Beanie Wells - AP Photo / Ross D. Franklin
Preseason Game 3
Green Bay Packers 44 - Arizona Cardinals 37 (Final)
The Good (and there's lots of it):
Beanie Wells - Hey, what the heck...we need to make up lost time for two games without him. He has looked as advertised and literally scored the first two touchdowns of the Cardinals' preseason. Keep this guy healthy and it may not matter if the defense doesn't play well in some games.
Jerheme Urban - He had a couple of drops in the first half, but he still looks like the best #4 wide receiver in the NFL.
Matt Leinart - He's no Kurt Warner, but he's had three very solid games in a row now, not to mention a phenomenal two-minute drill in this one.
Wide Receiver depth - Not to beat a dead horse, but this group of guys is impressive beyond belief.
Herman Johnson - This is the second game in a row he's ended up in the "good" category - he looks very good for a rookie offensive lineman. He paved the way for Early Doucet's touchdown in the fourth quarter and protected Leinart all half.
Will Davis - Looked good on special teams in the first half and looked good on defense in the second half. Cody Brown's misfortune is Davis' opportunity - and Davis is obviously taking advantage.
The Neil rackers onside kick special - Rackers executes onside kicks better than any kicker in the league. Not only did he kick a perfect ball, but he recovered it himself - beautiful.
Never giving up - Sure, it's preseason. And yeah, it's against second and third teamers, but the Cardinals never gave up and never gave in - and Leinart looked very impressive in his two-minute drill.
Going for two - For all you out there wondering why the Cardinals went for two, think about how pointless overtime would be in the preseason. Already in a couple of games this year, coaches have done the same thing that Whisenhunt did, more out of safety and sportsmanship than anything. Good for Coach Whiz.
The Bad:
Hand-offs to Beanie - Almost every hand-off to Wells looked shaky. Do not fear, though - this is easily attributed to Wells' looking upfield too soon due to the speed of the game, so this should subside as the game slows down for him.
The Ugly:
The starting defense playing in the second half - This should never happen in a preseason game, but I guarantee Bill Davis had them out there because he was not at all happy with their first half. On the bright side, they did stop the Packers second-team offense...
The hit on LaRod Stephens-Howling - That was the definition of "ugly."
Overall:
Much better second half - a lot of fight and a lot of grit from guys trying to make the team of 53. And Cardinals fans, remember, preseason is about experimentation and that what you're seeing here is not what you will see throughout the regular season. Coach Whisenhunt is known for holding back in exhibition games and though tonight looked sloppy (and there's no doubt that mistakes were made), the defense wasn't game-planning against the Packers offense at all and the offense is still playing situationally. You will listen to sports talk pick the Cardinals apart and you will read the beat writers scorn the effort, but you've heard it here first: this is NOT what you will see when the season starts. There's no need to fret...If San Francisco has 38 points after the first half of the first regular season game, then it is time to worry...But c'mon, seriously. There's no way that will happen.
Articles on the Cardinals vs. Packers preseason game:
Halftime edition of the good, the bad, and the ugly
What to watch Cardinals-Packers pregame
Packers perspective pregame
Articles on the Cardinals vs. Chargers preseason game:
Good, bad, and ugly - Final edition
Good, bad, and ugly - Halftime edition
Cardinals-Chargers pregame what to watch
The Chargers perspective after the game
The Chargers perspective before the game
Articles on the Cardinals vs. Steelers preseason game:
Final Edition of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from the game
Halftime Edition of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from the game
Steelers notebook of thoughts from the game
Some views from the press box from the Pittsburgh Sports Examiner
Comments
Are you on crack? The Cardinal first teamers were routed! What game were you watching???
Before I get anymore "What game were you watching?" comments, I want to make sure to repeat exactly what I wrote in the above overall conclusion - "This is preseason." To get "routed" in the preseason means very little. Very little.
I am not ignoring the mistakes made nor am I taking anything away from Aaron Rodgers and an electrifying Packers offense, but to focus solely on those bad mistakes would be a disservice to all of the things the Cardinals did well.
Take it or leave it, but I'm not worried and Cardinals fans shouldn't be either.
cardinals are nothing but a team that got hot at the right time last year. you have an aging qb a below avg def. and after watching last nights performance i would be shocked with a playoff birth.
I agree, no worries. the Lions were 4-0 in preseason last year, then of course 0-16 so....PRESEASON people.
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