It’s hard to think that there are any real return threats in the NFL these days considering how many kickoffs sail through the end zone but the Cardinals certainly got a big boost from the special teams unit in their week two standoff with Chicago in a tremendous drubbing of the Bears, winning with the score of 48 – 23 on the road. Of all the teams that played Sunday, the Cardinals produced the most points compared to any other club and it certainly builds momentum for the squad as they prepare for their first NFC West match up of the year against the 49ers. We’ll go over the good and the bad of this dominating performance.
David Johnson flashes brilliance
It isn’t often that you find yourself watching a 108-yard kickoff return to start at game in the NFL, but David Johnson looked like he was just running something that was rather routine. The rookie out of Northern Iowa carried over his momentum after practically sealing the deal against the New Orleans Saints with the 51 yard touchdown reception from a week ago and added two scores to the Cardinals game plan. One came on the kickoff and the other came on a 13 yard pitch to the weak side. Johnson is showing that his backfield vision is up there with some of the better young talents in the league today even though he didn’t gash the Bears defense overall. His change of pace between himself and Chris Johnson, who ran for a total of 72 yards in the game, helped keep the Bears defense honest and allowed Carson Palmer time to throw without a substantial amount of pressure in his face for a majority of the game as he once again went through a full sixty minute contest clean with no sacks tacked onto him. Look to see David Johnson perhaps a bit more in the future as he may be inching his way closer to being the Cardinals true 3rd down back.
Defense bends but refuses to break
The Cardinals did give up an early deep throw to Jay Cutler, who eventually left the game with a reported hamstring injury, and it looked as if the defense of the Cardinals was a little behind in their communication. As the game progressed however they gelled and ended up getting the better of the Bears offensively even after some costly turnovers that put the Bears either in or near the redzone. One came on an interception tipped up by outside linebacker Jared Allen and another earlier came on a muffed punt return by J.J. Nelson. Both occasions led only to field goals, perhaps saving eight points in the end which would have tied the game leading into the second half. Once Jimmy Clausen was brought into the game the Cardinals made sure to focus on Matt Forte and the Pro Bowl running back totaled a mere 105 yards on the day, a drastic downgrade from his week one performance. Being able to handle that short of a field will be critical in the future should the offense of the Cardinals find it difficult to move the ball as the season progresses. With this initial showing it would appear this Cardinals defense is geared for such adversity.
Now to the bad.
Fitz’s one man show
It’s never a good idea to look a gift horse in the mouth. By that I mean it is a tremendous sight to see Larry Fitzgerald dominating defensive backfields as he did last Sunday as he collected three touchdowns. The problem being is that he was practically the only target that was anywhere near effective against the Bears. John Brown collected five catches but only chalked up 45 yards receiving. Jaron Brown brought in another touchdown, but only brought in a single pass besides that. The tight ends barely showed that they were on the field with a single catch from Jermaine Gresham. The important thing for the Cardinals is to find a way for Carson Palmer to spread the ball around to all of his receivers. Even with double coverage Fitz was able to torch the Bears secondary, but that unit is one of the least experienced in the league and it showed. To say that this kind of performance will happen again against a more credible unit is laughably unlikely. The other targets for the Cardinals offense must step up and make impacts.
Special teams mishaps
Mostly when a team is referenced to have made mistakes in the special teams part of the game, it mostly just relates to returns of some kind. This week added a different problem in the missing of an extra point as well. As mentioned earlier, J.J. Nelson dropped a punt late in the first half and on review of the play it almost looks as if Nelson was more focused on bringing the ball up field rather than catching the ball and maintaining it through the kick. That kind of lapse from a rookie is expected but it begs the question if Nelson is the right man to return punts for the squad. If that accident happens again, don’t be surprised if the former UAB Blazer to find more time on the bench than on the field. And Chandler Catanzaro’s missed extra point isn’t reason for riots quite yet when he was 6 of 7 kicking on the day for the point after, it is something that will definitely be worked on. If the Cardinals look to maintain their lead in the division, they will have to play perhaps some close games in San Francisco and Seattle, both stadiums that are notorious for the kicking conditions later in the year with the wind and weather.
The first game of the division schedule begins at 1 PM next Sunday as the 49ers look to rebound and go for their first road win after a difficult loss at the hands of Pittsburgh last week. Last year the Cardinals took home a win against San Francisco and will look to make it back to back years of home victories against the 49ers.