Max Hall and the Arizona Cardinals got off to a strong start Thursday night as they completed a last-minute touchdown drive to defeat the Oakland Raiders 24-18. These games don't mean much, but hey, who honestly wants to lose? Here is some reaction from around the blogosphere:
- Jess Root, Revenge Of The Birds
A.J. Jefferson's play: Jefferson definitely has come a long way. Being undrafted has been a huge motivating factor. He got beat on one play, but as he told me on Twitter, "in Cover 2, i's hard for me to make that play inside." He responded with a pass breakup. He didn't get any turnovers. The way he is headed right now will certainly get him into the playing rotation and might make him a regular season starter.
John Skelton's comfort in running the offense: Last season, Skelton looked good...for a fifth-round project quarterback. He was not good. But he looked miles ahead of where he was a year ago. Accuracy was an issue last season. The TV guys (maybe it was postgame on the radio) talked about how he has an accurate arm. I'm not sure about that, but his confidence level definitely better. Don't confuse this with thinking he's ready to be a starter. He's not, but it was nice to see him looking more than a wide-eyed rookie.
Quarterback depth is never, ever, ever a bad thing.
All of us have to work out some kinks," Kolb said. "They've got to get used to my cadence in a live-game setting, getting out of the huddle. There are a lot of things that you can't duplicate in practice.
"It was kind of what you expected," Whisenhunt said. "I was happy to see us make some plays, especially with that first offense, as far as Kevin running the offense and Larry making some plays down the field. For a first game, especially with the limited amount of work of we had, that's exciting.
Kolb is a mobile quarterback, something the Cardinals haven't had under Whisenhunt. Matt Leinart, Kurt Warner and Derek Anderson didn't do much damage with their feet. Kolb can move. "That's why I tell those guys, just keep fighting. You get beat, just push them on by and I'll step up in the pocket and try to make a play," Kolb said.
I will say this, the game looked to me a lot like any other preseason game. In other words, it wasn't overly sloppy, it didn't reflect to the naked eye (or typical fan) the lost offseason or lack of practice time. We'll see if that holds true once games start for real.