Review of Arizona Cardinals Blowout of The Texans in Preseason Opener

Before the game the expectations were high for a team that ended its season last year one of the hottest teams in the NFL, finishing the season 7-2 in their last nine games and missing the playoffs. But had they made it in, they would have been a tough out for any team including the current champions. So how do you get restitution for missing the boat last year, you come hungrier and more focused and have a certain attitude that says “here we come and get out of our way” and that was the attitude that was driving the team in their first pre-season game against the Houston Texans.

A pre-season game is equivalent to a padded practice with tackling, but this was a great night of practice, and one that is a great building block to where this team wants to go. The offense looked flawless and in one word “sharp” out of the gate. The only imperfection on the first drive of the game was on the second play from scrimmage, where quarterback Carson Palmer took a blindsided sack from J.J. Watt. The reason for this sack was a whiff of a block from guard Jonathan Cooper, who was playing in his first live action since breaking his leg and missing all of last year. This may very well have been early butterflies, but Watt simply destroyed him on that play. The rest of the opening drive he settled down and did an ok job dealing with the pass rush, as Palmer was untouched after that going 5/5 84 yards and a seven yard touchdown to Larry Fitzgerald on a slant route.

Rookie John Brown and Jaron Brown started the game in place of the injured Michael Floyd and Ted Ginn; the two made the most of their opportunity and shined in the first half of the game.
John Brown was as advertised as he caught five passes for 87 yards and his speed was evident , could have easily had double digit grabs had it not been for a few miscues with quarterback Drew Stanton, whom otherwise was very sharp himself going 11/17 for 152 yards and a touchdown. Jaron Brown made a case to be on the roster as he recorded two catches for 15 yards and a TD and both catches were of the spectacular variety. He made a key first down grab on the opening drive dotting his toes and reaching out while falling making the sideline catch. His second catch was a grab between two defenders for the team’s second touchdown on consecutive drives.

The Cardinals were determined not to allow the Texans any breathing room as they ended Houston’s only two scoring threats with interceptions at the end of the half and at the end of the game.
It was 20-0 at the half as both first and second team’s looked pretty sharp, and could the third team come in and finish the game strong? The answer is a resounding yes! As rookie fourth round draft pick quarterback Logan Thomas came on for the entire second half. The rookie showed good poise and control and the moment did not seem too big for him as he was near perfect at 11/12 for 113 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown demonstrated to Cards fans what they have in the near future from this kid, he scrambled out of a near sack rolled to his right and zipped a laser to the back of the end-zone to Dan Buckner for the score. Cards finished the game with a 32-0 shutout as Thomas added 10 points on two drives, and the defense added a safety to end the scoring.

Any questions about the young signal caller’s accuracy issues should be close to being laid to rest, as Thomas has been pin-point accurate in camp and he showed it here in the game all night. The quarterback guru’s Bruce Arians and Tom Moore have done almost the impossible with this kid and the future for the Cards at quarterback looks bright so far.

Many other names for accolades to speak of in this one, the team’s leading rusher was from hometown rookie from Northern Arizona Zach Bauman. Not that the other RB’s did not perform well, but since the offense was mostly pass happy early, the second half gave way to trying to run the clock out and Bauman had a decent outing with seven carries for 29 yards leading all running backs.

Rookie kicker Chandler Catanzaro stepped up and got the place kicking competition off to a good start, as he was responsible for 12 points on field goals of 22, 25, 32 and also three extra points that were further out than usual. The young kid out of Clemson was perfect on the night and kicked with confidence.

Second year wide receiver Brittan Golden lead all wide-outs with seven catches for 45 yards, as he was instrumental in keeping a few drives alive making very impressive catches while performing punt return duty as well. Showed his grittiness on one return where he took a big blast from a defender and popped right up. Golden just translated what he has been doing in camp for the last two weeks onto the playing field, and is making it that much harder for coaches in making the decision for the 53 man roster.

The Cardinals did not turn the ball over at all in this game and time of possession they also dominated with 42:07 to 17:53, which says the defense over-all did a great job on all three units. The only real flaw would have to be the penalties, as the team had 10 for 89 yards and with this being the first pre-season game they have plenty of time to clean that up.

The next game will be the marker to see if this was a result of how bad the Texans were or the tremendous progress this team has made and is really as good as they put out on Saturday. The Team will travel to Minnesota to face the Vikings and let’s see if this excellence can travel with them.

Photo Credit: Trish Scott