Quick Game Thoughts
By author
Some positives:
-The defense played excellent. Really everybody seemed to contribute. By giving the offense short field they allowed us to get up quickly. When you are up 28-0 at the end of the 1st quarter, you have effectively made a team have to be one-sided. This was apparent in the fact the Cardinals only ran on a limited basis the rest of the game. After seeing Beanie Wells run a few times, this really was a bit of luck as he could’ve proven to be effective if the game were closer. Without Antoine Winfield we eliminated Larry Fitzgerald from the gameplan as well, and all the corners seemed to elevate their play. I am very happy to report that even with Fitzgerald on my fantasy team earning a measly 6 points, the rest of my team picked up slack.
-Penalties. I have 0 stats to back it up, but the penalties felt less. Shiancoe had the terrible false start against him, but otherwise it just felt better. I didn’t see any long runs be called back, it really felt like a normal amount of penalties.
-Pass Rush. Honestly, it being a one-sided game allowed our line to just “Pin their ears” and rush the QB. They didn’t have to focus on runs or play actions, the majority of the plays had to be passes as the Cardinals were playing catchup. Also, Brian Robison is a beast, he plays exactly how we had hoped, he knocks people down, he has speed, and he seems to be just fine at protecting against the run. He benefits (and takes advantage of) any attention paid to Jared Allen and/or Kevin Williams.
-Offensive Line. McNabb seemed to have more time when he dropped back to pass, and there were enough holes for Adrian Peterson to run through. Clearly we wanted to get Peterson going and have him carry us, and the line played a huge part in that.
-Interceptions/Fumbles. We forced 2 fumbles, and intercepted 3 passes. When was the last time that has ever happened? No, I’m not going to check that.
-Bernard (Notgonna-Notgonna-Notgonna work here anymore) Berrian was benched. This is a positive. Also a positive is the play of Devin Aromashodu who made plays and only had one drop, which even though seemed like a fine pass from McNabb was probably still McNabb’s fault anyway. Also, Berrian appears to have some nice basketball moves when he’s on the sidelines. The T-Wolves could use some help..just sayin’.
Some negatives:
-Donovan McNabb. He’s done. His passes continue to be inaccurate and unless we can rely on Peterson to consistently run through defenders and carry the team every game, a change would be nice. However, it’s not going to happen until at least the bye week.
-Incessant Booing. I can’t stand McNabb, but I didn’t care for the constant boos. You would’ve thought we were behind by 28. Ok, I may have cursed at the TV after some McNabb passes as well, and probably booed if I were at the game too. However, I felt bad for the rest of the team needing to listen to all the boos when literally everybody played great.
-Nothing else, I will look past any other slights due to the much needed victory.
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