Once again the Cardinals traveled to the east coast and failed to pull off a Sunday Morning win. Thankfully, there was some bright spots throughout the week as the Cardinals had 4 players selected to the Pro Bowl – Chandler Jones, Larry Fitzgerald, Patrick Peterson, and Budda Baker. However, even with the talented foursome they couldn’t lead the way to a Cardinals win on Sunday. The Redskins versus the Cardinals was almost unwatchable as both teams looked very unmotivated. All in all, the Cards and the Redskins are both officially out of playoff contention and can now set their sights to the draft.
Offense:
- 2Blaine Gabbert was unnoticeable on Sunday and will be replaced by Drew Stanton this coming Sunday when the Cardinals square-off against the Giants. Gabbert completed 16 of his possible 41 passes for 189 yards against a very depleted Redskins team. Gabbert has proved himself as a backup and nothing more than that.
- The Cardinal Receiving corps were led by future hall of famer Larry Fitzgerald once again. After Fitz, there wasn’t any one who could separate themselves from their defender long enough to make a decent play, this made life tough sledding for the Cardinal Offense.
- The offensive line continues to be a liability for the Cardinals as they gave up 5 sacks for 44 yards on Sunday. Regardless of who is the next Cardinal quarterback come next year, the Cardinals front office needs to fix this offensive line.
Defense:
- The Cardinals defense is actually starting to get their act together a bit, however, it’s too little too late as the Cardinals are officially out of playoff contention. If the Cardinals can take this play into next season, they will have an awesome defense to rely on.
- Tyrann Mathieu continues to be a problem on defense. In my eyes I don’t see the Cardinals bringing back the “honey badger” next season unless he is willing to reconstruct his contract which I believe is highly unlikely.
- I’ve said it once but I’ll say it again, Chandler Jones is the best defensive player in the league. Week in and week out, Jones is antagonizing opposing offenses and making it very difficult for them to move the football up the field. He should receive votes for defensive player of the year.
Special Teams:
- Although, Kicker Phil Dawson went 5 for 5 on Sunday in his field goals there is no way I would bring him back next year. Cardinal special teams needs a complete revamp and fresh start next year if they wish to contend.
The Cardinals will take on the New York Giants this Sunday – Christmas Eve – in what looked like a compelling matchup before the season started. However, it is now a dog fight at the bottom of the barrel in the NFL.
