Wide Left

October 21, 2007 by Walter Mitchell

In a game that epitomized the notion that teams lose when they turn the ball over, commit costly penalties and suffer special teams lapses, the Arizona Cardinals rallied from a 21-6 deficit, to line up for a potentially game-winning 55 yard field goal with 7 seconds left…alas, Neil Racker’s boom of a kick sailed left of the goalpost, making the Washington Redskins a 21-19 winner, despite the fact that they were outgained by 204 yards at home. These Cardinals, under new head coach Ken Whisenhunt, are playing hard and courageously. The coach is trying to teach them how to win…and after a game like today’s the fans have to wonder just how far these Cardinals can go if they develop the requisite discipline it takes to win.

Position Evaluations:QB: Kurt Warner, looking like a cross between the Michelin Man and the Bionic Man with his left elbow braced and wrapped, took the reins for the team and played a gutsy game. There’s no denying Warner’s toughness. His play, however, deserves a modicum of scrutiny. He forced two poorly thrown balls into coverage which led to a 14 point deficit in the first half. But, Warner never quit and started to move his team…and using nifty sidesteps to buy time, converted two red zones possessions into touchdowns, both on passes to Anquan Boldin. Warner got stronger as the game progressed, except for the fact that he allowed the play clock to expire twice in the red zone, once redeemed by a TD pass to Boldin, the other leading to his own sack and fumble, which may have been the deciding play of the game…but regardless, and thanks to a defense that was stacking three and outs, Warner kept at it and led the team down the field with under two minutes left, to what could have been a game-tying drive. In what was a somehwat bizarre sequence of event, Warner was replaced at QB by Tim Rattay and then Anquan Boldin with the game on the line…Rattay connected on a nifty pay action TD to TE Leonard Pope and Boldin ran a sprint right run/pass option that was thwarted by a speedy, swarming defense and a poorly thrown ball. Upon reflection, one has to wonder whether asking two players who have not thrown a single pass in the game to deliver at the most crucial times was unrealistic and ill-advised. The calls made for good theater, though.

Warner’s final stats: 27/41 282 yards 2-2 (td/int). Good numbers versus one of the better pass defenses in the NFL…save the costly interceptions.

Warner has now lost his last nine starts as a Cardinal…which may make some wonder whether he has what it takes to win. We saw both the worst and the best from Warner today. Today’s effort was almost good enough, depsite all the mistakes. But the turnovers remain a significant question mark.

OL: Again, the Cardinals’ offensive line played well and well enough to win. The one significant breakdown they had, cost them at least three points on Warner’s sack and fumble. And, again, for the most part, when the Cardinals had to rely on their depth, in this case when LT Mike Gandy injured his calf and rookie Levi Brown took his place, there was almost no drop-off. The cameras showed Gandy several times, and he looked particularly gassed on every occasion…he really gave his all trying to protect Warner’s blindside by staving off RDE Andre Carter. Gandy did a fine job doing that.

RB: Edgerrin James’ numbers were solid: 27 carries for 83 yards. But, James’ lack of a burst cost him and the Cardinals in this game, because of how quickly London Fletcher and company were getting to the off-tackle and edge plays. Why the Cardinals don’t design plays to send FB Terrelle Smith after a speedy MLB like London Fletcher is mystifying. Fletcher had clear paths all day to the football. In my opinion, he was the difference in this game, bar none.

J.J. Arrington’s speed and elusiveness was just what the Cardinals needed. He provided a huge lift for the team catching 4 passes for 47 yards.

Marcel Shipp was met early by a blitzing Fletcher on Shipp’s one goal line carry…he did catch one pass for 7 yards…but he also missed a key block on one of the Boldin swing passes on third down that the Redskins strung out perfectly.

WR/TE: Very good game for Larry Fitzgerald: 6/97 yards…two TDs for Boldin: 8/29…a very nice comeback game for Jerheme Urban: 3/41, who was clutch late…BJ had a quiet 3/27…and Leonard Pope, despite incurring a holding penalty, had one of his best games as a Cardinal: 3/35 and the late TD from Rattay. Against a secondary as good as the Redskins’, these receiving numbers are commendable.

DL: Darnell Dockett, Calvin Pace, Gabe Watson and Bertrand Berry combined for 20 tackles and one sack. Pace had his best game as a Cardinal registering 10 tackles and the one sack. To say the Cardinal defensive front dominated the line of scrimmage and made things miserable for Jason Campbell and Clinton Portis is an understatement. The Cardinal defensive line was the reason why the Cardinals held the Redskins to a mere 160 yards of total offense.

DT Alan Branch made an appearance and was blowing up plays in the middle. And Bertrand Berry made a tremendous play standing up FB Mike Sellers and bringing down Portis with one arm for a one yard loss.

LB: For the second game in a row, Monty Beisel played very well in the middle. Gerald Hayes was effective as well, as he and Beisel combined for 9 tackles and numerous QB pressures.

DB: Best game of the season for this group. They held the Redskins receivers to under 100 yards…and blanketed the Redskins’ top middle of the field option, TE Chris Cooley. Kudos to messers Hood, Wilson, Holt, Green and Rolle.

ST: Cost the Cardinals the win. Rackers’ missed extra point…kicked too low and blocked on what was a slightly outside snap, subsequently bobbled, but quicly straightened by holder Mike Barr…Rackers’ failure to kick a touchback cost the Cardinals an 80 yard kickoff return…where Jerheme Urban was the only Cardinal taking on a four man wedge…saved from a TD by a beautiful chase-down tackle by Antrel Rolle…and to cap off Rackers’ miserable day, he missed the game winner from 55 yards. What’s strange about Rackers is, even with 14 seconds left, he was kicking into the net without his helmet on…one would think he’d been strapped up and ready to run into the game. He looks way too rushed and far too amped running into the game in those situations…which costs him both his focus and his timing.

Rackers is a very likeable player because of his tremendous enthusiasm and energy…he really is. No one hurts more tonight than he. Hopefully he will change his routine for the next potential game-winner.

The one thing Rackers did brilliantly was kick a perfect on-side kick…that’s two now he’s hit the money on. Jerheme Urban made a superb play on the ball too…waiting for it to go past the require ten yards.

Mike Barr should never have been made the holder…at the time I was calling for Anquan Boldin…and Sean Morey might be a good option…and Barr really needs to get his head into the game…he had a couple of chances to pin the Redskins deep and kicked into the endzone on two wasted opportunities, and kicking a mile high 28 yarder down to the Redskins’ 22 yard line on the other.

Steve Breaston ran hard but had little room to operate.

Matt Ware delivered a nice punt block…filling in for Sean Morey…this was the special teams’ highlight of the day.

Coaching:

Kudos to Clancy Pendergast. His boys were stalwarts today…and there were almost no coverage gaffes.

ST Coach Kevin Spencer…needs Sean Morey back…needs to change holders for Rackers…and he needs to send more than Jerheme Urban at a four man wedge.

One has to be impressed with Ken Whisenhunt’s courage. His decision to go for the TD on 4th a goal right before the first half, was incredibly gutsy…and certainly got his team back in the game.

The gadget plays, as mentioned earlier, were questionable decisions, but the first one worked like a charm…alas the second (Boldin’s sprint run/pass option) bombed…the problem with that play is two-fold: (1) as the Cardinals discovered several times earlier in the game, the Redskins defense is too fast to beat by running wide; (2) with the game on the line, the odds were best if Warner was passing…and on the replay, it wasn’t clear what passing options Boldin had on the play, as Larry Fitzgerald on a trail route looked like the only receiver in the vacinity.

What also needs to be discussed is Whisenhunt’s clock management in this game. Had it been a 7 point deficit…then Whiz would have played it just right…but…an 8 point deficit should be thought of as a two possession deficit, because of how hard it is to score a two-point conversion. Thus, one has to question Whiz’s decision to punt on 4th and 9 near mid-field with 4:21 left.

There comes a time when the clock becomes the enemy…and in this case the Cardinals were beaten by the clock.

Another thought is…why not go for the two-point conversion when it was 21-12? Isn’t it better to know for sure whether this becomes a two possession game or not?

There also seemed like an unusual amount of confusion and late play calls whenever the Cardinals got inside the Redskins’ ten yard line. The two delay of game penalties with a veteran play caller and veteran QB on the field were inexcusable.

The timeout Warner had to use on a first down late in the game amidst more confusion was very costly as it turned out. The clock was stopped at the time.

Whiz is a very bright coach who will probably iron the confusion out…

But…what’s great about Whiz is that he does everything he can to shift momentum to his side, especially when it looks like the Cardinals are going to get trounced early…he’ll go after a punter…he’ll go into the no-huddle (which I wished he used much more of in this game)…and he’ll go for the TD on 4th and two, down 14-0.

This is what the Cardinals need to start becoming winners…they need a head coach who understands what it takes to get his players’ heads back into the game.

Now he needs to spend the next two weeks getting his team better disciplined…imagine just how good this team will be when they play smart and tough football.

Posted in ken whisenhunt, larry fitzgerald, neil rackers, kurt warner, anquan boldin, football, nfl, arizona cardinals