Cardinals Week: Studs, Duds, and Hat Tips

[Canadian Hog]

The Josh Harris era got off to a nice start today with a victory vs. the Cardinals. Today, the burgundy and gold certainly didn't win pretty, and it was a reminder that an ownership change is not magically going to make the on-field product an instant winner. There is work to be done, but it was a step in the right direction at a time of year where you hope to stack wins any way you can get them while you are still finding your stride as a team. Let's get right to this week's list:

Studs:

1. Jon Allen/Montez Sweat - Montez Sweat made a case today towards being the defensive end the Commanders should seriously think about locking up long-term to pair with the interior duo of Payne and Allen. In the second half with the Commanders trailing and at risk of potentially going down two scores vs. the lowly Cards, Montez Sweat and Jon Allen made some great individual plays to shift the momentum in the football game. In fact, they single-handedly took it over. Sweat's play in particular led to two turnovers which were key in Washington's victory.

2. Kam Curl - another defensive player who should be on the immediate priority list to sign long-term is Kam Curl and he showed why once again today. He led the way with 8 tackles for the Commanders, made a great defensive stop on a 3rd down in the red zone which forced Arizona to kick a FG, and played a key role in holding the Cards to only one pass play that went for more than 15 yards on the day.

3. Tress Way - the franchise MVP was busier that we would have liked him to be today, but he delivered time and time again. 3 of his 6 punts landed inside the 20 yard line, he flipped the field at key moments, and he saved Cameron Cheeseman's behind on two occasions with great holds on FG attempts.

4. Jeremy Reaves - the guy was all over the field on punt coverage and proved why he was a Pro Bowl selection a year ago.

5. Josh Harris - it felt good to be a fan again today. It finally felt like we might establish a bit of a homefield advantage this year, and there was energy and passion throughout the stadium on Sunday afternoon. It brought me back to my youth and made me smile ear to ear. Thank you, Josh.

Duds:

1. Cameron Cheeseman - there was an issue throughout the preseason with his ability to long snap cleanly and that carried over into the regular season. Tress Way came to the rescue today, but Cheeseman is really playing with fire here.

2. Logan Thomas - he was abused being asked to block a few times today and had a few easy catches go right through his hands. Hopefully Cole Turner can develop at an accelerated rate and push Thomas off the field soon. I feel like the experiment with #82 is over at this point.

3. Andrew Wylie - was this seriously the best guy we could get this offseason at RT?! After the dud of a performance in pass protection Wylie put on film on Sunday, it feels like it was more of a 'Bieneimy bringing his buddies along for the ride move.' We might really regret that Quan Martin 2nd round selection over an O Lineman if this type of play continues.

4. Antonio Gibson - 19 total yards and another fumble from Gibson made Sunday a day to forget for #24. After last season, it felt as though the fumbling issue Gibson had a few years ago was a thing of the past. Now, doubt has resurfaced and that isn't a good thing for a guy trying to carve out a role in this offense.

5. Eric Bieneimy - I will be honest. I expected better, especially against a team that seems as though it might compete for the top pick in April's draft. In Sam Howell's second career NFL start, he was asked to carry a Patrick Mahomes-type load far too often in the football game. I thought we should have leaned a bit more on the run game and Brian Robinson, especially given how bad the o-line started leaking. With time, I think EB will adjust just fine, but for now, the sooner he realizes that he is not working with Patrick Mahomes anymore, the better.

Hat Tips:

1. Sam Howell - both our TD scores were a direct result of Howell's improvisation. Both plays broke down, but Howell did enough with his feet to make something happen. While it wasn't a perfect day for Howell by any means, we saw some good athleticism which will likely serve him and the team well as the season wears on.

2. Emmanuel Forbes - Forbes had a really nice pass break up on 4th down late in the game with the Cards attempting to put together a game winning drive. Eventually, those types of plays on the ball will lead to the interceptions he was known for in college. For now, he did enough to keep us intrigued with his development.

That's all for now. Who did we miss? Do you agree/disagree?

Time for a mile high victory next Sunday.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Excellent write up Canadian Hog. I agree with all of what you put, so I'll just add a few comments of my own to tack on to what you already stated.

Studs - Daron Payne. When Allen was getting double teamed early, Payne stepped up and made plays. This is the type of football we have come to expect from these two. You can't take them both away, so you focus on one, the other steps up.

Super Stud - Josh Harris. Everything they showed and talked about him doing today made this a huge victory regardless of the outcome of the game. Winning made it feel better for sure, but just buying the team made today a win. Everything else he did leading up to the game getting the alumni involved, walking through the stands shaking hands, it was all just so satisfying to see.

Duds - Bieniemy is the biggest dud to me. Very disappointed in his play calling this game. 2 to 1 pass to run ratio through 3 quarters is too much unless the QB has thrown for 250 and 3TDs in that stretch.

Duds - The Referees. While the Commanders benefited from a generous spot on one drive, the next they got a terrible spot on a 3rd down conversion by Gibson. And then the replay showed he clearly had the first down, yet they still said he was short. Earlier in the game, they called offensive pass interference when a pass went to the side line, and 30 yards away inside the tackle box, they think there was contact by the TE. There is no way that was interference and had zero bearing on the play, which is what any type of pass interference is for. A few other phantom holding calls as well. A really, really bad game for the refs today. But that's what happens when you are not a marquee team and you get stuck with the rookie crew.

Hat Tips - Jahan Dotson. He continues to get open and deliver when the ball is thrown his way. He was also open on a deep out and Howell missed him. McLaurin and Samuel also played well, but I really like when Dotson gets thrown the ball.

 

[JPPT1974]

An ugly win but a win nonetheless I will take at any single day.

 

[timmysmith]

Agreed on Bienemy. Very Norv like with a complete abandonment of the run. Every pass play looked the same. 3 step straight drop every time. Can't blame the OLine if the defense is just allowed to run straight forward every play.

 

[Bulldog]

I expect a RT not to be beaten by a strength move inside by a no- name linebacker who finishes with 2 sacks. Wylie made the Cardinals outside rushers look like the 80’s Bears.

I can’t believe that Cornelius Lucas even at 32 can’t do better than that.

One criticism of the offense in the preseason was Troy Aikman saying the Commanders were trying to get away with essentially starting 4 guards and then Leno at LT.

So, he didn’t think much of Gates as a center calling pickups and Wylie playing RT here.

I expect Turner to pass Logan Thomas by during the season. Thomas is injury prone and built like a small forward - this guy can’t block 220 linebackers and defensive backs. Now he’s dropping passes too.

Cody Barton makes the trio of free agents the team signed early look like a very forgettable group. Pete Carroll got rid of him because he was a liability vs the run and we go and sign him to START?

Bieniemy has to make this a 3 step offense with longer stretch plays off the rollout, etc.

This line cannot hold up long enough to allow Howell to just drop back and wait for guys to get open.

Especially if his outlet valve, Antonio Gibson, is a turnover machine.

Why not call up Patterson and see if he could be a third down back? His size makes him a specialist but he looked good making guys miss in the open field.

 

[Knightingale]

I'll say this...

Chase Young is going to have to BALL OUT to justify any extension over/with Sweat.
Right now if we can only afford one of them, Sweat is the easy choice. He's obviously taken the Allen/Payne 'play to justify your contract' years as a lesson to push this year. He was awesome on Sunday.
We saw in that rookie year that Chase 'could' be a game changer type player, but we're REALLY going to need to see that. Sweat has raised his game and is making life VERY difficult for him.

 

[Boone]

Bulldog - that feels a little 'reactionary' after 1 game. Of course, that's not all the data we have on some of these guys, but on rewatch, the OL wasn't nearly as bad as folks are making it out to be. Wylie had a bad day, and the sacks were bad (although as always, you can't put that 100% on the OL), but Leno, Gates, Charles, and Cosmi were generally solid. The Cardinals made putting pressure on Howell their biggest priority and while they may not be world beaters in terms of a pressure defense, it's the NFL, and teams are going to compete even if they aren't highly rated. I don't agree that 'Howell had no time' - he did have time on quite a few of the passing plays although the protection wasn't as good as it needs to be.

Folks are going to beat on Gibson, but that's the first fumble he's had since early last year. Brian Robinson also fumbled a ball against the Cardinals, but got away with it (I think they called him down before the ball came out). And we've already seen Chris Rodriguez lose balls in preseason. I'll keep saying it, Gibson is one of our 3 best offensive weapons and while he needs to secure the ball (as he did after a bad start in 2022) but he's not going anywhere. There's not a single thing Patterson does better than the guys we have out there in my opinion.

Thomas just keeps making mental mistakes. On top of the drops, he struggles with contested balls. If he doesn't get both hands cleanly on the ball it is a 50-50 proposition. Add to that his inability to block effectively abd injury issues and it may be time to give Turner primary reps.

I don't have a strong opinion on Barton yet. He is new to the defense so that may be a factor in his play in addition to his native ability, not sure.