Arizona Cardinals vs. Carolina Panthers: Full Report Card Grades for Arizona
The end has arrived for the 2014 Arizona Cardinals. The Carolina Panthers were too much in their Wild Card matchup in rainy Charlotte, North Carolina, beating Bruce Arians' tattered roster every step of the way en route to a 27-16 win.
From quarterback play and blocking up front on offense to tackling and blown assignments on defense, the entire game was a mess from the start.
What was building up to be the most successful season in Cardinals history now is a season full of what-ifs. What if Carson Palmer didn't tear his ACL? What if Drew Stanton didn't get hurt against the Rams? What if the defense tackled better down the stretch?
Those are questions to which no one has the answers.
What does have answers, however, are questions like how did the secondary perform against the Panthers? And was the protection up to par?
Let's find out the answers to those questions and more in the season finale of game grades.
Quarterback
1 of 10
This season has been a roller coaster ride for Ryan Lindley. Going from No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart in the spring to No. 4 and ultimately cut after the team drafted Logan Thomas, he had to be feeling down. The Chargers picked him up and placed him on their practice squad, so things began looking up for the third-year pro.
Then fate intervened, and general manager Steve Keim signed Lindley to Arizona's active roster the week following Palmer's season-ending knee injury.
When he was thrust into action after Stanton's injury, it was his show for the final three games of the Cardinals' season. He had a few ups and a lot of downs along the way, but Lindley showed he has what it takes to hang around on an NFL roster—if for nothing other than to be a veteran presence who has playoff experience with one of the best offensive minds in the game.
That's valuable.
As for his performance against the Panthers, we won't dwell on it too much. He was decent at times and really bad at other times. Such is his game. That's just who he is as a quarterback.
Lindley completed 16 of 28 passes (57.1 percent) for 81 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions for a 44.3 passer rating.
Grade: D-
Running Back
2 of 10
Early on, it appeared as though Kerwynn Williams would have a solid day running the ball, making a couple of nice runs in relief of starter Stepfan Taylor. But the tide quickly turned on him and every back the Cardinals sent out to tote the rock.
Williams led the way with 10 carries for just 23 yards (2.3 yards per carry). Both Taylor and Marion Grice averaged a yard per carry on the night, though Grice's lone carry gave Arizona the lead near the end of the first half.
The blocking up front was deplorable, so not all of the blame can be placed on the backs. They did all they could do—especially Williams, who eked out extra yards on a few occasions with second and third efforts.
Grade: C-
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
The lone bright spot from the receiving corps came in the photo above, when tight end Darren Fells hauled in a 1-yard pass from Lindley for Arizona's first points in the playoffs in five years. Other than that, it was a dull night for receivers.
Future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald led the team with three receptions for 31 yards in what may end up being his final game as a member of the franchise that drafted him third overall in 2004.
Michael Floyd disappeared again, but he was ripped of a long reception or at least helping his team with a penalty when the side judge failed to call an obvious pass-interference penalty after Floyd had his arm held before the ball got to him.
Overall, Wildcard Weekend was mean to Cardinals receivers.
Grade: D+
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
From a unit that had really turned a corner midway through the season to one that failed to block anyone on running downs on Saturday, something went wrong. We're not exactly sure what happened, but whatever it was, it greatly affected what the Cardinals could do offensively.
Center Lyle Sendlein, who will enter the final season of a five-year deal when camp gets going in July, played especially poorly. He was unable to get to the second level to take on linebackers, mostly because both Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly are two of the fastest inside linebackers in the NFL and were past him by the time he got there.
That's not completely his fault, but it still looks bad.
Overall, the pass blocking was below average, but the run blocking hurt the team the most. It was not good at all.
Grade: F
Defensive Line
5 of 10
Defensive end Calais Campbell very nearly sacked Panthers quarterback Cam Newton in the second half. Had he gotten there, it could have been a momentum-shifting play. Instead, referee Ed Hochuli ruled Newton's attempt at a pass as incomplete, rather than the correct call of a lateral and ultimately a fumble.
Referee calls aside, the defensive line once again did not close off running lanes, nor did it get to Newton enough.
As well as the line played through 12 games, it really took a step back over the final month-plus of the season. Some things will have to be looked at before the 2015 season starts, headed off by the contract situation of nose tackle Dan Williams. He disappeared down the stretch.
Grade: D
Linebacker
6 of 10
No pressure on Newton from the edges and a lack of thump up the middle allowed the Panthers to do essentially anything they wanted on offense. Outside linebacker Sam Acho provided the only play of the day worth noting late in the game when he forced a sack/strip of Newton.
Safety Rashad Johnson picked it up and nearly scored with it.
"Bowles was able to cover up maybe the worst LB corps in the NFL... Need talent infusion whether he is gone or back... #Cardinals
— Seth (@SCoxFB) January 4, 2015"
It's still possible the Cardinals get Daryl Washington back at some point next season. Whether he's welcomed back is the issue, because he burned his GM quite a few times.
But the Cardinals need an athlete in the middle of a defense, and there's no denying Washington is one of the more athletic inside 'backers around. His presence greatly helps the defense when he's on the field.
As for this game, an athlete such as Washington was missed.
Grade: D
Secondary
7 of 10
Cornerback Antonio Cromartie picked off Newton to set up the offense for a go-ahead touchdown in the second quarter, but he should have had two off the former No. 1 pick.
Missed tackles hurt the secondary again, as Cromartie, Johnson and others failed to break down and wrap up at least once each. Both Cromartie and Johnson made up for their missed tackles by creating turnovers, however, and neither played poorly other than a single isolated play.
Overall, the secondary did its job. Newton had all day to throw because the front seven was unable to get pressure, but the quarterback needed all day at times because of how good the coverage was.
The one issue—as has been the case for a couple of seasons—was coverage of tight ends. That was not just an issue the secondary had to deal with, though, because inside linebacker Larry Foote was tasked with covering tight end Greg Olsen some of the night, and he was made to look foolish on occasion.
Grade: B-
Special Teams
8 of 10
This won't be as ugly as the play on special teams was during this game, I promise. But something needs to be said: It's going to be so nice to get Drew Butler and Ted Ginn Jr. off the team this offseason.
Butler led the NFL in punts downed inside the 20-yard line this season with 42, but he really struggled at times—especially outdoors. That was the case against the Panthers on Saturday.
Butler averaged only 34.8 yards per punt, including five that were 33 yards or fewer and two that traveled fewer than 30 yards. Dave Zastudil's services are needed in 2015.
The Cardinals should also be in the market for a return man this offseason. Pick up anyone with a history in track and field, and it's probable he will be better than Ginn was in 2014. He flashed on a couple of occasions, but the vast majority of his season was spent disappointing fans.
Grade: F
Coaching
9 of 10
The only real knock on Arians this week is for not switching quarterbacks in the fourth quarter in an attempt to spark his offense. It was painfully obvious Lindley was not going to lead any sort of drive, and Arians leaving him out there may appear to some as a white-flag mentality.
A good time to replace Lindley with Thomas would have been following the Johnson fumble recovery. He returned it to the Carolina 8-yard line, setting up the offense with a goal-to-go situation, just under 12 minutes to go and a 13-point deficit.
Any spark could have led to a touchdown, cutting the lead to six with, say, 10 minutes left in regulation. Now it's anyone's ballgame. Instead, Lindley threw a pick on the very next play, which all but sealed Arizona's fate.
Arians' game plan wasn't bad. It simply wasn't executed by his quarterback.
Grade: B-
Final Grade
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Grade |
| QB | D- |
| RB | C- |
| WR | D+ |
| OL | F |
| DL | D |
| LB | D |
| Secondary | B- |
| Special Teams | F |
| Coaching | B- |
| Cumulative Grade | D+ |
Cheer up, Cardinals fans. Yes, the team is one-and-done in the postseason after starting 9-1 and holding the top seed in the NFC for most of the year. But the future is incredibly bright for the team.
It is young, it is well-coached and it is being run by a man who understands the scouting process as well as how to build a team to compete in the NFC West. Keim and Arians will have the Cardinals ready to rock in September.
And another thing they have going for them: They can't possibly be struck with so many devastating injuries two years in a row, can they?
All stats gathered from ESPN
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