The Arizona Cardinals' Pass Defense Woes
by Andrew602 on Jan 13, 2010 2:16 PM MST
15 comments
We're roughly half way through the week and it's a short one considering the Cardinals play on Saturday. What we know so far is that the Cardinals defeated the Packers in overtime this past week, and I think it's safe to say we're ready to bring on the New Orleans Saints. But before we do that, I wanted to get a better idea of where Aaron Rodgers had success throwing the Ball, so I created a passing chart. It shows his comp/att, yards, TDs/INTs, and the percentage of yards thrown to that area.
As you can see, the Cardinals relinquished 253 yards and all four touchdowns to the right side of the field - the primary area that Bryant McFadden was assigned. If this tells us anything, it's that McFadden needs help. If the Cardinals leave him on an island, Marques Colston or Robert Meachem will have a field day.
The Cardinals secondary took part in their worst performance of the year, getting caught out of coverage and whiffing on wide open tackles for the entire 60+ minutes.
It was Aaron Rodgers first career playoff game, but he didn't look the least bit nervous on the field. He carved up the Cardinals secondary to the point where starting safety Antrel Rolle said he never wanted to see Rodgers again:
"Let me tell you something, that dude is scary," Arizona free safety Antrel Rolle said of Rodgers. "We have a great defense, and we were up on him and ready to pounce, and he found ways to tear us apart. I don’t ever want to face him again in my life. I am dead serious. I’ll face Drew Brees any day of the week before I face him again."
Jermichael Finley - the Packers man-beast tight end - accounted for 159 yards against the Cardinals, because he created such a mismatch with his 6'5" frame. Jeremy Shockey's no slouch, but not having to face Finley should be a relief to the Cardinals secondary.
Obviously Ken Whisenhunt's primary concern heading into Saturday's game will be sliding help over to Bryant McFadden and Michael Adams. If the Cardinals secondary can't contain or slow the Saints passing offense, it will be the primary reason for a loss. What should the Cardinals do to improve their secondary struggles?
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What? Wilson take out the QB? Never!
Though the thought of Mark Brunell and his wheelchair on the field for a playoff game is an entertaining proposition.
Don't waste time or Time will waste you.
They have to do what they did the first half against the Packers. They played extremely well in the 1st half but then it all fell apart in the 2nd half. I saw almost no pressure on Rodgers the entire 2nd half, and you can’t give guys like Brees or Rodgers time to throw because they’ll just carve you up.
+1
Keep rotating the DL and keep them fresh to harry Brees. He’s been known to toss a few INTs in his day.
Don't waste time or Time will waste you.
No doubt
I feel as if Our LB/DL are the best in the league and the saints OL cant compete with them. If were able to keep out guys fresh and active, than it will just tire out the O-line. as for our secondary, Rolle may be eating his words soon, Bree’s is one of the best shootout QB’s in the league (aside from our own Jesus, Kurt Warner), and given that he has tall recievers to throw to, I dont like the match up of michael adams on….any of them.
can someone explain?
we were up 31-10 no? weren’t we in prevent the rest of the time rushing only 3? I don’t get it. Our strength is QB pressure. Adding more DBs and playing zone is our weakness. Why, can someone explain to me why?
http://undrafteds.com/
I think I head that too.
Little bit of Clancy is still in Billy Davis…
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.
I can't stand band-wagoner fans, stick with your team, throughout the good and the bad.
YAC
Yards after catch—-that was the biggest problem in the Green Bay game. Let Brees complete plenty of short passes—and TACKLE WELL! Make sure not to give up the big plays.
by CARDS-FAN-FROM-CT on Jan 13, 2010 5:58 PM MST reply actions
true but what about less catches?
all receivers seemed to have 15 yards of space in every direction.
http://undrafteds.com/
DEFENSE
lot of pts you gave up there to GB. You won’t go far in the league giving up those pts and think your offense will score 50 pts a game to over come the weak defense. Remember too , you are going up against the # 1 offense in the NFL the NFL and at THEIR home. GO SAINTS and DREW DAT….# 1 QB and #1 offense , lets rock , shoot down low flying birds and lets get to the next game
We just...
Beat a team that also had an elite offense that put up plenty of points in the regular season. They also had a better defense then you guys do. Sorry to repeat what people on our site have already said but the Packers ranked much better in almost every defensive category. Your defense is like the Colts, designed to be in the lead. Touting your defense is ridiculous. It was your offense that got you to where you are. Your D played really well during the regular season granted, but wasn’t elite.
And I just don’t know how some Saints fans can call GB weak in any regards? They are an excellent team with an elite QB who was also in the MVP race. They had the defensive player of the year on their team. No disrespect to Sharper, but Woodson is better. I also think they have a better LB core overall. Some ESPN analyst said though that he thought the Saints LB’s are better suited for coverage. He may be right.
Also, we had the 2nd best road record in the NFC. Home, away, the Moon, it doesn’t matter because we are going to show up.
And you have the 2nd best QB. Last time I checked Peyton was the MVP of the league. :p Also, I would say we have the best post season QB in the game right now.
No one here in AZ is underestimated the Saints. We are just flying high after a spectacular win against a team no one but us fans and the team thought they could win. Dish out any blows that you would like, like getting the calls, or whatever weak argument you want. Facts are facts, we can definitely beat you. And we know they you can definitely beat us. Don’t mistake our confidence for arrogance.
They are who we thought they were!
looking at this chart
seems to me the Cards were mostly playing a man to man with one deep safety, cover 1. So while this shows just how otherworldy bad McFadden was, the amount of deep completions is the issue. I think that points to who that deep safety was, Antrel.
Due to our nickel corners being not good, I think it’s worth it to use Antrel as the nickel corner and let either R. Brown play some safety (he did against the Pack) or give R. Johnson a little more time.
The pass defense is not going to get appreciably better and there aren’t any outside fixes. Just curious if shuffling our existing personnel into different roles would help.
BLITZ MORE
DO NOT stop being aggressive!!! If the Cardinals build a lead, they need to keep the pressure coming with blitz packages. I think we all can agree that Bryant Mcfadden has been a let down from Pittsburgh. I do not know how many times I have heard in the stands at Cardinals Stadium during the 09 season after Mcfadden was burned, the chants of “go back to Pittsburgh.” The solution is simple, just what the subject matter I stated “BLITZ MORE.” And don’t stop, keep the defense in attack mode on Brees. I remember Super Bowl 42 when hardly anyone was giving the Giant defense a chance against Tom Brady and the Patriots. And we all know what happened then, Tom ’terrific" running for his life, battered and bruised. The Cardinals have to take a similar approach against the Saints and Drew Brees if they want to be victorious to advance to their second straight NFC CHAMPIONSHIP!!! GO CARDINALS!!!!!!!!!
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