Arizona was favored to win at home against a Patriots team that was without suspended quarterback Tom Brady and pass-rusher Rob Ninkovich as well as injured tight end Rob Gronkowski. Running back James White completed a big pass by Jimmy G. that, for a second, made me think Brady and Wes Welker were back on the field and hey, Coach Dante Scarnecchia is back. That’s certainly an area that needs improvement. That’s a part of every game, but it’s uncharacteristic of some players on the Cardinals.
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Sunday night in Arizona, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo led the Patriots to a 23-21 victory over an Arizona Cardinals team that, like New England, was on the doorstep of the Super Bowl last January.
“He made some good plays”. The more Johnson can get the ball and produce, the easier life gets for the entire offense (and also the defense).
Perhaps when his coaching career is over, Belichick will drop his contempt for the media and offer some real insight into how he does it. As a result, Garoppolo was ready and able. The problem? The downfield passing game. While it was wise to change the pace a bit with a surprising amount of focus directed toward the rushing game, Legarrette Blount is not an ideal option for a heavy workload. He caught a ball that was deflected back to him by a Cardinals lineman and took it for a three-yard gain. The bulk of his 22 carries came at a time when there should have been more of an incentive to stretch the lead. Larry Fitzgerald nearly made the coaching staff regret giving Blount the ball so much. Rarely beaten, not many mistakes, allowed couple of big plays, bent but didn’t break. We still got a long way to go, moving on to Miami.
It’s always a joy to have Edelman playing on the field and Garoppolo seemed to find him as easily as Brady does.
ANTHEMS: The most visible signs of protest during national anthems played across the league on the 15th anniversary of the September 11 attacks came from Kansas City cornerback Marcus Peters, who raised a black-gloved fist in a gesture reminiscent of what sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos did at the Olympics in 1968. Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower are at the core of the defense, but the continued progression of Sheard and Malcolm Butler could elevate the unit to elite status. After Arizona had taken a 21-20 lead, he directed a 13-play, 61-yard drive that ended with Stephen Gostkowsk’s 32-yard field goal, what proved to be the game victor with 3:44 to play. The Cardinals will live to see many better days this season.
Take a look at it this way, against a team that many have going to the Superbowl representing the NFC, the Patriots were without their starting quarterback, starting tight end, both starting tackles, a starting guard; their starting running back and had nearly all of their receivers already banged up (either recovering from an injury or didn’t practice much due to injury). Arizona’s offense didn’t look comfortable in the preseason, but Palmer and Arians insisted that the team would have no difficulties once regular season action rolled around.
“We just didn’t make enough plays in the first half, we came out too slow”, Palmer said.
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Again, Garoppolo talked about that Patriot confidence.
