Arizona Cardinals Fly Around the Rest of the NFC West

by cgolden on Aug 11, 2008 9:30 AM MDT in General Arizona Cardinals News

With the first weekend of preseason action in the books, here's how the rest of the NFC West fared and what they're talking about heading into the second week of the preseason:

Niners lose to Raiders 18-6: The Niners got off to a slow start but as you might guess, the real question in San Fran was which QB performed the best? The offense sputtered out of the gates but the defense didn't allow the Raiders offense to score until the third quarter (first OAK TD was a punt return). The big news out of the Bay area over the weekend though was that the Niners signed free agent linebacker Takeo Spikes. He could end up being a starter and will no doubt be a good veteran presence for budding super-star Patrick Willis.

Rams lose to Titans: 34-13: In what was a forgettable night for Rams fans, the Rams played without their best player (Steven Jackson) and couldn't get the offense or defense on track. Bulger's first completed pass was the to the Titans and resulted in a quick touchdown, although he did lead them to a field goal on his next drive. As you might expect, the Rams defense didn't have much of a problem shutting down the Titan passing game but they had no answer for their running game. The Titans racked up 340 yards on the ground (averaged 7.9 yards per rush), including a 66 yard touchdown run to rookie Chris Johnson and two other runs over 30 yards.

Seahawks beat Vikings 34-17: The Hawks downed the Vikings in a game that saw 24 points scored in the first quarter (SEA up 17-7) and 34 points combined by halftime (17-17). Both starting quarterbacks had good starts but the real difference would come in the third quarter when Seneca Wallace would lead the offense on two short touchdowns drives. The Vikings all-world running back Adrian Peterson didn't play at all and backup Chester Taylor only had four carries leaving the Minnesota offense to the questionable arms of Tarvaris Jackson, Gus Frerotte and John David Booty who combined for 5.9 yards per passing play.

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I got a few ?'s

The Niners game, which QB did perform the best? Who will get more time carrying the rock for the Titans, Chris Johnson or Lendell White? Is Wallace the future of Seahawks when Hasselback is retired?

by boogatt66 on Aug 11, 2008 12:12 PM MDT reply actions

good questions

I’m not sure that I’m the right guy to be answering the questions but I’m never been one to withhold my opinion, however uneducated it may be, so here’s what I think:

1. Looking at the stats and reading several reports (b/c I couldn’t convince myself to find the game on NFL network and sit through it), none of the QBs looked particularly good. They combined to go 20 of 37 for 205 yards and two picks. I guess looking at the stats would suggest that JT O’Sullivan had the best game considering he had the highest completion percentage (62.5%) and the highest yards per attempt (8.9). But then you dig a little bit deeper and see that he had an interception and a fumble and that’s hardly the ball security that you’d expect from a starter who only played one quarter. So they could be in for a preseason long QB competition.

2. I’d imagine that White will continue to get the bulk of the carries in Tennessee. Johnson isn’t exactly built like a workhorse and he’s probably more like a Reggie Bush or best case scenerio, Brian Westbrook. I’d guess that he’ll get 10-12, maybe 15, touches a game while White gets the bulk of the carries, escpecially around the goal line/short yardage. The real question is where does last year’s second round pick, Chris Henry (no not the suspended WR) fit in to the mix. He’s a speed back who’s now buried on the depth chart. I wouldn’t be too terribly surprised to see him start complaining about a lack of playing time and if he’s cut or on the trade block, I’d love to see the Cards take a look at him in place of JJ.

3. Wallace has never struck me as a future starting QB, but I hope I’m wrong because I’d love to see Seattle role him out there as the starter against the Cards. He’s been in the system long enough that he’s probably capable of getting the job done but he looks awful mistake prone in my opinion.

Revenge of the Birds

by cgolden on Aug 11, 2008 1:10 PM MDT up reply actions