Preseason week 1 Cowboys @ Cardinals Pregame thread 8-9 thru 8-13, 2021

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I won't go into details, but it seems to me that after one PS game, the NEGATIVE posters are in mid-season form.

Lol. Apparently so are the posters that want to attack posters instead of talking about the game.

weird post as I didn’t think there were many negative posts other than strevler and commenting on how our backup lines stunk, which was true.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Markus Golden. As a persona, I love him. As a player, I really don’t like him.

If Collins hadn’t had that tackle in the backfield golden would’ve overpursued and lost contain on the cutback. Something he’s famous for.

 

[blindseyed]

After practice game I saw some good things and areas that need improvement, O line stuck out as one

 

[BritCard]

If Collins hadn’t had that tackle in the backfield golden would’ve overpursued and lost contain on the cutback. Something he’s famous for.

I think we will see a lot of Watt playing DE next to Golden which will help with this issue to a degree

 

[Totally_Red]

Cardinals made some solid offseason acquisitions IMO.

Matt Prater is Matt Prater and he adds at least one win and/or avoids one loss.

Marco Wilson has a chance to turn into a draft steal by Keim.

But Rondale Moore and Zaven Collins have looked better than any first two draft picks of the Cardinals in my recent Cardinal memory.

Obviously the offensive line has a long, long way to go. That was ugly. Maybe it partially explains Murray's absence.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I think we will see a lot of Watt playing DE next to Golden which will help with this issue to a degree

That’s a good point.

 

[gimpy]

They need to chuck that play where Streveler runs wide. Seems he was tackled for a loss every time.

 

[Dr. Jones]

My takes:

The good:
Collins looked better than Simmons by a country mile. I'm hoping that Vance is just keeping IS's role very vanilla right now.

Enoooooo! Happy to see the kid on the ST unit.

Rondale was all that and a bag of Red Vines. Man I can't wait to see him in some open space when the turf is NFL quality.

Marco looked like he belonged. Still work to do though.

Prater...... Man...... I think I found my Fantasy Football kicker.

The bad
Streveler is not an NFL QB. I read some excuses for him but I would much rather see a developmental QB that can pass more effectively. Streveler is a beer-league Taysom Hill wannabe. Just not NFL quality. At all.

Tay Gowan got lucky a couple of times and looked like he may not be athletic enough. It's just one game though.

Golden still can't keep contain. haha. I just laugh now when it happens.

The insanely ugly:
I understand why Bidwill took the Cards out of Flagstaff. A top 5 NFL training camp site. But our turf is an embarrassment and could have gotten players hurt last night. We shouldn't practice on the field our games are played on. period.

Our O-Line was bad tonight. Miles was atrocious. Beechum was bad too. RT is not in a good place.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Good:

Zaven Collins - played pretty physical and fast. Looks like the Cardinals have a good one.

Moore - looks like a legit weapon out there. They used him exactly how I though they would. He is going to break some of those plays as the season goes on.

Wilson - looked the part. Had a few PBUs and broke on the ball. Game doesn't look too big for him.

Gowan - stayed with his man and had a few good plays, but he needs to learn to look back for the ball. Looks like a future back up.

Eno - looked like the player who set ASUs single season rushing record. He looks like he can contribute on special teams and be a quite back up.

Colt McCoy - looked as good as any backup QB the Cardinals have had in a while. He seemed to have a command of the offense. I have confidence in him.

Bad:

Streveler - Granted he was playing with the third string OL most of the night, but he just isn't a good enough passer. I would like to see him get extended reps with the first team line.

Josh Miles - holy moly he got beat like a drum. If he is the top backup to DJ Humphries, that's a big problem.

5th string DL - more of a dig at posters on talking about how bad the DL looked. Of course its going to be bad when Watt, Lawrence, Philips, Allen, Peters, and Fotu were all out. The Cardinals played recent pickups for most of the night and the Cowboys actually didn't run the ball that well.

Jace Whittaker - slow and small. I dont see an NFL player here, but thats ok because he has virtually no shot.

OL depth - outside of the first team OL, the rest of the OLs looked like trash. Lots of easy pressure and inconsistent.

Ugly:

Penalties: that one stretch where there were like 3 penalties nearly in a row is quintessential 2020 Cardinals. They have to clean that mess up.

 

[PACardsFan]

I only really look for the individual positives in these games. Hard to expect 3rd string O lines to be cohesive units.

Collins and Simmons looked good.
Colt McCoy might be the best backup we had for some time.
Rondale looks legit.
Our RB room is fine. Eno looks vastly improved and Ward looks good too.
There might be a surprise in the WR room.
Prater is a big step up. He looked cooked last year but back on form.
The young CBs have potential, including Whitaker.

But as @SoonerLou said we should have taken Trey Smith over Dimukeje.

I agree with your take here, but it’s not just our 2nd & 3rd string OL that has issues. I’ve said all along that our 1st string OL is overrated. Beachum is really below average. Armstrong made him look pathetic last night. Murray avoids so many sacks with his elusivenes. Not having him in there really exposed how average our OL is. Our offensive drop off last year had to do with this OL coupled with Murray’s injury that curtailed his ability to use his legs. Other than the LT & C positions, almost everyone else on this line is very replaceable.

 

[Totally_Red]

I agree with your take here, but it’s not just our 2nd & 3rd string OL that has issues. I’ve said all along that our 1st string OL is overrated. Beachum is really below average. Armstrong made him look pathetic last night. Murray avoids so many sacks with his elusivenes. Not having him in there really exposed how average our OL is. Our offensive drop off last year had to do with this OL coupled with Murray’s injury that curtailed his ability to use his legs. Other than the LT & C positions, almost everyone else on this line is very replaceable.

I agree Beechum is at best inconsistent and is very mediocre in pass pro. If the plan is to eventually replace him with Josh Jones I hope J.J. gets some reps at right tackle.

Wolfley is wrong. The O-line was part of the problem last year. Only Kyler's ability to avoid the rush made them look better than they were against good D-lines. And 'we' play four games against two of the best in the NFL in L.A. and S.F.

 

[AZfaninMN]

3 positives:
-Zaven Collins, not much need to be said. Did everything ever fight in his first NFL game.
-Greg Dortch, as a punt returner he was north and south and got as much as he could on his three returns. As a receiver he made two solid catches and could be a dark horse as the 6th WR and special teamer.
-Marco Wilson, he was the best player in the secondary today by a wide margin. Very impressed and think he could be a steal.

Honorable mention:
-Colt McCoy, Eno Benjamin, and Matt Prater

3 Negatives:
-Tackling- Jaquan Hardy from Tiffin College was either really impressive or our tackling was terrible. No wrapping up and a lot of lowering the head to initiate contact. In today’s NFL it’s hard to teach tackling, but it’s something that needs to be addressed.
-Trenches- On either side of the ball, we got zero push and we’re pushed back more times than not. Thinking it was more the first contact these guys had and lack of talent on the defensive side of the ball.
-3rd and 4th down defense- still can’t get off the field on the money downs. Could’ve been lack of talent in the front 4, but Dallas scoring drives were 10 plays, 10 plays, 11 plays, and 14 plays. We didn’t force one 3 and out. We were missing a lot of starters, so I’m hoping the lack of talent was the main contributor, but seemed still needs to be improved.

Honorable Mention:
Jace Whittaker and Keesean Johnson.

 

[Ronin]

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[PACardsFan]

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Murray: Damn, our OL still sucks.
Hop: Thank God I escaped Houston
Green: Hey Hop, I think Rondale is our best WR.

 

[Mainstreet]

I'm not making a case for Streveler but it's hard to judge him fairly when the memories of last season's finale taints everything he does now.

 

[PACardsFan]

I'm not making a case for Streveler but it's hard to judge him fairly when the memories of last season's finale taints everything he does now.

And the pathetic play of our OL against that Rams D had way more to do with the results than anything Streveler did or didn’t do.

 

[Krangodnzr]

3 positives:
-Zaven Collins, not much need to be said. Did everything ever fight in his first NFL game.
-Greg Dortch, as a punt returner he was north and south and got as much as he could on his three returns. As a receiver he made two solid catches and could be a dark horse as the 6th WR and special teamer.
-Marco Wilson, he was the best player in the secondary today by a wide margin. Very impressed and think he could be a steal.

Honorable mention:
-Colt McCoy, Eno Benjamin, and Matt Prater

3 Negatives:
-Tackling- Jaquan Hardy from Tiffin College was either really impressive or our tackling was terrible. No wrapping up and a lot of lowering the head to initiate contact. In today’s NFL it’s hard to teach tackling, but it’s something that needs to be addressed.
-Trenches- On either side of the ball, we got zero push and we’re pushed back more times than not. Thinking it was more the first contact these guys had and lack of talent on the defensive side of the ball.
-3rd and 4th down defense- still can’t get off the field on the money downs. Could’ve been lack of talent in the front 4, but Dallas scoring drives were 10 plays, 10 plays, 11 plays, and 14 plays. We didn’t force one 3 and out. We were missing a lot of starters, so I’m hoping the lack of talent was the main contributor, but seemed still needs to be improved.

Honorable Mention:
Jace Whittaker and Keesean Johnson.

As far as getting off the field on D, Vance did try a few risky coverage schemes and blitzes in big moments.

During the game it was funny the consternation directed against the defensive front. The vast majority of DL snaps were played by camp bodies last night. The only guy out there with a shot to make the roster or probably even practice squad was Michael Dogbe and he made a few plays.

Was nice to see Kennard make a few plays earlier in the game. Murphy also looks to be in better shape as well.

I'm not worried about the 1st and 2nd team for most positions, other than all of the players being held out for injury. This is either a major issue or the Cardinals are just being cautious.

The OL is some concern because the depth players didn't play well.

 

[slanidrac16]

Yes. Moore, Benjamin, PRATER.
No. Streveler, any 3rd and 4th string linemen. Wolfley for anymore than 10 minutes.

 

[ajcardfan]

What I liked:

Hands down, the player of the game was Prater IMO. It was great to see him avoid the Cardinals K Curse, and hit the game winner. The others split the pipes with ease. Yeah, his kickoffs are short. But I don't care if we finally have a kicker we can trust.

Not to go too overboard, but damn Collins looked like a player. I liked the combo of him with Hicks. Hicks can be the eyes for Collins.

Pleasantly surprised by seeing good CB play from Wilson and Whittaker. Maybe one or both can really contribute this year. Wilson's athleticism was very noticable.

Streveler -- ok, thanks for beating Dallas but go away. If he makes roster-- I won't get it. You can't have a backup who passes like a decent high school QB. If on roster, he has to take RB spot IMO.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Something no one commented on: with 21 seconds left and not fourth down kliff decided to run it into the middle of the line for little gain. Prayer was good from distance, but yet again kliff settled for, I believe, a 47 yard fg. That’s not a layup. You have time and a timeout to try for another 5-10 yards. Run a relatively safe play and make the kick easier. Same as last years kliff imo

 

[FB94]

Yes there were some issues with the lines of scrimmage. I realize the guys playing ( particularly on defense ) were far down the depth chart. Just would have liked to see more one on one battles won by equivalent depth chart opposition. OL was the more concerning area.

 

[football karma]

Something no one commented on: with 21 seconds left and not fourth down kliff decided to run it into the middle of the line for little gain. Prayer was good from distance, but yet again kliff settled for, I believe, a 47 yard fg. That’s not a layup. You have time and a timeout to try for another 5-10 yards. Run a relatively safe play and make the kick easier. Same as last years kliff imo

i want to believe that he would trust K1 in that situation, but didnt trust Steveler

 

[Shaggy]

And the pathetic play of our OL against that Rams D had way more to do with the results than anything Streveler did or didn’t do.

Exactly. They should have had Hundly out there rather then Streveler, but the Oline gave Streveler no chance to do much of anything. Honestly, last nights oline play was similar to that Rams game. Also, the play calling for Streveler was all bad. KK never changed it to suit Streveler and that hurt the team as well.

 

[GatorAZ]

Markus Golden. As a persona, I love him. As a player, I really don’t like him.

Reddick only signed for $6mil to boot.

 

[Shaggy]

So we have been here before, a kicker does so well in the beginning, and then misses crucial kicks to win games. You think Prater is going to be a kicker that will win us games and not start to miss those kicks we need him to make? This was like Zane last year. Did so well in the beginning and then fell apart.