Arizona Cardinals Regular Season - Cardinals Lose to Seahawks by FG

It was a division dual and, therefore, extra important. Although the Cards looked like the superior team "on paper", Seattle is known for being a difficult place for visiting teams to play with. Cards were without their 2 top RB's (Wells and LSH). Seahawks welcomed new WR Sidney Rice back from injury.

The Bottom Line:
I only got to watch the first half closely and the second half casually in bits and pieces (due to "social obligations"). While it looked as though the Cards were in comfortable shape by the end of the first half, I was a bit unnerved by plays not made - a pass breakup miss by A-Dub that gave Seattle the ball in FG range, a missed 1st half FG by Feely, a missed interception by Jefferson and another by A-Dub.

The second half featured a missed fumble recovery by Porter, another missed FG by Feely and the frustrating inability of Kolb and his receivers to get anything going in the second half.

Lesson to be learned: "If Wiz wants to play 'small ball', his team can't leave points on the field and key players have to make at least their fair share of plays."

Game Recap

1st Quarter

Seattle took the opening KO to their own 23 and managed to get to midfield before a sack by Campbell forced a punt. A 28-yard punt put the ball on the Cardinal 30, and a 28-yard completion to Fitz put the ball on the Seahawk 20. A A minus-12 yard sack forced a Feely 51 yard FG attempt. He missed. A 32 yard completion to Rice (which should have been broken up by A-Dub) set up a 30-yaed FG. Seahawks 3 - Cardinals 0.
Jefferson - 3 yards deep in the end zone - ran the KO back 51 yards to the Cardinal 48. Kolb moved the Cards to the Seahawk 37 in 5 plays as the quarter ended. 1st Quarter Score: Seahawks 3 - Cardinals 0.

2nd Quarter

Cards moved to the Seattle 26 in 6 plays,. This time, Feely was good from 44. Seahawks 3 - Cardinals 3.
Washington's muff of the KO pinned Seattle back at their own 11. A 6-yard sack by Campbell helped force them to punt from their own 26. Peterson returned it to his own 22. Kolb hit a bunch of short completions of +9, +13, +15, +8 and +11. (Mixed in were a couple of five yard runs by Alfonso Smith who was running hard between the tackles like he did in preseason). On the 8th play of the drive, Kolb through it up for grabs to Fitzgerald who was sandwiched between 2 Seattle defenders in the end zone. Fitz came down with a ridiculous catch. Cardinals 10 - Seahawks 3.
Seattle started from their own 20. A minus-13 yard "in the grasp" sack by Porter forced them to punt from the Cardinal 49. Cards were bottled up on their own 4 with 3:12 left til halftime. After Smith picked up a hard 9 yards up the gut, somewhat predictable play-calling got the Cards nowhere, and they punted. 1:51 left.Seahawks got the ball back in good field position at the Cardinal 49 and Hauschka didn't miss his 52-yarder. Cardinals 10 - Seahawks 6.
0:43 left. Kolb moved the Cards from his 27 to the Seattle 41 where the two teams exchanged interceptions on consecutive plays to end the half. Halftime Score: Cardinals 10 - Seahawks 6.

3rd Quarter

Jefferson returned the 2H opening KO to the Cardinal 24. After picking up one first down, Kolb couldn't deliver on a 3rd & 6 and Zastudil punted from the Cardinal 44. Seattle returned the punt to its own 28 and Jackson went "no huddle" on a 14-play drive capped by an 11-yard scramble (through Rhodes and A-Dub) for a score. Other than the TD run and a 20-yard completion to Baldwin (over Marshall), no Seattle play gained more than 9-yards. Seahawks 13 - Cardinals 10.
That was the end of the scoring. The Cardinal defense held Seattle to 3 & out 3 consecutive times going into the 4Q, but the offense couldn't get arrested. First Cardinal possession following the TD was typical: Short pass for +9, Smith for +0, Smith for minus-4. Next possession stalled after 6 plays with Kolb throwing an incompletion on 3rd & 4. Third Quarter Score: Seahawks 13 - Cardinals 10.

4th Quarter

Cards went 3 & out (+0, +2, +7, punt). An aborted snap by Jackson helped Seattle go 3 & out, but the killer was Porter's stone-handed inability to pull the ball in deep in Seattle territory (where we'd at least have a shot at a short FG). Instead they got to drop a punt which gave us the ball at our own 20.
Cards used ten plays (& 6:22 worth of clock) to move to the Seattle 29, where Kolb quickly took a sack for minus-4 and Feely's 49-yard attempt held true toward the uprights but fell freakin' short. Seattles ball on their own 39 with 5:20 left, but the defense held and we got the ball back at our own 31 with 2:57 left on the clock. Kolb managed to get us to the Seattle 34 with1:57 left, but Kolb took a sack (& near fumble giveawy) for minus-3 and then threw an interception.
1:04 left, and we still were able to hold them. Three time-outs later, we got the ball back at our own 23 with 0:53 still left on the clock. But Kolb & his receivers (& the dude calling the plays) simply had nothing left. After a quick 12-yard completion to Taylor followed by a spike, Kolb missed a deep throw to Roberts followed by a 16-yard "hook & lateral" bunch of Harlem Globetrotters stuff that went nowhere and used up what little was left on the clock. Final Score: Seahawks 13 - Cardinals 10.

Game Stats

Cards were penalized 10 times for 97 yards (Skins were flagged just 3 times including a delay of game call on Gano on the final play of the game).
Kolb went 25 for 39 and 252 yards, 1 TD's and 2 interception.
He was sacked 3 times (We got to Jackson 4 times - maybe more depending on which stats you're reading).
Our RB's gained 74 yards rushing on 25 carries (Tack on another 16 yards on 3 Kolb scrambles).
Heap shook off an early injury to lead the team with 6 catches for +61. Fitz had 5 grabs for 64-yards and that ridiculous TD.
Doucet had 5 grabs; Roberts 4.
Feely missed 2 FG's (both inside the 50). There's your football game.
Zastudil's gross punting average was 35.8.
Peterson had our only pick.
Campbell was credited with 2½ sacks. Porter had one. Dockett had a half a sack.
Time of Possession: Cards 31:49 - Seattle 28:11.
We dialed up 28 runs to 39 passes
We gave up 102 rushing yards by Lynch and Washington on 20 attempts. Jackson scrambled for another 20).
Rice caught 8 balls for 109 yards.
Campbell led the team with 10 tacksles, followed by Peterson (7) and Wilson (6).

Bright Spots

Other than that one long, no-huddle 3Q drive, the Cardinal defense did yeoman duty shutting down theSeattle offense .
Our two corners are covering tightly more consistently.
Chester Taylor knows how to "get small" through the hole. Alfonso Smith looked reliable between the tackles
The pass rush - especially by Calais and Nine-Oh.
Penalties were down.

The Dark Side

What's up with Feely?
We weren't consistent enough to win at "small ball."
Kolb looked helpless and hopeless during the latter half of the 4Q. Too many short passes were misfires.
To the extent the TV cameras couldn't llet us see the entire field, it seemed to me that, especially in the 2H,our receivers weren't getting separation which, in turn was messing up Kolb's timing and forcing him to take a sack, scramble out of the pocket or force desperation throws.
The sight of Levi standing around before the end of a running play (in his freakin' direction)!!!
Brandon Keith's pass pro "issues" kept forcing Kolb to escape to his left (which, in turn, made it difficult for him to throw on the run).
(Only A-Dub can answer this one): If he is physically unable to make a play like the one where - although he was in perfect position to break up the 32-yard pass to Sidney Rice - he couldn't make the play - is A-Dub more liability than asset at this point and would he be better sitting and having the sooner instead of later?

Last Word:
If Wiz's small-ball approach - in a loud, rainy, enemy stadium - results in a victory, he's a genius. But it didn't - not enough guys (paid to make plays) made plays, and Feely's 2 missed FG's were the final nails in the coffin. I must admit, however, to wondering out loud on our second to last possession late in the game - when we were 3rd & 12 at the Seattle 36 - whether, instead of trying to pick up the first down and go for another FG, we should take a shot at the end zone instead (because Seattle wouldn't have been looking for it). Instead, Wiz played it closer to his vest and Kolb threw a pick into what should have been expected Seattle coverage.

Woulda, coulda. Another brutal loss. One other thing hit me: Short-pass 2-minute offenses usually have a crisp feeling and - while they may occasionally come up short at the end , you can generally expect your QB to at least complete 2 of every 3 passes thrown during the drive. With Kolb and the Cardinal offense, I didn't get that feeling late the 4Q. The Cardinal offense had a "helpless and hopeless"airl to it. Kolb just couldn't seem to get anything done. His receivers weren't getting open and he wasn't hitting them with the rhythm he's shown in earlier parts of other games. While I guess we should tip our hat to the Seattle defense, I can't help but wonder whether or not this team "simply doesn't got it." Are we at a chronic talent-disadvantage on offense? Or can the coaches fix it?

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