Going into this game, the Baltimore Ravens had a chance. Joe Flacco was passing the ball well enough throughout the playoffs. He didn't have a turnover before Sunday's meeting with the Steelers. Even though Tennessee was moving the ball well against the Ravens, the Ravens were able to stay aggressive and forced turnovers against them and the Miami Dolphins.
Joe Flacco looked like a rookie in this game, making mistakes he wasn't making in previous games. The pass protection for Flacco was great considering the opponent. He stared down some of his receivers with some of his passes, one of which resulted in an interception by Troy Polamalu who returned the pick for a touchdown. That touchdown sealed the victory for the Steelers. The zone defenses ran by the Steelers confused Flacco. His statline was 13/30 for 141 yards with zero touchdowns and three interceptions. When you have a statline such as Flacco's, you will not win, especially when the quarterback is a rookie. 30 passing attempts for a rookie is atrocious play-calling. On the two drives, the Ravens passed the ball four times, one of which resulted in an interception by Deshea Townsend, while running the ball only twice. You can't do that against any defense especially with a rookie quarterback. Flacco should have throw that many times during a game. There was one drive in the first half were Willis McGahee ran for a 7 yard gain and a two yard gain. Obviously, he was short of the first down. The Ravens decided to try a quarterback sneak with the Joe Flacco. Why run a quarterback sneak when your running back just gained 9 yards total on the first two downs? On the next play, the Ravens decide to hand the ball off to Willis McGahee. The Steelers knew McGahee was getting the since the Ravens ran a QB sneak on third down. Just dumb play-calling in that instance. McGahee tip toe-ing to the line of scrimmage didn't help either. Make one cut and hit the damn hole since there is only one yard to gain. The bad play-calling didn't stop until the game was over.
Defensively, the Ravens played well given the circumstances. They only gave up 16 points. When the Steelers intercepted Flacco for the first time, the Ravens defense held the Steelers to a field goal. They shut down Willie Parker on the ground as he only rushed for 47 yards. The Ravens were able to blitz and get Rothlisberger often, but missed some sacks as players like Haruki Nakamura and Jarret Johnson didn't wrap up Rothlisberger when they applied the pressure. Rothlisberger is too big and too strong for players to just blitz and go for the big hit instead of wrapping up. He'll make players whiff more often than not. The score would've been much worse as Limas Sweed dropped a sure touchdown. On the play before, Frank Walker went out of the game with an injury and the Ravens inserted Evan Oglesby. The Steelers attacked him right away as Limas Sweed did a double move on Oglesby to get wide open. Limas Sweed simply dropped the ball and the Ravens held the Steelers to a field goal. The one big play the Ravens gave up was a Santonio Holmes touchdown. Rothlisberger scrambled out of the pocket to escape the pressure and finds Holmes on the opposite side of the field. The ball was poorly thrown but the Raven defender, Fabian Washington, slipped on the play. From that point, Holmes cuts across the field making two defenders miss enroute to a touchdown. The breaks did not go the Ravens way in this game.
The Steelers defense was great. They didn't have to commit many of their defenders to run as the front four was able to stop the Ravens game at times during the game. The #1 defense wasn't able to apply as much as pressure on Flacco as they did during the regular season. The Ravens routinely double teamed James Harrison on pass plays but that opened up things for Lamar Woodley, who had 2 sacks during the game. One of those sacks came against Lorenzo Neal because for whatever reason, the Ravens think a slow nonathletic fullback can block an emerging star pass rusher. The Steelers intercepted three passes, returning one of them for a touchdown. They were able to create turnovers and make the Ravens one-dimensional.
Ben Rothlisberger beats the Ravens again with his scrambling ability and decision-making. He avoided the pressure well. He even converted a 2nd and 24 with a 30 yard pass play to Heath Miller on the very next play. Rothlisberger's statline was 16/33 for 255 with one touchdown and zero interceptions. Rothlisberger made enough plays to get his team the victory.
The Steelers will be facing the most unlikely opponent in the Arizona Cardinals. The Steel City looks poised for another championship banner.
Showing posts with label Arizona Cardinals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arizona Cardinals. Show all posts
Monday, January 19, 2009
Arizona Cardinals Are Heading to the Super Bowl
I was not expecting this outcome to happen. I had the Eagles running away with this game because I thought the performances turned in by the Cardinals defense was a mirage. I also thought the Eagles defense would be able to get to Warner more often than the Cardinals previous opponents. I wasn't entirely wrong, but wrong nonetheless.
The Cardinals has their way with the Eagles defense. Kurt Warner was given an enormous amount of time in the pocket, especially in the first half. He also had an answer for the blitz by attacking the spot that the blitz came from. The slant and underneath crossing routes were the Cardinals bread and butter. They also did a trick play that resulted in a Larry Fitzgerald touchdown. The Cardinals were given good field position after a David Akers's missed field goal. On the first play of that drive, the Cardinals pitched the ball to J.J. Arrington, who throws the ball back to Warner and he throws the ball as far as he could to Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald tried to sell the fake as long as possible and slow down his explosiveness off the line of scrimmage so that Kurt Warner lead him to a spot. The ball was still under thrown but Fitzgerald was able to adjust and score the touchdown. Quinton Demps fell on the play which didn't help the Eagles much. Both of the Eagles' safeties bit on the fake too. Warner's statline was 21/28 for 279 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. That statline summed the Eagles day on defense.
Why don't defenses play man-to-man bump-n-run defenses? Teams should at least run this defense sometimes during the game. Teams could also play Cover 2 defense with corners pressing the receivers at the line of scrimmage. The Eagles didn't do any of these enough during the course of the game. Larry Fitzgerald and others were able to get open with little resistance. Jim Johnson would send the blitz, but Kurt Warner would've been able to find the open man fairly easily. This veteran defense even gave a touchdown on a trick play. The safeties jumped on the running of JJ Arrington without diagnosing the play until it was too late. Not only did Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald have their way the defense, so too did the Cardinals running game when they chose to run the ball. Edgerrin James was able to finds holes early and often. Tim Hightower finished them off by getting some first downs so the clock could run out. The Eagles defense showed up in the third quarter and that was it.
The Cardinals defense played well for a half, which would be the first half. The Eagles were driving the ball but had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns. David Akers also missed a field goal as the laces on the football were facing towards him instead away from him. In the second half, the Cardinals gave up 19 straight unanswered points. Donovan McNabb was able to find his rhythm which was non-existent in the first half. His receivers were finally able to get open and get a good release off the line of scrimmage. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie definitely had DeSean Jackson on locked up in the first half, but he did give up a huge touchdown in the second half. Jackson ran a double move on Cromartie that gave him enough separation for McNabb to throw a perfect pass to him for the touchdown. That touchdown give the Eagles the lead for the first time during the game. However, that lead was short lived, as the Cardinals scored a touchdown on their next possession. McNabb ended up having a statline of 28/47 for 375 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He also lost a fumble in the game which was forced by the ever-underrated Adrian Wilson.
Eagles fans will find ways to blame Donovan McNabb for this game. They'll point to his first half statistics and say that is where the Eagles loss the game. McNabb's passing was erratic throughout the first half and a little in the second half. However, he didn't give up 32 points. McNabb did give the Eagles the lead, yet the defense couldn't hold that lead. I guess that is life as an Eagles QB.
As for the Cardinals, congrats on getting to the Super Bowl. Kurt Warner has cemented himself as one of the greatest QBs ever. He is obviously a future Hall of Famer. They'll be pitted against the Pittsburgh Steelers who defeated my beloved Baltimore Ravens. Not everybody was happy for the Cardinals.
Really Anquan Kenmile Boldin? The Cardinals franchise finally gets to the Super Bowl and you're whining about touches or not getting enough playing time. Boldin did have an exchange with his offensive coordinator during the game. I have no clue about what they were discussing, but my guess would be that Boldin wanted to get on the field more often which was not the case in the second half. Quit pouting Boldin. Your attitude is going to cost you millions. Wide receivers are prima donnas.
The Cardinals has their way with the Eagles defense. Kurt Warner was given an enormous amount of time in the pocket, especially in the first half. He also had an answer for the blitz by attacking the spot that the blitz came from. The slant and underneath crossing routes were the Cardinals bread and butter. They also did a trick play that resulted in a Larry Fitzgerald touchdown. The Cardinals were given good field position after a David Akers's missed field goal. On the first play of that drive, the Cardinals pitched the ball to J.J. Arrington, who throws the ball back to Warner and he throws the ball as far as he could to Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald tried to sell the fake as long as possible and slow down his explosiveness off the line of scrimmage so that Kurt Warner lead him to a spot. The ball was still under thrown but Fitzgerald was able to adjust and score the touchdown. Quinton Demps fell on the play which didn't help the Eagles much. Both of the Eagles' safeties bit on the fake too. Warner's statline was 21/28 for 279 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. That statline summed the Eagles day on defense.
Why don't defenses play man-to-man bump-n-run defenses? Teams should at least run this defense sometimes during the game. Teams could also play Cover 2 defense with corners pressing the receivers at the line of scrimmage. The Eagles didn't do any of these enough during the course of the game. Larry Fitzgerald and others were able to get open with little resistance. Jim Johnson would send the blitz, but Kurt Warner would've been able to find the open man fairly easily. This veteran defense even gave a touchdown on a trick play. The safeties jumped on the running of JJ Arrington without diagnosing the play until it was too late. Not only did Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald have their way the defense, so too did the Cardinals running game when they chose to run the ball. Edgerrin James was able to finds holes early and often. Tim Hightower finished them off by getting some first downs so the clock could run out. The Eagles defense showed up in the third quarter and that was it.
The Cardinals defense played well for a half, which would be the first half. The Eagles were driving the ball but had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns. David Akers also missed a field goal as the laces on the football were facing towards him instead away from him. In the second half, the Cardinals gave up 19 straight unanswered points. Donovan McNabb was able to find his rhythm which was non-existent in the first half. His receivers were finally able to get open and get a good release off the line of scrimmage. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie definitely had DeSean Jackson on locked up in the first half, but he did give up a huge touchdown in the second half. Jackson ran a double move on Cromartie that gave him enough separation for McNabb to throw a perfect pass to him for the touchdown. That touchdown give the Eagles the lead for the first time during the game. However, that lead was short lived, as the Cardinals scored a touchdown on their next possession. McNabb ended up having a statline of 28/47 for 375 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He also lost a fumble in the game which was forced by the ever-underrated Adrian Wilson.
Eagles fans will find ways to blame Donovan McNabb for this game. They'll point to his first half statistics and say that is where the Eagles loss the game. McNabb's passing was erratic throughout the first half and a little in the second half. However, he didn't give up 32 points. McNabb did give the Eagles the lead, yet the defense couldn't hold that lead. I guess that is life as an Eagles QB.
As for the Cardinals, congrats on getting to the Super Bowl. Kurt Warner has cemented himself as one of the greatest QBs ever. He is obviously a future Hall of Famer. They'll be pitted against the Pittsburgh Steelers who defeated my beloved Baltimore Ravens. Not everybody was happy for the Cardinals.
Really Anquan Kenmile Boldin? The Cardinals franchise finally gets to the Super Bowl and you're whining about touches or not getting enough playing time. Boldin did have an exchange with his offensive coordinator during the game. I have no clue about what they were discussing, but my guess would be that Boldin wanted to get on the field more often which was not the case in the second half. Quit pouting Boldin. Your attitude is going to cost you millions. Wide receivers are prima donnas.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
The Eagles Beat the Giants in Giants Stadium
Going into this game, all eyes were going to be Brian Westbrook because the last time he was in Giants Stadium, he gave the Giants defense a beating that they'll never forget. There were some eyes on Donovan McNabb too. The controversy about not knowing there is a tie in football and the benching heard around the world follow McNabb all season long. The Eagles won 23-11 while hanging their hats on the defense.
The Giants settled for field goals in the redzone while the Eagles scored touchdowns. The game got off to a huge start for the Giants as Ahmed Bradshaw had a long kick return on the opening kickoff. The return was for 65 yards and started the Giants off Eagles territory. The drive resulted in a field goal as the Giants were not successful inside the Eagles 10 yard line. On the next drive for the Giants, the Eagles get an interception by Asante Samuel that was return inside the Giants 5 yard line. The Eagles pressured Manning in the pocket and Manning overthrows Domenik Hixon by a wide margin. The wind could have been a factor as the ball sailed on Manning.
Throughout the game, Manning did not look comfortable in the pocket as Jim Johnson was blitzing every chance he had. Some of the balls thrown by Manning came out wobbling. The wind was blowing but not by much. McNabb didn't have problems throwing the football as he was rifling passes to Jason Avant and DeSean Jackson. Manning just couldn't gain a grip on the football as numerous passes were sailing or falling short to it's intended targets. This was not the best game for the Giants quarterback but it was hardly his worst.
There was some questionable playcalling from the Giants. They had an important 4th and 1 in the 4th quarter near the 50 yard line. The Giants chose to use a quarterback sneak instead of Brandon Jacobs. The Giants didn't get the first down. Why not use your 6'4" 265lb running back to get you a couple of inches? On a separate drive, the Giants had a 4th and 2. They chose to run Brandon Jacobs and didn't get it. The Eagles had virtually all 11 players in the box to stop the run which they did. Why not play action pass in this situation? Second thought, this might a little nitpicking right here, but the Eagles knew Jacobs was going to get the ball in this situation.
In the end, McNabb made the plays that he had to make and helped his team score touchdowns. The Giants settled for field goals and their kicker missed two other field goals in the game. That sums up this game in it's entirety. The Eagles move on to play the Arizona Cardinals in Arizona. The Eagles have less question marks than the Cardinals right now, who are not sure if Anquan Boldin will play on Sunday and played two opponents with quarterbacks that made bad and mind-boggling mistakes. McNabb will take better care of the football and not give the Cardinals a short field to work. Everyone knows that Jim Johnson will be blitzing early and often in this game. Can the Cardinals run the football? Can the Eagles get to Kurt Warner? Those questions will get answered this Sunday.
The Giants settled for field goals in the redzone while the Eagles scored touchdowns. The game got off to a huge start for the Giants as Ahmed Bradshaw had a long kick return on the opening kickoff. The return was for 65 yards and started the Giants off Eagles territory. The drive resulted in a field goal as the Giants were not successful inside the Eagles 10 yard line. On the next drive for the Giants, the Eagles get an interception by Asante Samuel that was return inside the Giants 5 yard line. The Eagles pressured Manning in the pocket and Manning overthrows Domenik Hixon by a wide margin. The wind could have been a factor as the ball sailed on Manning.
Throughout the game, Manning did not look comfortable in the pocket as Jim Johnson was blitzing every chance he had. Some of the balls thrown by Manning came out wobbling. The wind was blowing but not by much. McNabb didn't have problems throwing the football as he was rifling passes to Jason Avant and DeSean Jackson. Manning just couldn't gain a grip on the football as numerous passes were sailing or falling short to it's intended targets. This was not the best game for the Giants quarterback but it was hardly his worst.
There was some questionable playcalling from the Giants. They had an important 4th and 1 in the 4th quarter near the 50 yard line. The Giants chose to use a quarterback sneak instead of Brandon Jacobs. The Giants didn't get the first down. Why not use your 6'4" 265lb running back to get you a couple of inches? On a separate drive, the Giants had a 4th and 2. They chose to run Brandon Jacobs and didn't get it. The Eagles had virtually all 11 players in the box to stop the run which they did. Why not play action pass in this situation? Second thought, this might a little nitpicking right here, but the Eagles knew Jacobs was going to get the ball in this situation.
In the end, McNabb made the plays that he had to make and helped his team score touchdowns. The Giants settled for field goals and their kicker missed two other field goals in the game. That sums up this game in it's entirety. The Eagles move on to play the Arizona Cardinals in Arizona. The Eagles have less question marks than the Cardinals right now, who are not sure if Anquan Boldin will play on Sunday and played two opponents with quarterbacks that made bad and mind-boggling mistakes. McNabb will take better care of the football and not give the Cardinals a short field to work. Everyone knows that Jim Johnson will be blitzing early and often in this game. Can the Cardinals run the football? Can the Eagles get to Kurt Warner? Those questions will get answered this Sunday.
Arizona Cardinals Defeated the Carolina Panthers
This game had Panthers winning by wide margin written all over it. I thought there was no way the Cardinals could stop the Panthers running game with Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams. I thought the victory over the Falcons was a mirage. Yet, the victor was the Arizona Cardinals via a blow out.
For whatever reason, the Panthers just let Larry Fitzgerald roam free in the secondary. The Panthers played a lot of zone coverage and let Fitzgerald get free release off the line of scrimmage. They barely double teamed Fitzgerald. The gameplan for the Panthers was terrible. The defense wasn't getting any pressure on Kurt Warner at all in the first half. Warner picked them apart as a result of their lack of a pass rush. The Panthers had to stop one guy by the name of Larry Fitzgerald and they didn't. It helped cost them the game. The defense played well in the second half giving up only 6 points but the game was over by halftime. H-A-L-F-T-I-M-E! The Cardinals won this game at halftime! Unbelieveable!
You know what was worse? Jake Delhomme. Delhomme was awful. Pathetic. Atrocious. Terrible. Dreadful. He was just plain bad. Delhomme made rookie mistakes in this game: holding on to the football too long, staring down receivers, specifically Steve Smith, didn't read the coverage correctly at all and throwing balls into double coverage. The former NFL Europe star made Joe Flacco look like a 10 year HOF bound veteran. This loss is on Jake Christopher Delhomme. Delhomme's turnovers came at inopportune times. On the first play of the Panthers 3rd drive, Jake Delhomme holds onto the football far too long and fumbles the football. Antonio Smith gets the sack, forced fumble, and recovered the fumble. That is what could happen when holding onto the football for too long. Delhomme threw two interceptions in the redzone. He also turned the ball on twice on the first play of drives. Yikes!
I can't believe John Foxx didn't insert Matt Moore into the game. Delhomme did not deserve to finish the game. Matt Moore couldn't have worsened the situation. I don't think anybody could've played worse than how Delhomme did in this game, that includes Brett Favre. If I am the Panthers GM, I'm looking for a franchise quarterback. When Delhomme is good, he is great. When Delhomme is bad, he is downright dreadful. He is 33 and shouldn't have made those mistakes he made in this game. Panthers need a franchise quarterback or start Matt Moore, who did win a NFC Offensive Player of Month during his rookie campaign. They need a change at the quarterback position.
As for the Arizona Cardinals, they'll be playing against the Eagles next Sunday. I'm not sold on the Cardinals yet. I will be if they beat the Eagles, but I do not think that is going to happen. Each team they've played was one-dimensional, and neither opponent had a quarterback on the level of Donovan McNabb. The Eagles won't let Kurt Warner have all day to throw in the pocket. Jim Johnson will bring more defenders than the Cardinals can block on nearly every play. Either way, the game will be fun to watch.
For whatever reason, the Panthers just let Larry Fitzgerald roam free in the secondary. The Panthers played a lot of zone coverage and let Fitzgerald get free release off the line of scrimmage. They barely double teamed Fitzgerald. The gameplan for the Panthers was terrible. The defense wasn't getting any pressure on Kurt Warner at all in the first half. Warner picked them apart as a result of their lack of a pass rush. The Panthers had to stop one guy by the name of Larry Fitzgerald and they didn't. It helped cost them the game. The defense played well in the second half giving up only 6 points but the game was over by halftime. H-A-L-F-T-I-M-E! The Cardinals won this game at halftime! Unbelieveable!
You know what was worse? Jake Delhomme. Delhomme was awful. Pathetic. Atrocious. Terrible. Dreadful. He was just plain bad. Delhomme made rookie mistakes in this game: holding on to the football too long, staring down receivers, specifically Steve Smith, didn't read the coverage correctly at all and throwing balls into double coverage. The former NFL Europe star made Joe Flacco look like a 10 year HOF bound veteran. This loss is on Jake Christopher Delhomme. Delhomme's turnovers came at inopportune times. On the first play of the Panthers 3rd drive, Jake Delhomme holds onto the football far too long and fumbles the football. Antonio Smith gets the sack, forced fumble, and recovered the fumble. That is what could happen when holding onto the football for too long. Delhomme threw two interceptions in the redzone. He also turned the ball on twice on the first play of drives. Yikes!
I can't believe John Foxx didn't insert Matt Moore into the game. Delhomme did not deserve to finish the game. Matt Moore couldn't have worsened the situation. I don't think anybody could've played worse than how Delhomme did in this game, that includes Brett Favre. If I am the Panthers GM, I'm looking for a franchise quarterback. When Delhomme is good, he is great. When Delhomme is bad, he is downright dreadful. He is 33 and shouldn't have made those mistakes he made in this game. Panthers need a franchise quarterback or start Matt Moore, who did win a NFC Offensive Player of Month during his rookie campaign. They need a change at the quarterback position.
As for the Arizona Cardinals, they'll be playing against the Eagles next Sunday. I'm not sold on the Cardinals yet. I will be if they beat the Eagles, but I do not think that is going to happen. Each team they've played was one-dimensional, and neither opponent had a quarterback on the level of Donovan McNabb. The Eagles won't let Kurt Warner have all day to throw in the pocket. Jim Johnson will bring more defenders than the Cardinals can block on nearly every play. Either way, the game will be fun to watch.
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