No thoughts on only in-game offense this time. It just seems irrelevant.
1 – I guess there really was no point in waiting to the third quarter this time to be blown out. Might as well just rip the bandage right off.
2 – I have been preaching continuity as maybe the most important thing for a head coach and his staff, and I stand by it, but I also have to admit that now it is in fact fair to wonder if Wilks actually could be one-and-done. You could argue that it simply wouldn’t be worth the wait.
3 – If Wilks is indeed let go somewhere between now and the offseason, would anyone be surprised if Todd Bowles is brought in as a head coach? There has been multiple rumors that he is on the hot seat in New York, and both Michael Bidwill and Steve Keim were praising him all the time when he was in Arizona.
4 – It is said that adversity makes you stronger. I believe that this will make Rosen and the rest of the team stronger.
5 – Brandon Williams is probably worse as a kick returner than he is as a cornerback, and that’s saying something.
6 – Don’t be fooled by the Cards playing better on offense in the second half (the Broncos surely knew that they had already won the game), but don’t say it was only because Denver let Rosen and the others be successful either. This is the NFL. No player wants to give the opponent anything (the coaches, on the other hand, might call the game differently).
7 – I like Haason Reddick’s new role where he primarily is a pass rusher and blitzer that is moved around to create mismatches. I think he is good in that role and can obviously be even better. I also think it is kind of weird that not long ago we talked about him as a draft bust after he was demoted to playing only sparingly as a backup, and now all of a sudden he has played 100% of the defensive snaps for three games straight.
8 – There is definitely reasons for optimism for the future, not the least because of Rosen. To quote Garthshort […] I really believe that with a great draft and having a lot of money to spend in free agency, we should be MUCH better next year.” That turnaround could easily happen. Easily.
9 – I have wrote multiple times that I would like to see what Deone Bucannon could do at safety, but even if I try to put my small bias aside and look objectively at it, it annoys me that they didn’t try it in this game. I mean, he is obviously not a key contributor in the first place, and while Rudy Ford is a good to great special teams player, he is very new to playing on defense with the Cards. They need a spark, so why not see if Bucannon could give them that?
10 – After the last game there were posters wanting to trade Fitzgerald out of respect, and I guess there will be that again after this game. I have written my opinion in another thread, but I thought I would do it here as well. Fitzgerald could have rejected to sign several contract extension the last couple of years, or he could have simply retired. He has lived in Arizona for a very long time, and thus obviously has most of his life there. Exactly who would you be doing a favor by sending him away? Another point is that nobody should feel sorry for these players. They are doing what they want to do, and most of them are compensated very well to do it.
11 – Josh Rosen really throws a beautiful spiral. Have you watched it closely? It’s art.
12 – Dennis Gardeck has by far played the most special teams snaps of any player on the team while Zeke Turner has played second most along with Derrick Coleman. Turner is tied for the lead in the entire league for most special teams tackles, while Gardeck is tied for 26th (60 players on the list), though they obviously has a game more than the others. Three other great finds by Steve Keim and his scouts.
13 – I usually never criticizes the fans at the stadium, in part because I am never at the stadium myself, but on the other hand it’s not like I have the option, so now I am going to rant just a little bit. From my TV it looked like a lot of fans left before or right after halftime. If so, that is simply not good enough. I understand that it is an entertainment business, and that no one can be entertained right now, but the team most certainly needs you. The team and the fans works together. It is a symbiotic relationship where the two parts energizes and help each other. There is a reason why it is called a homefield advantage. Here in my country I am a huge fan of my local soccer team so I know about this. Now, I sort of get why some fans would sell their tickets, but this is about the fans that shows up.
14 – If the Cards are like 3-9, 2-10 or something like that late in the season, and thus are in contention for the first overall pick in the draft, I assure you they will still do everything in their power to win the last games. Not only because of their job security but also because they would have had so many frustrating and embarrassing experiences this season that they would do whatever they could to get wins. With the last five being against the Packers, the Lions, the Falcons, the Rams and the Seahawks you can’t rule out that some of those teams, for one reason or another, don’t have much to play for, and thus the Cards could win two or more games that us fans would deem irrelevant or even prefer to lose. Et voilà - that is how you get out of the #1 overall spot and down to like #4, #5 or #6.
15 - This thought is not limited to the game, but I think it is an interesting (yet disturbing) thought that with Bradford losing his job and now McCoy losing his job, the next logical in line, if things doesn’t change for the better, must inevitably be Wilks himself. I’m not in any way saying that he should have kept the other two in their positions but I am saying that now the gun points straight toward him.
1 – I guess there really was no point in waiting to the third quarter this time to be blown out. Might as well just rip the bandage right off.
2 – I have been preaching continuity as maybe the most important thing for a head coach and his staff, and I stand by it, but I also have to admit that now it is in fact fair to wonder if Wilks actually could be one-and-done. You could argue that it simply wouldn’t be worth the wait.
3 – If Wilks is indeed let go somewhere between now and the offseason, would anyone be surprised if Todd Bowles is brought in as a head coach? There has been multiple rumors that he is on the hot seat in New York, and both Michael Bidwill and Steve Keim were praising him all the time when he was in Arizona.
4 – It is said that adversity makes you stronger. I believe that this will make Rosen and the rest of the team stronger.
5 – Brandon Williams is probably worse as a kick returner than he is as a cornerback, and that’s saying something.
6 – Don’t be fooled by the Cards playing better on offense in the second half (the Broncos surely knew that they had already won the game), but don’t say it was only because Denver let Rosen and the others be successful either. This is the NFL. No player wants to give the opponent anything (the coaches, on the other hand, might call the game differently).
7 – I like Haason Reddick’s new role where he primarily is a pass rusher and blitzer that is moved around to create mismatches. I think he is good in that role and can obviously be even better. I also think it is kind of weird that not long ago we talked about him as a draft bust after he was demoted to playing only sparingly as a backup, and now all of a sudden he has played 100% of the defensive snaps for three games straight.
8 – There is definitely reasons for optimism for the future, not the least because of Rosen. To quote Garthshort […] I really believe that with a great draft and having a lot of money to spend in free agency, we should be MUCH better next year.” That turnaround could easily happen. Easily.
9 – I have wrote multiple times that I would like to see what Deone Bucannon could do at safety, but even if I try to put my small bias aside and look objectively at it, it annoys me that they didn’t try it in this game. I mean, he is obviously not a key contributor in the first place, and while Rudy Ford is a good to great special teams player, he is very new to playing on defense with the Cards. They need a spark, so why not see if Bucannon could give them that?
10 – After the last game there were posters wanting to trade Fitzgerald out of respect, and I guess there will be that again after this game. I have written my opinion in another thread, but I thought I would do it here as well. Fitzgerald could have rejected to sign several contract extension the last couple of years, or he could have simply retired. He has lived in Arizona for a very long time, and thus obviously has most of his life there. Exactly who would you be doing a favor by sending him away? Another point is that nobody should feel sorry for these players. They are doing what they want to do, and most of them are compensated very well to do it.
11 – Josh Rosen really throws a beautiful spiral. Have you watched it closely? It’s art.
12 – Dennis Gardeck has by far played the most special teams snaps of any player on the team while Zeke Turner has played second most along with Derrick Coleman. Turner is tied for the lead in the entire league for most special teams tackles, while Gardeck is tied for 26th (60 players on the list), though they obviously has a game more than the others. Three other great finds by Steve Keim and his scouts.
13 – I usually never criticizes the fans at the stadium, in part because I am never at the stadium myself, but on the other hand it’s not like I have the option, so now I am going to rant just a little bit. From my TV it looked like a lot of fans left before or right after halftime. If so, that is simply not good enough. I understand that it is an entertainment business, and that no one can be entertained right now, but the team most certainly needs you. The team and the fans works together. It is a symbiotic relationship where the two parts energizes and help each other. There is a reason why it is called a homefield advantage. Here in my country I am a huge fan of my local soccer team so I know about this. Now, I sort of get why some fans would sell their tickets, but this is about the fans that shows up.
14 – If the Cards are like 3-9, 2-10 or something like that late in the season, and thus are in contention for the first overall pick in the draft, I assure you they will still do everything in their power to win the last games. Not only because of their job security but also because they would have had so many frustrating and embarrassing experiences this season that they would do whatever they could to get wins. With the last five being against the Packers, the Lions, the Falcons, the Rams and the Seahawks you can’t rule out that some of those teams, for one reason or another, don’t have much to play for, and thus the Cards could win two or more games that us fans would deem irrelevant or even prefer to lose. Et voilà - that is how you get out of the #1 overall spot and down to like #4, #5 or #6.
15 - This thought is not limited to the game, but I think it is an interesting (yet disturbing) thought that with Bradford losing his job and now McCoy losing his job, the next logical in line, if things doesn’t change for the better, must inevitably be Wilks himself. I’m not in any way saying that he should have kept the other two in their positions but I am saying that now the gun points straight toward him.
