Football Outsiders: Cards Defense Best in NFL

[kerouac9]

Watch his technique. Most LBs focus on wrapping the QB up and throwing him to the ground. Abraham gets his left arm around the QB while pulling for the ball from his right or tomahawking it.

He's also getting more playing time due to the injuries at OLB. He was supposed to be a situational player, not a starter.

You'd think. But Abraham is playing 68% of downs on the season, and played 64% of snaps against Atlanta. Played 52% of defensive snaps in Week 2.

 

[GuernseyCard]

Yeah... Folk pimping John Abraham are suffering from (a) recency bias, (b) hope, or (c) a combination thereof.

They might be well-advised to remember that the Walking Joey Porter Dead slouched, shuffled, and stumbled himself to 4 sacks in Weeks 6-8 of the 2010 season, then managed 0 sacks the rest of the year and 1 sack the remainder of his career.

There's a lot more jump in Abraham's game than Porter at this point in their careers.

 

[kerouac9]

There's a lot more jump in Abraham's game than Porter at this point in their careers.

Assertion without evidence. Would you also say that Abraham is a grittier player, and has more moxie? What about "want-to," does Abraham surpass Porter in that area? Get-off? Who has more savvy? Leadership?

 

[GuernseyCard]

Assertion without evidence. Would you also say that Abraham is a grittier player, and has more moxie? What about "want-to," does Abraham surpass Porter in that area? Get-off? Who has more savvy? Leadership?

Yup... All of the above and with none of your cut and paste evidence in support.

 

[desertdawg]

D E F E N S E !

 

[Buckybird]

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/dvoa-ratings/2013/week-9-dvoa-ratings

I'll eat crow on this. I was wrong about Todd Bowles. Guys are playing up to their talent level under him, and he's putting people in the position to be successful.

+1

Make room at the table.

I will bring the blue-berry sauce.

Cannot believe how well the defense is playing.

It has been really fun to watch this defense.

The #1 biggest surprise ? John Abraham. I know Dansby has been playing well, but wholly moly, John Abraham is the real deal, and for his age it is just incredible.

I thought Bowles would be solid, but not this good.

The grief he was given in Philadelphia irked me - when interviewed about their poor play, he would talk about calling a cover-3 and some of the players didn't know how to play that scheme. You can't teach what he considers fundamentals mid-way through a failing season.

Apparently he can coach well enough to get everyone playing solid and keep pressure on the entire game (which is the best part of his play calling so far, IMO).

Love this tidbit:



Todd Bowles has exceeded my expectations. He seems to be able to scheme with the best of them, and frequently makes half-time adjustments to correct any first-half deficiencies. Can't really blame him for coverage breakdowns which have frequently left receivers running free. That's on the players.

Now if the offense can get their act together.....

i'll take a heaping serving of crow as well. love, love, love what this defense has been able to do.

and in time, it can only get better. We have 4 GREAT building blocks at every level of the D with a super-young-stud on the D-Line with Campbell, at LBer with Washington, at CB with PP and at S with Matheiu.

that being said, I REALLY hope they don't let Dansby walk in the off-season. He's got at least two good years left in him and with the salary cap room they opened up in the Brown trade this year, I can't think of anyone else as deserving of an extension then him at this point.

I gotta fess up: I thought Bowles was an awful hire and expected our defense to suck. That is all.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 4

Scoot your asses over fellas, make room at the table for me...and I need plenty of elbow room!

How long will this hold true, given the number of 1 year deals this team has on the defensive side of the ball? Hope I'm wrong, but this could be concerning.

 

[GuernseyCard]

Scoot your asses over fellas, make room at the table for me...and I need plenty of elbow room!

How long will this hold true, given the number of 1 year deals this team has on the defensive side of the ball? Hope I'm wrong, but this could be concerning.

Seems to me, that only Dansby and possibly Shaughnessy, would require longer term deals to retain.

 

[desertdawg]

Seems to me, that only Dansby and possibly Shaughnessy, would require longer term deals to retain.

Dansby will probably only require a 3-4 year IMO.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Dansby will probably only require a 3-4 year IMO.

i'd do it, front load as much of the bonus into this year's cap, knowing that in year 3 or 4, he'll probably be gonzo.

 

[desertdawg]

i'd do it, front load as much of the bonus into this year's cap, knowing that in year 3 or 4, he'll probably be gonzo.

You had me at front load.

 

[Catfish]

It's nice to see some of you finally admitting that this roster CAN play some defense. I hope that some of you can now give Steve Keim a bit of credit for his efforts thus far with his new job as GM. This team has performed better than any of us could have imagined this season. I know that we have half the season left, but even with a well below average offense, this team has been fun to watch. They ALL play hard, even the offense which is obviously not so talented as the D and ST's. The rest of us are not asking for you to eat crow, (simply give the guys an occasional pat on the back from time to time when it is warranted). Trust an old fart who has been through all these wars before when I say that it is much more fun to give ALL newbies a chance to perform before giving them a big dose of 'Hate'. It is easy to flame this team for its mistakes, because of it's past history. Thanks for giving credit where it is due.

 

[D-Dogg]

I'll eat a ton of crow; I first thought "he's only playing man in the preseason to see who can play, but will never do that in reg season" then thought "wtf, still playing man??" and now "hmm, we are getting away with a lot of man coverage."

 

[BigRedRage]

everyone who thought it was doomsday for the D, please start thinking that about the offense too. Thx.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Really Old Abe's only sacks (3) occurred in the last 2 games. With his only FF against SEA.

Yeah, but if you watch what is going on in that back field, he is a source of constant pressure.

The QB may not get sacked, but he is sure not just standing in the pocket comfortably.

The minute you have Abraham come off the edge, and force the QB up in the pocket, that is where Campbell and Dockett come into play.

You want evidence ? 4-4, and an article about this being the top defense in the league. That doesn't happen without pressure.

No offense, but you openly admit you don't watch all the games, thus I say, what Abraham is doing is not going to be on a stat sheet. If you are looking for the number of sacks on a webpage well then yes, Abraham has not sacked the QB. You are correct.

I worry about effectiveness and wins, not who wins the sack record.

That being said, would I like Robert Quinn and his 10+ sacks ? Hell yes. I don't think anyone disputes this, but we don't have him. We have John Abraham and he is doing his job, IMO.

Thus I am pimping him, and am very comfortable doing so.

Yeah... Folk pimping John Abraham are suffering from (a) recency bias, (b) hope, or (c) a combination thereof.

They might be well-advised to remember that the Walking Joey Porter Dead slouched, shuffled, and stumbled himself to 4 sacks in Weeks 6-8 of the 2010 season, then managed 0 sacks the rest of the year and 1 sack the remainder of his career.

He is playing much better than Joey Porter, and I think John Abraham has played well consistently all year, not just recently. Not to mention he was certainly NOT the starter at the beginning of the year. When Acho, Okafor, and Alexander were healthy we was not out there a lot. There is even an article about this: http://www.azcardinals.com/news-and...-Abraham/9b8e57b9-1ffa-455b-9a20-311092d7febc

Plus, I don't need to be hopeful, because Abraham is playing better than expected already.

Do we still need a pass rusher for this team ? Absolutely. But feel free to tell me who is currently available that will do a better job than Abraham has been doing ? Or who has done a better job for this team in the last two years ? The next L.T. currently with 1 sack in Seattle ?

Just my opinion, and I am happy to stand by it regardless of what you feel I am "suffering" from. So, we disagree, which is fine with me.

Assertion without evidence.

Two eyes and a TV. All I need. Abraham is much better than Porter was for the Cardinals. The evidence has been shown throughout the games this year, IMO.

BTW, where is your evidence for your assertion that Abraham is on par or worse than Joey Porter ? Just wondering

 

[Cardiac]

There's a lot more jump in Abraham's game than Porter at this point in their careers.

Agree.

Porter simply didn't have any burst left and "Old Abe" does. He isn't a sack master anymore but he does get pressure and hasn't been a liability in the run game.

 

[Cardiac]

Yeah, but if you watch what is going on in that back field, he is a source of constant pressure.

The QB may not get sacked, but he is sure not just standing in the pocket comfortably.

The minute you have Abraham come off the edge, and force the QB up in the pocket, that is where Campbell and Dockett come into play.

This is what I see as well.

 

[kerouac9]

He is playing much better than Joey Porter, and I think John Abraham has played well consistently all year, not just recently. Not to mention he was certainly NOT the starter at the beginning of the year. When Acho, Okafor, and Alexander were healthy we was not out there a lot. There is even an article about this: http://www.azcardinals.com/news-and...-Abraham/9b8e57b9-1ffa-455b-9a20-311092d7febc

Plus, I don't need to be hopeful, because Abraham is playing better than expected already.

Do we still need a pass rusher for this team ? Absolutely. But feel free to tell me who is currently available that will do a better job than Abraham has been doing ? Or who has done a better job for this team in the last two years ? The next L.T. currently with 1 sack in Seattle ?

Just my opinion, and I am happy to stand by it regardless of what you feel I am "suffering" from. So, we disagree, which is fine with me.

Why rely on the team mouthpiece when you can do your own research and check the facts?

Week 1: 20 defensive snaps (30% of total)
Week 2: 33 defensive snaps (57% of total)
Week 3: 44 defensive snaps (59% of total) -- This is the week that Alexander, Okafor, and Acho go down.
Week 4: 47 snaps (62% of total)
Week 5: 61 snaps (90% of total)
Week 6: 61 snaps (84% of total)
Week 7: 65 snaps (97% of total)
Week 8: 52 snaps (64% of total)

TOTAL: 384 snaps (68% of total)

Yes, Week 1 he was probably under-utilized, although IIRC the expectation was that St. Louis wasn't going to be passing the ball very much.

The assumption that Abraham just started getting sacks when he started playing more doesn't have a whole lot of evidence behind it. It probably has more to do with him playing against backup OTs the last two weeks than then he suddenly remembered how to rush the passer.

Abraham was getting plenty of opportunities to rush the passer in prior weeks. And no, his get off/moxie/experience/veteran moves haven't jumped off the screen for me when he's playing against starting-caliber competition.

 

[Mulli]

Why rely on the team mouthpiece when you can do your own research and check the facts?

Week 1: 20 defensive snaps (30% of total)
Week 2: 33 defensive snaps (57% of total)
Week 3: 44 defensive snaps (59% of total) -- This is the week that Alexander, Okafor, and Acho go down.
Week 4: 47 snaps (62% of total)
Week 5: 61 snaps (90% of total)
Week 6: 61 snaps (84% of total)
Week 7: 65 snaps (97% of total)
Week 8: 52 snaps (64% of total)

TOTAL: 384 snaps (68% of total)

Yes, Week 1 he was probably under-utilized, although IIRC the expectation was that St. Louis wasn't going to be passing the ball very much.

The assumption that Abraham just started getting sacks when he started playing more doesn't have a whole lot of evidence behind it. It probably has more to do with him playing against backup OTs the last two weeks than then he suddenly remembered how to rush the passer.

Abraham was getting plenty of opportunities to rush the passer in prior weeks. And no, his get off/moxie/experience/veteran moves haven't jumped off the screen for me when he's playing against starting-caliber competition.

High five!

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Why rely on the team mouthpiece when you can do your own research and check the facts?

Cause its easier, duh.

but............ apparently not true. Fair enough.

 

[Cardiac]

Why rely on the team mouthpiece when you can do your own research and check the facts?

Week 1: 20 defensive snaps (30% of total)
Week 2: 33 defensive snaps (57% of total)
Week 3: 44 defensive snaps (59% of total) -- This is the week that Alexander, Okafor, and Acho go down.
Week 4: 47 snaps (62% of total)
Week 5: 61 snaps (90% of total)
Week 6: 61 snaps (84% of total)
Week 7: 65 snaps (97% of total)
Week 8: 52 snaps (64% of total)

TOTAL: 384 snaps (68% of total)

Yes, Week 1 he was probably under-utilized, although IIRC the expectation was that St. Louis wasn't going to be passing the ball very much.

The assumption that Abraham just started getting sacks when he started playing more doesn't have a whole lot of evidence behind it. It probably has more to do with him playing against backup OTs the last two weeks than then he suddenly remembered how to rush the passer.

Abraham was getting plenty of opportunities to rush the passer in prior weeks. And no, his get off/moxie/experience/veteran moves haven't jumped off the screen for me when he's playing against starting-caliber competition.

First of all thanks for the thread and subsequent data. Do you have access to QB hurries, pressures and hits or a link so I don't go lazy Rugby on you

I would like to see how "Old Abe" is doing in regards to the pressures etc.

 

[Mulli]

First of all thanks for the thread and subsequent data. Do you have access to QB hurries, pressures and hits or a link so I don't go lazy Rugby on you

I would like to see how "Old Abe" is doing in regards to the pressures etc.

Ya, me too. I think we should all hug it because he is contributing more than Travis LaBoy...

 

[Cardiac]

Ya, me too. I think we should all hug it because he is contributing more than Travis LaBoy...

I agree and that's why Housler is sooo much better than Hernandez.

 

[Mulli]

I agree and that's why Housler is sooo much better than Hernandez.

:hugs:

 

[Cardiac]

:hugs:

 

[kerouac9]

First of all thanks for the thread and subsequent data. Do you have access to QB hurries, pressures and hits or a link so I don't go lazy Rugby on you

I would like to see how "Old Abe" is doing in regards to the pressures etc.

I don't. Football Outsiders tracks them, but you need a premium subscription to access (which I don't have). I thought that the Cards tracked them, but your mileage will vary there, and I don't see those numbers on the player page.

We'll know at the middle of summer when FO publishes their annual.