Arizona Defense Faulters on Final Drive as Tennessee Wins 20-17
by Pyromnc on Nov 30, 2009 6:17 AM MST
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PrintThe title says it at all as the Tennessee Titans would need every second to win this game. The Arizona Cardinals offense was not as good but that was because Kurt Warner sat out this game despite practicing all week. This would mean Matt Leinart would be getting his first start since 2007 when he got hurt against the St. Louis Rams. With Leinart getting the start, with virtually no practice time, the defense and run game would need to step up and help win this game. The run game was almost nonexistent and the defense did not play well when they needed to the most.
The Good
Matt Leinart was much better than most will give him credit for. He did start this game off pretty slow and some of his passes lacked some zip, but he would start to show some life in the second quarter. Through the first quarter and a half Leinart would complete just three of his nine passes (33.3 completion percentage) for 27 yards. For the rest of the game he would complete 18 of 22 passes (81.8 completion percentage) for 193 yards. Clearly he was rusty in the beginning of the game but after a few passes he helped this team move down the field. He would only help lead the team to one touchdown and one field goal but key drives would be held up because of penalties or dropped passes. Overall, Leinart had a pretty good performance despite having just ten percent of the practice reps during the week.
Tim Hightower also had a pretty decent game even though he did not get many touches. Hightower had 55 rushing yards on 11 carries (5 yards per carry) and the team's lone touchdown on offense. This can be added to one of his good performances he has had over the last four weeks compiling 279 rushing yards on 50 carries (5.6 yards per carry). He has also had 11 catches that went for 60 yards. Hightower has been overlooked this season because of rookie running back Beanie Wells but if you look at him run he is a very good back.
Special teams had another very good week as they continue to do everything right. The biggest spotlight has be put on LaRod Stephens-Howling. He not only returned his first regular season kick return for a touchdown he also helped in pinning the opposition deep in the own territory on punts by Ben Graham. LSH has had a solid season on special team and in my opinion should go to the pro bowl as a special teamer. Graham also continued his great season as the Cards punter by having five of his six punt pin the Titans inside their own 20. He also averaged 48 yards per punt, his longest being a 64 yarder.
Darnell Docket would have seemed to start the season off very slowly, as he had just one sack in his first seven games. This would be misleading as he was getting constant pressure on opposing quarterbacks but was coming up short of the sack. This has changed however as he has had six sacks over his last four games. Three of those six sacks came against the Titans. He was consistently making big plays against them. The Cards will need him to continue to do so the next few weeks with big games against the 49ers and Vikings.
The Bad
The defense played well enough to win most games they play but this game was different. The offense was missing the key player that has made them among the best in football, Kurt Warner. That meant the defense was going to have to step up and play well. For the most part they did play well, except for when it mattered the most. The defense would allow the Titans with, just around two and a half minutes to go, to drive 99 yards down the field and score the winning touchdown. The biggest problem surrounding the comeback was the fact that they allowed them to convert 3-3 fourth downs. Can't really get mad at them if they allow just one of those to be converted but to allow three conversions on one drive? That is just sloppy and cannot happen, especially when you're trying to get the division locked up.
Beanie Wells had been rolling along the past few weeks looking unstoppable; he looked anything but unstoppable in this game. Beanie had just 20 yards on eight carries (2.5 yards per carry) and to top it off had another fumble on a botched pitch. These games will be expected, especially in a rookie season and is ultimately why he was not in the ugly section.
Overall, the Cards pretty well even though they lost. The only thing they really did wrong in this game was the fact that they could not stop the Titans on any of their fourth down conversions. Hopefully they can rebound against the 10-1 Minnesota Vikings next week. Thoughts?
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Bryant McFadden should be in the BAD section
I’ve been pretty disappointment with him all season but this was still one of his worse games. He’s a solid tackler but a liability in man-to-man coverage.
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Steeler CBs
One of my good friends is a big Steeler’s fan. He says that this is how all of the Steeler’s corners are. Good tacklers. Physical. But not very good ball skills.
they also benefit from one of the best pass rushers in the league
I’m sure he’s not accustomed to having to cover WR’s for four and five seconds on a regular basis.
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
McFadden
Fadden is a cover2 flat type cornerback. He lacks the top physical skill set of the elite players at his position. McFadden is being asked to play in a manner that does not suit his skill set (on an island). Besides, DC’s around the league are looking at the film and saying “were going after McFadden” instead of DRC. He is an upgrade over what was there (Hood) but not by how much? He’s just an average player at the position being paid upper-tier money.
Without a dominate/consistent edge pass-rusher, guys like McFdden will continue to be exposed because he is more limited interms of how long he can cover vs how long a player like DRC can. McFadden lacks recovery speed.
that sounds pretty accurate
I’ve also heard some say that he’s much better in zone coverage as opposed to man coverage.
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
You are correct Bezekira
Jailred350, you are also spot on when you point to Mcfadden’s play at Pittsburgh. I want to be careful about what I’m saying here becuase I do not want to turn this into Byrant McFadden roast. Safety’s can make up for a lot of mistakes if they are in the right place at the right time. Our safety’s have been a “tad late” on most of the big plays in the passing game during the season.
That said, we really don’t know what the coverage responsibilities are on every play. I think Billy Dvis had a good plan and the Cards were out-executed in the game. While I wrote that I believe that Vince Young has the physical tools to be a very good to Franchise QB even I did not expect him to execute with the kind of precision he did especially with the game on the line.
Just to add on.
LSH and Graham should be Pro Bowlers. No one has been as good as they have been on special teams this year.
The Howler is the player of the game IMO.
I’m still trying to get over that last drive. But Matty did play well, and it looked like he was making most of the throws that they have Warner doing right now.
When he gets a full week of practice with the starters, he will be good.
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.
No band-wagoner fans allowed, pick a team and stick with em, throughout the good and the bad.
LSH and Graham are making each other look great
Kudos to the whole special teams.
Graham is crushing opunts when he needs to and accurate with hitting the 5 yd line and giving the covarage guys a chance to down them. The last few weeks LSH just always seems to be there to finish the play. Kinda wonder why the Titans didn’t have more guys trying to slow LSH down after the first 2 times?
by Drullin'OverDaCards on Nov 30, 2009 10:02 AM MST reply actions
LSH/Ben/McFadden
I echo much of what has been said already. Been disappointed with McFadden, and honestly don’t think he is much of an upgrade over Hood. Not in coverage anyway.
Graham is one of the quietest ST MVP candidates in the league in my opinion.
LSH was huge. Should get game ball.
Now these Vikings….How can we get our boys amped up to remember how badly Favre beat us last year? We will need at least 3 sacks from Dockett. But our secondary in coverage is scary vulnerable to Favre. We need to have our best game of the year. Our O-line cannnot let Jared Allen do his usual damage, and our D needs more from CC, Okeafor
http://undrafteds.com/
"The defense played well enough to win most games they play but this game"
Are you joking? If it weren’t for Britt getting off the turf after that 51 yard pass and fumbling, it is likely that the Cards D would have given up 2 scoring drives which began inside the 2 yard line. That is not going to beat the Browns, let alone a team which has hit it’s stride. There were receivers open all day…and open by yards, not inches. You can’t give up over 500 yards and expect to win…anytime in any situation. And the lack of ANY tackling in bounds during that last drive was painful…the D gave them the sideline all the way home.
How many times a year do you think we'll lose to a team that scores 20 points?
And “Every game Leinart starts” is not an option.
It’s hard to defend the D, and I’m not really trying to — those 4th downs really did it — just saying here. You’re right, too, 500+ yards is totally unacceptable…
points matter more than yards......
Is 20 points a “winnable” effort?
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
With Warner in, I think it is.
Our offense hadn’t score less than 20 points all season until this game. We might have scored more too if Leinart had gotten more practice time.
The 500 yards was bad 99 of that came on that last drive, and 85 came on that 1 run play by Johnson. Those were really the only bad drives the Cards D allowed.
Correction.
They scored more than 20 points in every game with the exception of this game and the Colts game.
Add the home opener against San Fran to that list.
Should have had my morning cup of coffee before I said all that…
That's what I'm saying
For this offense, it should be, with either QB…
The 500+ is embarrassing, though!
good analysis of defense
Lots of good points being made here. I still think there is something wrong with the defensive alignments when they get into these situations in the final minutes. A number of teams have gone a long way in a very short time span at the end. Fortunately the D has often held them at the goal line (like against Houston). It appeared the corners were playing too far off and giving the easy out pattern. McFadden is a good tackler, as has been pointed out, but if he’d been aware of where the ball was on that final drive he would have intercepted a pass instead it going for another first down. Cardsfan81 is right: without a dominant edge pass rusher there will be pressure on the corners. That has got to be something they need for next year. But they’re hard to find.
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