The story that everyone was talking about before the new Quarterback controversy was that the Arizona Cardinals were close to having a winning record rather than losing six straight. Four of those losses were from a combined 11 points (Redskins -1pts, Seahawks - 3pts, Giants -4pts, Ravens-3pts). With a record of 3-6 due to narrow point margin losses and an offense that has stalled regularly it goes without saying that scoring opportunities need to be capitalized on. If the offense can only get within kicking distance then the team had better make sure that they get three points on the board because red zone opportunities have not been very frequent. In a game of inches, one point is all the difference between champions and losers, and three points is the difference between a steady job in the NFL and having to find the next your job somewhere else.
Jay Feely had an amazing 2010 season including running for a touchdown, kicking 101 points, and completed 88.9% of his attempts, but 2011 has not been so kind. Feely has suffered from an off year and has completed only 61.5% of his kicks for the year. With two missed kicks in the Cardinals/Eagles game the game became uncomfortably close and gave the Eagles a lead that they shouldn't have had. It was good to see Whisenhunt be upset with him on the sideline, which is uncharacteristic for the level headed coach, but it is becoming apparent that Feely doesn't have the leg that he used to. Many here at ROTB have noticed that he's having trouble getting touchbacks even with the new NFL kickoff rules. Feely's two missed field goals earn the week 10 bonehead plays, no matter how much the announcers want to give the credit to the defenses pressure. My opinion is that it's just Feely starting to slip. The completion percentage (61%) speaks for that. If we don't see a new kicker next year we'll be handing out a new bonehead prize, this time to the front office.