The Cardinals sure know how to lose a close one. They don’t come any closer than this: a single point separated the East and West coasts in this absorbing contest that saw Rex Grossman do a passable impression of an NFL Quarterback with the potential to affect his team’s fortunes positively.
Kolb is having teething problems in Arizona. Despite a pick-free pre-season and a great performance against a soft Carolina, against Washington he looked uncertain at times and only completed 56.7% of his passes as opposed to the 66.7%, 309 passing yards and 130 rating of the first game. Maybe I’m being harsh on this fifth year pro out of Texas; he’s been a back-up for most of his career and needs time to gel with the talent around him. And he’s not been bad, really (his yardage is good), it’s just that if Arizona hope to win he needs to be great, and he needs to fully exploit the potential of those around him.
The Redskins are suddenly looking like a real sleeper candidate for the wide-open NFC East. Before the season began, the Eagles were close to selling Division Title T-shirts, only to see the wheels come off in the first game and losing a bum-squeaker to the Falcons in Week 2. They will no doubt bounce back, but another loss over the next fortnight could solidify the opinion that the East Crown is up for grabs.
Grossman’s progress should be monitored closely. If he can finally elevate his standards to the levels so many coaches have believed possible, Washington might find itself celebrating a rare playoff appearance.
As for the Cards, it looks to be a season of competitive failure. Considering they play in the soft, soft NFC West they have a shot, but I get the feeling it’s an outside one.
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