Grade The Offense: Cardinals vs Rams
by Andrew602 on Dec 28, 2009 3:14 PM MST
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PrintAfter dropping 31 points and 407 yards of total offense, the Cardinals can officially say that "everything's alright". We all know the records that were broken so we won't dip into any of that, but looking at the overall numbers is a different story. The Cardinals offense out-gained the Rams in almost every category and a shootout was never a thought. Let's take a look at how they did.
Quarterbacks: Kurt didn't complete his usual percentage of passes(63%), but he managed to pile up 313 yards with a quarterback rating of 106.6. Warner was obviously ready to take a break at the end of the game, even admitting he had hoped the starters could've received more time to rest. Mat Leinart didn't see much time and was assigned exclusively to hand off duties - yay.
Running backs: Beanie received the bulk of the carries for the fourth straight game and managed to turn them into 68 yards and a touchdown. He only caught 1 pass but converted it into a 25-yard run. Tim Hightower had twelve touches for 35 yards(2.9) but also scored a touchdown - the 18th of his career and tied for most by a Cardinal in a two year span. The biggest concern isn't the fact that they only ran for 110 yards, it's that they couldn't break a big run against a team that's been allowing them all season.
Wide receivers: The "big three" may have to be known as the "big four" with Early Doucet making a name for himself. He caught his first career touchdown and also added a 25-yard screen pass to give him 43 yards on the day. Anquan Boldin topped 100 yards receiving for the 3rd time this year, and should surmount 1,000 receiving yards next week - the 5th time in his 7 year career. Larry Fitzgerald didn't have his best game but added another touchdown to his league-leading total of 12. Steve Breaston rounds out the group with the most significant play being the team's season-long, 45 yard reception.
Offensive line: I don't know whether to be angry or happy at the fact that the offensive line allowed 2 sacks to the St. Louis Rams. Both offensive tackles had trouble holding off the edge on both running and passing plays. Chris Long had one of the best games of his short career and managed to out-muscle Jeremy Bridges on more then one occasion. There were some positives, like the block Lyle Sendlein layed on the Rams defensive tackle on Tim Hightower's touchdown, or the hole that was opened up on Kurt Warner's 10 yard scamper.
My Offensive Grade: A-
The Cardinals dominated a team that they should have dominated, so there weren't many surprises in this game. The passing attack showed what this team is capable of and what we have to look forward to come playoff time. They get a minus because the running game didn't produce like it should have. What grade did you give the Cardinals offense and why?
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Can't really give the offense an 'A'
Because
- Another lost fumble, that
- Let the Rams back in the game, and
- Rams were within 2 scores until very, very late
The defense, on the other hand, gets an A+:
- 3 interceptions
- forced 2 fumbles, recovered 1
- only 10 points allowed
- longest drive allowed was just 40 yards
I gave a B
because the offense should have dominated more than they did. Warner overthrew Hightower for what would have been an easy TD as he was 2 steps ahead of the defensive lineman covering him.
He also overthrew Fitz on a bomb that Fitz almost made a beautiful diving grab.
At least 2 drives towards the end of the 3rd quarter/beginning of the 4th—you got the feeling Whiz was waiting for a good drive to take out the starters and they never got there.
For the playoffs—they need to lineup with 3 receivers and 1 back and if the defense gives them 6 DB’s—you go no huddle (not hurry up) and run Beanie. Let DB’s try to tackle him and Boldin with short passes until they cheat the safties up into the box and then throw to Fitz and Breaston over the top. Should be UNSTOPPABLE!!!
by Cuckoo for Coco Puffs on Dec 28, 2009 5:37 PM MST reply actions
A few observations
The Cards offese failed to get out the gate fast. As a fan I’d like to see this team get on top of mediocre teams and crush them——- consistently. Where is the killer instinct? Warner was again “off” in this game with some of his throws to Breaston and Fitz. He and Boldin have been red hot over the last several games. It will be needed if the in the playoffs if the synchronicity between Fitz and Warner remains shaky as has been the case recently. I like that Warner ran with the football when the coverage in the redzone was 2 deep man under. Give the other teams DC more to be concerned about when they poor over the film in preparation.
Some of the enthusiam for Bridges may have been a bit premature. Bridges and Brown did not have good games and showed that 6/7 and max protection fronts will be needed during the run thru the playoffs. Long owned Bridges and Bridges gave a "soft " corner to Long seemingly all game. The Rams controlled the line of scrimmage for most parts of this game.
Boldin was smoking hot in the second quarter and was reason for the offensive exploision in the quarter. Rams played primarily zone in the secondary and Boldin lit them up. The deep dig route to Boldin was a strike and a thing of beauty. Warner’s best quarter clearly was in the second as he found Fitz and Doucet for TD’s with his 100th going to Doucet. Doucet is developing nicely and taking advantage of his oppurtunities when they present themselves. The Bubble screen route to Doucet was of good design and execution.
I think Kreider was missed in this game as a lead blocker on the G-power and iso plays that Whiz likes to run. Hightower should have had another touchdown. Warner just overthru Hightower on an swing route out of the back field with Chris Long in coverage and in a trialing position. Right call at the right time. The Rams overloaded the weakside of the Cards protection and Hightower was the “hot” outlet. Hightower had a solid game and Wells was…….. Wells an emerging player who contiues to develope as a bonafide talent at the position and someone DC’s will scheming to stop for years to come.
One more thing on Warner. Because of his advanced age Warner will have streches in games where he looks like he’s not up to speed with those around him——-just a little off. This is to be expected given his age and physical “condition”.
My grade is B-
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