Cards run defense in the last 5 weeks...

[kerouac9]

... Is the worst in the NFL. Allowing 5.2 YPC.

So... good times.

#thumper

 

[Brian]

I've been wondering for weeks now....where is Ta'Amu?

I get that the defense is pretty worn out. Wouldn't the team be better served rotating Ta'Amu in to spell some of those guys? Give him 20-25 snaps maybe?

He's not a game changer, but he does occupy space and take up linemen though.

 

[82CardsGrad]

... Is the worst in the NFL. Allowing 5.2 YPC.

So... good times.

#thumper

Any idea how that figure has been impacted by Wilson and Kap?

 

[kerouac9]

It's possible that Alameda just turned back into a pumpkin.

 

[kerouac9]

Any idea how that figure has been impacted by Wilson and Kap?

I imagine that it's about the same as it's about to be impacted by Cam Newton, but less than it was impacted by Alex Smith (6.5 YPC) against us.

In all, quarterbacks ran the ball 33 times for 267 yards during that five-game stretch, an average of 8.1 yards per carry.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/together-we-make-playoffs-the-2015-nfl-wild-card-preview/

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Playoffs rejuvenate teams. I think they return to top form and will shut down the run game. Plus, Newton I don't think Newton is as dynamic a runner as Wilson or Kaep. He can still run, no doubt, but he's not as elusive and that's where those two killed the Cards.

 

[Proteus]

... Is the worst in the NFL. Allowing 5.2 YPC.

So... good times.

#thumper

How are the Cards doing in terms of ypc for just running backs over that time period?

 

[kerouac9]

How are the Cards doing in terms of ypc for just running backs over that time period?

113 carries for 601 yards, 5.31 YPC.

 

[NMCard]

Lots of wear and tear at the end of the season.

 

[kerouac9]

Lots of wear and tear at the end of the season.

I dunno about that. The Cards' strongest rotation has been on the defensive line and OLB/ILB. I'm not sure that holds a lot of weight.

 

[b8rtm8nn]

Ugh, hopefully this improves tomorrow.

 

[NMCard]

They really seem to miss Stinson quite a bit. CC has been playing with injury as well as Dumpster Dan.

 

[cardpa]

They really seem to miss Stinson quite a bit. CC has been playing with injury as well as Dumpster Dan.

Dumpster Dan is starting to show up on a lot of FA lists as a top FA for 2015.

 

[Darkside]

113 carries for 601 yards, 5.31 YPC.

That's a scary stat right there. Seriously, it's impossible to win games like that. I hadn't realized it was THAT bad.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Those rush numbers are skewed a bit because the Cards have let off the big run. Take Jamaal Charles(10 for 91yds) and Steven Jackson(18 for 101). Overall, the Cards did a nice job on them but both broke long runs of 63 and 55 yards. The same with Lynch(10 for 119) and his 79 yard run.

So, it's not like teams are running the ball down the Cards throats play after play. If they limit the big play, they'll be fine.

Gore was a different story. He ran the ball pretty effectively all game against them.

 

[Shane]

Those rush numbers are skewed a bit because the Cards have let off the big run. Take Jamaal Charles(10 for 91yds) and Steven Jackson(18 for 101). Overall, the Cards did a nice job on them but both broke long runs of 63 and 55 yards. The same with Lynch(10 for 119) and his 79 yard run.

So, it's not like teams are running the ball down the Cards throats play after play. If they limit the big play, they'll be fine.

I hate that argument. You can't just negate the big runs and say that it's skewed.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

I hate that argument. You can't just negate the big runs and say that it's skewed.

My point was teams are just not lining up and running the ball play after play and driving the ball downfield.

I agree those plays happened and need to be contained. I think it be more problematic if the Gore results were the typical occurrence.

 

[PJ1]

I've been wondering for weeks now....where is Ta'Amu?

I get that the defense is pretty worn out. Wouldn't the team be better served rotating Ta'Amu in to spell some of those guys? Give him 20-25 snaps maybe?

He's not a game changer, but he does occupy space and take up linemen though.

I actually saw him in the game vs. Niners. He was really good last year before he got hurt.

 

[kerouac9]

My point was teams are just not lining up and running the ball play after play and driving the ball downfield.

I agree those plays happened and need to be contained. I think it be more problematic if the Gore results were the typical occurrence.

That's what happens with every big rushing game. That's how Andre Ellington lived and died last year. That's what happened with Adrian Peterson. NFL teams don't just get 5.0 yards on every carry--this isn't college.

 

[CFLredzoned]

Those rush numbers are skewed a bit because the Cards have let off the big run. Take Jamaal Charles(10 for 91yds) and Steven Jackson(18 for 101). Overall, the Cards did a nice job on them but both broke long runs of 63 and 55 yards. The same with Lynch(10 for 119) and his 79 yard run.

So, it's not like teams are running the ball down the Cards throats play after play. If they limit the big play, they'll be fine.

Gore was a different story. He ran the ball pretty effectively all game against them.

That's a good point. It's the big plays that are killing them. And the big plays are about mental errors and poor tackling. I think they can fix the tackling. I keep hearing about how tackling is mostly about want-to. I think a playoff game will provide the needed want-to. The mental errors, I don't know.

 

[don7031]

The yards per carry gets skewed by big gainers. Defense is a team effort. When the offense went into hibernation, Cardinal defenders started trying to make plays happen rather than doing their assignments and that is when things go awry.

In the first Seattle game the sideline reporter came away with a quote from Peterson saying that the defense not only has to out play the opposing team's offense, but also the opposing team's defense.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

That's what happens with every big rushing game. That's how Andre Ellington lived and died last year. That's what happened with Adrian Peterson. NFL teams don't just get 5.0 yards on every carry--this isn't college.

I'm not so sure about that. It's correct to a point. Justin Forsett leads RB's in YPA had a league high 17 runs of 20+ yards all year, once every 14 carries, which is incredibly good, and about double the norm for the leading rushers.

But grinders like Arian Foster(4.8ypa) had only 9 runs of 20+, or once in every 29 carries. DeMarco Murray(4.7) had one run of 20+ every 26 attempts. In fact, Murray and Forsett are the only 2 RB's with more than 9 carries of 20+ yards in the league.

For this game, Jonathon Stewart has only 4 carries of 20+ all year, or once every 44 attempts, but averaged 4.6 ypa.

 

[kerouac9]

I'm not so sure about that. It's correct to a point. Justin Forsett leads RB's in YPA had a league high 17 runs of 20+ yards all year, once every 14 carries, which is incredibly good, and about double the norm for the leading rushers.

But grinders like Arian Foster(4.8ypa) had only 9 runs of 20+, or once in every 29 carries. DeMarco Murray(4.7) had one run of 20+ every 26 attempts. In fact, Murray and Forsett are the only 2 RB's with more than 9 carries of 20+ yards in the league.

For this game, Jonathon Stewart has only 4 carries of 20+ all year, or once every 44 attempts, but averaged 4.6 ypa.

Yeah, but isn't 20+ yards a pretty arbitrary cut-off? The Cards have fallen from 1st around mid-year to 13th in rushing yards allowed per game. T6th in the amount of 20+ yards rushing plays (13).

I think it's worth mentioning, I guess, that 20+ yard rush plays are fairly rare--I don't know what the value is in pointing out individual rushers' numbers. That said, if you've allowed only 13 20+ yard rushes all season, and it feels like 10 of them have come in the last four games, that's probably not--like--"well, we've got this under control."

 

[football karma]

I think part of the problem is the defense feeling like they have to pitch a shutout / produce a defensive td.

It feels like players are moving away from "just do your job" to "I must make a big play" and as a result, creating holes in the defense

 

[b8rtm8nn]

I would sort of agree with the big run argument, except that QBs are running on us as well lately. So something needs to be fixed, either schematically or personnel wise - giving up those yards to a QB isn't good, but also giving up a 50+ yard TDs as well as big QB rushes means something is wrong beyond just a missed tackle or two.