Grading the Defense: Arizona Cardinals vs. Chicago Bears
by Hawkwind on Nov 10, 2009 11:00 AM MST
in 2009 Season
37 comments
Coming off a disappointing loss against the Carolina Panthers, Kurt Warner wasn't the only Arizona Cardinals' player with something to prove this past weekend. The Cardinals' defense, namely the front seven, had some serious questions to answer after allowing the Panthers to run rough shot over them just seven days prior. Standing in their way would be a Chicago Bears team that was undefeated at home and one of the league's more complete running backs in Matt Forte. Needless to say the Cardinals defense had their work cut out for them and here's a breakdown of how they performed.
Overall Defensive Performance: Depending on how you look at it the Cardinals defense was anywhere from very good to very marginal. From the "very good" department, the defense only allowed two drives of 45 yards or longer but the two "very bad" drives were both 90+ yards and resulted in touchdowns. From the "very good" file, with roughly one minute left in the third quarter the defense had allowed just 200 yards on the Bears' first seven drives, 90 of which came on their opening drive, but the Bears also racked up another 180 yards on their final four drives (including a 93 yard TD drive). One thing is pretty clear, the defense either started to fail or relaxed in the fourth quarter resulting in most of their overall numbers looking very average. it is worth mentioning however that portions of the fourth quarter were played with backups like Will Davis and Kenny Iwebema. By the time the game was over the Bears' offense had racked up 417 yards from scrimmage (averaging 6.6 yards per snap) and had scored 21 points.
Rush Defense: It's pretty fair to say that the Bears' abandoned their run game early in the game considering that they played at least 3/4 of the game from a two touchdown deficit. For the game they attempted just 12 rushes, although they did average 5.8 yards per carry. Forte led the way with 33 yards on five carries while (the other) Adrian Peterson and Jay Cutler added another 40 yards on the ground with their five combined carries. Their running game simply never had a chance to get on track and was limited to draw plays out of shotgun for most of the game, a scenerio the Cardinals are quite familar with.
Pass Defense: Normally when a team gets behind early they are forced to air it out for the rest of the game and that was certainly the case for the Bears. Cutler set season highs in completions (29), attempts (47), yards (369) and touchdowns (3) and posted a very respectable 98.6 QB rating. Most of his completions were a result of their short passing game where YAC receivers like Devin Hester and Johny Knox could excel, although two of his most successful deep balls were to tight end Greg Olsen. The Cardinals registered four sacks but more importantly they continously pressured and knocked down Cutler. Pressure from guys like Darnell Dockett, Calais Campbell, Chike Okeafor and Clark Haggans were a big reason why the Bears were limited to short passes for most of the day.
Honor Roll:
Karlos Dansby and Ali Highsmith: Thanks to a back injury that prevented Gerald Hayes from suiting up, Highsmith got his first start as a pro and the defense didn't seem to miss a beat. There were times that he got pushed around but his energy and athleticism also made him an asset once the Bears turned pass-happy. Dansby did what he normally does, leading the team in tackles despite the Bears lack of a running game.
Darnell Dockett and Calais Campbell: There may be better 3-4 defensive ends in this league but the way DD and CC are playing right now, I don't know that I'd trade them for any other pair. Dockett was his normal disruptive force and his second sack of the season. Campbell, regardless of what the boxscore says, recorded at least half a sack, if not a full sack (the sack that was awarded to Okeafor). One thing that really stands out about Campbell though is that he never gives up on a play. At least once a game it seems like he'll make a tackle ten yards down field while a back tries to wiggle through the secondary.
Matt Ware: We haven't talked much about Ware this season but if you me, that's a good thing. Ware has stepped into Aaron Francisco's role and has been a moster upgrade. He's not a great cover safety but he does alot of things well and so far the Cardinals are using him in a way that allows him to succeed. He registered his first career pick late in the fourth quarter.
Will Davis: Welcome to the NFL rook! Davis recorded his first career sack and don't look now but he's starting to get a couple of snaps a week with the defensive unit. He's already proving that he has the athletic ability to play in this league and his relentless motor and ability to get off blocks led to his fourth quarter sack on Cutler.
Overall Defensive Grade: C+
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Overall the Cardinals defensive effort can classified as good with plenty of room for improvement. One thing that will stick with me for a while is how dejected Jay Cutler looked after he continually got hit by the Arizona Cardinals. Very rarely do you visibly see a player quit, especially a quarterback, but he was very close on Sunday. As the game wore on he got up slower and slower as the hits kept coming and quaterbacks in the future will recognize that on tape. The Cardinals feel like they're building something special here and there were glimpses of that on Sunday. What's you're grade for the defense?
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Gave a B.
We got pressure on Cutler (4 sacks), held them to 7 points through 3 quarters, and came up with a big turnover.
The reason for the B was the bad coverage on Greg Olsen that allowed him to get 3 touchdowns in the game.
by Pyromnc on Nov 10, 2009 11:05 AM MST reply actions 0 recs
Greg Olson vs AW
Two of Olson’s touchdowns occurred with AW covering him. It surprises me a little, but AW struggles in coverage against some of the better TE’s in the league. I hope he doesn’t have another bad game against Vernon Davis in San Fran.
by WeiWuWei on Nov 10, 2009 11:13 AM MST reply actions 0 recs
God I hope not
I really don’t like Davis.
What? I didn't break it, I was just testing its durability, and then I placed it in the woods becuase it's made out of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
Revenge of the Birds
by Andrew602 on Nov 10, 2009 2:10 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
Besides the Pass Defense
Everything else was going right for the entire game.
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.
No band-wagoner fans allowed, pick a team and stick with em, throughout the good and the bad.
by JoeCB1991 on Nov 10, 2009 11:16 AM MST reply actions 0 recs
Matt Ware = awesome
i keep seeing this guy in the right place at the right time. So much better than Aaron Francisco. guys like Will Davis and Calais Campbell give me great hope for the future!
I agree with C+ for the defensive performance.
How about that runnning game! Beanie and Timmy could be a great combo for years!
by CardsDefense on Nov 10, 2009 11:59 AM MST reply actions 0 recs
+1 on the Ware thing
Wilson suddenly started appearing in the right spots once he came back from injury: coincidence? I think not.
Campbell is a baller, everything you’d want in a DE. High motor, Hustles better than anyone I’ve seen with equivalent talent and looks like a leader if you watch him on the sidelines and the field. Id like to see him here a long time.
by Irishcardinal on Nov 10, 2009 3:56 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
good point about Campbell on the sidelines
Remember who was the first guy to try and step inbetween Boldin and Haley last year during their sideline spat????… Campbell.
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
by Bezekira on Nov 11, 2009 6:32 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs
will davis
Wasn’t he a second day of the draft pick up. I wonder how cody brown would be doing if he did not get hurt
The Devil Birds just got cha
by DaCards on Nov 10, 2009 2:45 PM MST via mobile reply actions 0 recs
Davis was our sixth round pick
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
by Bezekira on Nov 11, 2009 6:32 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs
Teams that consistently make the playoffs have to draft well in the later rounds.
So far Will Davis has been very good on special teams and the limited amount of time he has gotten on defense he has played well. Just another one of our later round picks that have produce well since Whiz took over.
by Pyromnc on Nov 11, 2009 6:36 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs
Ware has been a big surprise to me
Especially because I thought he would be relagated to special teams duty solely and RJ would be the one seeing more time playing free safety in most nickel and dime packages.
We have got to figure out a way to stop TE’s, though. Maybe we need to see Rolle over the top of TE’s and leaving A-dub or Ware back playing in space some. I don’t know the answer, but Olsen lit us up.
"There are preachermen on TV in a suit and a tie, they tell you to send your money to the Lord, but they give you their address" Hank Williams Jr.
by StuckinColorado on Nov 10, 2009 4:55 PM MST reply actions 0 recs
A few observations
I want to start with secondary. Let me be the first one to say it. Wilson is over-rated. His lack of dicipline in terms of consistently violating the neutral zone and jumping off-sides unabated to the QB is a problem and could cost this team at some point in games moving forward against the really good/upper echelon teams. He has been doing this all year and no one has commented. He got away with three pass interference calls against the Bears. Not sure what the refs were looking at.
Wilson is strictly a in the box player. He may be the best in the game at that. When asked to cover a slot WR or an athletic TE he is lost. He just is not fluid changing directions and lacks the ability to open his hips and run in man coverage. He is slow to react in coverage and also tends to face guard instead of turning to locate the football. Olsen scored two TD’s with Wilson covering him. His over-agressiveness contributes to big plays and blown coverages although he did not have any in this games like in earlier games. The film from this game could be used by opposing OC’s down the road forcing Wilson to do what he does not do best.
McFadden played ok. He got away with a couple of pass-interference calls. Ed Hochuli’s crew did not have a good game. That deep nine route to Jonny Knox at the 7:00 minute mark in the fourth quarter was obvious and was not called.
Rolle and and DRC were solid. That said Bear WR’s did get a lot of YAC. Matt Ware is where he is supposed to when he is supposed to be there. Ware plays with dicipline and within himself.
The LB’s were solid if unspectacular. No one jumped out on tape.
The DL was very disruptive and did not allow Cutler or the OC to get into a rhythm offenseively. Campbell continues to impress with his activity and relentlessness in pursuit of the football. I like that he plays with great pad level and dicipline given his size and youth.Campbell is developing into a fine player. Campbell could be the face of this defense in the not to distant future. There is a lot of potential there with Campbell. Dockett showed up on tape too——consistently.
The unit as a group was very uneven in this game and benefited by the refs blowing calls in this game against Chicago.
Grade C-. The secondary play pulls the grade down.
by Cardsfan81 on Nov 10, 2009 9:01 PM MST reply actions 0 recs
I think that Wilson is good because of how versatile he is.
The Cardinals use him the way the Steelers use Polamalu, and he normally does a good job with it. Just look at what he did to Eli Manning.
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.
No band-wagoner fans allowed, pick a team and stick with em, throughout the good and the bad.
by JoeCB1991 on Nov 10, 2009 9:44 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
No !!! Joe say it isn't so
Did you just insult Troy Polamalu ? Polamalu is the best strong safety in Pro Football right and a future Hall of Famer. I mean you’re not serious right ? Polamalu is every thing that Wilson is not. Polamalu can cover every blade of grass on the field. He understands coverages and has the range and recongnition skills that Wilson clearly does not. Polamalu also has superior hands to Wilson.
by Cardsfan81 on Nov 11, 2009 10:32 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs
He's in the conversation
Though probably not quite as good as Reed and Polamalu, he’s definitely in the next tier.
by tw3kr on Nov 12, 2009 2:35 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs
Wilson 2008
The Wilson of 2008 was in the next tier behind the players listed above but this is 2009. The 2009 version is not. Here’s a question. I think this should help everyone’s understanding. If the seson ended right now would Wilson be in the Pro-bowl base on the one great Giants game? Of course not. Last year he was in the Pro-bowl; this year he has no chance. He is not playing at last years level. I base that on HIS past performance.
Sometimes these things are not as obvious when a guy is not playing a skill postion . Here is a thought. Has Wilson been slow to adjust to Billy Davis’s system ?
by Cardsfan81 on Nov 12, 2009 4:07 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
Wilson
I agree that A-dub needs to get a handle on his over aggressiveness before the snap. It seems like he’s picked up about one off sides penalties a game this season, but that’s my only complaint with him. It’s true that he can’t cover slot receivers or athletic tight ends but that’s not a new thing and it’s not like he’s the only elite safety who has that problem. Watch Troy Polamalu and count how many times he lines up in man to man coverage. These guys are great because of their instincts and their ability to read a QB and step into passing lanes, not because they can flip their hips and run with receivers down the field.
I completely agree with the thought that Wilson is much better in the box and that’s why he primarily stays there on passing downs. But that doesn’t mean that he’s overrated by any means.
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
by Bezekira on Nov 11, 2009 6:39 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs
Questionable elite status of Wilson
See that’s it. Wilson has had one good complete game this season. Beziekira, Wilson has been making the kinds of plays that average players make not elite players so we will disagree on this one. Plays that you get you beat. The film shows this. Like they say “the eye in the sky doesn’t lie.”
He just has not play well. The splash plays; the impact is not there outside of the one game in mind. When I see Polamalu on film and then look at Wilson I see a difference. Obviously you don’t. Safety’s are asked to play in space covering areas as you say but there are times from a scheme stand point they must man cover. As you have so candidly pointed out, this is not a strength in Wilson’s game. It can be exploited by smart OC’s around the league.
by Cardsfan81 on Nov 11, 2009 10:57 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs
Obviously we're seeing something different
b/c I very rarely see Troy P cover anyone one on one. The Steelers simply don’t ask him to do that.
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
by Bezekira on Nov 11, 2009 12:30 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
Maybe you need new glasses
Or you need to take off the “FANDOM” glasses you have on. I have seen him cover WR’s in the slot. In Dick Lebeau’s system I have seen Polamalu in the slot over a WR
when the offense is in 11 and 10 personel. You can’t hide a safety under those conditions.
by Cardsfan81 on Nov 11, 2009 1:27 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
ok then maybe I'm just a blind homer
Obviously I should bow at the feet of your amazing knowledge of the game.
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
by Bezekira on Nov 11, 2009 1:30 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
It's okay to be homer
It’s the blind part that’s dangerous. I would not put amazing and myself in the same sentence. We disagree. Others that post here to the site possibly, my self hardly.
by Cardsfan81 on Nov 11, 2009 5:10 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
lol, okay, but...
Polamalu’s strength is zone coverage. Am I wrong on this? Is he not at his best when he’s roaming in space, reading the QB?
Likewise, Wilson’s at his best in the box. He’s also a sure tackler who’s always near the ball — both have great instincts, but I think Polamalu makes more of a “splash” because he’s so fast — and the 20/20 argument is certainly valid here because it shows Wilson can do more than play a scrawny linebacker.
I tend to agree with you that he’s not quite on par with the Top 2, but again, he’s probably just a half-step below.
by tw3kr on Nov 12, 2009 2:46 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs
Were splitting hairs here
I really have nothing else to add to what you have because were on the same page. We agree completely——-almost.
Here’s a list of players that I’d take over Wilson right now base on performance in 2009.
1. Polamalu
2. Ed Reed
3. Darren Sharper
4. Nick Collins
5. Kerry Rhodes
6. Otogwe
7. Micheal Griffin
Now that just a list off the top of my head. I would argue that Wilson is not even the best Safety on the Cardinals as of right. Again, I base this on this years games and not past performance or reputation.
by Cardsfan81 on Nov 12, 2009 4:01 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
I have pointed out those neutral zone violations.
Those have been annoying but luckily most of them have happened on PAT plays. They have to stop though before they start happening on important plays.
It is true that he is bad in coverage but this has always been the case with Wilson. Even though he has some negatives, he is our best player on defense.
I think Hochuli and his crew were just letting both teams play. Looked like they missed a few calls on both side but hey whatever. I also think the players might have noticed this so they started playing more physical, maybe that is just me think that though.
by Pyromnc on Nov 11, 2009 6:43 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs
Pyro, Come on man
I don’t know how I missed you pointing out Wilson’s infractions earlier. I need to apoligize. Please accept it.
We agree on Wilson partially, and this tells me that you do not have your " FANDOM" cap on 24/7. Where we disagree is that you consider Wilson the best player on the defense. He has not play like it (see above.)
On the referees, If the calls in questioned had gone against the Cards you would be livid and so would I. That refereeing crew was not good. They did not bring their A game. Vice President of Officiating Mike Pereira probably will be agreeing with me after watching the tape of the game.
Love that line; but hey whatever. Now that’s was funny. Nice throw in.
by Cardsfan81 on Nov 11, 2009 11:27 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs
One more thing Pyro
I did think it a glaring ommision that Wilson was NOT mentioned in your post on the defense when one considers he did not play well and gave up two TD’s among other things. I just found that interesting.
by Cardsfan81 on Nov 11, 2009 11:34 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs
I was not sure if he gave up more than just the one.
I knew he gave up at least one but because I did not have a replay at home I could not go back and look to see if it was his fault on the other two. That is why I left him out because I was not 100% it was him, I figured it was him but still not sure.
I am not sure about something and have nothing to go back and look at I won’t talk about it that much until I do know.
by Pyromnc on Nov 11, 2009 12:33 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
You got me, I would be mad.
It would not bug me as much if they were calling it for both sides. I don’t know now if they were, after going back and looking we had 3 penalties (1 was declined by the Bears) and they had 9.
Maybe it is just me that thinks he is the best player on D, without the “FANDOM” cap on. I think he is the best just based on how we play when he is not in there. The run defense seems to fall apart, and he brings a lot in the fact that opposing QB’s are always trying to find where he is on the field (distracting them). The only other player that could be thrown in the argument that brings that type of play is Nine-0.
by Pyromnc on Nov 11, 2009 12:42 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
That's why I respect you
Not saying I don’t respect others but you what I mean. Disagreements between us sure; respectful exchange always. Priceless.
That’s the influence of Badmatty53 on me.
by Cardsfan81 on Nov 11, 2009 1:17 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs
you are right
Name more than 9 people that are in the 20-20 club oh wait you can’t he does his job and any giving week he can single handily destroy an offense remember the giants.
The Devil Birds just got cha
by DaCards on Nov 11, 2009 9:42 AM MST via mobile up reply actions 0 recs
Said B
But… I feel like it was a B- performance. They certainly relaxed in the fourth quarter.
by Cardscrazy247 on Nov 10, 2009 11:09 PM MST reply actions 0 recs
welcome to ROTB
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
by Bezekira on Nov 11, 2009 6:40 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs
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