Preseason Week 1 - Arizona Cardinals, A Fans Perspective
- Aug 15, 2018
- 4 min read
The most important aspect of preseason games is not the result, but to see how the rookies perform and, in the case of the Cardinals, to see the game plan under new head coach, Steve Wilks. One of the new coach’s plans has been to add physicality to our game. Under new coaching, it’s important to get to know all the roster and see how they can perform under new direction. Therefore, more so than for the Chargers, there were frequent rotations of the squad throughout the game. In the case of the quarterbacks, this gave us the chance to see all four perform, Sam Bradford, Josh Rosen, Mike Glennon, and Charles Kanoff. All eyes were on Josh Rosen as he made his NFL debut, taking over from Sam Bradford a little before the end of the first quarter. If this game showed us one thing, it’s that our quarterback roster is superb. We have three top quality quarterbacks, with a top-15 NFL quarterback in Sam Bradford, arguably the most promising rookie quarterback in the league with Josh Rosen, and an experienced and safe pick in Mike Glennon. All three of them put in promising performances, but let’s begin with our most missed player of 2017.
How good was it to see David Johnson back, tearing his way through the Chargers defence, with 28 yards in 2 carries! If we’re to have a good season, it is imperative that we keep David Johnson healthy and give him the tools to perform at his best. For that to happen, we need a good offensive line and a good backup running back to cover him. It would appear as though our first string OL is capable of putting in a decent shift however, it is too soon to say whether Chase Edmonds has what it takes to be a good RB in the NFL. We’ll need to see more of him, alongside the first team offense. He did however manage 11 yards in five carries and a touchdown in which he showed grit and determination. We seem to have found that with Chase Edmonds, the fourth round pick out of Fordham. On the other hand, TJ Logan and DJ Foster’s performances were less than convincing. If their performances don’t improve over the course of preseason, then I struggle to see either of them competing for that backup position.
If the first team OL performed wonders for David Johnson and Sam Bradford, this was unfortunately not the case for the second string OL. The first team opened up gaps in the Chargers’ OL for Johnson and protected Bradford in the pocket extremely well. However, Josh Rosen spent most of his time forced out of the pocket and therefore vulnerable to sacks. To add to the disaster, the snaps by Daniel Munyer were atrocious, being thrown so low on several occasions. I can’t wait to see Josh Rosen behind a more competent offensive line with a bit more time to pick the right pass as, even with bad protection, he still managed some impressive throws. Steve Wilks has come out after the game and stated that he will get game time with the first team in the next game against the Saints, so his performance on Friday will be much more revealing of his true level than this first game.
It would be harsh to consider any of the rookies’ performances as disappointing. In several cases, such as A.J. Howard, Chris Campbell and Mason Cole, it will be interesting to observe their progression over the remaining of the preseason. The rookie who impressed me the most was WR Christian Kirk who was very unlucky, almost scoring a kick return touchdown had it not been for an unfortunate slip in front of the last defender, the punter nonetheless. Kirk will most likely solely be a special teams’ player this season however, he will learn so much behind a future first-ballot hall of fame WR in Larry Fitzgerald.
Our opponents on the day played the entire game without their starting quarterback, Phillip Rivers, but with Geno Smith who was pretty impressive, throwing for 218 yards, and Cardale Jones, throwing for 50. However impressive Smith was on the night, there is no doubt that Rivers will be starting for their first game against the Chiefs. The game opposing the two teams on the 25th November should prove to be a totally different game.
Overall, there are clearly more positives than negatives to be taken from this first preseason game. This weekend’s game at the Saints should provide many more answers about the season to come. We should see Bradford take more reps and see how well he gels with the offense, and it’ll be interesting to see Rosen take reps behind the first team offensive line, and perhaps throwing to the likes of Larry Fitzgerald and Brice Butler, our new WR who arrived from the Cowboys in the offseason. There are so many things to be positive about at the moment as a Cardinals fan!
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