The Cardinals came out last Sunday and played to win – but to me it seemed like a meaningless effort. With the Cardinals all but out of the playoff race they seem to be in no mans land. Meaning that the Cardinals are highly unlikely to make playoffs this season but because of winning too many games they won’t get a top draft choice. All in all, the Cardinals are still looking to salvage their season, and salvage they did with a 12-7 win over the Titans.
Offense:
- Blaine Gabbert is who many of us originally thought he was, although he was sacked 8 times for 53 yards, Gabbert only completed 17 of his passes with 178 yards overall. Gabbert is a nice backup quarterback in the NFL. However, he is obviously not the “quarterback of the future” we were hoping for.
- Cardinals backup Running Back Kerwynn Williams has done a nice job in place of the injured Adrian Peterson. Although, not your average NFL back he has definitely contributed to both offense and special teams. It wouldn’t surprise me if Williams got a stint as the starting back on a different team this offseason.
- Now with another offensive lineman on injury reserve (Jared Veldheer) the Cardinals will have to bring out another set of linemen for this weeks game against the Redskins and I believe it will be their worst combination of linemen yet.
Defense:
- Chandler Jones is the best defensive player in the NFL this season and is consistently making life difficult for opposing offensive lines. If the Cardinals were a better team this year then he would no doubt be in the running for defensive player of the year.
- Cardinals Rookie Budda Baker has taken safety Tyrann Mathieu’s job if Mathieu does not want to restructure his contract. Frankly not only is Mathieu not playing up to his ability he’s now costing the Cardinals a lot of money, and as much as Mathieu is a “fan favorite” I don’t believe he will be back next year.
Special Teams:
- After Phil Dawson missed another kick this weekend I’ve officially placed him in the – do not bring back- category. Along with this the Cardinals must fire their special teams coach (Amos Jones) because as a Cardinal fan I’m sick and tired of the Cardinals Special Teams costing us games year after year. Luckily, it didn’t this time.
The Cardinals will fly to the nations capitol this weekend and take on the Washington Redskins in an east coast showdown. While they are there the Cardinals will get an up close and personal look at Washington Redskins Quarterback Kirk Cousins – a possible Cardinals “quarterback of the future”.
