The Arizona Cardinals finished the preseason 0 - 4.
Should there be a cause for concern? Sure. Does the preseason really reflect upon the regular season? No. Tonight the Cardinals dropped their fourth straight loss of the preseason and I'm glad it has "pre" at the beginning of it. We expected nothing more then a drive or two from the first team offense and defense, and that's virtually was how long they played. The defense was first off the field after stopping the Broncosearly. The offense stayed longer, with Whisenhunt possibly wanting them to muster any sort of offense before the season opener. After half of the first quarter, the remainder of the game and the possibility of salvaging any kind of respect was left in the hands of the reserves. As you can tell by the score, that didn't happen. And that's where we pick up, with the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Good.
Michael Adams - Here's the most impressive part of the game; Adam'sstat line tonight - 6 tackles, 4 passes defended, 1 interception. Not bad for the possible fourth string cornerback. Adams looked solid tonight, making key tackles and shadowing the receivers he lined up across from. He was in perfect position for the pick, staying out of the quarterback's sight, then closing in the ball. Adams has a significant shot at competing with Ralph Brown after tonight's game and Brown's poor preseason.
Greg Toler - Opposite of Adams, Toler also looked solid overall tonight, leading the team with 7 tackles. Toler seemed to be roaming around the field tonight, and nearly picked off the ball twice. Toler has shown sings of his upside through most of the preseason, and has also slightly improved over the last 4 weeks like we had hoped.
Victor Hobson - After tonight, Hobson may have secured his job as a back up linebacker on this team, recording the only two sacks for the Cardinal's defense. After rookie Cody Brown was lost for the season, many of us weren't particular in who would serve has his replacement, and for the last two weeks, Hobson has gradually moved his way up the depth chart.
That's it. Seriously. This was an incredibly slow preseason game, and nothing special or amazing seemed to form for the entire four quarters. If you could name any honorable mentions, you can toss how how good the offensive line looked or the special teams play.
The Bad.
Tyler Palko - Can we stop and jump off the Tyler Palko bandwagon now? He proved that his game against the Steelers in preseason week one was a fluke. Palko showed no reason that he should start ahead of Brian St. Pierre. He played for the majority of the game, completing 13 of 30 passes, throwing for 141 yards and 1 interception, for a whopping 43.9 quarterback rating. He seemed to be more concerned with running the ball, rather then throwing it away. I think it's safe to say the Palko won't be on the roster after Saturday.
Kurt Warner - There's got to be some cause for concern after number 13's preseason. Warner has yet to make us remember what was the magical season of last year. He came out today over throwing, or not even coming close to his receivers. He only completing three passes tonight, one being a 36 reception by Fitzgerald, who did all the work. Another was actually a completion to the Broncos. I rewound that play and couldn't understand what made Warner throw that pass, except for the possibility that he didn't see the defender.
The Ugly.
Penalties - Ken Whisenhunt cannot be happy with the lack of discipline by this team so far. Over the years, avoiding penalties has never been a strong suit for the Cardinals, and up until halfway last year, it was a problem. Something Whisenhunt did last year seemed to really get the team's attention and vastly lowered the penalties. So far in the preseason though, the Cardinals have averaged 9.5 penalties a game for a total of 281 yards. Today they committed 11 penalties for 79 yards alone. The Cardinals need to focus and get their heads on straight if they want to remain competitive in the NFC West this year.
The offense - Forget the first team offense...the offense as a whole failed to put together any sort of respectable drive, resulting in 244 total yards and zero points. The first team offense looked stale and out of chemistry for the time they were on the field, and for the time Palko was in..well you can forget about that. All I know is something's got to give. The Cardinals were one of the best offensive teams in the league last year and they'll eventually find their groove again.
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I don't want to take too much in from the preseason, as it is meaningless for the most part, but I am somewhat worried for the lack of offense. The loss of Todd Haley may be affecting the offense worst then we thought it would, and most importantly Kurt Warner. Maybe he and Ken Whisenhunt should starting hanging out and texting each other until Brenda accuses Warner of cheating on her with coach Whisenhunt. One thing's for sure, and that's that the Cardinals need to get on track before the 49ers come here on September 13th.