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AP: c2f11221-4912-46ff-869a-eb1e12758c1a
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb walks toward the sideline after being sacked during the second quarter of an NFL football game against the St. Louis Rams, Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)
Many thoughts floated in and out of my head Thursday night:

I wondered if the Philly fan - while snarfing down a cheesesteak - was thinking to himself, just how did his beloved Eagles lose to this team. I wondered if the Patriots' fan (sub out the cheesesteak, sub in a lobster or something) was wondering the same thing about his team.

I wondered if Kevin Kolb has a good dentist.

I wondered if Gambo misses Levi Brown.

A week ago Ron Jaworski told us that the Green Bay Packers' offensive line play in that Monday Night game was the worst he's ever seen. I wondered if he would care to revise that statement.

I know the focus will be on the offensive line, Kolb getting bloodied and battered, the 17 sacks given up over the last five days (according to Mike Sando there are a handful of teams that have given up 17 or fewer sacks in an entire season). I'm sure some will look at the Cardinals and decide that they are, in fact, not for real. Not after that game. Not with that line. That's where the debate will live for the next week and a half until the Bills hit town.

But once you get past the obvious stuff, the fingerprints of this loss can be found in the first half. On all the missed opportunities. All the plays that, if even just a couple were made, might have changed the entire outcome of the game.

A bad pass to Rob Housler, Kolb not looking to Larry Fitzgerald's side of the field (had he, he would have seen a wide open Fitz), a Michael Floyd drop, a Jay Feely missed FG, a Janoris Jenkins breakup of a pass that didn't quite get to Rob Housler in stride, Andre Roberts open deep but missed, penalties that negated potentially great field position on a Patrick Peterson punt return, and on and on and on.

How many points did the Cardinals leave on the field in the first half? How would that have changed the dynamic of the game? Who knows. But it was a factor and a big part of this disheartening loss.

I'm not trying to take the focus off the historically bad protection; I am merely pointing out there were other reasons for this loss.

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    FitzIsMyHero wrote...
    not buying it
    Their offensive line has been the worst offensive line in football for the last 4-5 yrs. Those missed oppurtunities you are talking about, happen to offenses all the time. Tom Bradys recievers drop passes. He overthrows too. The biggest "missed oppurtunity" last night was their inability to run the ball. If they could have, it would have taken a lot of pressure off Kolb and changed the outcome in someway or another too. There's gotta be a O Line coach out there right now that can look at our situation with their new set of eyes and be able to figure out a way to fix this problem.
  • Abuse
    FitzIsMyHero wrote...
    protection
    There were so many protection breakdowns, even with only 3-4 man rushes. There were some plays where our RBs were running into their linemen bcuz they were just standing there. You have to wonder who is teaching them to play like that.
  • Abuse
    walkinaz wrote...
    D/O lines
    The O line has been non existent since who knows when...forever. Even the year they went to the super bowl, if it wasn't for Warner we may have never had a shot. Seventeen sacks in 2 games? Come on! I will give Kolb credit for standing in there and taking the beating. The D line was a little better except for the fact that Bradford was only sacked once. Overall these first 5 games, last nights was just a look into the future and I think it's deja vu all over again.
  • Abuse
    mesa mad man wrote...
    Snyder
    I didnt get to see a good replay, but what the heck was Snyder doing standing there when Williams ran smack into him. He wasnt even facing the right direction was he!?
  • Abuse
    gmoney wrote...
    Burns, you need to give it up!
    You are an apologist for this team! This O line is going to get someone killed. You can sugar it up all you want with missed opportunities, but this team has a defense that is going to be let down by an offense that is offensive! Every team misses opportunities, but they have O lines that do not get their QB's hurt...When you have to throw 50 passes in a game, this line can not hold up to that challenge at all!
  • Abuse
    gmoney wrote...
    Why does a team throw 50 passes?
    Because they do not have a threat of a running game. The score was 10-3 and they chose to throw the ball when they had short yardage situations, why? Sure, Kolb missed an open Fitz, but he didn't call the play either.
  • Abuse
    AZSPORTFAN wrote...
    BS
    Kolb still threw for 289 yards completing 56 percent of his passes behind the poorest excuse of an offensive line that I have EVER seen. Kolb's pocket awareness was pretty good all night....... When your quarterback is running for his life whenever he takes a snap you're going to have missed plays. Any quarterback would struggle behind this horrific excuse of an offensive line.
  • Abuse
    cooolbigv wrote...
    Run Kolb RUN!!!
    Don't stand in there and take the beatings. You know the O-line is bad. Quick slants, run for some yardage and get the D-line thinking.
  • Abuse
    theuglytruth wrote...
    Two words can describe this game!
    SLOPPY & PATHETIC! I knew if they played as sloppy as they did on Sunday, they would likely lose. And that is exactly what they did. Every aspect of this game was pathetic: Offense, Defense, Special Teams, Play calling, etc, etc, etc. It was some bad tape. Players drinking the 4-0 koolaid early this week did them in.
  • Abuse
    Lee A. wrote...
    Gambo-Levi
    "I wondered if Gambo misses Levi Brown." As stubborn as Gambo is, I'm sure he STILL doesn't miss him. I'll be listening at 11AM today. Burns and Whiz can talk about "other factors" and "missed opportunities" and there's some truth in those angles but as everyone else has said: the O-line (and it's coaching) obviously can't get it done and haven't for years. You just hope that Massie doesn't get his confidence blown because he does show potential.
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