Week 4 Game Review... From a fan... Wish it was spam.
Mac
Wow.. If that wasn't the most frustrating game I have witnessed in a
very long time. Gripes? Bad Play? Probably too many to mention but
that wont stop me from giving it a try to let off some steam.
Kurt Warner - As I mentioned in the preseason in which I predicted a
performance or two like this, he cost us this game and at times he
makes me want to pull my finger nails out while I am yelling,
"Leinart! Leinart! Leinart!" 3 Interceptions one of which was taken
back for a touchdown. 4 fumbles three of which were recovered by the
Jets, one of which ruined the momentum of the first drive of the game
which really set the tone for the rest of the game. As much as I hate
him right now, he wasn't the only reason we lost this game, and he
showed us why he's the best option for us at Quarterback with his
second half performance.
> I want to touch base here on the interception that was taken to the
house early in second quarter. It was a horrible horrible pass, he
stared down the intended receiver and held the ball too long. However,
what put us in that position? Back to back predictable rushing players
on first and second down which stood no chance to do anything, put us
in a third and long position. To make matters worse, we go with an
empty backfield, naturally this allows the Jets to drop everyone into
coverage knowing there is no chance of a rush and there is no chance
of Warner going on foot to pick up the 8 needed for the first down.
Bad pass? Yes, blame is on Warner, but the horrible play calling in
that situation needs to be mentioned. We had lost momentum, the
offensive line had already shown little ability to produce yards on
the rush, the Cardinals needed to go out with some quick pass plays to
try to gain momentum back.
Warner is our starting Quarterback. He is going to have a game or two
like this in a season. But he's still a great and talented Quarterback
and if he has time to throw he is going to continue to put up monster
yards.
Defense - Oh joy, the chance to bash on Clancy Pendergast and his
defense. First, let me say I understand our defense is banged up -
Berry and Wilson were out and both had been important pieces to our
defense thus far. Having said that, the New York Jets this season had
scored 59 points in three games with 15 of those points being junk
points against the Chargers in the fourth quarter this past monday
night. Twice on fourth down we were burned for touchdowns on deep
passes. At the end of the game knowing the rush was coming on 2nd and
3rd and long situations, Thomas Jones had no problem picking up 7-8
yards to pick up first downs. This is not acceptable. The Jets found
open wide receivers all day long and their offense just isn't that
potent. If the defense doesn't change / improve the Cardinals stand
little chance to be any better than they were last season. You can't
let nonplayoff teams like the Jets score anything over 30 points and
expect our offense to be able to compensate and not make errors to
deliver victories.
There were good parts to the game... Rod Hood continues to play
decently in the secondary, he had something like three pass
deflections - two of which temporarily kept the Jets from touchdowns.
I state this about Hood not seeing him be the one who got burned on
any of those long touchdowns. Steve Breaston had an unreal game as a
wide receiver as I stated in the offseason, he will have no problem
replacing Bryant Johnson as he showed us today. Fitzgerald and Boldin
both had good games, I pray that Boldin is ok after that horrible hit
at the end of the game - losing him would make it awfully tough to
make the playoffs this season. Rodgers-Cromartie did get burned but I
give him a thumbs up A. Because I thought he deflected that FG attempt
and the roughing the kicker as a BS call and B. The onside kick
recovery showed me how much talent this kid has. Having defended
Breaston, I still think he needs to be taken off of KR and PR and
should be replaced by Rodgers-Cromartie. Breaston just doesn't seem to
have the explosiveness to be on KR and PR, I'd had the duties over to
Rodgers-Cromartie who had a good history in college in those
situations.
It sucks that Boldin was injured and I pray he is alright but I don't
blame the coaching staff for the Cardinals being out there.. I am
always a supporter of playing as hard as you can and never giving up..
Want to blame the coaching staff? How about for the offensive line not
being ready to play this game. How about for shoddy play calling early
in the first half which put in positions as aforementioned. How about
for a defense that couldn't stop a crawling infant from picking up
three yards. And last but not least, how about for a team that just
continued to shoot themselves in the foot with horrible penalties.
Now I am not ready to jump off the wagon or the bridge here.. I
didn't expect the Jets or the Redskins game to be easy; both are
talented and capable teams - I did however expect us to go .500 in
those two games. We have two difficult games in a row coming here
against Buffalo and the Cowboys, it's essential that we go .500 in the
next two games to be 3-3 going into the bye week. Our defense will get
better with the return of Watson, Wilson, and Berry. Hopefully Boldin
is ok and didn't miss time. And hopefully Russ Grimm can get this
offensive line playing again. I still think we're a playoff team, but
it's a lot more difficult to think that after such a beating from a
team I don't look at as being playoff ready.