Arizona Cardinals Week 8 Bonehead Play

It would be simple to call the second half of the week 8 game against the Baltimore Ravens the bonehead play, but that's not the point of the article. The point of the article is to highlight the few bonehead plays that could have been adjusted and helped secure a win. I'm going to call out two bonehead plays this week.

1) Ray Horton. The Defense was on fire in the first half, and as predicted, Horton focused on blitzing Flacco with his young OLBs and was rewarded because of it. Acho even made a nice play in the flat to chase down a Baltimore TE. But Horton earns a bonehead play because after Baltimore made adjustments, switched to the no-huddle and began airing it out over our defenders heads, Horton had no response except to bring pressure. The question is, at what point does the DC realize that he's getting decent pressure from just sending five guys and his CBs are getting burned, so when is he going to start to double team an outside threat after it becomes the go-to play over and over again. Or just put a few more men in the backfield. Steeler-esque defense, I thought that was his specialty? Watching the fourth quarter I was faced with deja vu with flashbacks from multiple blown leads. I realized that the Ravens offense had turned to attack our Achilles heel, just like what every team does to the Cardinals in the fourth quarter; throw at one guy with the hot hands over the CBs heads. You are guaranteed to catch the ball or draw a PI flag. It has worked in the Super Bowl against Arizona, it has worked this year for the Redskins, Giants, Seahawks, and now Baltimore Ravens. The Cardinals have proven they will not make adjustments, and they will leave a one on one match up out to dry and let the game go. It's on tape, we all know it, and that is the reason I'm giving Ray Horton the defensive Bonehead Play of week 8. It's not just one play, it's an entire second half Ray.

2) Kevin Kolb. This might be taking a pot shot at an already dead horse, but I can not help but draw attention to the terrible throws that Kolb was making in the second half. Every throw in the second half was wobbly, no zip behind it, off target, and more times than not they were low. He held the ball too long all day, and never wizened up to the fact that he doesn't have 10 seconds to throw, even after the punishment he was receiving all day. He had 153 yards for the day. I know that he had absolutely terrible pass protection, but how many times did you see the snap, watch him drop back, count to four in your head and then not see the ball fire out? I count two more seconds no ball out, but I then as predicted we'd see the tuck and Kolb scrambling, and on the seventh or eighth second is usually when you'd see the sack, sack fumble, or strip sack. It all goes back to the type of offense we play, if he's not going to step, drop, throw, then we need to bench him until the coaches know he's ready to do that. Because right now he steps, drops, tucks, scrambles backward, and then gets sacked or fumbles.

I realize that both of those are not plays, and I welcome your criticism, those bonehead plays go to the 'play of' a Cardinals member. Am I off base with any of this?