SB Nation - Dirk Johnson

The 5 Things the Bucs need for a happy 2010

Niko Houllis — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:50:52 -0000

What the Bucs need to do to have a better 2010...

In no particular order, here are five things the Bucs need to do to insure a happy Buccaneers 2010 season; with an extra point after the jump.

Continue to show improvement in play- The Bucs have been blown out by double digits in 5 of the first 7 games. In the last four? The Bucs lost one big, but won one, and lost the other two by a combined 5 points!.... in the last minute of each game! Josh Freeman is outplaying the other two big named rookie quarterbacks, as Josh is now 69 out of 125 (55.2%) for 793 yards 7 TDs and 5 Ints. His 76.5 QB Rating is higher than the 62.4 for Stafford or 62.1 for Sanchez. Both of those QBs have thrown for less completion %, and have a higher interception rate too.
Maintain continuity- Many fans want to see Bill Cowher coach this Bucs team. Yet Cowher's success comes from his ownership giving him 15 plus years to run the team, and not let him go at the first sign of a poor record or poor showings. The Quick Pull that fans want to do with Raheem is exactly the thing that would have ruined Cowher. Redskins QB Campbell is a fine example of what happens to a QB who gets a new Coordinator each year. Closer to home Bucs Shawn King had a new coordinator each year, Shula in '99, Les Steckle, Clyde Christianson, Jon Gruden was no. 4 in 4 years. Keep Raheem Morris, Greg Olsen, and remove the Bates defensive coaches so everyone is on the same page. We are seeing this improvement we have been looking for all year. If it continues, this offseason isnt the time to do it.s
Import more defensive talent, starting with the Defensive Line- Now that its obvious the Bucs return to the Tampa Two is a little more long term, the restocking of the Bucs defense is now on a lesser scale. Before the season is over, the defensive coaches need to assess if anyone on the roster is capable of taking over the undertackle 3 technique. If not, then this is a critical position on the roster that must be addressed in the NFL Draft, and Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh is a popular choice for that particular need. The secondary will need some attention too, as Ronde Barber is not getting younger, and Sabby Piscitelli needs to be assessed if he is the man to take the free safety position for the Bucs.
Punting is fundamental- Its not FUN though for Bucs fans, watching Dirk Johnson punt that is. The Bucs 'for real' punter Josh Bidwell's condition must be assertained to determine if his season ending injury is going to hamper his efforts in 2010. The last thing a struggling defense needs is a poor punter. Connor Barth seems to be the real deal in the place kicking department. When he misses, he misses by feet, not stadiums. Matt Bryant was similar.
Find a franchise running back- Take a moment to get your breath back after reading this one...and tell everyone which of the three running backs is a real, bonafide franchise back, that can be relied upon in a pinch. Cadillac? Love the whole story, its a great one, but he is 90% of what he was. A franchise back can break a 45 yard TD. Which one of our Backs do you see doing that? Derrick Ward has been a disapointment, but will be given another chance next year. Earnest Graham may be the real deal, but we need an LT, a Bettis, an........Alstott, to go with our Freeman.

OK OK, Extra Point- It may not sound popular. But number 5 + 1; Re-sign Antonio Bryant- Forget the injury. They happen. Its not a career bug, but it was bad enough that it affected most of he season. Not really his fault. What did he do with it? Did he cause a disruption in the lockeroom? Wasnt that the worry after all about AB? Not that he could do the job, but that he wouldnt turn into a head case. Two seasons now, and the worse we have is Bryant saying throw the ball more please. Tell me he is wrong first before you let him go, because you can bet there will be a line at the Free Agency window if he is not given a long term contract. Also...start Sammy Stroughter and Maurice Stovall so 1) Sammy can show he is a serious #2 guy, or 3) Stovall can finally show us he is more than a special team star.

Week 2 Preview: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1) @ Buffalo Bills (0-1)

Buc Wild — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:00:32 -0000

by Brian Blanco - AP

View full size photo »

Week 2 is descending upon us rather quickly. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will try to shake the stink of a 34-21 loss off their backs while the Buffalo Bills are trying to get back to an even keel after an emotional letdown and loss at the hands of the Patriots. Sunday's game will also be the 50th anniversary celebration of the Bills All Time AFL Team, so the team should be extra fired up.

The Bucs have some problems to fix, we know that, but how do they match up with Bills?

Overview/Team Stats

Thankfully this game takes place in September, as I don't want to hear about the Bucs and cold weather. Sure, we more or less broke that dismal record a few years back, but I'd rather avoid it whenever possible. The Bucs will travel north to the land of the unknown for them. What they'll find is a rather angry and hungry team, looking to get win number one on the year, much like the Bucs.

This is an important game for both teams as each team tries to hold off the 0-2 hole to start the season. For the Bucs, it's more about momentum as an 0-2 hole with the Giants, Redskins and Eagles all on tap may cause for a dreary start.

The Bills have a potent offense, and a player you may not have heard of. Terrell Owens. Oh, you've heard of him? He had a pretty quiet showing in Monday night's loss, so I'm sure he's amped up to get the ball and do some celebrating. And no better team to do that against than our Bucs, who ranked in the bottom 3 in pass defense.

But how do these two teams match up? Let's look at some handy dandy stats to find out

TEAM	TOTAL DVOA	TOTAL DAVE	RANK	OFF DVOA	RANK	DEF DVOA	RANK	S.T. DVOA	RANK
TB	-44.60%	-15.20%	27	43.00%	3	75.70%	32	-11.90%	28
BUF	0.00%	-25.80%	32	31.30%	5	21.20%	26	-10.10%	27

Somewhat similar teams. While the Bucs offense was better than average (based on opponent and situation), the defense was much worse, though Buffalo still feel in the bottom third of the league. Special Teams they're pretty similar. Hard to believe that the team that hung in with the Patriots is relatively close to the team that got smoked by the Cowboys in terms of rankings.

The traditional stats show a similar picture.

TB	Team	Buf
450	Off Yds/Gm	276
5	Rank	20
276	Passing	186
174	Rushing	90
33:32	T.O.P.	22:52
21	Pts/Game	24
14	Rank	9
462	Yds All/Gm	441
29	Rank	26
34	Points All	25

Neither team is exaclty building up a head of steam going into week 1.

When Buffalo has the Ball

Buffalo is in a similar predicament as the Bucs, having fired their OC just weeks before opening day. They run more of a no huddle offense this year, aimed at keeping the defense on the field and wearing them down. Their top running back, Marshawn Lynch has 2 more games left on his suspension, but they have a capable back up in Fred Jackson.

Also, you might have heard, they have a new wide receiver opposite Lee Evans. His name is Terrell Owens. While he wasn't involved in the game on Monday night, you can bet he wants to see more action this coming Sunday. A tough match up for any defensive secondary, it doesn't get much easier with Lee Evans on the opposite side and Roscoe Parrish in the slot.

A quick look at their 2008 and 2009 numbers as individuals. Remember that 08 numbers are based on a complete year, thus DYAR will be significantly higher (in theory)

Player	DVOA 08	DVOA 09	DYAR 08	DYAR 09
Trent Edwards	-0.30%	31.80%	278	69
Fred Jackson	7%	4.30%	91	8
Lee Evans	11.20%	-39.60%	191	-12

This could pose some problems for the Bucs as two top tier WR's will surely test our secondary. The Bucs flat out have to do two things better. 1) Generate a pass rush (yes, you Gaines Adams) and 2) maintain some sort of deep safety and not bite. The safety issues will come down to discipline. Can they maintain their responsibilities and not get caught free lancing. This was a huge issue last week obviously.

The front four generated zero sacks, a handful of pressures, and our best player, at least in terms of expectations (Adams) generated zero stats of any kind, unless you count the penalty. That can't happen again. Buffalo's OL was pretty average last year and ranked 25th in sacks given up and sack rate, so the opportunities are there. They ran a lot of screens, something the Bucs LB's will have to be all over. Barrett Ruud will have to lead on the defensive side and find a way to get involved.

I would imagine T.O. would draw Talib in coverage, but this is dicey. T.O. has size, speed and strength. Evans has speed. Where do you put Talib and where do you put Ronde? I expect either a ton of blitzes to limit the amount of coverage either has to do, or tons of LB/Safety help. After the Dallas debacle, this could be bad. Let's hope Bates and Morris got some things fixed as the Bucs should be tested often through the air.

When the Bucs have the ball

We saw how high the Tampa offense was ranked, how they performed, and how both the pass and run were above average. This will have to continue. Two heads of the three headed monster will need to be on point. Last week it was Caddy and Ward. This week? Could be the same, or maybe Graham gets involved. Either way, we have to run the ball successfully. Count it as a loss if Leftwich throws more than 35 times.

The offensive line did a fantastic job neutralizing the Dallas pass rush. Buffalo will need to be thwarted just the same. As Niko showed you, the OL did a great job in the run game. They opened holes, held blocks and got to the second level. This needs to continue, and I have no reason to believe it won't.

The question mark going into the game will be on Leftwich and the passing game. Can he and OL repeat their zero sack performance and will he avoid the turnover? The passing game has already seen a big loss in losing Jeff Faine. He is the captain of the line and did a fantastic job of pointing out coverage and blitzers.

The passing game may also be hurt if Bryant is 100% or doesn't play. This knee injury sounds like a season long aggravation. He either has to tough it (and who knows how successful he can be then) or call it a season and hang it up. Clayton performed well, but Winslow has to step up. He made a few grabs, but will need to be a solid #2 WR.

Terrance McGee was pretty successful in holding Moss in check until a late grab and run happened. Paul Posluzny is out with an arm injury, which should be good for the tight end passing game and running game. Aaron Schobel will look to apply pressure in the four man front the Bucs will face. The Bucs need to establish the line of scrimmage to have success in the ground and air game.

Special Teams

Both teams had severe special teams issues. Leodis McKelvin fumbled a kickoff late to set up the Pats for the winning score. The Bucs couldn't muster more than 40 yards in the air on punts and saw their kicker go 0-2 on field goals, including a block. Field position is always key, so look for Dirk Johnson to kick a bit deeper, if he's capable. Mike Nugent has to start making some field goals, if nothing else than for confidence of himself or the fans. Roscoe Parrish and Clifton Smith are two dynamic return guys, so there is the potential for a big play on any kick.

Key Matchups

Terrell Owens vs Aqib Talib - I'm guessing Talib draws T.O, on Sunday. Look for the second eyar corner to stay physical with T.O. and try to frustrate him. He should have some safety help over the top (should being the operative word). T.O. is a dynamic WR, but teams have shown they can win without him touching the ball. I'd like to see the Bucs pressure the Bills to do just that.

Sabby Piscitelli vs himself - Seriously. He has to go back out there and forget last week. Important things are depth, assignment and wrapping up. He has to be disciplined. The Bills WR's aren't slouches and will make him pay.

Gaines Adams vs Demetrius Bell & Brad Butler - Gaines has to win this battle. He is supposed to be on his way to becoming a premier pass rusher. This is a good time to start. Facing two unheralded tackles may be just what he needs.

Donald Penn vs Aaron Schobel - Give Penn his due. He put a stop to Demarcus Ware last week, and now we need the same performance against Schobel. He (Schobel) had a great pick and return for a score last week, let's hope he has no more playmaking in his future.

Antonio Bryant vs Terrence McGee - If Bryant plays, he's going to draw McGee in coverage. Bryant has to win this battle, at least enough to get targeted and free up other options. McGee did a pretty good job against Moss last week, hopefully Bryant will be 100% and give McGee some fits.

Jonathan Compas vs Buffalo DT's - Who the heck is Jonathan Compas? He's Jeff Faine's replacement, that's who. Faine and the OL did an excellent job. Now Compas must come in and guide the Buc's OL and help Leftwich in the passing game.

What to watch for

Will Antonio Bryant be 100%. A key factor in the Bucs passing game, he makes the deep plays go.

The Bucs kicking game. Deep or high punts (or both), and made field goals.

Under Pressure. The DL for the Bucs has to generate pressure and force Trent Edwards to make mistakes. The Bucs OL has to keep Leftwich upright.

Well, there you go, the breakdown on Sunday's game. My prediction will come on Saturday afternoon, but feel free to drop your thoughts and predictions in the comments section.

Grading out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Special Teams

Buc Wild — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:00:12 -0000

Special Teams always accounts for what the talking heads like to call "hidden yards." Thursday night's game didn't feature many big special teams plays either for or against us. Let's hop on over and look at the grades

Kick/Punt Return

No one took one all the way back, but Clifton Smith still showed he can move with the ball and create some plays. He had two nice returns where he displayed his shiftiness and made guys miss. You make one guy miss on a punt return, it could equal big yards. Sammy Stroughter came back down to Earth, but as long as positive yards are taken on punt returns and we hit the 20 on kickoff returns, I can't argue. Not a stellar night, but average. Grade: C

Punter

I will continue to harp on Dirk Johnson until I see some consistency. He's never had a regular season punt blocked, but that didn't stop him from getting a preseason punt blocked. Granted, the line didn't protect, but ultimately, it falls on him. I won't knock him too much for that. He averaged 32 yards per punt. That looks like an awful number but when you look at where he was punting (inside the 50), it's hard to achieve any distance. He did generate one fair catch inside the 20, but I want to see some inside the 10. He also half shanked a punt that went end over end. We need consistency here. Grade: C

Kicker

I'm almost tired of talking about this at this point. Mike Nugent came on, displayed a little bit better power on kickoffs, getting a few to the endzone, but no touchbacks. He was 2 out of 3 on field goals, with his miss coming on a 51 yard attempt. This was after he made a 46 yarder whistled dead due to a penalty. His misses have been from 46,51,51 so it at least he isn't missing chip shots, but right now he is 4 for 7 on the preseason. Not all that impressive. Of course, it doesn't hurt that he has no competition at this point. Makes me wonder if Nugent will be the guy, or if they are just saving Bryant's leg at this point. Grade: C+

Coverage Units

Kickoff returns were consistently taken outside the 30. Punt returns were pretty well shut down. Just no big plays and maintain field position. That seems to be the MO here. Grade: B

Grading out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Special Teams

Buc Wild — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:30:10 -0000

Last piece of the "Grading out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers" columns. This one focuses on special teams and their performance.

Short intro, short piece. Hit the Jump for more.

Special Teams

Kicker

Mike Nugent - Can't continue to go 1 for 2 and make team. No competition at this point. For someone with a strong leg, again, he didn't reach end zone once on kickoffs. His field goal tries have sufficient distance, and until I see Bryant kick from the same spots, I'm still not willing to say Bryant's leg is weaker. Grade: C

Punter

Dirk Johnson - Has been overwhelmingly average. Punting from Jax 45 yard line, he dropped a kick at the 20. Not acceptable. That ball has to be on the 10 or give the coverage teams a chance to down it inside the 5. Other kciks were decent, but not changing field position. Grade: C-

Return Units

Sammy Stroughter - We've got several options at KR/PR thanks to SS. Showed good agility, good vision and ability to hit the seam quickly. Danced too much at times. Good ball security and good speed. If he can learn that sometimes its best to take the 5-7 yards and not dance, he will be VERY good at this role. Grade: A-

Clifton Smith - Is a great asset on special teams. Still had good vision and ability to get upfield. Delivered a good hit on coverage team. Grade: B

Maurice Stovall - I'll chalk this up to being a preseason game, but that was an idiotic move he made by not downing punt. Not going to help his cause any, though I'm 99% sure he is one of the gunners on opening day. Grade D-------

Overall the special teams unit was above average, thanks to a few returns. Funny after all these years our return game may be the better part of special teams with the way the kicker/punter are performing. Grade: B

The Point After - Grading out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Special Teams

Buc Wild — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 07:00:14 -0000

Some key battles are taking place on the special teams unit this year for the Bucs. So after one preseason game, how did the players do? Let's take a look at the grades

Punter

Dirk Johnson - Taking over for Bidwell, big shoes to fill. First punt was a weak end over end effort. Got better as night progressed. Punted 5 times for a net average of 38.6 yards (gross of 41 yards). He did drop a punt on the 9 yard line (fair caught) and the 11 yard line (short punt from the Tenn 45 yard line). Not too shabby, but will need more film to evaluate. No issues on holding for PAT's or FG"s. Grade: B

Kicker

Mike Nugent - With Matt Bryant out, the show was all Nugent's. He was perfect on PAT's. Went 1/2 on field goals, but both were beyond 50 yards. Nailed a 51 yarder with som room to spare, the 50 yarder was pulled low and left. Might have had the distance but looked like he mis-hit it. Averaged 68.6 yard per kickoff with one touchback (came after a penalty). Average kick ended on the Tenn 2 yard line. Hard to knock him for missing a 50 yarder, but every miss counts. Grade: C+

Punt Returner

Anyone - Technically, only one punt returner hit the box score. Sammy Stroughter had 2 returns for a total of 1 yard. Not groundbreaking, though he did field one punt in traffic with no fair catch. Dexter Jackson did return a punt 9 yards, but it was the punt that resulted in the safety. Grade: Incomplete, though D-Jack gets an A+ for not shying from contact

Kick Returner

Bryan Clark - 2 returns, averaging 18 yards, long of 23 yards. Not great field position here. Grade: C-

Sammy Stroughter - 3 returns, averaged 27 yards with a long of 30. Better field position, had the feeling that he can make some plays in this portion of game. Want to see more opportunites here. Grade: B

Dexter Jackson - One return for 27 yards. Didn't shy from contact but he looked like a nervous runner. Seems to be a better fit on punt returns as he likes to dance a little bit. That type of running doesn't suit kick returns as well. Grade: B-

Overall

Not much to look at here. Very average group, nothing tooe xciting or explosive, but no big mistakes either. Grade: C

The final grades are in. Nothing spectacular here, but I didn't feel like we were light years behind. I'll take the performances considering we had zero of our regular starters doing anything.

How would you rank the Special Teams?

Cannon Shots: Quick Update on Thursday's (short) morning practice

Buc Wild — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:12:43 -0000

Thursday was scheduled to be a special teams practice, but ended up being a full squad ~~practice~~ walk-through. Some quick notes

- Dirk Johnson was signed to replace Bidwell (for now). DT Greg Peterson was told to hit the road to make room.

- No pads were worn as this looked to be a quick walk through to get ready for this evening's closed practice.

- Clifton Smith and Jerramy Stevens were back at practice. No worries there.

- No other real injury news. Fans seem to be pretty worried about the injures mounting up right now. Don't worry, it's bound to happen. We need to stay away from the 8 week or season long injuries, but the 2 week injuries or "tweaks" are gonna happen.

- Tonight's practice will be a run through with the head coach on the sideline, and the coordinators in the booth. They want to make sure they have the timing down, that they are on the right page. First real run through for them.

- The QB battle continues to interest me. I could definitely see the guy who "loses" the battle between McCown and Leftwich getting cut. Only problem is that leaves us with no veteran backup, but if either of the two vets don't take the lead, it may open the door for JJ or Freeman.

Not much to report from the walk through. Two days from the first live action.

Top Five Disappoinments of the Arizona Cardinals 2008 Season

Andrew602 — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:00:09 -0000

Last week we addressed the top five most surprising moments of the Cardinals 2008 season. This week, we'll go over the top five disappointments. The bright side of the story is that the 2008 season was a successful surprise so it is difficult to find 5 major disappointments. I went through all the scenarios in my head and came up with these top five disappointments:

Inconsistency During the Regular Season - The Cardinals never failed to repeat their success during the 2008 season. After they started off 2-0, they lost their next 2 games including a 35-56 loss to the Jets. Then, after a 7-3 start, they went 2-4 to finish out the regular season, with a combined score of 138-198. You could say that carried over in the post season when they won 4 straight going into the Super Bowl but couldn't finish the big game.
Dirk Johnson, Leonard Pope, Matt Leinart, Eric Green and Alan Branch - It wasn't easy to single out just one of these players as a big disappoint, so they all made the list. You could say Leinart was since he was the starter throughout training camp and lost his job to Warner. Perhaps they weren't complete disappointments because without them, Stephen Spach, Kurt Warner, Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie, and Bryan Robinson wouldn't have had the great seasons that they had.
Anquan Boldin Wanting Out x2- This one was a surprise but it also qualifies as a disappointment. It always becomes dissatisfying when one of the star players and faces of the franchise asks several times to be released or traded from their team. Boldin disappointed many fans when he did just this. Going off on offensive coordinator Todd Haley in the NFC Championship game, and then not celebrating with his team afterwards, didn't help his case with the fans as well.
Edgerrin James Production - Nobody expected James to have a pro bowl season this year, but he did gain over 1,000 yards in his previous two seasons in the desert. After a slow start, he was benched to a rookie and he later asked to be released. He resurged the running game in the post season but immediately asked to be released after the season ended.
Clancy Pendergast - There were moments when the defense looked like a fantastic and dominating defense. Then there was the New England game. Clancy's defense was too inconsistent and at times looked lost. It was the defense that blew the final drive of the Super Bowl and may be the reason he lost his job.

Other then these, there aren't a whole lot of disappoints for the 2008 season and for a team that almost won the Super Bowl. What are some other disappointments? Who didn't live up to expectations or do their part like they should've?

Arizona Cardinals Release Dirk Johnson

Andrew602 — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:48:38 -0000

It has been confirmed that the Arizona Cardinals have released punter Dirk Johnson...Mike Sando and Kent Somers have both reported. Dirk was on the verge of being released, being warned by Ken Whisenhunt after poor performances the past 3 weeks. One of his few supporters, Neil Rackers wanted him to stay, noting that his exceptional kicking was a result of Johnson's holding. Johnson is expected to be replaced by punter Ben Graham, a former NY Jet and New Orleans Saint.

Update: Graham is a not only a former Jet, but he was also the Jets punter when the Cardinals played them earlier this season. He was cut by the Jets after they beat the Cardinals because Mangini wasn't happy with the hang time on Graham's punts. Graham played in one game as a Saint, the game in London, and has actually kicked very similarly to Johnson this season. Graham's net average is slightly better (43.06 vs. 41.8) and is net average is almost identical (35.9 vs. 35.2). The real thing to watch this week and for the rest of the season is how Neil Rackers responds to another new holder. Much of his struggles kicking last year were placed on Mitch Berger and Johnson has gotten a lot of credit for helping stabilize Rackers this season. Graham is a left footed punter but does have experience holding so it's expected that he'll assume the same roll with the Cardinals.

Arizona Cardinals Hold of the Seahawks 26-20

cgolden — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:19:01 -0000

Another week, another win for the Arizona Cardinals. Another 300 yard passing game from Kurt Warner and another big game from the best wide receiving duo in the NFL, Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. But this was also another game when they couldn't quite finish off a team on the ropes.

The Cardinals went into the fourth quarter with a seemingly insurmountable lead against the Seahawks yesterday. A six yard screen pass from Kurt Warner to J.J. Arrington on third and goal pushed the Cardinals' lead to 26-7 and it felt like the game was over. The Seahawks though, to their credit, didn't have any thoughts of conceding defeat. They scored two touchdowns in the next ten minutes and were within a single score for over half of the fourth quarter. In the end, both sides of the ball did what they had to do to make the lead stand up. The Cardinals' offense stayed somewhat aggressive picking up first downs via the pass and the run and they held the ball for 7 minutes and 53 seconds of the final 9:41. The defense completely stifled the Hawks, limiting Hasselbeck to 1 of 3 passing for -1 yards and an interception on their final two drives. What does this team have to do though to deliver the proverbial knock blow?

Protect the Football: The Cardinals didn't 'gift wrap' the Seahawks final 14 points but they did make make some bonehead mistakes. The first came when Karlos Dansby picked off Matt Hasselbeck in the end zone and instead of taking a knee, Dansby decide to take off out of the end zone. He was tackled around the ten and lost the ball. Seattle would score five plays later and the next Cardinals drive would last just two plays, ending on a fumble by Warner. The Hawks would punch in another touchdown after five plays and the they would be with six points. There's a fine line between playing aggressive and playing reckless and it's debatable which side the Cardinals were on early in the fourth quarter.

Win the Battle of Field Position: In a one score game, every yard counts and the Cardinals seemed like they were always on the verge of giving the Seahawks a short field. Dirk Johnson punted twice after the Seahawks final touchdown. One was a decent kick (48 yards) but it was negated by a 20 yard return and the second punt was a pitiful 29 yard shank. Johnson was a big question mark heading into the season and early on he looked decent but his past two games has been pathetic. Ken Whisenhunt called him out last week and said that he's got to improve but this weeks performance could force the coaching staff to work out some punters off the street. They also lost 17 yards in penalties on their final two offensive drives.

Find Some Way to Keep the Clock Running: Considering that last weeks game came down to the final seconds ticking off the clock, I'd have thought the Cardinals would have been a bit more conscious of the clock. Granted it ultimately didn't matter because DRC ended any hopes that the Hawks had of coming back but if the Hawks had mounted a drive they would have had time (2:05) to do some damage. I think most of us have written off the running game from being very effective, although they were better than last week. The Cardinals did a better job of using the clock then they did against the Niners but they still left too many seconds on the table. Two incomplete passes and a reception that ended with Boldin out of bounds left valuable seconds on the clock. to pick on a certain play, Warner was nearly sacked by Lofa Tatupa but he got the ball out of his hands only to be called with intentional grounding. The result was a loss of twelve yards and a clock stoppage. Had KW just tucked the ball and taken the sack the clock would have continued running and used up another 40-ish seconds. Again ultimately it didn't make a bit of difference but it could have if DRC didn't make a great play.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Maybe I should just be satisfied with another division win on the road, but I think that small problems like this could potentially build up and cost the Cardinals a win against a better opponent. Am I just being too critical? Did you ever really feel like the game was in doubt? Are you concerned that this team can't quite put a game out of reach?

Arizona Cardinals Beat the Cowboys: Special Teams Breakdown

cgolden — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:14:24 -0000

The special teams units were a big question mark coming into the season but for this one game, they were the best unit on the field. The special teams units were directly responsible for 16 points of the Cardinals 30 points, including the first and final points of the game. There were also some interesting, if not questionable decisions made by the coaching staff that are worth looking at as well.

Neil Rackers: Rackers had a good game kicking field goals and extra points with his only field goal coming from 41 yards out. His field goal percentage is up to 80% on the season (8 of 10) but the real story on Racker's game came on kickoffs. He had six kickoffs total and included in those kicks was a pooch kick and a failed onside attempt. His overall kickoff stats (18 yd return avg) are skewed by those to kicks but his 'true-kickoffs' were productive. Rackers isn't getting as many touchbacks as he has in years past but his kicks are still getting to the goal line or into the end zone. Of his four deep kicks, two of them were into the end zone and the other two were fielded at the one. The Cardinals continue to attempt at least one pooch kick a game and it's tough to tell whether they're trying to catch opposing teams off guard or if they don't fully trust the coverage units.They also attempted another onside kick, but Rackers didn't get the bounce that he needed. He also had another tackle this week when he brought down Miles Austin at the 33 yard line. Grade: A

Dirk Johnson: Johnson had another solid game even though his overall stats weren't eye popping (39.2 avg). He pinned the Cowboys at their own nine once and dropped three punts right around the 20. His overall average was dragged down by two short punts (34 and 30 yards) but those two punts resulted in the Cowboys starting at their own nine yard line and at their 20. He's still performing below league average in both average (29th) and net average (21st) but he has shown a pretty good ability to pin the opponent inside their own 20 (7 times in 18 punts). Grade: B+

Kick Return: Two weeks ago, the Cardinals needed a spark in the kick return department and JJ Arrington has provided exactly that. He only had one kickoff return against the Cowboys but we all know how that one turned out and the Cowboys
stayed away from him the rest of the game. The rest of their kickoffs included two pooch kicks and a kick out of bounds. If Arrington can continue to strike fear in the opposition, the Cardinals offense will be at a huge advantage with great starting field position. The first pooch kick by the Cowboys was muffed by Calais Campbell but Dallas blew their chance to capitalize on it when they missed a field goal. I would hope that Campbell's days on kickoff return are finished though because he certainly didn't look like a guy who was capable of fielding a kick anytime in the near future. Grade: B+

Punt Return: Steve Breaston continues to be impressive on punt returns and his game was better than his stats (9 avg) would indicate. Three of his returns were for 13 yards or more but his overall numbers were dragged down by a one yard return. One problem that the Cardinals have got to get ironed out are the penalties on punt returns. They had another one this week, an illegal block above the waist by Doucet that moved the offense from their 35 to their own 21. Of course the best and most important punt return went for two yards, when Sean Morey completely blew up the punter and Monty Beisel tumbled into the end zone. Morey, the special teams captain, came through the line unblocked and almost ended up over running over the punter before he even started to kick. Grade: A+

---------------------------------------------------------

Overall the special teams was truly special this week and with young, explosive guys (Breaston and Arrington) mixed in with savvy veterans (Morey and Beisel) there's no reason to think that they can't be a dangerous unit on a weekly basis. Thoughts? Agree/Disagree?