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GLENDALE -- How does a team who hadn't started a season with four straight wins since 1977 start 4-0 only to follow it up by losing their next four games?

That's one of the myriad questions rattling around my brain in the aftermath of the San Francisco 49ers' dominating 24-3 win over the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium Monday night.

Want some more? Here you go:

What the hell do you have to do to get a perfect quarterback rating?

For some reason, a perfect mark on the QB rating scale is 158.3 -- because that makes sense.

Anyway, Alex Smith of the 49ers was the closest thing to perfect that I've ever seen on the football field Monday (and if you caught that lyrical reference to an obscure Jermaine Jackson soundtrack offering from a 1985 John Travolta-Jamie Lee Curtis flick, get help.)

Smith completed 18-of-19 passes for 232 yards and three touchdown passes. His only incompletion was a drop by tight end Delanie Walker. He broke a 31-year-old record for completion percentage in a game by hitting on 94.7% of his passes. Yet his quarterback rating was only 157.13. You figure it out.

Is John Skelton an NFL quarterback?

OK, this one may seem a little bit harsh, but like I said, these are the things I'm thinking about.

Skelton's numbers look alright on paper -- 32-of-52 for 290 yards and an interception, which came on a Hail Mary pass on the last play of the first half.

But further examination paints a different picture. The numbers look presentable because the Cardinals were forced to throw on virtually every play in the second half.

But where is the aggression? Skelton threw a lot, but very few of those attempts were thrown down the field. The Cardinals' longest play from scrimmage was a 27-yarder to tight end Jeff King. His 5.58 yards per attempt in this game would rank last in the NFL among starters' season numbers. For reference, Peyton Manning of Denver leads in that category at 8.22 yards per attempt.

To Skelton's defense, it's got to be hard to throw with this version of the Cardinals' offensive line blocking for you.

"When you're not running the football and you're not doing some of the things you're supposed to do offensively to give (Skelton) help, it's going to be tough for anybody," Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt said following the game.

To refute that, one could point to the Week 7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in which the Cardinals ran for 126 yards but mustered only 14 points on offense.

What can they do about the offensive line?

Look, nobody counted on injuries to Levi Brown and Jeremy Bridges that necessitated the insertion of journeyman D'Anthony Batiste and rookie Bobby Massie at the tackle positions. But it happened.

And now, after four more sacks Monday, the Cardinals offensive line has yielded 39 sacks in eight games. Quick math tells me that's a pace of 78 for the season and quick analysis tells me that ain't good.

But yet, there has been very little effort made to improve the bookends. Sure, the Cardinals brought in free agent Pat McQuistan to back up Batiste, but he has yet to play substantial time at the tackle position.

Whisenhunt talked repeatedly Monday about just "getting better" at the position. That's great in theory, but after being beaten consistently on a weekly basis, the confidence of Massie and Batiste has to be shaken, right? I mean it's human nature. And improvement has got to be more difficult when your confidence not at optimal level.

Is this the worst Cardinals offense ever?

This is a tough one. Since the Cardinals moved to the Valley in 1988, they've had some shoddy offenses. The 2003 team that went 4-12 ranked dead last in total offense and was held under 20 points 13 times and under 10 points four times.

This year's Cardinals team has been held under 20 points in four straight games -- and one of those was against a Buffalo defense which set records for futility in the weeks leading up to the Cardinals matchup.

In two prime-time games this season (against division opponents, mind you), the Cardinals have scored a grand total of six points. That doesn't exactly leave a good taste in the mouths of the national audience that was tuned in Monday evening.

When will this team win again?

Umm...good question. Looking at their upcoming schedule, with games at Green Bay and Atlanta on the horizon, Arizona could be looking at a six-game losing streak when they host the St. Louis Rams in Glendale on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

Considering that the Rams have already humbled the Cardinals once this year, that is no gimme. The remaining schedule after that is an absolute killer. At the Jets, at Seattle, home versus Detroit and Chicago and they close the season at San Francisco.

It's safe to assume the Cardinals may only be favored in one of their final eight games unless things turn around quickly.

5 Comments   |   Join the conversation »
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  • Abuse
    HunterSThompson wrote...
    Nice article
    Can get into the rest later - just wanted to say thanks to Vince for the good read.
  • Abuse
    FitzIsMyHero wrote...
    Graves and Whiz created a monster
    And not a "feed the beast" kind of monster... They created the weakest version of a monster you can think of. And everyone is right! Theres not a single offensive tackle on the market worth taking a look at. The only GM available worth giving a call is Bill Parcells. There are no offensive coaches on the market worth taking a look at. However, at the end of the season, the Cards will have options at General Managers, Offensive Coaches, and offensive players. I hope that they are smart enough to make adjustments because a shakeup/change is needed for all 3.
  • Abuse
    theuglytruth wrote...
    Whiz
    has stated "we need to get back to work" or "we need to just get better" for the past month. Clearly that is not working. His players are not responding. He needs to change his scheme and shake up the line up, that is really his only option right now. He may not want to admit it, but his players are not responding to his direction.
  • Abuse
    Wanabeafan wrote...
    If it were me
    If it were me.....I'd be looking at converting defensive linemen to offensive linemen. Better yet I'd have the line men playing on both sides of the ball. I'd cross train every stinking lineman on the team both defensive and offense so anyone could play anywhere on the line. Their all big and fat and some are even fast. They make a lot of money so yall need to go where I tell you to go and move them big fat feet and legs and for cry'in out loud at least get your big fat 3000lb body on somebody even if you can't make it to your spot!!!
  • Abuse
    mesa mad man wrote...
    @Wanabeafan
    as wrong as that is on so many levels from a football perspective, I cant imagine that someone like Campbell could be worse on the O-Line than what we have out there. At least he has length and athleticism to make up for some of the other shortcomings.
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