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An ugly game for the Cardinals.
That is the only way you can really describe their loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday as they fell 31-17 in a sloppy, mismanaged and poorly executed effort. There were missed tackles, poor plays called and, possibly worst of all, numerous dropped passes by the wide receivers. The worst part is, all of these things are correctable. And they will need to be corrected if the Cardinals want to put a halt to their five game losing streak.
One of the worst offenders of the dropped pass was Early Doucet, who claimed three drops as his own in the first half alone. Somehow, he still saw time on the field in the second half, mainly due to the fact that the Cardinals were down by so many points and needed to spread the field with multiple receivers.
But in 3 receivers or less sets, rookie Michael Floyd came into the game, taking Doucet's place. Floyd ended the day with 5 catches for 80 yards on seven targets. One of his catches was a phenomenal leaping grab on fourth down, sustaining the drive for the Cards at the end of the game.
It is his raw talent, size, speed and even draft status that should have him leapfrogging Early Doucet on the depth chart by the time the Cardinals play the Falcons in two weeks. He makes difficult catches look easy as opposed to Doucet making easy catches look difficult.
Developing their first round talent and riding with him through thick and thin should be the team's priority. This is the guy that many felt should be the #2 receiver entering the season before the emergence of Andre Roberts. A receiving corps of Larry Fitzgerald, Roberts and Floyd would be deadly with the right quarterback and playcalling.
At this point, it might not even be a bad idea to activate Laron Byrd over Doucet. He may not have the same impact in blocking down the field or on special teams, but he certainly won't drop that many passes. It would be nice, as it would with Michael Floyd, to see what the Cardinals have in their other rookie receiver.
Doucet to the bench, Floyd and Byrd to the field. Maybe that is the spark this team needs to get them out of their huge slump.