Grade The Defense: Cardinals vs Rams

by Andrew602 on Dec 30, 2009 11:50 AM MST Comment 1 comment

Obviously things are moving quicker then usual with it being the last week of the season and the playoffs being around the corner. To go with the flow, we'll breakdown this past Sunday's win over the St. Louis Rams one more time. The Cardinals defense played another great game and never gave the Rams a chance to make things interesting. They only allowed 10 points, held the Rams to 298 total yards, and forced 4 turnovers.

Defensive Line: The defensive line played as good as you'd expect against the Rams offense. They recorded four sacks on the day and increased their season total to 41, the first time a Cardinals defense has gained over 40 sacks since being in Arizona. They kept the pressure on rookie quarterback Keith Null and maintained their gap positioning. Calais Campbell added another sack, making his season total 7, and proving his worth as a second round pick a year ago. Darnell Dockett's play may not always show up on the stat sheet, but he did when he was named to the pro bowl on Tuesday.

Linebackers: The Cardinals linebackers struggled against a back-up running back for the second week in a row. Chris Ogbonnaya, and Ken Darby rushed for a combined 85 yards for the day. It doesn't sound like much but when the Rams best player, Steven Jackson, is out of the game, it makes you wonder how productive he would've been had he played. The Cardinals linebackers all have suffered from injuries lately and Bill Davis may want to consider toning it down or resting them on Sunday.

Defensive Backs: The secondary produced their third straight game, in which they limited each receiver and recorded an interception. Rookie corner Greg Toler registered his first career interception early in the game, but would later leave with an elbow injury. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie picked off his sixth pass of the year and leads the team. Adrian Wilson added another interception to his total, but also recorded his 20th career sack.

My Defensive Grade: A

Overall, the defense played lights out and delivered another win for the team. They were able to consistently pressure the quarterback and create four turnovers. They've improved their play in the latter part of the season, which is good news in light of the playoffs being around the corner. What grade did you give the defense and why?

Poll

How would you grade the Cardinals defensive effort on Sunday?

A

56 votes

B

57 votes

C

8 votes

D

1 votes

122 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 1 comment |

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Comments

A few observations

The Rams OL is below average and for this reason I strugggle with how to view the Cards DL play in this game. Alex Barron in particular gave very little resistence to who ever line up across from him. A young and inexperienced QB with very poor protection and few playmakers around him makes for a bad day. And a bad day Keith Null had courtesy of the pass-rush of the Cards. Bertrand Berry looked like the player from a few years ago and then I realized he beat Barron for his sack. I mean it was the Rams. There’s not a whole lot to be excited about.

The LB play concerns me. The playoffs are fast approaching with only the best of the best participating. Gerald Hayes and Karlos Dansby are not playing their best ball right now and it was clearly evident in this game. The over running of plays at the point and moving into the wrong gaps, making the tackle five to seven yards on the wrong side of the line of scrimmage will cost the team moving forward. They both have been guessing incorrectly when it comes to their run fit responsibilities in the A and B gaps. This needs to be fixed quickly because it is all or nothing at all in the playoffs.

In the defensive back field, the reviews were mixed for me. Wilson and DRC were great. Rolle was solid. McFadden did not have a good game and he and RJ gave up the TD to Gibson on the double move (post/corner) in the back of the endzone. Looked like they were playing a Cover2 with McFadden having the outside leverage responsibility and they still allowed Gibson to get behind them. A lack of dicipline by both players as neither were in a position to make a player on the ball or Gibson. RJ does not look particularly athletic on tape. He will need to be a great student of the game to be a good player from my vantage point. He does show more physicality and aggression than he had earlier in the season an encouraging sign.

The Rams played with a rookie QB minus Steven Jackson on the road and one playmaker (if one can call Gibson that). The Card should have smothered the Rams. The grade is B-.

by Cardsfan81 on Dec 31, 2009 9:21 PM MST reply actions