Grading The Defense: Arizona Cardinals vs San Francisco 49ers
by Andrew602 on Dec 17, 2009 11:39 AM MST
6 comments
The Cardinals defense was fired up heading into Monday nights game, with players like Darnell Dockett and Adrian Wilson voicing their thoughts on their division rival. Perhaps the only thing that kept the Cardinals alive throughout the night was in fact, the defense. The odd part of it all was that they allowed 167 rushing yards to Frank Gore - who had been limited the previous 3 games - after holding Adrian Peterson to 19 rushing yards the week before. The defense is truly a Jekyll and Hyde type and that is about the only thing they've done consistent all season.
Defensive line: You know things are bad when the Cardinals defensive line starts the game with 3 penalties. How do they redeem themselves? Darnell Dockett picks off an Alex Smith pass when the 49ers were in the red zone. That was about the only highlight for the defensive line as they were only able to register 1 sack against an average-at best 49ers offensive line. It's looking more certain that the aging Bryan Robinson and unproven Gabe Watson are a liability at defensive tackle. Alan Branch's light bulb has stayed lit this season, is it time for Ken Whisenhunt to give him more playing time?
Linebackers: Throughout most of the night the Cardinals linebackers were caught out of position and had trouble rounding up Frank Gore. They couldn't get any pressure on Smith, and had issues stopping the 49ers on 3rd down. They did have mild success against the pass, with Vernon Davis only catching 3 balls on the night. There's really not much more to say about this unit. One game they play out of their minds, the next their age and lack of depth shows. It's been the story of the season so far.
Defensive backs: This unit probably played the best out of the three, holding Smith to 144 passing yards on 35 attempts. With the exception of Michael Crabtree's touchdown, the Cardinals DBs didn't allow much production out of the 49ers wide receivers. The defense had 9 passes defensed, with Adrian Wilson contributing 5 of them. They also held Alex Smith's yards per attempt to 4.1. The only area of concern continues to be the lack of help against the run. Once Frank Gore got to the 2nd level, it was almost guaranteed he would get the 1st down.
My defensive grade: B-
Final Thoughts: A B- may be considered high to some but looking over the numbers, the only 49er that had success on the night was Frank Gore. When the offense gives 7 turnovers away the defense will rarely look appealing on the final stat sheet, but considering they kept the Cardinals offense alive throughout the game should warrant a respectable grade. What grade did you give the Cardinals defense and why?
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Almost want to say B+
I think it would be hard for anyone to come down on the D for their play Monday night (other than the first drive’s penalty issue), especially with the field position we gift-wrapped for the 49er offense all night. 24 points, all of which came off of TOs, I’d say they did their job, and quite well… We continue to get pressure on the QBs, I just wish we could figure out our rush defense… What happened to our #1 D against the run in the first 7 weeks? did the Panthers really get into our heads that much after that blown game? It seems that we just can’t stop the run since that defeat (other than AP, which is quite an accomplishment). I can’t give them an A, they gave up a ton of rush yards, and let down on some big 3rd down plays, but they kept that score modest and were on the field for most of that game (36 minutes). I was hoping for a DRC pick-6 sometime in the early second half to jump start our offensive production, it just never came. I did sense the urgency coming from WIlson, and he came close a few times… Hopefully this is just our 2009 version of the ’08 Pats road matchup, and like last year, we never look back…
The "D" wasn't
that bad, all things considered they held up pretty well. 24 points against 7 turnovers is a very respectable effort. Anytime you get tossed back on to field as often as they did there are going to be breakdowns and big plays given up — not to mention the shortened field they played on most of the game.
Sunday can’t get here fast enough so we can quit re-hashing last week’s disaster. It was bad enough having to sit and watch it surrounded by Niner fans, let’s focus on what is upcoming instead of the train wreck everyone was lucky enough (except Ware) to walk away from.
Considering how many times we turned the ball over
Holding them to 24 points is a miracle. If anything the 49ers should have scored 40 points.
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.
No band-wagoner fans allowed, pick a team and stick with em, throughout the good and the bad.
A few observations
I agree with 602 about the DB play in this game. Wilson was amazing in this game. Wilson had a dominant performance. His only negative play (if one wants to call it that) was the TD pass to Davis where Wilson gave up inside leverage to Davis and Smith put the football where only Davis could catch it. Wilson also demonstrated excellent recognition of routes and scheme in this game. Rolle, DRC and McFadden were good in pass coverage but below average in run support. Rolle in paticular took poor angles in support. The Gore run at 6:31 of qt. one set the tone for the 49er’s offensively. It was a huge confidence boost to their offense. Things went down hill from there.
LB play was okay. Anytime a running back runs for 160+ yards no one can get an above average grade from the unit. The G-power run plays and inside traps were executed well by the Niners and the LB’s were not in position to make tackles at the point.
The DL’s penalties and lack of concentration collectively was alarming. You can’t win games like that. Dockett brought his A-game though. If it’s a Nationally Televised game you can bet your boots that Dockett’s going to play well. Branch flashed and does deserve more playing time. Short fields for the 49ers coupled with the inability of the offense to sustain drives is a huge statement for the defense.
Wilson was the best Cardinal of the field all game on both sides of the ball followed by Dockett. My grade is a B-.
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