2011 Cards Defence by the numbers

[Crazy Canuck]

http://blog.azcardinals.com/2012/01/26/improved-defense-by-the-numbers/

 

[Dr. Jones]

Wow.

Now sign CC already.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

gotta give it up to horton and the whole defense, those are some impressive number changes. can't wait to see how it all develops in 2012.

 

[40yearfan]

http://blog.azcardinals.com/2012/01/26/improved-defense-by-the-numbers/

Simply Amazing!!!!

 

[Dr. Jones]

The darksider in me remembers Clancy having some great stretches also....

Please let this be more than that.

 

[40yearfan]

The darksider in me remembers Clancy having some great stretches also....

Please let this be more than that.

Clancy never had anything close to this and not for this sustained period of time.

 

[Duckjake]

gotta give it up to horton and the whole defense, those are some impressive number changes. can't wait to see how it all develops in 2012.

What changed from 2010? The 23 year old 260lb Acho replaced the 34 year old 245lb Porter and DWash added pounds and Robinson was replaced by Williams and Carter.

The Cards simply got bigger and better. You just can't run an effective 3-4 with a 300lb 35 year old NT and and two 34 year old 245lb OLBs.

 

[Stout]

Clancy never had anything close to this and not for this sustained period of time.

Yep. I can't believe people used to go insane trying to defend Pendersuck as a coach. He was awful--simply awful.

 

[Duckjake]

Yep. I can't believe people used to go insane trying to defend Pendersuck as a coach. He was awful--simply awful.

At least the Cards didn't promote him to Head Coach. McGinnis' defenses finished 26th,25th,24th,27th, and then the Bidwills promoted him to HC... and the D finished 30th!!! After 3 years with nice guy Dave the Cards had improved to 32nd allowing over 28 points a game. But hey, the Cardinals front office has never made a wrong move so happy Dave had plenty of talent to work with.

 

[Jasper]

What was the main difference in the team's defense between the 1st and 2nd half of the season?

 

[Dr. Jones]

What was the main difference in the team's defense between the 1st and 2nd half of the season?

Uneducated guess:

The individual players became more comfortable with their responsibilities. In addition, they began to trust the schemes more which allowed them to completely focus only on their job.

Other things:
1. We had a new DC come in and he had no time to prepare the rookies or veterans in the off-season for a completely foreign vernacular and philosophy.
2. We had a ton of young talent step in (Jefferson, Carter, Johnson after injury, Peterson, etc) and they needed time to mesh with established players.
3. Horton may have overwhelmed the defense in the beginning with more than they could handle. This lengthened the learning curve and is probably typical of new coordinators.
4. Our offense wasn't really great so they were playing a ton of snaps. And it was compounded by the lack of success defending on 3rd down.

 

[Duckjake]

Uneducated guess:

The individual players became more comfortable with their responsibilities. In addition, they began to trust the schemes more which allowed them to completely focus only on their job.

Other things:
1. We had a new DC come in and he had no time to prepare the rookies or veterans in the off-season for a completely foreign vernacular and philosophy.
2. We had a ton of young talent step in (Jefferson, Carter, Johnson after injury, Peterson, etc) and they needed time to mesh with established players.
3. Horton may have overwhelmed the defense in the beginning with more than they could handle. This lengthened the learning curve and is probably typical of new coordinators.
4. Our offense wasn't really great so they were playing a ton of snaps. And it was compounded by the lack of success defending on 3rd down.

Also a major factor was that the Cards played the 20th,26th (twice),28th,29th and 31st (twice) ranked offenses the last 9 games of the season. Only Philly and Dallas were in the top 16. (ranked by yards per game)

The first 7 games: 7th,8th,12th,15th,16th,18th and 28th. They held the 28th ranked team to 13 points at their place.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

What was the main difference in the team's defense between the 1st and 2nd half of the season?

Getting off the field on 3rd down.

Going from 17th to 1st in the league is huge. Especially for this team. The Cardinals may have been 17th in the league the first 7 games, but getting off the field on CLUTCH, make or break, 3rd downs they were awful.

We would have the opposition in 3rd & 24 and allow them to get a 1st down.

HUGE HUGE HUGE difference.

 

[seesred]

No matter what teams we played in the second half ,the stats are remarkable considering where we came from in the front 7! With an LB here and a End there we can move up to a top ten D. Think about all the kids with another year of feeling NFL football. Guys like Acho, Obrien, Patrick, Williams etc.

GBR
40

 

[bg7brd]

I'm looking forward to see how far Schofield comes along this off season. He's finally going to able to take part in mini camps and OTAs which should help his game mentally. His knee should be back to 100% so that should help his game physically. I expect him to be a big contributor next year.

 

[Duckjake]

Really my only concern is that the Cards were giving up a lot of rushing yards at the end of the season just like at the start. 343 yards in the last two games. 7 games over all, 5 of the last nine, allowing over 150 yards on the ground.

Hopefully a good off season for Dan Williams and continued improvement from DWash and Acho will shore up the run D in 2012. A younger SILB would probably help as well.