You're Done Arizona, Get Lost

Arizona lost to San Francisco 27-13. The Cardinals made a game of it for about a quarter and a half, but lost in the end.

Someday I'd surely like to know how Arizona can contain almost every other wide receiver on earth, but they can't handle Michael Crabtree. He had 4 TD catches this season against Arizona. What the hell?

William Powell was lead rusher for some reason. 52 yards on 14 carries. LaRod Stephens-Howling was relegated to 1 carry for -1 yard, which means he led the team in rushing with less than 360 yards for the season. The last time the Cardinals leading rusher finished with fewer yards was 1952. Charlie Trippi, 350 yards. In 12 games. Arizona did have a lot of injuries this year. Beanie Wells (big surprise), Ryan Williams (again). But LaRod's been available all season. Why not use him more, or at least some, every week?

One more reason the entire offensive coaching staff (including Whisenhunt) needs to go. They're all morons.

At least Brian Hoyer managed to throw a TD pass. That gives Arizona 11 for the season. Hooray! Right now, given the choice between Hoyer, Lindley, or Skelton, I'd keep Hoyer. He managed to be more successful in the offense with only three weeks, than Lindley did with an entire year, or Skelton with 3. It kills me to give up on Skelton, but he's awful. No getting around it. If you asked me to pick between Hoyer and Kolb, eh, it'd be close. Kolb performed better, but he hasn't demonstrated he can stay healthy. Which might be a reason to keep both, draft someone in say the 2nd or third round, and focus on improving the OL and running game. I don't think either guy can consistently win games for you with their arm, but if they're given some help, I think they can be successful.

Hopefully they keep Dockett and Wilson around. I'd hate to lose them because they couldn't get along with a coach who ought to be fired.

Whatever, the season's truly over. Now it's playoff time. We get to watch Flacco demonstrate that he isn't an elite QB, no matter what he says. Fingers crossed he lays a giant stink bomb that wards the Cardinals off. He might be an improvement over Kolb/Hoyer, but at the price, he isn't worth it. He's not good enough to build an offense around, even if he (and his coaches, judging by their periodic ignoring of Ray Rice), think he is. Given they're playing the Colts, who have a terrible run defense, the Ravens should just give Ray Rice as many carries as he wants.

I'm inclined to give Seattle the edge over the Redskins, since it's a home game for Seattle, and they've generally played better recently. I don't think Alfred Morris will find the running as easy against the Seahawks as he did the Cowboys. I have to lean Packers in their game against the Vikings. They already beat Minnesota in Green Bay once, 200+ yards from Adrian Peterson or not.

AP, by the way, should be MVP. 6.0 yards per carry and a nearly 2,100 yards as he lead the Vikings to the playoffs. Yes, Peyton lead the Broncos to the playoffs, and they even won their division, but two things: One, the Broncos won that division last year, with a QB who could not actually throw the football. The Vikings won 3 games. Speaking of the Broncos division, that leads us to Two, the shitbox that is the AFC West. That division is a joke. Denver had 6 wins on their schedule guaranteed at the beginning of the year, just from getting to play KC, Oakland, and SD twice each. Meanwhile, the Vikings are in the same division as Green Bay and Chicago, an 11-win team and a 10-win team. Even the Lions, who only won 4 games, are no slouches. They're at least competitive, more than you can say for most of Denver's competition.

Hey credit to the Broncos for doing what they should, beating up on the patsies. But it does diminish their accomplishments a bit compared to the Vikings, and specifically, Adrian Peterson.