Cardinals-Titans Post Game Recap

Not much positive came from last night's game for the Arizona Cardinals, except the fact that Fitz didn't get hurt(er).  And from what I hear, he was actually running routes and making cuts before the game.

On a day where we saw both offenses go three and out on consecutive drives, the light switch finally came on for the Titans and the breaker exploded for the Cardinals. Now I admittedly watched the entire game and save for a few potty breaks (I might have had a couple 2,3) didn't miss a beat. I also recorded the game so that I could give a thorough synopsis of what went well and not so well for the Birds. Unfortunately, I just don't have the energy to watch it again so this will all be from memory before I purposely accidentally forget.

First Team Offense

The first team offense looked absolutely horrawfible (horrible, awful and terrible combined). Levi Brown was overpowered and outmatched by every defender that crossed his path it seemed. Alan Faneca looked his age and made a great case for why he was released by the Jets. Reggie Wells was no Deuce either. After a rough start, Brandon Keith began to play a much better game as it moved along. Matt Leinart was actually hard to grade because he never had time in the pocket. The Titans blitzed on almost every play and with our deficiencies along the line, he didn't stand a chance. After about three series Matt was replaced by Derek Anderson whom coach Whisenhunt wanted to see with the first team offense. I didn't want to see him go in, but was pleasantly surprised at how almost well he played. This fuels the speculation that the job may not be Matt's to lose just yet. The running game was no better. At one point Tim Hightower had5 carries for 3 yards, if I'm not mistaken. Now we all know that Whiz doesn't gameplan and that he mainly wants to see how our players match-up in certain situations. With that said, we went up against a defense missing three starters from its defensive line. Not a good picture. Stephen Williams was a bright spot though. He continues to impress and may have supplanted himself as the fourth receiver.

First Team Defense

For the first few drives we looked liked we were here to redeem ourselves from last year's deflating loss. Then Chris Johnson and Vince Young remembered they wanted to get back to their game of checkers and commenced to put on a show before being pulled. The damage was done. Vince was 9-13 and Johnson had an eight yard touchdown run. Between missed tackles, poor field awareness and being out of position, it was hard to tell which of the 57 stab wounds was the mortal blow.

Special Teams

Special teams actually didn't play bad at all, except for the miss cue with Ben Graham on that botched punt. There was also a muffed kickoff return in the endzone that bounced off a player's chest and out of bounds. LSH was a beast as usual. He seems to really want that playing time.

After that everything else was a blur. Max Hall looked and played like a rookie. A rookie Drew Brees that is. We will not be able to keep this guy if he is signed to the practice squad. Not too many others impressed but many failed to make a splash. We got no pressure to the QB until the fourth quarter and Matt looked defeated in his interview. I hope their extended time in Nashville will be beneficial. Whiz is 3-11 in preseason games and Kurt Warner was no spring chicken either in those games so I can't be too mad, but Matt and Derek are no Kurt. Can someone please say something to make me feel better?