Players Who Were Solid/Players Who Struggled

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

okay, i've been piss and vinegar on soft soft this morning. but not all i say was bad. here's my take on yesterday:

1. breaston looks ready to step up. is he? who knows. but his speed was a difference maker on a play that our starting wr's likely wouldn't have gotten as many YAC on. that makes him unique and i'm hoping this is his light turning on.

2. speaking of turning on lights - has alan branch just misplaced his lightbulb altogether? nothing outta him. disappointing.

3. hightower looks like he may be a nice complimentary rb. he had the "feel" of an nfl runner.

4. ali is a gamer. i asked about him during camp and there were veritable yawns. but he was always said to be a gamer at lsu, and he proved it yesterday. i hope we give him a shot.

5. great goalline stand once.

6. adams' "tackle" (and i can't even use that without laughing) should result in his being cut. that's not an nfl play.

7. any talk of francisco being a starter should be done. he's got tommy knight disease. right there, but unable to make a play. he also had a lame tackle attempt later in the game. he shouldn't even be second string imo.

8. leinart took what the defense gave him. looked poise. that's a huge relief. would like to see him start looking downfield more, but hopefully that will come with time, repetitions, and comfort in the pocket.

9. very little, to no, pressure from the 1st team d. that frightens me. granted, the saints oline is very good and brees gets rid of the ball quickly, but he didn't have to last night as no one was close to reaching him.

10. our young dlinemen look like keepers. calais and iwebema made their presence known. thank goodness.

11. really disappointed in fitz's continued responses to being more physical. he's basically saying, "i'm not listening to my coaches when they tell me that" without having to state it openly. "i'm playing my game" means he's not listening to his coaches. REALLY disappointing, particularly from a big guy like that. anyone else want to argue if he takes dives?

12. drc is a toothpick, and disappointed that we didn't have a chance to see him utilize his speed. but love his mentality in laying that hit and wanting opposing coaches and players to take note. that's the right attitude.

13. harrington almost had a pick that he could've taken to the house. and i honestly think he baited the qb into throwing the ball so he could make a play. that's impressive considering he's a converted dlineman. he may have some unexplored moxy ala tedy bruschi and make vrabel.

14. whoa nelly on the penalties. the fact that it's been a concentration in camp and is still such a mess is really concerning.

overall, not as disappointed in last night's game as a lot of you seem to be. i thought the good outweighed the bad. a lot of youngs that showed me something. bummed that we didn't get to see doucet. if he and breaston can be adequate wr's we can trade quan for some riches. teams don't need two #1s if they have a good #2 and above average #3. i don't WANT to trade Q, but if his contract really becomes a distraction and we have players that can get on the field, i'd be happy with a #1, good #2 and good #3 rather than a #1a, an unhappy #1b, and a good #3.

 

[Mitch]

Anyone have a clip or pic of the DRC hit? I heard Whiz in the morning and he said he disproved the theory of not being able to play physically.. So i assume it was pretty good. Thx in advance!

Great pics, Shzm13! Tremendous job!

 

[cgolden]

9. very little, to no, pressure from the 1st team d. that frightens me. granted, the saints oline is very good and brees gets rid of the ball quickly, but he didn't have to last night as no one was close to reaching him.

I'm not really arguing b/c I was hoping that they'd get more pressure but when I looked back at it, it wasn't as bad as I thought. Chike pressured Brees leading to his only incompletion and Berry hit Brees on the TD pass. Two pressures out of 8 pass attempts isn't terrible, especially for against an offense that only allowed 16 sacks all of last season.

 

[Russ Smith]

okay, i've been piss and vinegar on soft soft this morning. but not all i say was bad. here's my take on yesterday:

.

11. really disappointed in fitz's continued responses to being more physical. he's basically saying, "i'm not listening to my coaches when they tell me that" without having to state it openly. "i'm playing my game" means he's not listening to his coaches. REALLY disappointing, particularly from a big guy like that. anyone else want to argue if he takes dives?

.

Totally agree, ESPN was baiting guys all night to say stupid thiings but Fitz' reply there bugged me. She was basically saying the coaches told us they want you to be more physical like Anquan is, and Fitz responded by saying I'm going to play my game. Which as you said is saying I don't care what the coaches want I'm not going to risk getting hurt to get a few extra yards.

Now he made some physical plays last night but it does bug me that he doesn't seem to care that the coaches are basically telling him he needs to be more physical because the assumption is that's not the first time he's heard that and that he just doesn't think he has to change because he's good enough. If he's willing to work on route running and blocking why not working on that too?

That disappointed me, he's a great player glad we have him locked up but I didn't like that answer at all.

 

[MadCardDisease]

14. whoa nelly on the penalties. the fact that it's been a concentration in camp and is still such a mess is really concerning.

That is the one big thing that pissed me off from last night. If the Cards continue to lead the league in penalties they will never improve.

 

[Pariah]

9. very little, to no, pressure from the 1st team d. that frightens me. granted, the saints oline is very good and brees gets rid of the ball quickly, but he didn't have to last night as no one was close to reaching him.

I thought I saw quite a bit of pressure on the first saints drive, it's just that Brees handled it brilliantly. I think we're going to be fine in the QB pressures department.

 

[joeshmo]

Totally agree, ESPN was baiting guys all night to say stupid thiings but Fitz' reply there bugged me. She was basically saying the coaches told us they want you to be more physical like Anquan is, and Fitz responded by saying I'm going to play my game. Which as you said is saying I don't care what the coaches want I'm not going to risk getting hurt to get a few extra yards.

I think we are reading way to much into that comment. Especially considering the comments from Fitz himself and the coaches prior to that comment. Isnt blocking and mixing it up in a scrum at the goalline being physical as well? I took his comment as meaning "Stop comparing me to Anquan" which was what she was trying to do the whole interview.

 

[Russ Smith]

I think we are reading way to much into that comment. Especially considering the comments from Fitz himself and the coaches prior to that comment. Isnt blocking and mixing it up in a scrum at the goalline being physical as well? I took his comment as meaning "Stop comparing me to Anquan" which was what she was trying to do the whole interview.

To an extent yes but IIRC she got specific enough that it was clear she was talking about yards after contact and the notion that fitz might be one who steps out or goes down to avoid hits.

Now you can argue that in the long run that's the smart thing to do for longevity in a career but my point was if your coach is telling you I want you to be more physical after the catch, your response shouldn't be I'm going to play my game.

He's a great player if he never gets any better than he is now he'll have an amazing career and it's great that he's still listening to suggestions on route running given his first 4 years, I just wish he'd responded and said yes I'm working on that not I'm going to play my game.

 

[Rats]

Ya know, Fitzs game has gotten him to the top 5 receivers in the game, I do not think he should be asked to change a thing. The day Q can go up and outleap any DB in the league and always seem to come down with the ball then maybe they can start comparing him to Fitz. That interview was a hack job and I would have told the gal that I will stack my game up against anyones. As for the speed of DRC it was on display as the gunner on Special teams. He blew the doors off of a double team and left them 5 yards behind him. If he had broken down like the gunner is taught and made the tackle it would have been the highlight of the game. I came away very impressed with him. Great write ups guys both for the good and the bad on display last night. I will say that I hope that Matt can keep dumping those passes because I do not see that line giving him enough time to do much more and he will get killed and Kurt can come in and throw for 30 more TDs. Young guys looked good on D the topline guys looked like bums that didn't want to suit up( Dansby, Branch, Hood, Green) for a preseason home game. Loved Hightower, could be an answer to a break away threat from RB. Breaston?? Is he going to be the 3 and stretch the field, guy has speed, and now he showed he can catch. Pope needs to pray some more, he looked lost.
Hope they do not try and unload Warner yet, his interview was the one that suprised me the most. He wants to be on the field and if Leinart can't show he is what we have all hoped and waited for Warner should be. My 2 cents.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I think we are reading way to much into that comment. Especially considering the comments from Fitz himself and the coaches prior to that comment. Isnt blocking and mixing it up in a scrum at the goalline being physical as well? I took his comment as meaning "Stop comparing me to Anquan" which was what she was trying to do the whole interview.

joe, i wouldn't be concerned and would agree with your assessment but for the fact that i am certain i read the same exact comments yesterday or the day before PRIOR TO THE GAME, which means that this is an ONGOING conversation where fitz is just refusing to try for YAC. i am pretty sure i read it in one of the threads on this board in fact. when i read it i was disappointed. when i heard it reiterated during the game i became flat out pissed. do your friggin' job. coaches tell you to do something to IMPROVE your game and help the team win, do it. don't be a coward.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Ya know, Fitzs game has gotten him to the top 5 receivers in the game, I do not think he should be asked to change a thing. The day Q can go up and outleap any DB in the league and always seem to come down with the ball then maybe they can start comparing him to Fitz. That interview was a hack job and I would have told the gal that I will stack my game up against anyones.

i don't think jerry rice would ever have taken that stance. the ones that become the best don't rest on their laurels, they always look to improve. the coaches asked him to improve (leaving little doubt that such room still exists). he is basically refusing. that means he's not making the most out of his potential. that's a poor attitude imo, and if i was his teammate, particularly one of the lineman who gets crunched on a daily basis and is basically giving up the ability to walk later in life so he can catch passes and dive outta bounds, i'd be pissed.

 

[AZCB34]

I actually thought St. Pierre looked pretty poised most of the night. I was impressed.

The biggest thing the team needs to work on is A) penalties and B) tackling. Whoever had the last shot at Mecham during the TD catch/run probably ought to be cut tonight. That was an embarrassing attempt at a tackle.

The problem, almost nobody practices tackling anymore due to fear of injury...poor tackling is a virus in this league.

Penalties last night were typical of this team. I don't care if it was preseason game #1, this is a repeat horror show of yellow flags.

 

[Rats]

I heard the same critic of OJ Anderson in the 80's about how he was trying to save himself the beating. It was BS then and it is BS now. You can't ask Fitz to play more like Boldin. They are different styles all together and both very effective. If all Fitz is being asked to do is run better routes then I fail to see how that will help his RAC or improve the amount of catches he makes. He is not Smith from the Panthers where he will fake a guy out of his shoes and go the distance. The roll he has been in he has done to near perfection short of scoring 20 plus TD's ala Rice in his heydey. I still think Fitzs Heydey is still in front of him. The interview was poorly done and put Fitz on the defensive by wanting to imply the coaches wanted him to be more like Q. I do not see how running a better route translates to him being more like Q. I want the guy healthy late into the season not gimpying around because he decided he was big and tough enough to run over 4 LBs. I do not think Fitz is resting on any Laurals and has quite alot of upside in longevity in the game and attitude to succeed at a high level.

 

[Pariah]

Let's be fair, fellas. Fitz DID say he was going to work on YAC, where he pulled back from what Tafoya was asking was when she suggested he should be playing more like Boldin. That's a pretty unfair picture to paint; Boldin is one of if not the most physical receiver in the league.

 

[black]

welcome back rats!

 

[ajcardfan]

Let's be fair, fellas. Fitz DID say he was going to work on YAC, where he pulled back from what Tafoya was asking was when she suggested he should be playing more like Boldin. That's a pretty unfair picture to paint; Boldin is one of if not the most physical receiver in the league.

Thanks for having some common sense.

 

[DaisyCutter]

joe, i wouldn't be concerned and would agree with your assessment but for the fact that i am certain i read the same exact comments yesterday or the day before PRIOR TO THE GAME, which means that this is an ONGOING conversation where fitz is just refusing to try for YAC. i am pretty sure i read it in one of the threads on this board in fact. when i read it i was disappointed. when i heard it reiterated during the game i became flat out pissed. do your friggin' job. coaches tell you to do something to IMPROVE your game and help the team win, do it. don't be a coward.

What Fitz said (which I think you're remembering) is that he was going to play his game and leave the running over/through linebackers to Q. I'm fine with that.

What he also said is that coaches are asking him to be more aggressive at turning up the field, and that he's working on that. At least, that's what he said. We'll see what happens next time he's in the open field.

I know you watch a lot of other NFL games, and you know that it's not fair to compare Fitz to Q. Fitz is just as physical as guys like Marvin Harrison and Andre Johnson and Plaxico Burress and Laverneus Coles. Maybe more so than some of those guys.

Fitz has worked on a lot of aspects of his game both on and off the field. I think that I'm going to wait until the games mean something before I start crucifying him for being soft.

 

[lobo]

I know, missing out on Adrian Peterson hurts. But, forget about the one sack tonight. Levi was solid otherwise, and is going to be VERY good.

And...Hightower looks like Edge with speed and a burst, doesn't he?

Yes on both...totally agree. Brown is going to be an excellent tackle.

 

[cardsfanmd]

I was impressed with Holloway. He outshined Beisel IMO.

 

[Goober Man]

I was impressed with Holloway. He outshined Beisel IMO.

I thought Beisel didn't play?

But yes Holloway did look good. I hope he makes the team and is able to play on special teams.

 

[cardsfanmd]

I thought Beisel didn't play?

But yes Holloway did look good. I hope he makes the team and is able to play on special teams.

I think you are right and I had Beisel mixed up with Stewart. I was in Ocean City all week on vacation and had to watch the game on the beachhouse TV (no HD) . Too bad the announceres weren't interested in the game enough to read off who was in.

 

[Goober Man]

I think you are right and I had Beisel mixed up with Stewart. I was in Ocean City all week on vacation and had to watch the game on the beachhouse TV (no HD) . Too bad the announceres weren't interested in the game enough to read off who was in.

lol The announcers sucked bad...really bad and was almost tempted to mute them.

Stewart didn't do much and I don't think he even made a tackle.

But with Holloway I don't think he made a tackle etheir but he was always around the ball.

Last year I said Holloway would make the team. Maybe this year he'll make it.