The Arizona Cardinals had an afternoon worth of
frustration Saturday in a 23-16 loss to the Cincinnati
Bengals that eliminated them from playoff contention.

The most frustrating play came late in the fourth quarter
on a fourth down and 5 from the Cincinnati 17-yard line.
The Cardinals were trailing by 7 points when John Skelton
flung a pass in the end zone to a wide-open Early Doucet.
If Doucet comes down with the ball, the Cardinals are one
point away from tying the game and likely sending it to
overtime.

Instead, Doucet tripped while back-pedaling and fell. The
ball landed incomplete and the Cardinals squandered a
golden opportunity.

It’s bad enough that Doucet’s play killed an improbable
Cardinals’ rally, but on Monday he got criticized by one
of his own teammate’s father.

Larry Fitzgerald Sr., a Twin Cities-Based sports writer,
took to Twitter on Monday morning and let loose on Doucet,
and the year he’s had to this point.

Doucet bombed this year he drops to many
passes not a dependable No.2. Needs 2 work harder at his
job. He dropped 5 TDs this year.

Ouch.

Fitzgerald later did offer
an explanation to Mike Sando, who pens the NFC West
blog for ESPN.com.

Doucet ranks 2nd on the team with 53 catches and 5
touchdowns. He’s also among the league leaders in third
down receptions that have netted first downs with 15,
which ties him for 12th in the league in that category.

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