The Cardinals' Defense 2009

[Mitch]

It will be interesting to watch what new DC Bill Davis does with the Cardinals' defense, a defense that last year was recently described by Ron Wolfley during his appearance on the NFL Network as "awful" in scoring defense, red zone defense and third down defense.

Gone are RDE Antonio Smith, a player who made big plays in some big games, but was quiet in others...OLB Travis LaBoy who started the season well, but spent the rest of the season battling injuries and offering subpar play because of them...CB Rod Hood, who was solid at times, but a liabiity at others, especially when he was picking up holding penalties and not looking back for the ball when in a position to make a play on it.

In Smith's place, the team is looking for the emergence of last year's 2nd round pick, RDE Calais Campbell of the U, a player who brings intriguing height, hustle and athleticism to the position...in OLB LaBoy's place is this year's 2nd round pick Cody Brown, the reigning Big East leader in sacks who played with his hand down at UConn...and in Hood's place is UFA CB Bryant McFadden, who started versus the Cardinals in the Super Bowl, a big physical corner, who plays angles well and forces the run with a bang.

Added to the mix are FS Rashad Johnson of Alabama, a super smart centerfielder who can immediately take over as the nickel and dime FS...CB Greg Toler, the Cardinals' 4th round pick, a 4.3 speedster with decent size...DE Rodney Leslie, a big rugged interior lineman who has the strength to bottle up the run and collapse the pocket...OLB Will Davis an edge pass rusher who struggled through a disappointing senior year after leading his team at Illinois in sacks as a junior.

The rest of the starting defense remains intact:

LOLB: Clark Haggans...active, smart competitor who needs to shake the injury bug.

LDE: Darnell Dockett...dynamic interior player when motivated.

NT: Gabe Watson...mammouth run stopper, who need to be healthy this year.

RDE: Calais Campbell...tall, athletic and rangy, who needs to rip his way to the ball with greater consistency.

ROLB: Chike Okeafor...physical and quick edge player who needs to be turned loose more often.

LILB: Gerald Hayes...good downhill tackler when he's coached to run downhill.

RILB: Karlos Dansby....active athlete who makes big plays but tends to give up them too.

LCB: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie...super speedy and well-sized CB who dazzled atheltically at times as a rookie, but got readily fooled at others.

FS: Antrel Rolle...playmaker who thrives as a nickel corner,

SS: Adrian Wilson...the nails, brings a ton of heat wherever he goes, but needs to be more of a fixture as a pass rusher.

RCB: Bryant McFadden...big, physical player who loves to be aggressive, but needs a pass rush and a good FS to do so.

With the following situational players in tow: OLB/DE Bertrand Berry, NT Alan Branch, DE Kenny Iwebema, NT/DE Bryan Robinson, OLB Victor Hobson, LB Ali Highsmith, CB Ralph Brown, CB Greg Toler, and SS Aaron Francisco.

Changes?

One of the very smart things Bill Davis has done this off-season is eliminating the flip-flopping to the strength of formation or wide side of the field last year's defense used to do. Haggans will be anchored at LOLB with Okeafor on the backside ROLB. Okeafor played the backside very well when Bertrand Berry was out two years ago. There are good reason to get excited about him back there.

The reason why this change is so smart is that it seemed on numerous occasions last year the defense while flip-flopping was having a hard time getting set and properly positioned at the snap.

Tackling?

Must be stressed from day one this year. Fundamentals need to be hammered into these players' heads. If they aren't, we will see more of the same defensive ineptitude.

The Chess Game?

While the front five will be more stationary, Davis has the ability to move around and maneuver a trio of Queens, LB Karlos Dansby, SS Adrian Wilson and FS Antrel Rolle into surprise attack alignments, with a true Bishop and deep angle FS in Rashad Johnson in the back.

The Philosophy?

This is what concerns me a little having recently heard Davis talking about a "bend, but don't give up the big play" philosophy. What would impress me more is a philosophy of trying everything this defense can to get the ball quickly back into the hands of the team's elite offense. The premium should be put on forcing three-and-outs and turnovers. If the defense gives up a big play here and there while being ultra aggressive, in my way of thinking that is fine, because being ultra aggressive is teaching a defense how to win. But the last thing the Cardinals need is a defense that stays on the field for inordinate chunks of time while the offense rusts on the sidelines.

Thus, the more aggressive this defense is, the better. If they give up three big plays that result in 17 points, but are aggressive enough to force several three-and-outs and a couple of turnovers, the Cardinals are going to be consistently winning games 31-20. The reality is, the more times the defense puts the ball into the offense's hands, the better the chance the Cardinals will have to win and win big.

By moving the three Queens around and creating havoc up front for the offenses, the Cardinals' defense could be very fun to watch. Here should be plenty of big plays and highlight reel hits.

No more playing on its heels, please Bill Davis. No more stupid three man rushes. In fact, where Pendy used to rush three, you rush five. Put the pedal to the metal, especially with the games on the line. Teach these players to shine in primetime.

 

[MrYeahBut]

This team has been improving right before our very eyes the last couple of years. I fully expect the defense, especially the pass coverage to improve dramatically in '09.

The whole 'bend but don't break' idea has failed the team in the past, but I'm not sure the players ever really understood that the 'don't break' part meant 'don't let them score, period'. Maybe they were coached to play scared or on their heels, as it were.

 

[Perfectionist]

Mitch, another nice essay. Everything you are stating is true. I am looking forward to see how this defense developes. Be agressive and cause havoc should be their motto. Give our offense more time on the field than the defense and we should have another stellar year! Go Cards.

 

[Jetstream Green]

I agree Mitch, at times it looked as if the Cards where running a strange version of the prevent LOL and bending their backs all the way to the goal line where it showed at times that they actually did not need to take this painful approach (extremely painful if your a fan watching them) by some goal line stands which showed they had the metal to play all out without the weak fronts in the mid-section of the field.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

while i agree that i can't stand the bend but don't break until you do break defense, i cannot concur with mitch's desire to go to the opposite extreme. the goal should be something in the middle. a solid defense that makes an opponent work for a score each and everytime they take the field. why concede three easy scores a game? those are demoralizing for an offense. not to mention, we're hardly a ball control offense, so giving up three free scores only increases the likelihood that overall you're going to give up 5 scores, two being on well-conceived drives and then mitch's 3 freebies.

the best defenses are those that either (a) are strong enough across all areas that they need not gamble (giants and steelers) or (b) are designed in a clever enough manner that when they do gamble it is difficult for the offense to decipher where the inevitable weakpoint exists with enough time to make the defense pay (ravens and maybe the older version of the bears). taking the all-out aggressive approach, particularly with talent that may not make the aggression purr, will get you burnt more often than pay off in w's.

 

[AtlHawksFan]

I'm really excited about Calais Campbell. He's got all of the physical tools and seems to have great intangibles. I loved the way he stepped in between Boldin and Haley. That was a bold move for a rookie.

I think everyone's overreacting to Davis comment. The other team gets paid to play as well so the likelihood of "3-and-outs" on every possession is a little slim IMHO. I interpreted his comment to mean that the more plays your opponent has - the more opportunities there are for mistakes/TOs. Of course, that applies to the D as well but the "bend" approach will help to miinmize the impact of defensive mistakes. I don't believe this philosophy means you can't play aggressive D.

 

[LarryStalling]

Another well written masterpiece.

I would like to point out that Will Davis had a disappointing for a reason. I was reading somewhere that because of injuries the U of Illinois was forced to move Davis into a Defensive Tackle position. If that is true, it would explain why his sack total dropped so dramatically particularly considering he would not make a very big DT.

 

[PoolBoy]

im telling A-dub you called him a queen.....don't go to training camp.

 

[lauraw]

I hate that Bend don't Break crap, it seems to lose everytime...Defense has got to be aggressive!..Victory or Death!!

 

[Garthshort]

Mitch, I thought Okeafor and Haggans played the same position/side. No?

 

[Redheart]

Great read and perspespective, Mitch.

Each of you posts is worth 10 or 20 average posts; great stuff for this off-season.

 

[JeffGollin]

I hate that Bend don't Break crap, it seems to lose everytime...

AKA "Death by 1,000 cuts."

 

[Duckjake]

while i agree that i can't stand the bend but don't break until you do break defense, i cannot concur with mitch's desire to go to the opposite extreme. the goal should be something in the middle. a solid defense that makes an opponent work for a score each and everytime they take the field. why concede three easy scores a game? those are demoralizing for an offense. not to mention, we're hardly a ball control offense, so giving up three free scores only increases the likelihood that overall you're going to give up 5 scores, two being on well-conceived drives and then mitch's 3 freebies.

This is right on the money. The Cards did not play a bend but don't break defense under Pendergast. In fact it was the exact opposite, a break but don't bend defense as evidenced by the habitual surrendering of big scoring plays vs long sustained scoring drives and long third down conversions.

On the other hand the bend but don't break defense would seem to let the other team control the clock and keep the strength of our team, the offense off the field.

The same defense as last season with improved tackling and discipline in sticking with assignments should get the Cards D to the middle ground.

 

[Crazy Canuck]

Shocking as to how good your stuff is when you stay away from reading minds and body language...

 

[Crazy Canuck]

Mitch, I thought Okeafor and Haggans played the same position/side. No?

Not anymore. Davis named them as starters at the two OLB positions.

 

[Garthshort]

Crazy Canuck, thanks.

 

[cgolden]

This is what concerns me a little having recently heard Davis talking about a "bend, but don't give up the big play" philosophy. What would impress me more is a philosophy of trying everything this defense can to get the ball quickly back into the hands of the team's elite offense. The premium should be put on forcing three-and-outs and turnovers. If the defense gives up a big play here and there while being ultra aggressive, in my way of thinking that is fine, because being ultra aggressive is teaching a defense how to win. But the last thing the Cardinals need is a defense that stays on the field for inordinate chunks of time while the offense rusts on the sidelines.

Thus, the more aggressive this defense is, the better. If they give up three big plays that result in 17 points, but are aggressive enough to force several three-and-outs and a couple of turnovers, the Cardinals are going to be consistently winning games 31-20. The reality is, the more times the defense puts the ball into the offense's hands, the better the chance the Cardinals will have to win and win big.

I can't agree with this enough. You said it well so I won't try to tweak anything you said, but I'll add that the defense finally has the play makers to be ultra-aggressive, especially in the secondary (where most big plays are given up). It could be said that DRC, Rolle and Wilson are ball hawking or play making type of defenders and McFadden is aggressive enough to be an effective play maker as well. When you add in Rashad Johnson who can patrol the middle and make plays himself, I hope that we see some aggressive looks, especially on passing downs. If we see a 'rush three and drop eight' defense on a consistent basis, I'll be down right sick. This defense has been built to attack.

 

[az jam]

I just am not sure about the defense at this point. Which one will show up on game day; the one that got blown out against the Jets and Patriots or the one that stopped the Falcons and the Panthers in the playoffs. We do have a new defensive coordinator and several different starters as Mitch covered so well in his write up.
We know that our offense will score the points but if we are going to win our division and advance in the playoffs our defense must get better.

 

[daves]

This is right on the money. The Cards did not play a bend but don't break defense under Pendergast. In fact it was the exact opposite, a break but don't bend defense as evidenced by the habitual surrendering of big scoring plays vs long sustained scoring drives and long third down conversions.

Thank goodness i'm not the only one who actually WATCHED this team play last year. I'm not sure what everyone else here is talking about. The Cardinals i watched typically stuffed teams on first and second down with short gains, tackles for loss, and sacks - then gave up huge pass plays on third down to keep drives alive. And while they would stop some drives with turnovers, they would give up way too many easy scores via long TD passes.

All of the above - both the good and the bad - resulted from being TOO aggressive, and from scheming and gambling to cover weaknesses. The breakdowns on the final drive in the Super Bowl resulted from being too aggressive, not from being in the "prevent".

Mitch's posts are too long for me to read all the way through - i usually just read the followups - but i know that he knows football well enough to have made some insightful observations. However, i think many people just like to throw out the phrase "bend but don't break" and "the 'prevent' only prevents winning", without regard to what actually happened. It's kinda like hockey fans yelling "shoot" at every guy who touches the puck on a power play.

Hopefully the Cardinals managed to shore up their defensive weaknesses (though i can't really say that i see it). If so, they should be able rely less on schemes and gambling, and will be able to continue not bending, while also not breaking as often as they did last year.

...dave

 

[Crazy Canuck]

Thank goodness i'm not the only one who actually WATCHED this team play last year. I'm not sure what everyone else here is talking about. The Cardinals i watched typically stuffed teams on first and second down with short gains, tackles for loss, and sacks - then gave up huge pass plays on third down to keep drives alive. And while they would stop some drives with turnovers, they would give up way too many easy scores via long TD passes.

All of the above - both the good and the bad - resulted from being TOO aggressive, and from scheming and gambling to cover weaknesses. The breakdowns on the final drive in the Super Bowl resulted from being too aggressive, not from being in the "prevent".

Mitch's posts are too long for me to read all the way through - i usually just read the followups - but i know that he knows football well enough to have made some insightful observations. However, i think many people just like to throw out the phrase "bend but don't break" and "the 'prevent' only prevents winning", without regard to what actually happened. It's kinda like hockey fans yelling "shoot" at every guy who touches the puck on a power play.

Hopefully the Cardinals managed to shore up their defensive weaknesses (though i can't really say that i see it). If so, they should be able rely less on schemes and gambling, and will be able to continue not bending, while also not breaking as often as they did last year.

...dave

Well said...

 

[Duckjake]

Thank goodness i'm not the only one who actually WATCHED this team play last year. I'm not sure what everyone else here is talking about. The Cardinals i watched typically stuffed teams on first and second down with short gains, tackles for loss, and sacks - then gave up huge pass plays on third down to keep drives alive. And while they would stop some drives with turnovers, they would give up way too many easy scores via long TD passes.

All of the above - both the good and the bad - resulted from being TOO aggressive, and from scheming and gambling to cover weaknesses. The breakdowns on the final drive in the Super Bowl resulted from being too aggressive, not from being in the "prevent".

Mitch's posts are too long for me to read all the way through - i usually just read the followups - but i know that he knows football well enough to have made some insightful observations. However, i think many people just like to throw out the phrase "bend but don't break" and "the 'prevent' only prevents winning", without regard to what actually happened. It's kinda like hockey fans yelling "shoot" at every guy who touches the puck on a power play.

Hopefully the Cardinals managed to shore up their defensive weaknesses (though i can't really say that i see it). If so, they should be able rely less on schemes and gambling, and will be able to continue not bending, while also not breaking as often as they did last year.

...dave

To me there were two things that caused the "breaks" last season. Poor tackling and an apparent lack of communication between the Corners and Safeties on coverage responsibilities. Every team is burned occasionally by the latter but not the poor tackling. I may be overstating but it seemed like the Cards gave up a lot of first downs because somebody missed a tackle.

As for the coverage responsibilities I wish I had a $1 for every time I've seen a CB release a WR and a safety come racing over to cover too late.

The Cards seem to be particularly adept at this. Hopefully some of it was a result of having Rolle in his first year at the position and that Rolle will follow the cliche that players improve exponentially from year one to year two.

I'd also like to hear some thoughts on how Adrian Wilson performs in coverage as compared to his peers, Bob Sanders, Ed Reed, Darren Sharper and Troy P.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I'd also like to hear some thoughts on how Adrian Wilson performs in coverage as compared to his peers, Bob Sanders, Ed Reed, Darren Sharper and Troy P.

i love a-dub. but the answer to that question is . . . not well.

 

[IAWarnerFan]

I'm going to miss Roderick Hood!

 

[WildBB]

i love a-dub. but the answer to that question is . . . not well.

Not well, like the way Palamalou got schooled at the SB!

Wilson like him are asked to do so much more.

 

[WildBB]

I'm pretty sure Davis and the defensive coaches are smart enough to mix things up on a consistent basis. We'll see plenty of aggressive alignments and blitzes from different sources and angles. That won't change. Whis wants the ball back too.