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Definitely wasnt what I was expecting. I didnt think we'd win 42-0, but I did expect we'd win the game comfortably. Two ugly pick 6's in the first quarter ruined my hopes of that though. When Kitna went out, I somewhat expected the worst and thought we might see a really ugly loss, but to Steven McGee's credit he played well enough to put us in position to win. Thats all you can hope for from a 3rd string QB who has never taken a regular season snap.
1) I'll start as usual with Garrett, who I still hope will be HC. I think we can see what kind of team he wants to have, but we dont have the pieces in place to fully execute it. He's going to be a very successful head coach in the NFL, and I would much prefer it to be here rather than somewhere else. That said, for the first time I started thinking that Garrett might not get the HC job here, not because we lost the game or how we lost the game, but because of Jerry's pre and post game comments. If he hires someone else other than Garrett because he honestly believes that person is better and can get the team to the top faster, so be it. But if he bypasses Garrett for someone else simply for the sake of appeasing the fans or selling seats next yr, its a really poor decision and one that we will surely regret.
2) Regardless of who the next HC is, I think the entire defensive staff sealed their fates last night. Everyone is going ape on Buehler, but the defense did lose the game. I cant imagine any of them being on this staff next year. The irony here is 4 years ago Jones hired Wade Phillips to fix the defense and now today, we have to fix the defense again.
3) The Cardinals came in ranked 27th in the league in total defense and near the bottom in sacks, yet they had constant pressure on both our QB's and we gave up 5 or 6 sacks. Marc Colombo is absolutely done, he might be the worst starting RT in the league and is arguably the worst player on our team right now (which is quite an accomplishment with guys like Alan Ball, Leonard Davis and Keith Brooking out there). I'm sure it wont happen, but Colombo should be de-activated next week. That was truly an atrocious game.
4) I came away impressed with Steven McGee. Its easy to see why Kitna spoke highly of him, and I think with continued good coaching he will really turn into something down the road. He certainly has the physical tools, and his decision making was better than I expected considering the circumstances. He'll probably start next week and get all the first team reps this week in practice, but I feel sorry for him if he has to play behind that OL. Colombo literally gives alot of plays no chance of success at all, run or pass.
5) Buehler may end up being the ultimate tease for a PK. He goes out and nails two field goals with ease (incl another one from 50+) then blows it with a missed PAT. Unlike some, I'd hate to see him cut loose, but they do have to bring in competition for him next year. If he shows better consistency he deserves to stay, but you cant have guys blowing 30 yd field goals and missing PATS. He has a ton of talent though.
6) Miles Austin needs to start working on catch drills as soon as the season ends. I dont expect him to catch them all, but he's dropped way too many pases this year, especially for a guy expected to be the #1 WR and getting paid as a franchise WR. That said, even in what some consider a down year compared to last yr, he'll probably end up going over 70 catches and over 1000 yds (now at 67/979), he also has 7 tds. I still believe with him and Bryant, its the ultimate nightmare for defensive coordinators around the league for years to come.
7) I need the CZ experts to explain to me again why Jason Witten 1) doesnt deserve to go to the probowl and 2) why he should be traded. He now has 90 recpetions, he's also likely to go over 1000 yds again (now at 956) and just set his career high in tds.
8) I thought DeMarcus Ware had another good game, but Anthony Spencer's continued lousy play is a real mystery. He really looked like the next big thing the 2nd half of last yr and especially in December/January, yet he's played like a scrub all year in all phases of the game. As I mentioned in another thread last night, IMO he is more responsible for the defense's failure than anything else. Ware has gotten absolutely ZERO help from anywhere else in regards to pass rush this year. The new HC and DC will have to decide whether this year in an abberation, or whether they can get him to revert back to last years play. If they think he cant, then OLB becomes a priority in the offseason and perhaps on draft day. A number of really good 3-4 OLB prospect will be available early in the draft.
9) Its almost a weekly theme, but Bryan McCann is a turnover waiting to happen virtually every time he goes back to field a punt or kickoff. He just cant catch the ball clean.
10) I thought Felix Jones was really good last night. Quietly he is putting together a nice season, he's now over 700 rushing yds yds (719) and is doing that without any really long runs and fairly poor run blocking from our OL. He's also caught 47 passes for another 454 yds (just under 10 yds per catch, which is excellent for a RB). Thats almost 1200 total yards for a guy thats split the workload 3 ways. MBIII had the stupid penalty, but his game last night was his best of the year IMO and his pass blocking was nearly perfect. He blocked their RDE by himself better than Colombo did. I still hope this is MBIII's last yr here, but if he had played all this yr the way he played last night, maybe I'd think different. He still costs too much for the role however.
11) Replace Colombo and Davis, replace both starting safeties, get Lee in for Brooking and figure out what do do about the OLB spot opp Ware, and this team can be really good in 2011. Really good.
12) Last nights officiating was a prime example of why officials should have to have extensive ONGOING background checks. I dont think they wanted Arizona to win, but I do they they deliberately attempted to keep Arizona in the game for the benefit of the point spread. I suspect all of them are making nice deposits into their accounts tomorrow. That was a truly pathetic display of officiating with the number of blown calls and non calls. Incompetence does not explain all of it.
13) People thought the potential lockout would limit coaching changes, but I never really did. Now its almost a given that John Fox, Gary Kubiak, Mike Singletary & Marvin Lewis will get the ax. Eric Mangini and Jeff Fisher have a good chance of being cut loose. The Vikes and Cowboys already have HC openings. Tony Sparano might get the ax too. That'd be 9 openings league-wide if they all panned out, or almost 1/3 of the league. I still want Garrett as HC here, but IMO this is CLEARLY the best position for any coach that truly wants to win quick. None of these other teams have what we have in place at the skill positions on offense, and guys like Ware, Ratliff, Lee and even Jenkins if he gets himself right are cornerstone players you can build a defense around.
1) I'll start as usual with Garrett, who I still hope will be HC. I think we can see what kind of team he wants to have, but we dont have the pieces in place to fully execute it. He's going to be a very successful head coach in the NFL, and I would much prefer it to be here rather than somewhere else. That said, for the first time I started thinking that Garrett might not get the HC job here, not because we lost the game or how we lost the game, but because of Jerry's pre and post game comments. If he hires someone else other than Garrett because he honestly believes that person is better and can get the team to the top faster, so be it. But if he bypasses Garrett for someone else simply for the sake of appeasing the fans or selling seats next yr, its a really poor decision and one that we will surely regret.
2) Regardless of who the next HC is, I think the entire defensive staff sealed their fates last night. Everyone is going ape on Buehler, but the defense did lose the game. I cant imagine any of them being on this staff next year. The irony here is 4 years ago Jones hired Wade Phillips to fix the defense and now today, we have to fix the defense again.
3) The Cardinals came in ranked 27th in the league in total defense and near the bottom in sacks, yet they had constant pressure on both our QB's and we gave up 5 or 6 sacks. Marc Colombo is absolutely done, he might be the worst starting RT in the league and is arguably the worst player on our team right now (which is quite an accomplishment with guys like Alan Ball, Leonard Davis and Keith Brooking out there). I'm sure it wont happen, but Colombo should be de-activated next week. That was truly an atrocious game.
4) I came away impressed with Steven McGee. Its easy to see why Kitna spoke highly of him, and I think with continued good coaching he will really turn into something down the road. He certainly has the physical tools, and his decision making was better than I expected considering the circumstances. He'll probably start next week and get all the first team reps this week in practice, but I feel sorry for him if he has to play behind that OL. Colombo literally gives alot of plays no chance of success at all, run or pass.
5) Buehler may end up being the ultimate tease for a PK. He goes out and nails two field goals with ease (incl another one from 50+) then blows it with a missed PAT. Unlike some, I'd hate to see him cut loose, but they do have to bring in competition for him next year. If he shows better consistency he deserves to stay, but you cant have guys blowing 30 yd field goals and missing PATS. He has a ton of talent though.
6) Miles Austin needs to start working on catch drills as soon as the season ends. I dont expect him to catch them all, but he's dropped way too many pases this year, especially for a guy expected to be the #1 WR and getting paid as a franchise WR. That said, even in what some consider a down year compared to last yr, he'll probably end up going over 70 catches and over 1000 yds (now at 67/979), he also has 7 tds. I still believe with him and Bryant, its the ultimate nightmare for defensive coordinators around the league for years to come.
7) I need the CZ experts to explain to me again why Jason Witten 1) doesnt deserve to go to the probowl and 2) why he should be traded. He now has 90 recpetions, he's also likely to go over 1000 yds again (now at 956) and just set his career high in tds.
8) I thought DeMarcus Ware had another good game, but Anthony Spencer's continued lousy play is a real mystery. He really looked like the next big thing the 2nd half of last yr and especially in December/January, yet he's played like a scrub all year in all phases of the game. As I mentioned in another thread last night, IMO he is more responsible for the defense's failure than anything else. Ware has gotten absolutely ZERO help from anywhere else in regards to pass rush this year. The new HC and DC will have to decide whether this year in an abberation, or whether they can get him to revert back to last years play. If they think he cant, then OLB becomes a priority in the offseason and perhaps on draft day. A number of really good 3-4 OLB prospect will be available early in the draft.
9) Its almost a weekly theme, but Bryan McCann is a turnover waiting to happen virtually every time he goes back to field a punt or kickoff. He just cant catch the ball clean.
10) I thought Felix Jones was really good last night. Quietly he is putting together a nice season, he's now over 700 rushing yds yds (719) and is doing that without any really long runs and fairly poor run blocking from our OL. He's also caught 47 passes for another 454 yds (just under 10 yds per catch, which is excellent for a RB). Thats almost 1200 total yards for a guy thats split the workload 3 ways. MBIII had the stupid penalty, but his game last night was his best of the year IMO and his pass blocking was nearly perfect. He blocked their RDE by himself better than Colombo did. I still hope this is MBIII's last yr here, but if he had played all this yr the way he played last night, maybe I'd think different. He still costs too much for the role however.
11) Replace Colombo and Davis, replace both starting safeties, get Lee in for Brooking and figure out what do do about the OLB spot opp Ware, and this team can be really good in 2011. Really good.
12) Last nights officiating was a prime example of why officials should have to have extensive ONGOING background checks. I dont think they wanted Arizona to win, but I do they they deliberately attempted to keep Arizona in the game for the benefit of the point spread. I suspect all of them are making nice deposits into their accounts tomorrow. That was a truly pathetic display of officiating with the number of blown calls and non calls. Incompetence does not explain all of it.
13) People thought the potential lockout would limit coaching changes, but I never really did. Now its almost a given that John Fox, Gary Kubiak, Mike Singletary & Marvin Lewis will get the ax. Eric Mangini and Jeff Fisher have a good chance of being cut loose. The Vikes and Cowboys already have HC openings. Tony Sparano might get the ax too. That'd be 9 openings league-wide if they all panned out, or almost 1/3 of the league. I still want Garrett as HC here, but IMO this is CLEARLY the best position for any coach that truly wants to win quick. None of these other teams have what we have in place at the skill positions on offense, and guys like Ware, Ratliff, Lee and even Jenkins if he gets himself right are cornerstone players you can build a defense around.
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