Nine Observations About the Cardinals: Week Three

1) Alfonso Smith showed some positive signs in this game.  I like the way he protects the ball and barrels into the line, and there were several instances where his second effort gained him some extra yards.

2) I know everyone is saying how marvelous that Kolb to Fitzgerald TD was.  My take?  It was an extremely dangerous pass, thrown by Kolb off one foot pedaling backwards that could easily have been intercepted.  The Cardinals got very lucky on that throw.

3) The Cardinals defensive line looked very aggressive, especially Calais Campbell.  It was the best game they played so far this year.

4) The game was decided by the Cardinals inability to capitalize on their third down conversions…they were a pitiful 3 out of 14.

5) Chris Clemons is a beast.  Enough said.

6) Last year Jay Feely was virtually automatic whenever he kicked a field goal.  This year he has been totally unreliable.  If the Cardinals are going to win any close games the rest of the year, Feely will have to improve.

7) This Kevin Kolb quote says it all: “We’re a couple plays away from being 3-0, but guess what? We’re one play away from being 0-3, too. This game comes down to that. It’s an inch in this league, and you better be willing to go get that inch.”

8) I liked the no-huddle offense in the second quarter (shades of Kurt Warner).  It seems like the Seahawks liked it too, as they also used it later in the game.  It will be interesting if we see more of that from the Cardinals in future games.

9) Although Tarvaris Jackson made a few key third down passes to keep a couple of drives alive, the Cardinals pass defense was much improved from the prior two weeks.  You can’t blame the defense for this loss.  It was the inability of the offense to execute and make plays when it counted.