Ariz Tests Our Pass Rush and Secondary

[mgteich]

The LB's will continue to be evaluated, but now we will see our playoff quality secondary in action against real receivers.
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The only issue on the offensive side will be who shows up at WR.

 

[BelichickFan]

I have a feeling we'll be coming out of this game worried about the secondary. Partly because they are only average IMO and will struggle against top, top WR which the Cards have. And partly because Belichick won't do any big blitzing in the preseason which will limit the pass rush. I almost think Belichick would like to have a mediocre pass rush in this game to see how well his CB can stay with top WR. It will separate the men from the boys for sure. Hobbs, Samuel and Chad Scott all looked fine to me against Atlanta. I wonder if Wilson will get much time at CB. And Gay should be fine too. We have reasonable depth there but no-one who can really match up well against stud WR.

 

[BelichickFan]

With THREE big, tall and strong wide receivers in Larry FitzGerald, Anquan Boldin and Bryant Johnson..... they will show the weakness in using Hombs as a starting corner.

Belichick likes small, quick corners. It's clearly how it is. Law wasn't small as CB go and Wilson's about average but we just don't get big CB. No use complaining about it, "it is what it is".

 

[patsox23]

Haven't we watched the Patriots long enough to know that this defense is predicated on TEAM play and, whether the CB's are Pro Bowl-level or not is less relevant than it is for most teams? This secondary is EASILY better than what we played with last year, and now far more experienced, as well. I don't think they'll be amazing but experience tells me they don't have to be.

 

[Brownfan80]

HOBBS IS AT THE MOST 1 to 2 INCHES SHORTER THAN MOST OF THE OTHER GUYS IN THE SECONDARY, HE IS NOT A MIDGET COMPARED TO THEM, THEIR SIZE DOES NOT GIVE THEM A DISTINCT ADVANTAGE OVER HIM.


ahem. I just get sick of the silly, silly posts about Hobbs height as though he is the lone 5'8 DB in a group of 6'0+ DBs. ALL of our guys are pretty small save for Tebucky and Harrison. Wilson is the only other guy that has any size, and even he's pretty small compared to Rodney/Tebucky. Get a grip with this size thing.

EDIT: I forgot about Chad Scott and Warfield, but obviously their size doesn't have them running with the first team even though they are much larger. So can we drop this Height issue as the only grounds for Hobbs not being a starter? If he's better for every other reason, then he won't be a nickle just because he's 5'9 and the other guys are 5'10. Let's be realistic.

 

[AzPatsFan]

I have a feeling we'll be coming out of this game worried about the secondary. Partly because they are only average IMO and will struggle against top, top WR which the Cards have. And partly because Belichick won't do any big blitzing in the preseason which will limit the pass rush. I almost think Belichick would like to have a mediocre pass rush in this game to see how well his CB can stay with top WR. It will separate the men from the boys for sure. Hobbs, Samuel and Chad Scott all looked fine to me against Atlanta. I wonder if Wilson will get much time at CB. And Gay should be fine too. We have reasonable depth there but no-one who can really match up well against stud WR.

The Cards have O line problems, Big Time!

The Pats had three sacks against the much more talented Falcons line; and two of the three came from reserves TBC and Woods. They could double that against AZ. The Cards struggled to run, and the struggle is not from lack of running talent, its from lack of line talent. That lack was evident to anyone at the game and I was there, but in fairness they were trying to run against the Steelers.

 

[pats-blue]

Slightly off topic, but any Pats fans in Phoenix watch the game in HD and have trouble with the CBS feed screwing up in the second half? The entire second half was unwatchable for me. I have direct TV but use an off air attenna for the local HD feeds.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Should be an interesting game. I can't watch it, but I hope to hear good things about our running game again, improvement by our WR's, more involvement from Watson and Thomas, and stronger defensive showing. Of course, it doesn't need to be mentioned, but let's just say, NO FREAKIN INJURIES !!!

 

[VJCPatriot]

Ok maybe the height issue is overblown but the talent level of the Cards receivers sure isn't. Boldin and Fitzgerald were both 1,400 yard receivers last season. This matchup will sorely test the NE secondary. Although Kurt may be injury prone when he is healthy he can put the ball on the money. And don't forget the Cards also have Edge this year so you can't key solely on the run.

Let's see what our defensive guys can do after a week of practicing and looking at film to fix up the issues exposed in the Atlanta game.

 

[rabthepat]

I think it will be a good test for us. I agree with NEM that Green likes to win preseason games. I watched the Cardinals vs Steelers game and you could tell from the first drive they were committed to winning that game. Steelers took it just as a preseason game and didn't worry about the win/lose.

The Cardnials tried doing the strecth hand off to Edgerrin James but it was a joke because the Cardnials line is so weak. Yet, I think their receivers and D line is going to present problems for us.

If you have a chance go to the Cardnials web site and check out their new stadium. It is really cool.