(by Ross Jacobs)
When I saw the score here I got excited thinking we might have gotten some interesting players involved in a back-and-forth affair, but no, this was another backup-fest with guys that won’t be on NFL teams this week.
That said, at least it was an entertaining game, lots of offense and back and forth action. The Cardinals jumped out to a lead and the Packers were able to equalize and take a lead of their own after capitalizing on some Arizona mistakes, but these Cardinals aren’t quitters and they fought back, mistakes and all, to grab another big lead late in the game. Unfortunately for them though the Packers were able to again fight their way back into the game and steal the win at the end after another Arizona turnover.
On the whole I actually thought the Cardinals looked like the more well-coached team, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. Looks like the younger LaFleur might be the better offensive coach. Arizona won’t have a prayer to compete this year with a bottom-tier defense, but their offense might make it interesting occasionally. Things could get really interesting in the desert if LaFleur gets his hands on a decent QB in the next year or two…
Player Notes...
-- Unfortunately for the Cardinals, even though they looked like the better overall team (among the backups obviously), they had one big issue that kept shooting them in the foot here. Kedon Slovis is one of the worst QBs I’ve ever laid eyes on, and RC and I have been saying that for what feels like a decade now, going all the way back to USC when there were actually people claiming he was #1 overall pick in the draft material. Please. I genuinely don’t know how he keeps getting chances even for practice squads. He’s just nowhere near good enough to be an NFL quarterback.
-- The Packers, on the other hand, got a great statistical performance out of Kyle McCord, but the on field results don’t exactly match the box score. McCord was ok and had some nice moments, but his ball placement is still very erratic, he tends to lock onto his primary read, and he panics under pressure. These issues didn’t stop the Dolphins from trading for him and shipping Quinn Ewers to Jacksonville, so maybe the Packers staff (where much of the new Dolphins staff just came from) tipped them off that there’s something to him and they think he can be developed.
-- Other players to pop a little were Evan Hull who came to Arizona from Indy. He showed some nice burst here, but he’s still very reliant on natural holes opening up in the blocking.
-- As RC pointed out last week Simi Fehoko always seems to perform well and he did here again. It’s a shame he hasn’t been able to stick somewhere as at least a 4th or 5th WR until now. He’s definitely good enough for that, and he showed enough here to make the Cardinals initial 53-man roster.
-- Ditto J Michael Sturdivant who showed off some nice hands and speed for the Packers. He fits the prototype of big and fast that they traditionally gravitate towards. He might already be their 4th best receiver and someone that could produce some surprise games if an injury happened to someone ahead of him.
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