The OFFENSE: My biggest concern on the O-line was how Nkemdiche manhandled Joe Looney. He had success with some of the other backups as well, but Looney in particular looked out of his league vs the second year lineman. Rod Smith looks really good, & should be more involved in the offense this season. He's one tough mother who caught the ball well, & someone I know I would avoid in the open field. He also had several good, tough runs from the LOS. Every time Geathers caught the ball, I'll bet the Cards defenders were thinking. "Are you kidding me? I have to take on a 6-6, 280 lb. receiver?" I loved the way he went to the ground to catch an under thrown ball, got back up, & broke a tackle for a nice gain. If he stays on track, he is going to be a mismatch nightmare. Receivers Brice Butler & both Brian & Noah Brown played well, I thought. I don't know if Noah caught anything, but he forced penalties. On the D-line, only Damontre Moore looked like an NFL pass rusher. Tapper got stalled at the LOS all game, & had no counter to free himself. The secondary has a long ways to go. Awuzie learned a bunch with his trial by fire last night. He was picked on repeatedly, but almost exonerated himself with a pass breakup that should have been a pick six. First game jitters, so I'll give him a pass. If we can't get any more pressure on the QB this year than we did last night, those rookies in the secondary are going to have to grow up REALLY fast.
