a day practices in training camp made it more challenging for Steve Wilks to assess the players---as we know some players look fabulous in shorts and helmets.* Wilks likely has regrets about how he used the pre-season games---but that is always a tricky roll of the dice.* It didn’t help that Deone Bucannon http://www.cardinalscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-tre-boston-jersey , who was supposed to be the leader of the defense, was out for much of the pre-season. There is no way Wilks could have known that Bucannon would play as poorly as he did against the Redskins and beyond.* To make matters worse, Jeremy Cash was injured in the 1st pre-season game after balling big-time at Bucannon’s position.* The first 4 games, therefore, became like extended pre-season games in terms of player assessments.* To Wilks’ credit, he is making changes and not settling for sub standard play.* His and Al Holcomb’s defense, while vulnerable trying to defend the run and screens from the nickel, has been making strides. They are getting commendable play from Chandler Jones, Corey Peters, Rodney Gunter, Benson Mayowa, Josh Bynes, Patrick Peterson, Bene Benwikere, Budda Baker, Antoine Bethea and Tre’ Boston. And getting flashes of explosion from Robert Nkemdiche and Haason Reddick.* The special teams have improved, save for Dawson. Lee has been fantastic and Kirk has shown promise as the punt returner, while rookies Zeke Turner and Dennis Gardeck are making aggressive plays in kick coverage.* If Wilks had gotten at least some average play from the offense and Dawson, the team might be 3-2 right now instead of 1-4. * The irony is that the offensive line has been better in pass protection this year than the last couple of years---and while their grades suffer because of the lack of a running game, it’s hard to grade well when you are consistently out-numbered in the running game and when the play calling per down and distance has been so predictable. Even Steve Keim this week implied that some of the issues in the running game are scheme related.* Lastly, it appears that Wilks is standing firm on his player assessments and not trying to placate the FO or SK. Yes, the hope was and is for player development---but to Wilks’ credit he is trying to play the best and most deserving players---which is upsetting to the veterans who now understand that nothing is going to be handed to them—-and that the patience and blind faith BA and his staff had with veterans is no longer a rule of thumb.In some emails from A.Q. Shipley he asserted that Matt McCrane “came in arrogant and left arrogant” and that McCrane asked Phil Dawson what Dawson was going to do when he (McCrane) beat him out. Now—-this seems entirely out of character for Matt McCrane—-McCrane denies it, as does his agent—-and it directly contradicts the raves about character that McCrane receives from his college and high school coaches . But Cheap David Johnson Jersey , if what Shipley is saying was true, Shipley’s sharp reaction to this situation is a good example of why veterans get upset. Whenever a coach declares that the best players play, the veterans are put on alert. The last thing a veteran wants to hear is some smack talk from a rookie. Not only does open competition threaten jobs and starting roles, but it threatens the continuation of day to day friendships. This is the toughest part of the business—-and let’s be real—-the way the system works via contracts and free agency as it relates to compensatory draft picks, it is extremely unfriendly (and, imo, unfair) to veterans. On the flip side, what if McCrane did come across as arrogant? Should it have ruled him out of contention for the kicking job? McCrane clearly was the better kicker in the games. But, Keim and Wilks decided to stick with the veteran (apparently regardless of what happened in the pre-season games) and showcase the rookie. One might wonder if that would still have been true today now that Wilks seems more in command of personnel decisions.Even though Steve Wilks has shown full support thus far for Mike McCoy, do you get the sense that Wilks could start weeding out his staff the way he is weeding out the players? I do. What we are learning from Wilks’ personnel decisions is that he is not just going sit idly by in the midst of shortcomings and failures. Steve Wilks wants a sense of urgency from his players—-and in fairness to him, after a rough start, he is applying a very clear sense of urgency right now to every aspect of his job.Who is to blame for Arizona Cardinals abysmal offense? Through two games, the Arizona Cardinals currently rank last in points scored (6), last in total offensive yards (350), tied for last on yards per play (3.7), and first in three-and-outs per drive. With an entirely new coaching staff and new starting quarterback, no one could have anticipated such a rough start for the offense.Who is to blame for the most inefficient offense in the NFL? Is this the fault of offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, whose lack of creativity has stifled ball movement, or is quarterback Sam Bradford the problem?Sam BradfordPlay #1-Week 1-First Quarter-(6:38) third-and-5-S. Bradford 4 yard pass to C. KirkArizona runs a trail concept from a bunch set on the left side of the field.The Redskins are in man-to-man coverage which works in the Cardinals favour as bunch formations aid in gaining separation against man coverage. Larry Fitzgerald runs a slant route into the middle of the field, intended to clear space for the primary receiver, Christian Kirk, who follows from the outside. Following the snap, Bradford locks on Kirk and follows him for the entirety of his route. Redskins cornerback Quinton Dunbar Phil Dawson Jersey , is in off-man coverage – he’s allowing Kirk to break on his route and keep him contained behind the first down marker. When Bradford only stays on one target it tips off Dunbar who closes in and makes the tackle. Bradford misses Fitzgerald who has enough separation for a first down in the middle of the field. It’s hard to entirely blame Bradford here since Kirk is the go-to player on this design, but Bradford’s unwillingness to improvise is routine. With Kirk unable to get the first down, the Cardinals punted — leading to the Redskins first touchdown of the game.Play #2-Week 1-Second Quarter-(14:54) first-and-10-S. Bradford 3 yard pass to L. FitzgeraldHere, Bradford eyes Kirk at the start of the play but after seeing Redskins linebacker Zach Brown trail the receiver, Bradford moves to his second read, Fitzgerald, on the underneath route for a minimal gain. As Fitzgerald runs his drag route, Brown’s coverage was shifting from Kirk to Fitzgerald. The Redskins were in a Cover 3 meaning Kirk would have been passed from Brown’s coverage to Dunbar’s, who was out of position. If Bradford had read the Cover 3 defense, Fitzgerald could be the decoy to open up Kirk for a larger gain. Bradford also had a enough time in the pocket to let Fitzgerald continue on his route and let the play develop, he didn’t need to hurry the throw. This drive resulted in a three-and-out and a Cardinals punt. The Redskins found the end zone on the subsequent drive (14-0).Play #3-Week 1-Second Quarter-(4:05) first-and-10-S. Bradford incomplete pass to L. FitzgeraldBefore the snap, Bradford motions receiver Chad Williams to the right side of the field. This helps Bradford identify the man coverage from the defense as cornerback Fabian Moreau follows Williams.The Cardinals run a double out concept. Bradford makes a poor throw to Fitzgerald after he’s shoved off his break by linebacker Mason Foster. Meanwhile, the vertical route tight end Ricky Seal-Jones runs clears Williams out route for an easy gain. Bradford, who is locked onto his first read, doesn’t spot the wide open Williams.At this point of the game, trailing by two touchdowns — the longest pass attempted by Bradford was eight yards. The Cardinals failed to get a first down on this drive and punted on fourth down. On the next drive, the Redskins were able to pile on with another touchdown.Play #4-Week 2-Second Quarter-(7:55) second-and-15-S. Bradford incomplete pass to L. FitzgeraldOn the above play the Cardinals run a double smash on the right side of the field with Kirk on a corner route. The Rams are in Cover 1 - man coverage with a single high safety and Marqui Chrisitan aiding crossing routes through the middle of the field. When Kirk breaks on his corner route towards the sideline he has separation from his defender but Bradford opts for the shallow dig route against Aqib Talib. Looking at the view from the pocket, Bradford has time to make other reads, but goes for his first. This being a second-and-long situation, it’s puzzling why Bradford didn’t take the deeper receiver who had more separation.Freeze framing certain plays and calling out open receivers does a disservice to quarterback play but when it happens as often as it does to Bradford — it’s an issue. With Bradford, there is also a lack of quarterback manipulation, no shoulder shifting or eye movement to move and deceive defenders, no pocket presence to extend plays. It’s a simple snap and repetitive quick throw.SchemeGoing through the Cardinals plays http://www.cardinalscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-markus-golden-jersey , McCoy’s scheme is a combination of dig, drag and out routes. These utilize the middle of the field in a high low concept and force zone defenders to choose between underneath routes, or back off and cover deeper threats. The problem is that if your quarterback who is trailing by two touchdowns has only attempted passes eight yards or shorter, it brings the defense closer to the line of scrimmage, limiting the short ball.Bradford has thrown 61 passes in his two games played, 45 of these passes didn’t travel further than 10 yards (74%). The NFL average last season was 63% of throws traveling less than 10 yards putting Bradford well below the standard.Every throw attempted by Bradford in Week 2 against the LA RamsMcCoy’s scheme of utilizing the middle of the field on shallow routes could be a byproduct of him catering towards Bradford who hasn’t been accurate on his deeper throws. Offensive LineAccording to Pro Football Focus, Bradford has been pressured on 32 of his 61 dropbacks (52%). Only Jimmy Garoppolo and DeShaun Watson have been pressured more on their throws. The offensive line is clearly an issue but even when Bradford has time, he isn’t utilizing those opportunites. The Cardinals have been handed an unlucky early schedule going against two of the top defenses in terms of pressure forced and Week 3 against the Chicago Bears is bound to be another struggle for the offensive line.Mike McCoy’s GamescriptBradford’s conservative play doesn’t excuse McCoy who is his own problem for the offense.Of the six Cardinal first down plays in first quarters, McCoy has elected to run on five of them, averaging 1.2 yards per carry. The game script for McCoy who wants to implement a smashmouth style of football is dated and proven largely ineffective. His use of heavy personnel stacks a box against David Johnson limiting his ability to make plays. Dan Pizzuta of Big Blue View wrote about the New York Giants running game this season and it heavily relates to what McCoy is attempting to implement with this offense.Also, Josh Hermsmeyer of airyards.com had a thread earlier this offseason going through McCoy’s running packages from a heavy personnel when with the Denver Broncos. David JohnsonReviewing the Cardinal’s passing plays, David Johnson is nonexistent. It’s not often he’s doing anything remotely creative. I had my doubts that McCoy would be ineffective in utilizing him when I saw in preseason that he wasn’t using his running back effectively. Into the regular season, McCoy continues to have Johnson on curl routes through the middle of the field, limiting his ceiling.Essentially, both Bradford and McCoy are a duo that together haven’t produced results. If Rosen starts, he could make an impact but be limited by McCoy’s playcalling, especially his predictable run formula. If a new creative playcaller is brought in, Bradford could still continue to force the ball to his short reads.Either way both of these individuals make up what has been the worst offense in the NFL and unless drastic changes are made, Cardinal fans are in for a long season.
