Desperate gamble sinks the Arizona Cardinals
By Jim Koch
A fourth-down gamble by the Arizona Cardinals’ Bruce Arians was the desperate act of a coach who knows his team is in trouble
Arizona Cardinals’ head coach Bruce Arians was taking the blame. Well, sort of. The Cardinals head man was a culprit on Sunday, but certainty not the only one.
The Cardinals 31-21 loss to the Houston Texans was gut-wrenching. Another contest they could’ve won once again slipped from their grasp. Arizona’s 2017 season took another step in the wrong direction, and time has just about run out on the squad.
The matchup versus Houston was ultimately decided by one crucial play in the fourth quarter. Facing a fourth-down and one from their own 35-yard line with 6:33 to go, Arians elected to go for it. Adrian Peterson was then thrown for a one-yard loss on a play that never had a chance.
“Trust is a funny thing sometimes “, Arians commented during the postgame news conference. “When you can’t gain a foot, you deserve to lose.” In the grand scheme of things truer words have never been spoken.
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While he took responsibility for the poor play-call, Arians at the same time believes his offense should’ve been able to convert that fourth down. The truth is, the Cards’ run-blocking is horrendous minus the services of starting left tackle D.J. Humphries. Aside from a few decent runs early on, the rushing attack was nonexistent for most of the afternoon.
Peterson deserves criticism also. A future Hall of Famer should be able to gain a foot, no matter how dire the circumstances may be. Arians obviously placed alot of trust in the 32-year old, maybe too much in hindsight.
What we now have in the desert is a roster with quite a few overrated players, and a coaching staff that could use some upgrades. Not exactly a recipe for success. Hopefully, ownership is taking notes.