage). Well, as the ESPN’s Chris Berman always says, “this is why you play the games.” Following the Cardinals’ heartbreaking 20-17 loss, it was quite clear that the Cardinals convincingly won the battle at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball…and quite frankly I cannot think of a Cardinal game in recent memory where that could be said with any real degree of certainty. That in itself, regardless of the last minute meltdown that has been so charactersitic of the Cardinal teams of the past, is enough to make the casual fan sit up and take notice. There’s been a “Whole Lott-a Love” going on in Arizona and it’s already reaping significant rewards. But just the same…as Coach Whisenhunt attempts to cultivate a winning attitude in Arizona, was he the biggest learner by far last night?

When Ken Whisenhunt took the head coaching job in Arizona his focus was on two distinct things: (1) make the team more physical, especially up front; (2) make the team more disciplined. In a very short time, Whiz has made significant progress on his number one goal. John Lott’s strength and conditioning program, combined with a new training facility, has galvanized the team this off-season in remarkable ways.

As for #2, Whiz knows that cultivating the “mindset” of his football team and incorporating a commitment to discipline along the way will take some time…but it’s starting to happen.

Whizenhunt is optimistic about his team. “They will respond, ” he said this morning in his press conference. I am one fan who believes him. Whisenhunt has been holding his players accountable from day one, and they have been responding to his look-you-in -the-eye approach. Not one player has been babied or pampered. The team’s stars have been pushed. Everyone has been given a blueprint as to how to get physically and mentally stronger.

Whiz also alludes to learning together as a staff and as team about how to handle game situations that they are just beginning to experience together. “We’re going to be faced with situations we’ve never gone through as a team before and we are still learning about that…when you say ‘remember how we did this’–we don’t have that yet–we’re still learning about that–so when we get in that situation –if it ever comes up again (like Eric Green swatting the ball out of the back of the end zone on that game-deciding fumble)–we’ll be successful.”

One has to wonder what Whiz might have done differently himself last night. Here are some of the questions he may be pondering today:

(1) Was his offense prepared to successfully attack sticky man coverage?

Would Whiz have known it (sticky man coverage) was coming? One would have to believe so. After all, just watching last year’s game tapes, it was crystal clear that the only way teams slowed Boldin and Fitzgerald down was by throwing tight man coverage on them. If there’s any knock on Boldin and Fitzgerald it’s their lack of top end speed and quickness.

Alas, the Cardinals’ offense did not look prepared to beat sticky man coverage, just as badly as it wasn’t prepared last year…starting with the first call of the Whisenhunt era…an eight yard stop pattern to Larry Fitzgerald, which is a route that’s successful against soft corners or loose zones, not versus a sticky man.

It was a curious first down call. Why not play action into a safe flat pass to FB Terrelle Smith in order to get Leinart into an early rhythm?

As Leinart struggled throughout the night trying to spot open receivers, it seemed clear that the plays were not typical sticky man plays, like crossing patterns, drag routes, fades, z-outs, motion rub-off routes and comebacks.

What makes teams all the more eager to throw sticky man coverage at the Cardinals? Matt Leinart’s lack of mobility. What DCs fear most…is playing man versus a QB who is a threat to run. This is why John Fox of the Carolina Panthers was loath to play man against the Cards when Josh McCown was the QB.

We saw too last night what a backbreaker the QB scramble versus man can be when Alex Smith ran for 20 yards on 4th and 1.

Even though Leinart lacks ideal mobility, Whiz needs to waggle and bootleg with Leinart sometimes versus sticky man, because then Leinart can see the drag routes, front side corner routes and backside posts better. Plus, what does he become? A greater threat to run.

(2) Why did Whiz elect to run down the clock at the end of the first half when his offense was on the 40 and had two timeouts left and there was over a minute left on the clock?

Whiz said that he was worried about giving the ball back to the 49ers with time because they had the wind.

Today Whiz may be second-guessing that decision, because it may have sent a poor message to his offense…as in “we are afraid you are going to make a big mistake.” The game was tied 10-10 and the offense had been gathering some momentum having moved the chains already up to the 40 on the drive.

By planting the “mistake” fear in the Cardinal offense right before halftime…did that possibly have something to do with the embarrassing array of consecutive pentalties the offense made to start the second half?

Something to ponder there.

(3) Is Whiz thinking today that he should have called play action passes down the stretch when the 49ers were loading up against the run?

His quarterback had been having a tough night earlier…but he had just led the team on a go-ahead drive and thrown a TD pass to Boldin. Momentum was on his side.

As an OC…wouldn’t you want the fate of the game to rest in your hands?

Two more first downs and the game is over.

(4) How did the Cardinals suddenly allow Alex Smith to get into a rhythm on the last game-deciding drive? How–on a night where the Cardinals played their tightest coverage in eons–does an Arnaz Battle get wide open down the middle with the game on the line?

This was a classic choke on the Cardinals’ part. Plain and simple. They saw Alex Smith run for 20 yards versus their man, so they reverted back to a soft zone and allowed Battle a clear path into the middle. Choke city…although Terrence Holt made a heckuva play to strip Battle of the ball. The rest is another chapter in Cardinal choke lore.

Whiz talked about stressing to the players how important it is for them to make plays down the stretch…and that’s the mindset he is trying to instill…

Yet, maybe what Whiz learned on this night was two key things:

(1) Not to lose faith in his QB or his offense…that playing not to lose is one of the easier ways to lose. Note: if there’s no confidence in the QB…either get him out of the game or plan to lose, period.

(2) He needs to teach these players how to win…and what better way than to say to his offense, “Look, next time we are going to throw on third down and do everything we can to seal the deal ourselves.” And then say to his defense, “next time we are in that situation, when we have them backed up on their 16 yard line we are going to keep blitzing and applying pressure on Smith the way we had been.”

The Cards learned last year on MNF that playing cautious with the lead is a surefire way to lose the lead. Whiz wasn’t there for that one…so he gets a mulligan.

Win or lose…isn’t it better to be aggressive?

Let’s say the Cards did go for it on third and ten and Nate Clements intercepted the ball…all Whiz has to say is, “Hey, we want to win the game and we want to be aggressive…that’s the way will play around here.” Anyone have a problem with that?

Isn’t it easier to have a problem with conceding a first down by running the ball on 3rd and 10…and putting the game in the hands of the 49ers instead?

Two-minute offenses are often well orchestrated because the defense tends to play a little looser and momentum seems to shift in the offense’s favor.

How many of you believed that by punting the ball to the 49ers with over two and a half minutes left that you would be seeing the 49ers take four shots at the end zone at some point in their drive? I KNEW they would. Didn’t you?

The question was…would they be able to catch a TD…but, there’s always the fear of a pass interference call at or near the end zone. How many games have the Cardinals lost on those calls?

The way the game turned out…spotting the ball on the one yard line was just like a pass interference call…very odd indeed.

Here’s another scenario and couple of questions:

Suppose, the Cards ran a six man rush at Alex Smith at his 16 yard line and he completed an 84 yard TD bomb to Battle…all Whiz has to say is, “Hey, we want to be as aggressive as possible in these situations. It’s what got us there in the first place.” Anyone have a problem with that?

Isn’t it easier to have a problem with suddenly watching wide open 49er receivers for the first time all night?…and the chains moving pass after pass?

This team need to be taught how to win. Last night Whiz got carried away with being overly cautious with a lead and it wound up costing him his first win. He said this morning that he and the players are learning about situations…well…it should be interesting to see just how aggressive his team becomes the next time around.

Posted in arizona cardinals, football