Post Game Reaction: Cardinals Get Waxed by Panthers
by Andrew602 on Nov 1, 2009 6:15 PM MST
in General Arizona Cardinals News
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PrintI'm going to keep this short and sweet - the Arizona Cardinals were exploited in the 34-21 loss to the Carolina Panthers. They're run defense is now suspect and more questions arise about Kurt Warner's confidence in the pocket. He remains hesitant to pull the trigger on the deep ball, and his 6 turnovers were brutal at home today. Hopefully no other teams use the Panthers gameplan from today, but if you can run on us and take Warner out of the game, we'll get owned. With that being said, we'll make this a good news, bad news edition:
The Good News:
- After allowing 28 points in the 1st half, the Cardinals defense only allowed 6 in the 2nd.
- The Cardinals improved their rushing game, gaining 94 total rushing yards on the ground.
- The offensive line improved overall, only allowing 2 sacks and giving more rushing lanes.
- The Cardinals had 23 total first downs, 10 more then the Panthers.
- The 49ers lost today, allowing the Cardinals to remain in 1st place in the NFC West.
- With the Panthers win, the 49ers 1st round pick that they received from Carolina gets pushed back in next years draft.
The Bad News:
- Hmm where do I start? Oh that's right, Kurt Warner. After turning over the ball 6 times, Kurt Warner and Jake Delhomme must of done a complete identify swap. Kurt Warner's dump-off passes continue to hurt the Cardinals on 3rd down as well.
- The rushing defense disappeared. What happened to the 1st ranked run defense? The Panthers ran for 270 yards, which = pathetic. This team doesn't do well with hype or recognition and frankly, I'll start being more happy if the Cardinals continue to fly under the radar.
- 1-3 at home this year. Being at the game myself, I can tell you that the vibe in the stadium was crushed before the 1st quarter was over. After my over-excessive use of the F-bomb, I've finally cooled off but have yet to forgive this team. They have been terrible at home and their only win came after blowing a 21 point lead and containing the Texans on a goal line stand to end the game(which I was also at). What happened to the home field advantage?
Final Thoughts
The bad news list can go on but frankly, I'm tired of thinking about it. A 13 point loss looks better then a 21 point loss but in my mind they got blown out. I also believe the Panthers are a lot better then they got credit for, but have had to deal with Delhomme all season. Speaking of Delhomme, I hope I don't hear about how this was is "break out game", or that he's over his turnover-prone ways. Sorry Panther fans but he threw 14 passes all game and only completed half of them. Delhomme is anything but back to his old self. On a final note, I'm not worried about next week as the Cardinals have been a much better team on the road and they face the Bears in Chicago next Sunday. We'll break the game down more tomorrow but what are your thoughts on the game?
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Levi and Gandy are still giving us too many Penalties...
Other than that, agreed with everything you said.
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.
No band-wagoner fans allowed, pick a team and stick with em, throughout the good and the bad.
Just back from the game
First impressions: Man we stunk up the place and I am really frustrated!!!!
When are we going to stop talking about commiting to the run with Beanie who we drafted in the first round and actually commit to the run. I don’t want to hear about getting 21 pts behind either, even then it looked like the run was working.
We need a HC and someone else (frankly I don’t care who at this point) calling plays. I am so tired of seeing Warner waiting for a play, just like Whiz first year. We called a time out with second and goal on the 6" line?!?! after we had put beanie in the game to take him back out and have tim run it in!?!?!? WTF!
Everyone in the entire stadium knows when beanie trots out on the fireld he is 90% getting the ball, can’t the guy block like he did at OSU or catch out of the backfield like he did at OSU?
Warner looks like crap. Several of the INTs were either late half plays or bounces of receivers, but even with those aside he just does not appear to have confidence in either his ability to throw deep ot his receivers or both. What happend to the guy who played last year? Several times he had time and no real pressure and he still checked down to HT for 2-3 yds? Then the time he is running briskly walking toward the sideline he won’t thro it away even after he crossed the numbers and fumbles as he is brought down from behind.
To answer Warner’s question about respect, the team doesn’t get resepct because respect is earned not given.
OK i’m loggin off before I throw my frickin keyboard against the wall.
by Drullin'OverDaCards on Nov 1, 2009 7:13 PM MST reply actions
Everyone in the entire stadium knows when beanie trots out on the fireld he is 90% getting the ball, can’t the guy block like he did at OSU or catch out of the backfield like he did at OSU?
Beanie had 15 catches in three seasons at OSU and he did very little blocking there either. We knew that those parts of his game were underdeveloped coming in so we shouldn’t be surprised now.
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Yep, scouts had this in their reports even before he was drafted.
We even mentioned it many times when we were talking about who the Cards would draft. It also did not help the fact that he missed almost all of training camp and 2 pre season games.
It does look like he is getting better at it.
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.
No band-wagoner fans allowed, pick a team and stick with em, throughout the good and the bad.
Also, how can you talk about committing to a running game when the game got out of hand so quickly?
On our first drive we threw that ball 5 times and ran the ball 5 times. Our next three drives consisted of eight plays (not including punts) and the fourth drive would end with Warner’s pick-six which made the score 28-7. Granted those eight plays included seven passes but the third drive was doomed from the start thanks to a holding call on Lyle Sendlien. When you start 1st-and-20, you can expect some passes to get out of that hole.
When the score is 28-7 midway through the 2nd quarter, you can pretty much throw the gameplan out the window and expect to see quite a few passes. If the first drive was any indication, I think we would have seen a good deal of running if the game would have been close.
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
by Bezekira on Nov 2, 2009 7:21 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
Beze I see this differently then you.
I need to watch the tape and was really frustrated when I posted above, but i think your kinda making my point for me. We ran more than 50% of the first drive and we scored. Bingo. 6 runs for 40 yards. 6.6 yds per carry. 5 pass plays 41 yds. So when we get the ball back @ 14-7 what do we do. 1/10 Pass 17yds, 1/10 Incomplete pass, 2/10 incomplete pass, 3/10 2 yd pass to hightower that he runs for 6 more. 4/2 punt.
D gets a 3 and out.
Offense back on the flied 1/10 penalty 1/20 Run for 7 (7 carries 47yds (no runs for loss), 2/13 incomplete pass, 3/13 3 yd pass. 4/13 punt. Now we’re @ 9 passes for 66 yds, 7 runs for 47 yds.
DRC gets burned 1 on 1, 21-7 7:28 left 2nd quarter.
At this point Cards need a score (not a quick score just a score). There’s tons of time left and if the team gets going who knows. At this point its also appears that the team is not willing to throw passes over 5 yds in the air.
Warner throws a terrible pass for a pick 6, 28-7 7:20 left 2nd quarter.
Now its appears Warner does not have his “A” game today. We still need some points. We get the ball first after the half so we just need points, we still don’t need quick points just some this drive. So what do we do 1/10 run for 8 yds (8 runs 55 yds), 2/2 incomplete pass, 3/2 run 4 yds (9 runs 59yds), then 6 strait short passes that result in a couple first downs. 7th straight pass is another interception.
D holds. We get the ball back with 1;53 left. 2nd pass is another pick.
Again I haven’t watched the tape, but the coaching staff (maybe influenced by Warner) is wiling to give up on the run pretty quickly. My impression was the run was working and that the reason the game got out of hand was we pretty much gave up on the run it (again) @14-7 in the first quarter. The pass game was never working clicking. I think when you are averaging more than 6 yds per carry you have to run until they start to stop the run. If your 21 pts down in the middle of the 3rd quarter, you have to do anything to try and catch up. But we gave up on a balanced attack way too soon.
Look at our second drive in the 3rd quarter 6 runs for 27 yds, 5 passes for 44 yds, TD.
by Drullin'OverDaCards on Nov 2, 2009 8:36 AM MST up reply actions
I seriously disagree with everything!
We are not the Steelers and shouldn’t design an offensive game plan like we are the Steelers. Seriously, Is it just me or do we have the best receiving corps in the whole frickin National Footbal League and they are just out there for the exercise because NOBODY is throwing the ball to them. The offensive play calling sucks! There is absolutely no reason to play so conservatively with an offesive this should be anything but. They call the elite players “playmakers” for a reason. We have a handfull of them and we arent using them. Especially when you fall behind in a game like this, why not throw the freakin ball up and let your receivers go fetch? Teams that win games play to there strengths, our strengths are obviously or QB/Receiver combo which, in my opinion has been drastically under used all season.
You are totally misreading my post
Maybe cause I’m too pissed to explain it coherently. Who said anything about the steelers?
My point is the OC (if we had one) play caller needs to look at what is working, what the other teams D is giving us, and adjust accordingly. If they want to cover Fitz or boldin or breaston one on one we throw to the guy every play until he’s too tired to catch the ball or we are 35 points ahead. If on the other hand, the D is sitting in deep coverage with safeties acting like outfielders just waiting to see who warner is looking at, you run the ball taking 5-6 yards a play until they decide to pull one of those safeties into the box, then you go back to the pass, and repeat the process. If you can’t run and you can’t pass, you lose. If you can successfully do one or the other, you should be able to keep the game close or be ahead going into the 4th quarter.
It pretty obvious to me that either due to the D we are seeing, Warner not being healthy or lacking confidence, or a combination of the two passes over 10 yds long are not being thrown. Why they are not being thrown, frankly, is a damn good question, but it is question for practice and preparatin during the week rather than during the game. I know this if Warner is not comfortable throwing the long ball, forcing him to do so is a recipe for disaster. If you force the long game you get turnovers. The only way to loosen up the long routes I can see is to firmly establish the run. Beanie in the last two games is averaging 5.2 ypc on 22 carries, that’s really pretty impressive for a rookie.
by Drullin'OverDaCards on Nov 2, 2009 2:36 PM MST up reply actions
WTF
My headline says it all….good points from all….
Wondering at what point we decide that we are not the Colts, and there is a reason the Colts have all those division titles and only one Super Bowl win in the past 20 years with a future Hall of Fame quarterback……. Sound like a familiar team?
I am so frustrated after watching the game I can hardly stand it.
5 minutes left in the game….we need to score twice and need to do it fast….yet we take the time to huddle?? Only then to watch a 5 or maybe 10 yard dump off pass that is on a route run into the middle of the field?? There seemed to be no sense of urgency. We did attempt one long throw, and we almost completed it, but the very next play was another dump off pass……WTF?
Don’t even get me started on my frustration with our defensive performance today….too tired and too angry to even go there tonight.
This game was a disgrace
Defense played like they spent all week reading their press clippings instead of practicing. How they could let such a one-dimensional team dominate them like they did was absolutely stunning.
But the defense is not the biggest problem on this team. Nor is the running game or the offensive line. #13 + play-calling are the biggest problems on this team. Through 7 games, we now rank DEAD LAST in the league in plays of more than 30 yards from the line of scrimmage, behind such juggernauts as CLEVELAND AND OAKLAND!!!!! ARE YOU FREAKIN’ KIDDING ME?
Want more Fitz is now tied for 128th in the league in longest pass reception tied with the likes of the infamous J.P. Foschi and Derek Schuman. Unfortunately his production couldn’t match that of Gary Barnidge, Naufahu Tahi and Spencer Havner… A GODDAM LINEBACKER!!!!!! Fitz’ avg.per catch this season is now 10.8 a full 3 yards lower than his career avg. Maybe it’s me, does Fitz suddenly suck?
And our team QB rating after this game is now going to be worse than San Fran…and they just made a QB change. Our average per completion you ask??? Good enough for 27th in the league but at least we’re very close behind Buffalo, Detroit and Tampa stinkin’ Bay.
But, as bad as those numbers are and as feeble as the team was today, we had a chance to actually make a run. Down 10, just picked up a 1st down , approaching midfield with 7 mins to go, and Warner fumbles instead of throwing the ball away. INEXCUSABLE for a veteran QB, but not surprising for Warner, because if you watch him he almost never throws the ball away.
We all know this first team offense struggled in preseason scoring 0 TD’s and is only averaging about 20 ppg(offensive scoring not total scoring) through 7 games so far. It has taken a major step back and our running game has improved, if only a little, from last year so you tell me what the problem is.
Look at the team we played today; 12 wins last year, still with loads of talent, but their QB has almost single-handedly doomed their season. We are about to become the Carolina Panthers unless the QB play improves dramatically.
I’ve been watching football for over 40 years now and success in this game can be very fleeting especially in the F/A era. When you have talent you had better capitalize on it, and this team has talent. But a lateral move or, God forbid, a step back and this team could be right back to being doormats in no time for years to come.
Fitz does not suck...
The problem is that teams are now double covering him with how he played last year. Sure they double covered him in the playoffs and that did not stop him but Warner was playing much better then. Warner is not getting enough time to throw it deep to Fitz and when he does he has been missing him either short or too long. I do not think the passing game struggles have been Fitz’s fault.
Playcalling has been off this year, as Whiz has been more conservative than Haley was last season but there has been many opportunities for deep passes that Warner has missed either because of the offensive line breaking down or Warner just shooting the gun a little too quick.
News Flash
They were double covering him last year too. Take a look at any one of his numerous highlight clips. I agree (see rant above) it’s not Fitz but the offensive play design.
My attempt at sarcasm.....
obviously failed. Coming into this season I thought he was the best receiver in the game and although he has already dropped my balls this year than I expected him to drop all season he is still one of the top receivers in the game. He is definitely NOT the problem.
Although numbers sometimes lie, how could we possibly only have 2 plays of more than 30 yards this year? And Fitz has none. Last year he ranked 20 in ypc. This year, he is 83rd. That is not Fitz’ fault. The few atempts Warner has made to get him the ball deep have not even been close. His best chance this year to get a deep ball this year was thrown by Antrel Rolle. To me, it looks like Warner just can’t throw the deep ball with any accuracy anymore, period!
But it’s more than that. He is missing wide open receivers too. Remember the NYG game last week when Q broke off the line uncovered into the end zone and Warner never saw him? That has been a consistent theme all year.
It is clear to me after 4 preseason games and 7 regular season games, this team with Warner at QB has NO CHANCE of returning to the NFC championship, let alone the Super Bowl. And not that they will with Leinart at QB either but it is time to do what the Packers did 2 years ago and make the move to the younger guy and let the team try to rally around him. And if Leinart is not the answer, then get someone in here who is.
I hope I am wrong, but until this team has some success going deep, which will also open up the running game, this team is going to struggle to beat, and may lose to, some very bad teams.
The offensive play calling seems to be a design better suited for Leinart at QB
I really don’t see why they paid Warner to come back if they aren’t going to let him what he likes to do.
Did you just say Fitz dropped your balls?
Lol, just playing. But in all seriousness, Warner hasn’t looked the same this year. I’m not saying to hand it over to Leinart, but Warner needs to start taking chances.
What? I didn't break it, I was just testing its durability, and then I placed it in the woods becuase it's made out of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
Revenge of the Birds
as a 49er fan i would just like to say...
…good teams win the games they are supposed to win. oh and hahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!! warner sucks!!!!!
by 49er lover, arizona hater on Nov 2, 2009 1:41 AM MST reply actions
Sorry for this
Obviously not all Niner fans want to rub it in on you guys, we just endured a tough loss ourselves and you guys are still the favorites to win the division.
by Brendan Scolari on Nov 2, 2009 5:47 AM MST up reply actions
No problem
He’s been taken care of lol
What? I didn't break it, I was just testing its durability, and then I placed it in the woods becuase it's made out of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
Revenge of the Birds
It was mean spirited but also true
Good teams do win the games they are supposed to win or in the cards case teams that want to be respected need to win the games they are supposed to win.
by Drullin'OverDaCards on Nov 2, 2009 2:42 PM MST up reply actions
Hey
The Colts almost lost to the Niners in Indy, and they’re obviously a good team.
You guys definitely should have won, but it’s not like upsets never happen. I think what happened yesterday was mostly a freak thing and not indicative of the way the Cards will play the rest of the year, but I guess we’ll see.
by Brendan Scolari on Nov 2, 2009 3:00 PM MST up reply actions
I hope so.
It is nice that the rivalries in the NFC West are more respectful than some of the other ones. You would never see anything like this on the Bears/Packers/Vikings blogs on this site [I also go on the Bears blog, they hate the Packers and the Vikings over there].
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.
No band-wagoner fans allowed, pick a team and stick with em, throughout the good and the bad.
i have a hundred of these
you cant ban me! and how petty are you anyway, banning me for laughing at you team. you loer bloggers are crybabies and you need to get a life or a girlfriend. my Niners are going to punish your sorry cards in a few weeks. talk to ya later
p.s. brendan is wrong most niner fan hate your guts and would love to rub it in, in person. and the cardinals will NEVER win this division again
by Arizona hater on Nov 2, 2009 11:58 PM MST up reply actions
I guess we are a lot farther away from being a good team than I thought...
After last week’s game, it appeared we were on the right track. I still think we are, but this game was a huge step back. We appear to play much better when nobody thinks we are worth a crap. That is sad. If our guys need outside pessimism to motivate them, the Cards will never be a great team.
My final word on this game
I just can’t think about this game without getting pissed off again so this is my final word.
What I find most frustrating about the Cards is the inconsistency at all levels. If they played all year like a 9-7 team, I would be happy, but they have flashes where they play like a 12 win team and duds where they play like a 4 win team. Unfortunately, this seasons duds have all been at home where I have had to endure them first hand.
So we play da bears next?
by Drullin'OverDaCards on Nov 2, 2009 8:43 AM MST reply actions
Overall confusion in the ranks...
I think the Cardinal defense thought the offense would tear up the Panther D, while the Cardinal offense thought the defense would force TO’s aplenty. Guys just didn’t do their jobs, plain and simple. If Boldin doesn’t start in Chicago (he should take a week off to get the ankle 100%), I hope Whiz puts serious consideration into using 2WR, 2RB, 1TE formations, where we’ve had a surprising amount of success.
The games Boldin didnt play last year
Breaston tore it up. Im not worried if he does sit out.
What? I didn't break it, I was just testing its durability, and then I placed it in the woods becuase it's made out of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
Revenge of the Birds
Warner is one of the best QBs in the league with the best receivers in the league. Combine that with Whiz who IMO is one of the worst offensive play callers in the game. He doesn’t have a clue on how to call a game as an OC.
Those inconsistencies we’re seeing are driven by poor play calling more than anything else.
Warner is a quick reading, quick release qb who has a crappy offensive line and who has to be given pass plays that don’t keep him holding the ball in the pocket for very long. Whiz just doesn’t get it.
Bring in a quality OC for the Cards and it’s back to the Super Bowl.
Hardly the worst
Now if you say unimaginative, uninspirinig, not overly creative I would agree. The worst hardly ? Not even close.
worst playcaller?
You do realize that the Steelers went to the SB with Whiz as the play caller?
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
that means nothing
they had a completely different offensive mindset. With Bettis as a goal line back and Parker in his prime I could have been the OC for the Steelers. That comparison means nothing because we have a completely different team then they did, we will continue to lose with Whiz as the play caller because he has a Steeler mindset which is good in most aspects of the game but our offenses can’t be compared in the least bit.
by cardsfanforlife24 on Nov 2, 2009 1:11 PM MST up reply actions
so Whiz gets no credit from his first season here as a play caller?
He did lead a much less talented team to an 8-8 record so it’s not like he’s never done this before.
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
That's the problem
We aren’t the Steelers!!!! Do you really beleive we are using the personnel that we have correctly?
then why is everyone crying about not establishing a running game
Geez….from the vibe on the blog it sounds like we’re not running enough, not throwing down field and not throwing enough to let KW get into a rhythm. I’m confused.
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
The only thing the Cards need a run for is a threat.
I’ve never been big on this establish the run thing. Personally, I think this team needs to be able to effectively break off a decent run to get 4-5 five yards for a first or efficiently run down a clock at the end of a game, but that is about it. To try and be a smash mouth run team is just a dumb idea with our arsenal of receivers and Warner at QB.
So is the cardinal offense
That seems to be the problem – no clear message.
by Drullin'OverDaCards on Nov 2, 2009 9:09 PM MST up reply actions
No we are not using the personnel we have on offense
Really we are not using any of our offensive weapons correctly right now. I think that’s why there are so many different suggestions on the blog. Nobody understands what the cards offensive idenitity is this year including the coaches and the players on the field.
by Drullin'OverDaCards on Nov 2, 2009 9:13 PM MST up reply actions
Exactly! and Whiz didn't have a clue then.
If you recall, in the Steeler Superbowl Whiz was involved in, Roethlisberger had one of the worst games a qb could possibly have…..or more likely it was poor OCing. Roethlisberger almost single handedly lost that game just from his poor performance. In fact, the Steelers should have lost that game if it weren’t for the pathetic officiating that gave the win to the Steelers.
I don't blame that on Whiz.
You could make a case for that but than you have one of the longest runs in Super Bowl history from WIlli Parker and that trick play by Antwaan Randle El. Whiz made some nice call on offense to win that Super Bowl, just cause Roethlisberger was not good does not mean it is Whiz’s fault.
The Pumpfaker is the most overrated Quarterback in the NFL.
That he had a bad game doesn’t mean very much.
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.
No band-wagoner fans allowed, pick a team and stick with em, throughout the good and the bad.
Well I guess the '07 season means nothing.
Even on an average team, the offense was one of the best in 2007 with Whisenhunt calling plays. This year, he, Grimm, and Miller are running the offense, which is something we were worried about heading into the season. I wouldn’t put the whole blame on Whisenhunt.
What? I didn't break it, I was just testing its durability, and then I placed it in the woods becuase it's made out of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
Revenge of the Birds
warner SUCKS!!!!!
he is a system qb, and a dinsoaur
by Arizona hater on Nov 3, 2009 12:01 AM MST up reply actions
Go away troll.
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.
No band-wagoner fans allowed, pick a team and stick with em, throughout the good and the bad.
i am from CSR
but from my point of view even thought the arizona cardinals had the number one rush defense in the NFL, and a very good defense overall. you were still very overmatched for our big oline, and we have not one but 2 top 10 RBs in the NFL (dwill being either 2nd or 3rd), its kinda hard to stop that. our style is "were gonna shove it down your throat, try to stop it, and then fail. i saw up at the top how can you not stop a one dimensional offense such as ours? well its very simple, we play against 8,9, hell sometimes even 10 man fronts and somehow we pull it out of our asses. but honestly ive seen it all year, the panthers are much, much much better than 3-4 if it werent for jake delhomme we might be 6-2 right now. dont be too far down on your cardinals because you have a very talented football team and you will win a bunch of football games this season. (but beware of the curse of the loser) and with that, good luck and good bye but most of all GO PANTHERS
I agree the Panthers are better than the 3-4 record, but...
I’m still very disappointed with the Cardinals. Sure you have 2 great backs and a good O-line, but our defenders were consistently out of position and missed a lot of tackles. Those kind of mental errors tell me that the Cards were overlooking the Panthers a little bit despite all the talk during the week about how much respect there was.
As a brief aside, I want to thank all of the Carolina fans that stopped by here to discuss the game. You guys show a lot of class. Good luck with the rest of your season.
good luck to you as well
im glad some of that “bad air” between us has vanished.
by carolinabrave89 on Nov 5, 2009 1:13 PM MST up reply actions
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