WEEK 4 FULL PLAYER EVALUATIONS AFTER RE-WATCH Cardinals

Hey Everyone-

this is my second post of a full game detailed analysis- sorry if its kind of long but after examining the tape here is what I found:
I want to start by saying that it is at least fun to be IN GAMES and not blown out so kudos to the turnaround that is in full effect because as bad as 0-4 seems it is a lot better than I thought. By no means am I claiming that this team is really any good but the coaching is very sound for a rookie. The offense is finally not a "gimmick" offense which he have gotten used to over the years with Harbs/Kap Pistol/read option crap (other than the GB playoff game :P) or Chip Kelly and his garbage spread college offense. This is a pro style working offense with motion, check downs, reads and react plays and as we get a new signal caller of the future to mold and players that have tremendous talent (like in Atlanta) you will see the difference in points and respect other teams afford to us. Now onto the thoughts from this game:

OFFENSE:

QB- Brian Hoyer: I want to start by saying Hoyer makes all the right checks before the play and knows how to read most of the defenses regardless of his capability. I noticed a lot in this game Hoyer "Alert"ing the O-line and skill players for Hot reads and such, that is not his major issue. Lets talk about 3rd downs 5-19, man is that putrid. That means in 19 attempts at keeping drives alive anywhere on the field only 5 times did we convert, very frustrating. I counted how many Errant throws from Hoyer and I am not talking about Incompletions here I mean ERRANT throws-where the receiver was either open or getting open he miss fired. He was very lucky to walk away with just 1 INT as he hit a CB right in the chest on a bad throw in the first half that Chandler Jones dropped. 12! 12 ERRANT throws, now maybe I dont study football for a living but that many mis-fires is a major problem and a lot of the reason this offense was not clicking. For a positive I must say everytime there was play action or Hoyer was moved outside of the pocket he completed or was on the mark every single throw (something to think about if you are KS going forward playing to his strenghts). Look we all know we need a new chief and that may be via draft or Kirk Cousins but Brian Hoyer is certainly not the answer, I wont say everything was completely his fault though due to drops and some oline play (just most of it LOL!) -----Overall poor performance at QB this game.

RB's- Carlos Hyde is the clear bell cow stud on this team, that was an easy statement to make. After watching his running you can tell something was a bit off, instead of thinking about hitting the holes hard like he did against LA he seemed tentative, the hip injury was clearly in his mind. For one, he seemed to miss a few openings and cut back into blockers a bunch, as well he lost the ball 2 times in key situations-1 where his knee was down thank goodness and 1 on our last drive of the game where we recovered. Overall not a tremendous performance from Hyde. I thought Breida also looked like a rookie, had 2 bad drops on dump offs from Hoyer (1 was a screen) and overall only had 1 real productive run.

WR's- Nothing really to speak about here. Until Quis Goodwin went out early I thought he made a real nice play on the opening driver where he came back to the ball on a nice throw from Hoyer as well as him falling down on the play that turned into the Hoyer INT (the ball seemed to be behind him anyway should he have kept running), then he got hurt and we never heard from him again. Garcon is truly fun to watch the guy is "spunky" and aggressive, he had 1 bad drop on a third down in the second half where Hoyer had to put it low and DID but Garcon wasn't able to hold on (Patrick Peterson does not make it any easier to throw his way). I LOVE watching Trent Taylor- guy runs routes and is so crisp, he catches with his hands and seems to have a knack for getting to the first down marker, I wish we had a more capable QB to see him torment offenders more inside the numbers but the arrow is WAY up on this kid (he cried after the game because we lost, HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE THAT!). Then there is Aldrick Robinson. What can I say, he had a few nice grabs but honestly the guy has the worst hands on the team. He had 3 or 4 drops that I counted including a deep ball with 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter on 3rd down and 12 when we had great field position and needed an FG to go up for the win, the ball was perfectly thrown into his lap and it went right through his hands it was EXACT from what we say from Goodwin a few games ago, Hoyer missed Aldrick on a few routes and it seemed to me they were just not on the same page as to where the timing was supposed to be. This group of misfits (other than Garcon and Taylor) is clearly not what we have to look forward to a few more QUALITY players in this rotation and obv a QB and we are in much better shape in the passing game.

TE's- VERY POOR PERFORMANCE! I thought they blocked well for the most part, Kittle was moved too easily a few times when he stayed in to block but other than that very solid. I noticed KS was putting Kittle in the backfield on 3rd downs and in Shotgun to help chip the edge rushers and it worked well because Hoyer had plenty of time in the pocket. Drops, Drops, Drops! Hoyer dropped a DIME to Logan Paulson who just clearly miffed it on the sideline and it was going to be a nice play for over 20 years (SAD!). Same could be said for Kittle who was SURE handed in OTA's, TC and Pre-season, not the case he dropped a real bad ball that Hoyer put on the money, you can see KS standing there he was none to pleased with this. The kid is a rookie and you have to give him time but going from Vernon and Delanie who tormented teams with there speed, Kittle runs like a dad out there. DEFINITELY NEED SPEED AT TE in the off season although I would like Kittle in a 2 TE set and blocking down purposes.

FB- KYLE JUICCEEEEECHECKKKK- man he was awesome yesterday and worth EVERY penny. I didn't have enough time to focus on FB but man was he noticeable. He made a few strong catches and bulldozed his way for more yards. I caught myself on a few zone outside runs staring at Staley plowing but Juzcyk would come out of nowhere and destroy a defender. I am very FOR this signing and an A-PLUS performance from our FB keep it going.

Offensive Line- So I bashed the HECK out of this group last week - AND IT WORKED- they were MUCH MUCH MUCH improved yesterday (they didnt face Aaron Donald though! LOL). Ill start from left to right...
LT- Joe Staley- He was dominant I dont think Hoyer even felt a pressure from the blind side and Staley was just as sound in the run blocking game- so dominant AS USUAL- A PLUS AGAIN
RT-Trent Brown- As dominant as Staley was Brown was just as Dominant, i counted only 1 pressure from Trent's side, he was not as much mauling in the Run game as he usually does but was so darn sound everywhere- A PLUS AGAIN
**Note that PFF had them rated the 2 top Tackles from this weeks games for a reason**
LG: Laken Tomlinson- Overall nice game from him i was impressed with his pass pro this week compared to last, overall the entire line was really gelling, LT really was pushing bodies out there also in the run game. Not perfect from him but a very strong effort on the interior.
RG: Brandon Fusco- Fusco was actually pretty solid, he was noticeable on a few pressures to Hoyer and his run blocking was lacking in a bad way. He is definitely a weak link and needs to be replaced but at least his performance was Average and not on the minus side this game- i can live with that.
C: Daniel Kilgore-- THIS GUY SUCKS! is it still too late to call back Zuttah? Kilgore was the worst player on offense in this game, he sucked last game also so its frustrating that everyone picked up there game except him. He was constantly LOST out there...I noticed MANY plays (almost all) on pass rushing downs where there DT or NT would push Kilgore ALL THE WAY back into Hoyer, the guy is OUTMATCHED and not strong enough to hold up a bigger man than him HIT THE WEIGHT ROOM KILGORE DO SOME SQUATS MAN! In run blocking he whiffed on numerous plays i noticed as well. Over the worst performance on offense was him (second Hoyer, Third Aldrick Robinson)
**** I want to note that after killing this group in my report last week they really were great...Hoyer had ALL DAY and i mean ALL DAY to throw all game long he just sucks so it didn't show on the stat sheet if you want me to be brutally honest. Kudos to the oline (other than Kilgore) for getting it together for this one.

DEFENSE:
DLINE: I thought this group was so AWESOME yesterday, unfortunately for them Carson Palmer has been around the block for too long and knows how to combat pressure in his face because they group was in his face all game long. they got pressure, hits, 6 sacks I believe and forced many crazy throws that i couldn't believe Palmer completed (well i could see Rashard Robinson later on)
***Ladies and Gentleman let me introduce to you the best player on this team, his name is DeForest Buckner**
Buckner: this guy was a MONSTER, he was getting double and triple teamed all game long and was still wreaking havoc in the backfield. I noticed 2 plays in a row in the early going where he straight chucked the left guard and nailed Palmer (1 was a sack) Buckner also filled gaps and made big plays in the run game with his wide frame allowing him to close up gaps. arrow BIG TIME UP ON THIS GUY he may be the only hit Baalke had and it was his last draft. Loved it.
Solly Thomas: really good game from Solly, its tough as a rookie to be a great D lineman. He got his first sack but if you watch the play it wasn't because of anything more than Buckner causing Palmer to step up into the pocket and sollys motor. His motor is awesome he just doesn't quit and that is something I love about him. Again though the negative is Robert Saleh playing Solly a bunch on the outside he is just too small and tackles eat him up and he isn't effective. He made a bunch of run stopping plays which were impressive. ARROW UP big on him.
Armstead- he had a few nice pressures but was he worth a top 15 pick? NOPE i said it last week and ill say it again, he is the odd man out on this D-Line. i like Arik and he can be a terror on some plays but the consistancy like Buckner is just not there i noticed he was out of position A LOT in the run game allowing guards to move him enough and not filling holes up with his 6'7 width which really hurts his ability on early downs.
Dekoda Watson- I am glad they are playing him more- on passing downs he brings some nice pressure from the outside with the bull rush guy is very strong, should get more PT moving forward.
Aaron Lynch- I didnt see much of Lynch or notice him much other than i believe 1 or 2 pressures so not much to comment. he is clearly not in our future for KS and this team.
Earl Mitchel- much better game from him, he was clogging the middle with his big body the way a NT/DT should and i liked his style of play.
Elvis Dumervill- I love this guy, he is the veteran who can help Solly and the others and really brings a winning culture to this D-line. On obvious passing 3rd downs the man does what he has done his entire career and that is get to the QB. We just need to stop the run like we did today and get to those situation. Arrow up for Elvis and glad to have him here!

LB's- Navarr--lets stop for a second and really give the credit to Ray Ray Armstrong- that man came to play today. I wrote how putrid he was last week, he must have read my report because this guy was awesome yesterday. GREAT INT in the end zone on a ****ty play from Rashard where he dropped the ball so kudos for the turnover but not just that Ray Ray had a bunch of huge tackles where he was the first responder and filled gaps/holes with big hits. Very happy with his performance as he was by far the best LB on the field for us yesterday (thats sad PLEASE COME BACK REUBEN WE MISS YOU, i purchased his black color rush jersey if that tells you anything).
Bowman- Much better game from Bowman he actually flashed "some" speed from the past as he made a few sideline tackles and overall solid game. Bow also missed 3 tackles with his arms and failing to get the runner to the ground and dropped a would be pick that hit him right in the chest so much for a 1st team all pro MLB that we used to have, we can expect him not to be the same guy after the injuries but hopefully the Mon53ster comes back one day.
***I want to note that we did not get killed on deep plays or anything of that BIG PLAY nature other than Fitz in OT but what really killed was the Rb's out of the backfield, Ellington made a mockery of our Defense Saleh should have recognized this and made an in game adjustment I just dont understand how I can see it but the coaches cannot? The LB's were SO FAR down field and away from the LOS that RBs were open inside AND outside the numbers. For instance we have them pinned back on there own 25 yard line up 3 at the end of the game and instead of bringing pressure we sit back on the deep ball they go 2 huge gains from RB dump offs in the middle of the field. This defense is fun to watch but it feels like the Bend but Dont break approach that Greg Manusky had here during the Nolan days, I miss Fangio and his style im sorry. This needs to be corrected, Arizona beat the heck out of us inside the numbers and that has to be identified.

Safety's- Tartt and Ward are both very fast and impressive tacklers, they really dont let BIG plays happen behind them all too often that are there fault. I truly like to watch this tandem but with this style defense we have not seem them make a Wow play in THIS GAME (Tartts pick against Cam was insane). overall solid effort and ARROW up on them...excited to get Reid back and have all 3 of them on the field together.

CB's-I am sure everyone is waiting for this one LOL. Ill dive right in.
Rashard Robinson- how is this guy our number 1 CB? He jaws at the opposing WR after every play even when he lets up a big gain (SO CONFUSING! JUST **** AND MAKE A PLAY!) Robinson was constantly playing trailing the WR, why are you 6'1 and playing 20 yards off the ball every play! Palmer is not dumb every completion was a 15 yard curl/comeback route or a slant/post, Rashard then had to come back 5 yards to make the tackle..PLAY THIS GUY PRESS MAN PLEASE HES A BIG DUDE and can hopefully maul guys at the line rather than maul them 25 yards down field like he did on multiple occasions AGAIN yesterday. This guy is trending into Mike Rumph category and we need to make a MAJOR upgrade over him or he needs to get better fast. He was BY FAR the weakest link on defense yesterday allowing a tremendous amount of plays on his watch. Sad for a guy i had a lot of hope for and has all of the intangibles to play like a lock down corner. I will add that i dont understand why he cant turn his head around, 2 plays where he did turn his head around he knocked the ball away and dont get me started how he dropped 2 would be INT's including 1 directly hitting him in the hands where Ray Ray saved his would be blunder. He had some bad PI penalties that weren't even throws that would have been completed. GET HIM OFF THE FIELD COACH HES A LIABILITY and straight trash!
Dontae Johnson- I feel like im watching a better Rashard Robinson, he has ideal height and ability but plays the same exact way- 20 yards off ball allowing dig routes and slants. So dumb- I did like Dontae made 2 PBU's with tremendous speed and grit and i thought he did "okay" in coverage yesterday, still sucked though and needs to be upgraded. He also missed 2 tackles badly in the backfield which led to nice runs.
K'Wuan Williams- this guy is by far our best CB out there, very impressive in Nickel. K blew up 3 screen passes to Larry Fitzgerald as he read and reacted to them perfectly, you cannot draw it up any better. his coverage was great all game long, unfortunately he blew it in OT for the game losing TD but hey we cannot all be perfect and 1 bad play doesn't make a game. I like his grit in the run game and overall arrow up on him after the contract extension.
**did anyone notice that Bow took Ellington's cleat and threw it off to the sideline right before Palmer snapped the go ahead TD and it seemed like Kwan was getting instruction from Bow too late beacuse of that whcih caused Larry to run free on the post route. go re-watch that play and come talk to me.***

Coaching- KS was very solid in his play calling and i liked his grit to go for it early on 4th and short with the QB sneak. Penalties hurt us AGAIN really badly the team needs to clean it up, Im honestly impressed with this terrible roster how well they are playing and how IN games we are, I really like Kyle and I think this ship is headed in the right direction. Saleh is showing some rookie mistakes but it wasnt the defense that lost us this game, he needs to figure out the CB situation and stop playing so off ball on the outsides. Im happy with the way we throw the ball on play action but really need to get our pocket throwing together this is something that KS needs to get back to work on.

Kicker and Punter: Gould was a gem of a signing great job there by Lynch and KS-hes a beast keep it up! Thought Pinion was outstanding also this game.

Hope you all enjoyed this weeks post, let me know your thought...make it a great week!

Jerseyniner, well done and right on the mark. Couple thots:

Aldridge Robinson
Why on earth after proving beyond any reasonable doubt that Aldrich couldn't catch a pass,...why did kyle continue to keep feeding him? Man it wasn't sad, it was infuriating. Some guys muff one or two passses and get yanked and this kid...he is the premier definition of STONE HANDS. Unfortunately his routes suck. I don't think he ran ONE good route. No deception no shake and bake, no comebackers....i mean this kid has NADA, nothing. Feeding him the ball was ...oh, heck..don't want to say it but , STOOOOPID. He's on my "cut-as- fast-as-we-can" list. He was putrid. STONE HANDS....and kyle who called a good game, fluffed here. He should have quit on aldrige way way early in the game. Bad mistake KS.

Hoyer
Ok, somebody has to get Aldridge the ball. Not hoyer. Boy those two guys make one wonder, did they ever run ANY plays together? Because is sure looked like not. Overall Hoyer's 3rd down passing accuracy? 3 for 19 or something awful like that? I want him to play and let CJ learn on the bench. But there is nothing to learn watching him pass in 3rd down situations . I would even consider putting CJ in on 3rd down passing plays. Hoyer just cannot get the job done with any heat on him in 3rd down situations.

OL: KILGORE.
Holy smokes. I would say this could be a one-off, but that would be a lie. Beat virtually on every play, run or pass. Got pushed back into hoyer virtually every play. Crappy on pass pro. Crappy on run blocking..Got shoved aside by everybody who lined up over or near him. Absolute disaster of an OL, and unfortunately, he plays Center. Kilgore did fair last yr, I know PHX liked him then. But he is not NFL starting material, nor even half good enough as a backup. He is right there with Aldridge Robinson as "Cut-as- fast-as-we-can. Meantime, for heaven's sakes, get someone, anyone in to replace him. Magnus...why have him backing up a guy who can't even be a backup? Start Magnus and do it for next game.

How can kyle even think of ZBS with kilgore at C? Get him off the field, and do it now.

Great news is remainder of OL did a lot better. Fusco...we have to have better. Nowhere near as a bad as kilgore but we need better. Joe and Trenton had great games. Laken, there not so sure, but for a guy who has 2 weeks under his belt, gotta admire that.

Kyle S
Okay, Called a good game, not great but way better than anytihing seen here since before ...well, yrs ago. BUT...the deal wiht Aldridge and to keep feeding him the ball...what was kyle trying to do? I mean the kid can't catch. Why keep trying to see if he can? And his routes were crap. Give kyle a bunch of negative points here for not accepting what his lying eyes were telling him. Aldridge is a flop. Cut him. He brings bad mojo to anyone he plays near. And he killed us all game long.

Other than that, agree wth buck as our standout. He was awesome

Keep up the great analysis, Jersey. Really well done.

[ Edited by pasodoc9er on Oct 3, 2017 at 8:18 AM ]