Harry
ASFN Consultant and Senior Writer
With apologies to Dickens for the modest alteration, “It was the worst of times. It was the best of times.” I kept expecting Rod Serling to step out and tell me I’d entered the Twilight Zone. My feeling when it was over as Jack Buck once famously said,”I can’t believe what I just saw.”
I have never reacted to a game like I reacted to that one. When the game was over I felt like Tyler Lockett had scored more points than the Cardinals. Even the announcers said they felt like Seattle was dominating the Cards when the game was actually close. In overtime it looked like the Cards were going to win, then it looked like they were going to lose, then they win. The final result was the first lead the Cards had for the entire game. The in game thread was full of exclamations about an unbelievable win. Fun, fun, fun!
2020 has been a year of unreality. In baseball the Marlins & Reds made the playoffs, the defending MLB Champion, Washington, doesn’t. In hockey the defending Stanley Cup winner and heavy favorite, the STL Blues, were unceremoniously eliminated in the first round of playoffs. In a sport that rarely has playoff surprises, the Heat make the NBA finals.
Then there’s football. The Cowboys might be the league’s worst team. The Patriots are not a lock to even make the playoffs. Tom Brady & BA may be leading the best team in the NFL and it’s the Bucs. It gets no weirder than last night’s game.
Metcalf apparently wins the game for Seattle. Wait, there’s a flag. My guess is without the flag he scores or at least leaves a very makeable first down situation.
Was this game exciting? Heart-stopping! Was it well played? Not really! KK showed many of his dangerous tendencies. He gamble away a sure 3 points. In crunch time, he wasted tons of clock with continual running plays. Then he tries a 41 yard FG on second down and misses. This was a panicky decision. It was bad for several reasons. A 41 yard kick is not a gimme. It’s leaves Seattle with 2 timeouts. If you’re afraid to run, toss a couple of short passes to Edmonds (of course he should play more). If he’s covered throw it away. Finally, the Cards try a 30 yard TD pass on the next to the last play. With 25 seconds on the clock they could have tried a sideline pass. However throwing deep risks a sack, a holding penalty or offensive pass interference. Any of which would cost a chance to win the game.
Let’s not forget they finally let Simmons play and he makes a game winning interception. Before we get too excited about Joseph, his primary game plan failed and when he resorted to the only strategy still available, the defense improved. He’s got to do better. In the end he employed an attacking strategy the Cards had previously used in Seattle very effectively. Wilson looked then like he looked last night. The pressure finally to him. I have to wonder if Joseph even looked at those films. Fortunately for the Cards they will face few offenses this good unless they make the playoffs. Heaven forbid they play the Bucs.
This may seem weird and has nothing to do with the outcome. Despite some egregious mistakes I thought Murray showed improvement. The most important of which is he finally appeared to have learned to pull up and throw when running wide. He also took a hit to make a first down. This is critical because it removes much of the concern about his ability to grow. His mechanics are still extremely inconsistent but there’s a reason to hope. However, until he fixes this there will be inconsistency.
Sitting at 5-2 are the Cards a lock for the playoffs? 8-8 would seem to be their likely floor. 9-7 seems more realistic. The latter puts them in; the former might even make it. Of course anything, including better than 9-7, now seems possible. No one has ever seen a year like 2020 and hopefully we never will again. I expect nothing will come easy. At least now they have a bye week to enjoy their accomplishments, get healthy and hopefully figure out how to use Simmons. Don’t expect a huge change, but continuous improvement could make them a formidable team indeed.
I have never reacted to a game like I reacted to that one. When the game was over I felt like Tyler Lockett had scored more points than the Cardinals. Even the announcers said they felt like Seattle was dominating the Cards when the game was actually close. In overtime it looked like the Cards were going to win, then it looked like they were going to lose, then they win. The final result was the first lead the Cards had for the entire game. The in game thread was full of exclamations about an unbelievable win. Fun, fun, fun!
2020 has been a year of unreality. In baseball the Marlins & Reds made the playoffs, the defending MLB Champion, Washington, doesn’t. In hockey the defending Stanley Cup winner and heavy favorite, the STL Blues, were unceremoniously eliminated in the first round of playoffs. In a sport that rarely has playoff surprises, the Heat make the NBA finals.
Then there’s football. The Cowboys might be the league’s worst team. The Patriots are not a lock to even make the playoffs. Tom Brady & BA may be leading the best team in the NFL and it’s the Bucs. It gets no weirder than last night’s game.
Metcalf apparently wins the game for Seattle. Wait, there’s a flag. My guess is without the flag he scores or at least leaves a very makeable first down situation.
Was this game exciting? Heart-stopping! Was it well played? Not really! KK showed many of his dangerous tendencies. He gamble away a sure 3 points. In crunch time, he wasted tons of clock with continual running plays. Then he tries a 41 yard FG on second down and misses. This was a panicky decision. It was bad for several reasons. A 41 yard kick is not a gimme. It’s leaves Seattle with 2 timeouts. If you’re afraid to run, toss a couple of short passes to Edmonds (of course he should play more). If he’s covered throw it away. Finally, the Cards try a 30 yard TD pass on the next to the last play. With 25 seconds on the clock they could have tried a sideline pass. However throwing deep risks a sack, a holding penalty or offensive pass interference. Any of which would cost a chance to win the game.
Let’s not forget they finally let Simmons play and he makes a game winning interception. Before we get too excited about Joseph, his primary game plan failed and when he resorted to the only strategy still available, the defense improved. He’s got to do better. In the end he employed an attacking strategy the Cards had previously used in Seattle very effectively. Wilson looked then like he looked last night. The pressure finally to him. I have to wonder if Joseph even looked at those films. Fortunately for the Cards they will face few offenses this good unless they make the playoffs. Heaven forbid they play the Bucs.
This may seem weird and has nothing to do with the outcome. Despite some egregious mistakes I thought Murray showed improvement. The most important of which is he finally appeared to have learned to pull up and throw when running wide. He also took a hit to make a first down. This is critical because it removes much of the concern about his ability to grow. His mechanics are still extremely inconsistent but there’s a reason to hope. However, until he fixes this there will be inconsistency.
Sitting at 5-2 are the Cards a lock for the playoffs? 8-8 would seem to be their likely floor. 9-7 seems more realistic. The latter puts them in; the former might even make it. Of course anything, including better than 9-7, now seems possible. No one has ever seen a year like 2020 and hopefully we never will again. I expect nothing will come easy. At least now they have a bye week to enjoy their accomplishments, get healthy and hopefully figure out how to use Simmons. Don’t expect a huge change, but continuous improvement could make them a formidable team indeed.
