Heap laments Cardinals struggles on offense
Sep 26, 2011, 7:26 PM | Updated: 10:05 pm
The Arizona Cardinals found themselves in a familiar position Sunday.
They had the ball late in the 4th quarter with a chance to take the lead, and again the team turned it over.
This time it was a Kevin Kolb interception rather than a Chansi Stuckey fumble that ended any chance of winning the game.
While the loss could be blamed on kicker Jay Feely for missing two field goals, one thing was very clear in the game: the offense struggled.
Tight end Todd Heap told Arizona Sports 620’s Burns and Gambo that the offensive woes were due to the team’s lack of rhythm.
“We had too many mistakes in key areas of the game,” Heap said. “We drove down into the red zone and couldn’t capitalize and you want to come out with more than just a field goal and we couldn’t do that.”
Kolb was sacked twice in Seahawks territory, which caused Feely to attempt two long field goals, both of which were missed.
“Obviously you don’t want to take sacks,” Heap said. “When you get in the red zone everything is condensed and you want to make sure to get the ball out of your hands quickly. It seems like as soon as we crossed over the 40-yard line we weren’t making the plays that we should have been.”
Another factor in the offense’s struggles was the running game.
Alfonso Smith and Chester Taylor combined for 74 yards, only one yard more than Seahawks tailback Marshawn Lynch.
The veteran Taylor carried the ball eight times for only 20 yards, something Heap attributes to the running back’s unfamiliarity with the system.
“Well he [Taylor] has been in the offense for about a week,” Heap said. “It’s hard to come in a run the ball when you still don’t have a perfect feel for everything you’re doing.”
That said, the team had a third and one three times and failed to convert any of them.
“The third and ones were a problem,” Heap said. “That’s one you want to say ‘forget everything else lets run downhill and go get the first down,’ and that was frustrating for us.”
One positive that came out of the loss was Heap, who had six catches for 61 yards and is now 14th all time in receiving yards for tight ends.
“I’m not paying attention to that right now,” Heap said. “We’ll sit back when everything is said and done and see where everything ends up. Right now I’m focused on wins and taking the team has far as we can.”
