12 observations from our first game

by revdwl34 on Sep 11, 2011 11:33 PM EDT

Well, noone saw THAT coming! At least, that fast. Speaking of Cam's debut of course. As a detail guy, I'd like to throw out a few things from Game 1 I thought might be interesting:

1. I said it in preseason, this is not the John Fox Panthers. Chud is a pass to set up the run kind of guy, so any success we have with the run will be because our passing game has been successful first.

2. Barring injury, we might not see nearly as much Mike Goodson this year. I hope we can get him involved more in the passing game, but it seemed like Goody wasn't on the field much until the end of the game.

3. Speaking of Goody, here's a special teams opinion: I'd rather have a defensive guy covering punts than a RB.

4. I did not see Armanti Edwards at WR today, did I miss it?

5. I'll be the first to say Brandon LaFell had a decent game, and that I hope I'm wrong about him not stepping up to be our #2.

6. We set the edge better in run defense than the last few preseason games. Now, if we can add some quality vet/vets at DT we have the potential to be a very solid defense.

7. I was surprised Charles Godfrey seemed to have a quiet game.

8. Was pleasantly surprised at our pass rush! So glad to see CJ and Hardy doing their thing.

9. Jeff King was always a standup locker room guy for us. I wish him all the success in the world...just wish it wasn't against us.

10. I was surprised that Cam's rushing ability seemed limited and contained in this game. I kept waiting for some called runs or bootlegs to get him in space. Not a complaint though, considering the game he had passing.

11. I've said it all preseason: I am content with Gamble and Captain as our #1 and #2 corners. They played well today.

12. I think one thing we have to understand is this: Being "more aggressive" as a team will also sometimes mean we will be burned more with big plays. The throw on the middle to Doucet as we brought the blitz comes to mind. So we're going to have to accept some bad with the good; time will tell if "more agressive" = "more effective" than a more conservative philosophy that we have now definitely seen the last of.

Oh yes, and one more:

13. I could read Cam Newton's mind while the Cardinal crowd was being loud: "Please y'all, I've played in Tuscaloosa." This wasn't just unparalleled poise. This was frankly, a guy who has played in bigger games against more hostile stadiums than the one he played in today.

The content of these posts are those of the user/fan making the post only

Tweet Comment 9 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Great observations.

by Derek Leazer on Sep 12, 2011 12:07 AM EDT reply actions

tks Pb76!

just thought of one more:

14. I read Jimmy’s mind tonight: “Gotta start practice my clipboard holdin!”

During the preseason I said 10 years from now we will be laughing at how Cam and JC were ever in a QB “competition.” One is a future superstar, the other a career backup. IMHO, I think I will be proved right. In time…

"We want them to play fast, we want them to play physical, we want them to play hard and most importantly we want them to play smart." RR 8-3-11

by revdwl34 on Sep 12, 2011 12:17 AM EDT up reply actions

good stuff

i hope your right about the DT. And i agree why is goodson covering punts, the TD return was terrible, Senn was the only one that even made contact with peterson

by amart012 on Sep 12, 2011 1:30 AM EDT reply actions

i know goings used to do it, and you need speed guys as gunners

i’m just not sure goody is the tackling type. all in all, with the dropped pass and falling short on the last play, not a great game for goodson.

neblett was in on a couple of plays at DT. but if beason is gone, that leaves us with 2 roster spots to fill, so look for a signing in the next 48 hours at DT

"We want them to play fast, we want them to play physical, we want them to play hard and most importantly we want them to play smart." RR 8-3-11

by revdwl34 on Sep 12, 2011 1:35 AM EDT up reply actions

I did enjoy watching

Mike Goodson chasing PP3 on the punt return. It looked like Peterson was starting to strut and looked over his shoulder. Goody was a few steps behind and closing fast.
Peterson quit fooling and R-A-N!
He’ll be hearing about that the rest of the season from veterans on the team.

by criolle johnny on Sep 12, 2011 5:38 AM EDT reply actions

Good posts

I wouldnt be as kind to Gamble and Munn but I think they werent helped by some of the additional time Kolb had to throw either.

I was impressed with LaFell he seems like he is starting to get it now.

Follow me on Twitter @manu4t

by manu4t on Sep 12, 2011 1:35 PM EDT reply actions

surprised at your comments on our CBs manu

two broken coverages gave kolb 2 long TD passes. after their first drive, we shut them down except for those two plays. great job on Fitz…..3 catches??? they played well imo

lets hope we see that lafell every game, we need him, hes better than nanu when he plays up to his potential

"We want them to play fast, we want them to play physical, we want them to play hard and most importantly we want them to play smart." RR 8-3-11

by revdwl34 on Sep 13, 2011 2:58 AM EDT up reply actions