Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
Watching the Jets play defense yesterday was a pure joy. They play super aggressively, are fearless, cover anything that moves and play with moxie. Have you ever quite seen the Jets play defense like this before?
The reason is, they've never been coached up like this before.
What Rex Ryan has done is brought a mindset to the defense and an established scheme that has the players excited, energized and confident.
Watching the Cardinals play defense for the last three weeks has been pure hell. They don't play super aggressively, they are tentative, they don't cover on some plays, and they do not play with confidence in the system. In fact, at times, they appear unsure of what their responsibilities are. As a fan, I am not sure of what their responsibilities are either...especially when I see on consecutive plays the Saints' best WR, Marques Colston being guarded by Karlos Dansby and Michael Adams. In the immortal words of John McEnroe, "You cannot be serious."
When Ken Whisenhunt announced last year that he was hiring his new DC from within, I was very disappointed. After watching the Cardinals defense fold like a house of cards in the Super Bowl, I was expecting a new DC who would change the mindset of the defense.
It's a year later and I feel worse about the defense than I did last year. I do not like the way they are being coached, and find myself feeling envious when I watch other teams.
For one, when the Cardinals keep hiring DCs who have never made the calls in an NFL game, I am leery. Yet, the Cardinals keep doing it. If you've never had the responsibility of calling plays in a football game, you cannot understand how difficult it is, and how completely prepared for situations you need to be and how fast you have to make the decisions. Then you have to be able to make your players feel confident in the system itself and in their roles and in the game decisions and calls you make. When players look confused or are playing like they've never been coached, you've got serious problems.
Right now Ken Whisenhunt has a serious problem. It might not seem fair to relegate Bill Davis back to linebackers coach in favor of bringing in a new DC, but, if Whisenhunt is going to do what's best for his football team, he needs to make this move.
What Whisenhunt needs is a DC who can bring knowledge, attitude and confidence to the players. He needs his defense believing that they can dominate a game. Here, these players and this defensive system need a breath of fresh air.
The best possible scenario is to bring in a DC who has actual NFL experience at the position. Three come to mind:
1. Greg Blache (Redskins). Six years of DC experience and I always like the way his defenses are coached. It's the offense in Washington that has held that team back. What I like best about Blache is how well his secondaries cover and play. IMO, when the Cardinals fix the secondary they will be on their way to new heights.
2. Dave Campos (Cowboys). Not only is Campos an experienced DC, he's a DB coach (currently the Cowboys' secondary coach)...think that could help? Look at the job he's done with young CB Michael Jenkins. Campos is a very enthusiastic and energetic coach...he's seen it all by now.
3. Jim Mora (Seahawks). Despite a tough, injury-riddled season, his Seahawks pitched a couple shoutouts this year. The guy knows his defense and you can be rest assured he would want to stick it to Pete Carroll and the Seahawks.
Now...if you cannot hire one of these guys...and you do have to hire another DC who hasn't had DC experience, how about finding a guy from a system that was close enough to the DC there that he can make an easy transition to the job. You take a guy from the Steelers staff, like Keith Butler or Ray Horton, do you think that would excite and energize the players? How about a guy from Rex Ryan's staff like Bob Sutton or even up and comer ex-NFL S Doug Plank, do you think the players would be excited?
You bet they would.
But, this current Clancy II version of Cardinal defense has to change.
The Cardinals need a DC who will not allow his unit to go into a deep freeze late in ballgames...one who will teach them how to tackle better, cover with the purpose of seeing and getting to the ball, and coach the defensive linemen to pin their ears back and get after the QB with 4th quarter leads and games on the line.
Bryant McFadden was a pretty good player in Pittsburgh when he was getting coached by Dick LeBeau and Ray Horton. This year he was awful. His technique was lousy, he almost never saw the ball and, as a result almost never made plays on the ball. I will never forget the 4th and 5 pass to his sideline in the Tennessee game with the ball on the Titan's' own 6 yard line. McFadden was face to face with his man, rookie WR Kenny Britt. All he had to do was turn sideways to see the ball and he could have easily knocked it down and thereby win the game, but McFadden just stood there as Vince Young in desperation threw it to Britt and Britt easily caught the ball a foot above his head while McFadden had no reaction whatsoever and no sense that the pass was coming (same as this week on the 3 yard out pass TD he gave up).
As for the personnel, the Cardinals have to realize they are not getting better with the older players in tow. It's time to unhook the old piano for an influx of youth and a couple of key free agents.
The keepers:
DLs: Dockett, Campbell, Iwebema, Branch, Watson
LBs: Haggans, Davis, Brown, Walker
DBs: Wilson, Rodgers-Cromartie, Toler, Johnson
The Vets that need to Move on:
DLs: Robinson
LBs: Dansby (too expensive), Okeafor, Berry, Beisel
DBs: Brown
The Question Marks:
1. Gerald Hayes. Injuries have slowed him down. He looks and plays too heavy. If he can regain his health and strength and shed some weight to improve his feet, then he might still be a fit. But, as of right now, because of his back issues, it doesn't look like Hayes can be counted on.
2. Antrel Rolle. The Cardinals have a major decision to make on Rolle. They will need to redo his contract due to unaffordable escalators. While Rolle showed much improvement this year as a FS, it would be interesting to see whether a DC like Greg Blache would think Rolle has the right makeup to thrive in his system at FS. Rolle is going to command a fairly big salary, thus you have to be sure he's the right fit, especially after you've just inked Adrian Wilson to a lucrative extension and used a third rounder on Rashad Johnson.
3. Bryant McFadden. Can McFadden bounce back with good coaching? At his salary, would it be worth it to keep him? Greg Toler is clearly the better athlete and already looks to have more aggressiveness and ball awareness. Last year the Cardinals surprised us by releasing Rod Hood. Rod Hood made far more plays on the ball than McFadden did...the only thing McFadden did better was not incur the holding penalties that Hood did.
4. Michael Adams. What this kid has are three good things in his favor: (1) quick feet; (2) good tackling ability; (3) excellent ST ability. But, can he play the nickel on smaller slot WRs? I believe that with the right coaching, he certainly can. I think he can play outside at times as well, as long as he plays with the right cushion and technique. I love the way this kid forces the run. He's by far the best at it of all the current CBs.
5. Matt Ware. The injury bug has gotten him in recent years. He seemed to be a steadying force as a nickel safety, although he didn't make a lot of plays back there (sometimes that means he took the play away to his side, which is good). Does he have adequate range, instincts and open field tackling ability? I question all three.
What the Cardinals need to do...especially if they keep their current system...is get quicker and faster in the middle and on the edges. They need a couple of rangy linebackers who can get to the ball quickly and finish off the tackles. This upcoming draft is loaded with good linebacker prospects. At #27 in the first round the Cardinals will be able to select a very good LB, such as Missouri's Sean Weatherspoon or Penn. St.'s Novorro Bowman. Smaller inside linebackers are in vogue right now because DCs are placing a good deal of emphais on quickness and speed to the ball....and playing sideline to sideline. See Patrick Willis.
The Cardinals have to hope that Will Davis and Cody Brown can memerge as good edge linebackers...but, the Cardinals need another pass rusher. If Sergio Kindle of Texas is available at #27, he could be an excellent pick, as could Jerry Hughes of TCU or Jason Pierre-Paul of USF. I think all three will be gone by then.
Linebackers that will likely be on the board late in round two:
1. Sean Lee, Penn. St.
2. O'Brien Schofield, Wisconsin
3. Micah Johnson, Kentucky
4. Rennie Curran, Georgia
5. Pat Angerer, Iowa
6. Daryl Sharpton, Miami
7. Jermaine Cunningham, Florida
But...one guy to keep a close eye on...who may be the best prototypical 3-4 OLB for the Cardinals: Brandon Graham (6-2, 263, Michigan). Graham will go late in the first round, IMO, so if the Cardinals have their eye on him, he could be the guy. He could be the Cardinals' version of LaMarr Woodley.
There's a very interesting list of RFAs to consider, where the Cardinal could make several offers in the $3-4M per year range (in some cases that may not be enough, but who knows?):
DT Barry Cofield, NYG
DE Daryll Trapp, SEA
DE/OLB Ahmad Brooks, SF
LB Thomas Howard OAK
LB Kirk Morrison OAK
LB Derrick Johnson KC
LB Keith Ellison, BUF
LB Thomas Davis, CAR
LB James Anderson, CAR
LB Freddie Keiaho, IND
LB Ricky Brown, OAK
LB Stephen Tulloch, TEN
CB Richard Marshall, CAR
CB Carlos Rogers, WASH
CB Fabian Washington, BAL
CB Stanford Routt, OAK
S Oshiomogho Atogwe, STL
Do you like anyone from this list? Any other names to bring up?
At this point we have no idea what the Cardinals' defense will look like next year. Whiz might be loathe to demote Davis after one year, but, even when a team is injured, you have to cover people and get pressure on the QB...and then when people have the ball you have to hit them and wrap up and finish off the tackles. During the Saints' first two drives (when the Cardinals were healthy), it was inconceivable that the Cardinals played loose zone coverage as they had been doing versus Green Bay. How does a DC watch his team fail to cover anyone tightly the week before (except, thank goodness, on the game saving play) and then come out the next week and do the exact same thing?
The road to next year's Super Bowl may very well likely go through New Orleans and Green Bay again. This time we'd better be prepared.
The reason is, they've never been coached up like this before.
What Rex Ryan has done is brought a mindset to the defense and an established scheme that has the players excited, energized and confident.
Watching the Cardinals play defense for the last three weeks has been pure hell. They don't play super aggressively, they are tentative, they don't cover on some plays, and they do not play with confidence in the system. In fact, at times, they appear unsure of what their responsibilities are. As a fan, I am not sure of what their responsibilities are either...especially when I see on consecutive plays the Saints' best WR, Marques Colston being guarded by Karlos Dansby and Michael Adams. In the immortal words of John McEnroe, "You cannot be serious."
When Ken Whisenhunt announced last year that he was hiring his new DC from within, I was very disappointed. After watching the Cardinals defense fold like a house of cards in the Super Bowl, I was expecting a new DC who would change the mindset of the defense.
It's a year later and I feel worse about the defense than I did last year. I do not like the way they are being coached, and find myself feeling envious when I watch other teams.
For one, when the Cardinals keep hiring DCs who have never made the calls in an NFL game, I am leery. Yet, the Cardinals keep doing it. If you've never had the responsibility of calling plays in a football game, you cannot understand how difficult it is, and how completely prepared for situations you need to be and how fast you have to make the decisions. Then you have to be able to make your players feel confident in the system itself and in their roles and in the game decisions and calls you make. When players look confused or are playing like they've never been coached, you've got serious problems.
Right now Ken Whisenhunt has a serious problem. It might not seem fair to relegate Bill Davis back to linebackers coach in favor of bringing in a new DC, but, if Whisenhunt is going to do what's best for his football team, he needs to make this move.
What Whisenhunt needs is a DC who can bring knowledge, attitude and confidence to the players. He needs his defense believing that they can dominate a game. Here, these players and this defensive system need a breath of fresh air.
The best possible scenario is to bring in a DC who has actual NFL experience at the position. Three come to mind:
1. Greg Blache (Redskins). Six years of DC experience and I always like the way his defenses are coached. It's the offense in Washington that has held that team back. What I like best about Blache is how well his secondaries cover and play. IMO, when the Cardinals fix the secondary they will be on their way to new heights.
2. Dave Campos (Cowboys). Not only is Campos an experienced DC, he's a DB coach (currently the Cowboys' secondary coach)...think that could help? Look at the job he's done with young CB Michael Jenkins. Campos is a very enthusiastic and energetic coach...he's seen it all by now.
3. Jim Mora (Seahawks). Despite a tough, injury-riddled season, his Seahawks pitched a couple shoutouts this year. The guy knows his defense and you can be rest assured he would want to stick it to Pete Carroll and the Seahawks.
Now...if you cannot hire one of these guys...and you do have to hire another DC who hasn't had DC experience, how about finding a guy from a system that was close enough to the DC there that he can make an easy transition to the job. You take a guy from the Steelers staff, like Keith Butler or Ray Horton, do you think that would excite and energize the players? How about a guy from Rex Ryan's staff like Bob Sutton or even up and comer ex-NFL S Doug Plank, do you think the players would be excited?
You bet they would.
But, this current Clancy II version of Cardinal defense has to change.
The Cardinals need a DC who will not allow his unit to go into a deep freeze late in ballgames...one who will teach them how to tackle better, cover with the purpose of seeing and getting to the ball, and coach the defensive linemen to pin their ears back and get after the QB with 4th quarter leads and games on the line.
Bryant McFadden was a pretty good player in Pittsburgh when he was getting coached by Dick LeBeau and Ray Horton. This year he was awful. His technique was lousy, he almost never saw the ball and, as a result almost never made plays on the ball. I will never forget the 4th and 5 pass to his sideline in the Tennessee game with the ball on the Titan's' own 6 yard line. McFadden was face to face with his man, rookie WR Kenny Britt. All he had to do was turn sideways to see the ball and he could have easily knocked it down and thereby win the game, but McFadden just stood there as Vince Young in desperation threw it to Britt and Britt easily caught the ball a foot above his head while McFadden had no reaction whatsoever and no sense that the pass was coming (same as this week on the 3 yard out pass TD he gave up).
As for the personnel, the Cardinals have to realize they are not getting better with the older players in tow. It's time to unhook the old piano for an influx of youth and a couple of key free agents.
The keepers:
DLs: Dockett, Campbell, Iwebema, Branch, Watson
LBs: Haggans, Davis, Brown, Walker
DBs: Wilson, Rodgers-Cromartie, Toler, Johnson
The Vets that need to Move on:
DLs: Robinson
LBs: Dansby (too expensive), Okeafor, Berry, Beisel
DBs: Brown
The Question Marks:
1. Gerald Hayes. Injuries have slowed him down. He looks and plays too heavy. If he can regain his health and strength and shed some weight to improve his feet, then he might still be a fit. But, as of right now, because of his back issues, it doesn't look like Hayes can be counted on.
2. Antrel Rolle. The Cardinals have a major decision to make on Rolle. They will need to redo his contract due to unaffordable escalators. While Rolle showed much improvement this year as a FS, it would be interesting to see whether a DC like Greg Blache would think Rolle has the right makeup to thrive in his system at FS. Rolle is going to command a fairly big salary, thus you have to be sure he's the right fit, especially after you've just inked Adrian Wilson to a lucrative extension and used a third rounder on Rashad Johnson.
3. Bryant McFadden. Can McFadden bounce back with good coaching? At his salary, would it be worth it to keep him? Greg Toler is clearly the better athlete and already looks to have more aggressiveness and ball awareness. Last year the Cardinals surprised us by releasing Rod Hood. Rod Hood made far more plays on the ball than McFadden did...the only thing McFadden did better was not incur the holding penalties that Hood did.
4. Michael Adams. What this kid has are three good things in his favor: (1) quick feet; (2) good tackling ability; (3) excellent ST ability. But, can he play the nickel on smaller slot WRs? I believe that with the right coaching, he certainly can. I think he can play outside at times as well, as long as he plays with the right cushion and technique. I love the way this kid forces the run. He's by far the best at it of all the current CBs.
5. Matt Ware. The injury bug has gotten him in recent years. He seemed to be a steadying force as a nickel safety, although he didn't make a lot of plays back there (sometimes that means he took the play away to his side, which is good). Does he have adequate range, instincts and open field tackling ability? I question all three.
What the Cardinals need to do...especially if they keep their current system...is get quicker and faster in the middle and on the edges. They need a couple of rangy linebackers who can get to the ball quickly and finish off the tackles. This upcoming draft is loaded with good linebacker prospects. At #27 in the first round the Cardinals will be able to select a very good LB, such as Missouri's Sean Weatherspoon or Penn. St.'s Novorro Bowman. Smaller inside linebackers are in vogue right now because DCs are placing a good deal of emphais on quickness and speed to the ball....and playing sideline to sideline. See Patrick Willis.
The Cardinals have to hope that Will Davis and Cody Brown can memerge as good edge linebackers...but, the Cardinals need another pass rusher. If Sergio Kindle of Texas is available at #27, he could be an excellent pick, as could Jerry Hughes of TCU or Jason Pierre-Paul of USF. I think all three will be gone by then.
Linebackers that will likely be on the board late in round two:
1. Sean Lee, Penn. St.
2. O'Brien Schofield, Wisconsin
3. Micah Johnson, Kentucky
4. Rennie Curran, Georgia
5. Pat Angerer, Iowa
6. Daryl Sharpton, Miami
7. Jermaine Cunningham, Florida
But...one guy to keep a close eye on...who may be the best prototypical 3-4 OLB for the Cardinals: Brandon Graham (6-2, 263, Michigan). Graham will go late in the first round, IMO, so if the Cardinals have their eye on him, he could be the guy. He could be the Cardinals' version of LaMarr Woodley.
There's a very interesting list of RFAs to consider, where the Cardinal could make several offers in the $3-4M per year range (in some cases that may not be enough, but who knows?):
DT Barry Cofield, NYG
DE Daryll Trapp, SEA
DE/OLB Ahmad Brooks, SF
LB Thomas Howard OAK
LB Kirk Morrison OAK
LB Derrick Johnson KC
LB Keith Ellison, BUF
LB Thomas Davis, CAR
LB James Anderson, CAR
LB Freddie Keiaho, IND
LB Ricky Brown, OAK
LB Stephen Tulloch, TEN
CB Richard Marshall, CAR
CB Carlos Rogers, WASH
CB Fabian Washington, BAL
CB Stanford Routt, OAK
S Oshiomogho Atogwe, STL
Do you like anyone from this list? Any other names to bring up?
At this point we have no idea what the Cardinals' defense will look like next year. Whiz might be loathe to demote Davis after one year, but, even when a team is injured, you have to cover people and get pressure on the QB...and then when people have the ball you have to hit them and wrap up and finish off the tackles. During the Saints' first two drives (when the Cardinals were healthy), it was inconceivable that the Cardinals played loose zone coverage as they had been doing versus Green Bay. How does a DC watch his team fail to cover anyone tightly the week before (except, thank goodness, on the game saving play) and then come out the next week and do the exact same thing?
The road to next year's Super Bowl may very well likely go through New Orleans and Green Bay again. This time we'd better be prepared.
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