The Cardinals won their first Preseason game against the Raiders 24-18, but the final score isn't what we are looking at with the Preseason, we are looking to evaluate some of the players to see who makes the final roster.
So lets look at some of the guys who played well last night.
Jefferson has played well throughout camp, and during his time with the first team defense last night he continued to play well looking decent in coverage and he also had a few nice plays to break up passes. Greg Toler, Richard Marshall, and first round pick Patrick Peterson are expected to be the three main corners once the season starts, but Jefferson could steal one of those spots of he continues to play well.
The Quarterbacks - 18 of 30, 290 yards, 3 Touchdowns
After the offensive ineptitude from last season, all four Quarterbacks did some nice things. Kevin Kolb got in first, and although he looked shaky in his first drive he did settle down to lead a drive that stalled inside the redzone. Kolb showed some good ability to extend plays and pick up yards with his feet, and his accuracy seems good so far, he also learned that all you have to do with Larry Fitzgerald is throw it in his general vicinity and he will pluck it out of the air after the 43 yard catch Fitz made with his left hand and his facemask.
After a shaky start, John Skelton also showed up well, leading a touchdown drive that finished with a bullet to Stephen Williams in the endzone. Richard Bartel was just decent, he made a few nice throws such as his bomb to DeMarco Sampson for 41 yards but he was erratic on a couple of his throws and should have been picked off once. The game ended with Max Hall coming in for the two minute drill, and he did a good job getting the ball into the hands of the receivers in spots where they could get some yards after the catch, he also did a nice job spinning out of a sack. Hall went on to throw the game winning Touchdown with 39 seconds left.
Isaiah Williams - 3 catches, 50 yards, Touchdown
I'm just putting Isaiah up here because he did a good job picking up some yards after the catch to turn a short pass into the 28 yard catch and run for the game winning Touchdown (kudos to DeMarco Sampson for a nice block as well).
The Playcalling for the Offense
CotW doesn't just go to the players, I was very happy with how the game was called by Coach Whiz and the new OC Mike Miller. There were 30 pass plays, and 25 run plays, and we need this kind of balance now. Besides that balance, there was also a good mixture of the three and four wide formations the Cardinals have used a lot over the last couple of years and the two tight end formations that the Cardinals should be able to pass and run out of with the additions of Todd Heap and Jeff King. Looks like the Cardinals have learned their lesson from passing 40 times a game with Derek Anderson.
Overall, a solid game, vote for who you think was the Cardinal of the Week in the poll, and the winner will be announced after next weeks game against the Packers. Some people that were also considered were Ryan Williams, Hamza Abdullah, and Larry Fitzgerald. If you think anyone else should have been considered, mention it in the comments.