Arizona Cardinals vs. Oakland Raiders Preseason Game Recap

Arizona Cardinals vs. Oakland Raiders Game Recap

The Ken Whisenhunt era in Arizona officially got underway on Saturday, August 10 when the Cardinals traveled to Oakland to face- off against the Raiders in their preseason opener. It was the battle between first year coaches, Lane Kiffin and Whisenhunt. Yes, it is preseason and drawing conclusions based on what the rookies and the second and third teams do, is weak at best but these early exhibitions do show weaknesses and areas that need improvement. Heading back to Cards Camp in Flagstaff, Coach Wiz and company will have somewhat of long list of things to look at. The Raiders came back to beat the Cardinals 27-23 in a very entertaining first contest of 2007 for the Red Birds.

The game started with Matt Leinart and the first team offense sputtering. Leinart did complete 5-11 passes but missed high on numerous throws and did not look as comfortable in the pocket as I thought he would. Leinart and the offense did not secure a first down on the first two possessions but moved the ball well on their third time out. The "Edge" played just two series and had only two rushes for a mere three yards. Leinart said, "We stumbled a bit but I thought we did all right. We showed some fight to get back up, but we've got to learn to close." The Cardinals had the lead late only to see it slip away in the fourth quarter.

In the second quarter, Kurt Warner connected with Bryant Johnson for a 58- yard touchdown strike but that is all we would see from Warner. Shane Boyd came in after Warner and Johnson hooked- up and the NFL Europe star proceeded to throw an interception that was returned for a Raider touchdown. Oakland then scored again before the half on a nice Mike Williams catch on a 3- yard fade route from Andrew Walter. Neil Rackers blasted a 59- yard field goal as time expired in the first half to give the Cards some momentum going into the half but it was all, Oakland 21-10.

Boyd and the Cardinals marched down the field late in the third and with the help of Levi Brown, found the end zone on a quarterback keeper. Rackers added two more field goals to give the Cardinals a 23-21 lead going into the fourth. Rackers ended the game with three sweet drives and launched every kickoff deep into the endzone-- good news for the Cards special- teams. The Raiders then brought in Daunte Culpepper for former Arizona State star quarterback Walter, who finished 8-11 with a touchdown. Culpepper struggled initially and lost a fumble to Cardinals big- man and rookie Alan Branch. Branch played extremely well and gave the Cardinals a chance to close the deal. However, the Raiders would hold Boyd and the Cards while Culpepper led the Radiers on two successful drives and Sebastian Janikowski and Tyler Fredrickson added field goals late, to give Oakland the win.

The Cardinals had too many penalties, especially down the stretch and Coach Wiz was not happy with those. Darnell Dockett was hit with a personal foul, Bertrand Berry was offside on a fumbled Josh McKown shotgun snap and Antrel Rolle was called for a pass interference in the end zone-- all three of these penalties should have been avoided and the outcome of the game would certainly have been different. "The biggest thing I'm disappointed in were the mistakes at the end of the game. I had high expectation that we wouldn't make those kind of errors. It was a good learning tool for us." The Cardinals have a week to prepare for a Houston Texans team that is much improved and nearly beat The NFC defending champion, the Chicago Bears in their opener. Look for a tough week of practices in Flagstaff and a better showing by the Cardinals in the second preseason game in Houston.

Two notes from the game worth taking a look at this week are the injuries to Chike Okeafor and Oliver Ross. Both went down with what appear to be upper arm injuries. The Cardinals will have both players thoroughly diagnosed and are hoping for the best.

From My Notepad

• Berry looked good playing from the outside rush- linebacker position in the 3-4-- from a standing position he was able to get to the quarterback with ease.
• Bryant Johnson was on- point-- he wants to get more touches and with three catches for 87 yards and a touchdown, he should.
• Starting defense looked better than I thought they would, even against the Raiders. Phew.
• Marcel Shipp looked good, as did Adrian Arrington-- the offensive line held their own. This is promising news for Edgerrin James.
• Eric Green played a solid game in both coverage and coming up on the run-- Rolle looked aggressive but still not there. Rolle had one big penalty that hurt the allowed a scoring drive for the Raiders.
• Levi Brown had a nice second half-- came in and was, BIG for the Boyd and the Cardinals third quarter touchdown drive.
• Pago Togafau was impressive-- has a nose for the ball and plays much bigger than he looks.
• Gabe Watson and Allan Branch have an all- out Michigan battle going for the other defensive tackle position-- both looked nice.
• Steve Breaston showed poise and a nice burst in the return game-- had one error, deciding not to field a punt but had a nice gallop late in the game.
• The Cardinals secondary and middle coverage just did not feel right-- the Raiders were able to catch the Cardinals in the seam and deep middle on numerous big plays.
• Are Okeafor and Ross going to be back for the Cardinals in 2007-- both had arm injuries.
• Big penalties against the Cards throughout-- maybe first game mistakes but you can guarantee that Coach Wiz will be addressing this and addressing it very vocally.