By Request: Arizona scouting report from a Cards fan

[Avenger]

Mallet studies film, he's a coaches son. He has the smarts to pick up our offense, in one year he already surpassed Hoyer.

 

[ATippett56]

Acho looks like a good young player, however he doesn't beat out Chandler Jones to become a starter.

The argument would be Acho versus Ninkovich not Jones. If Ninkovich can't own a true rookie right tackle this Sunday, then I seriously question whether Jermaine Cunningham should start at left defensive end and not Rob Ninkovich.

 

[PATS16N0]

Welcome to the forum!
I'm sure you're a stand up individual, a nice guy, and you're a fellow American, so I have nothing bad to say about you and wish you well in all of your endeavors!

However, it's difficult for me to talk football too much with a Cardinals fan because, well, no offense, but I honestly think we're going to just completely blow you out this Sunday!

It's hard to over complicate it from where I'm sitting. This game is probably going to be ugly for Cardinal fans!

Maybe if you move to San Fransisco and come back for week 15 I can oblige you a little more!

I do wish you luck against the Eagles in week# 3, though, and think you have a great shot at going 2-1 this season!

 

[gmabel830]

Welcome to the forum!
I'm sure you're a stand up individual, a nice guy, and you're a fellow American, so I have nothing bad to say about you and wish you well in all of your endeavors!

However, it's difficult for me to talk football too much with a Cardinals fan because, well, no offense, but I honestly think we're going to just completely blow you out this Sunday!

It's hard to over complicate it from where I'm sitting. This game is probably going to be ugly for Cardinal fans!

Maybe if you move to San Fransisco and come back for week 15 I can oblige you a little more!

I do wish you luck against the Eagles in week# 3, though, and think you have a great shot at going 2-1 this season!

Fair enough, and on paper I can't blame you for your mindset, but fair warning:

"Let me say this as gently as I can... you guys have less than no shot." - Regular poster on SeahawkBlue.com last week

Now, there's a BIG difference between Seattle at home and New England on the road, a BIG, BIG difference.. but there were a few folks over there who could never envision a scenario where they could have lost last week.

 

[jsull87]

Fair enough, and on paper I can't blame you for your mindset, but fair warning:

"Let me say this as gently as I can... you guys have less than no shot." - Regular poster on SeahawkBlue.com last week

Now, there's a BIG difference between Seattle at home and New England on the road, a BIG, BIG difference.. but there were a few folks over there who could never envision a scenario where they could have lost last week.

Fair enough call. As we know there's generally a WTF game every year for the pats (dolphins wildcat, browns, buffalo week 1) so always have to be on our toes.

I will be watching this game for a couple of key matchups.

Your D front 3 against out interior OL, you have a solid pretty veteran group against an area some pats fans have a worry about.

Devin vs Fitz, in Devin's 1st year he absolutely abused calvin johnson... that is now a distant memory. A lot of pats fans hope he can get back to that form. Will be good to see how far he has come against one of the leagues truly great receivers.

Pats run game, was last game a mirage or are we really committing to the run game consistently this year or will it be on a game by game basis.

Our Rookies, i personally couldn't have been happier with Hightower and Jones. Can they back that up week 2?

 

[ATippett56]

"Let me say this as gently as I can... you guys have less than no shot." - Regular poster on SeahawkBlue.com last week.

Wow!

I didn't realize Russell Wilson was a Hall of Fame quarterback!

Will take note of the warning when the New England Patriots play the Seattle Seahawks later this year.

 

[Avenger]

Fitz will see double coverage the entire game, hopefully that will be enough to contain him long enough for the pass rush to pressure Kolb (and/or Skelton)

 

[captain stone]

#51 Paris Lenon - ILB

Paris is a journeyman LB who finally found a home in Arizona. In two seasons he as solidified himself as the leader of the Defense. Not bad for a guy who many thought wouldn't make the roster when he was originally signed. The guy is a student of the game, a workout warrior and the coaches rely on him to run the defense on the field.​

Ah, we'll always have Paris, and I'd rather have Lenon back than Rivera or White.

 

[Patstopia]

Welcome to the forum!
I'm sure you're a stand up individual, a nice guy, and you're a fellow American, so I have nothing bad to say about you and wish you well in all of your endeavors!

However, it's difficult for me to talk football too much with a Cardinals fan because, well, no offense, but I honestly think we're going to just completely blow you out this Sunday!

It's hard to over complicate it from where I'm sitting. This game is probably going to be ugly for Cardinal fans!

Maybe if you move to San Fransisco and come back for week 15 I can oblige you a little more!

I do wish you luck against the Eagles in week# 3, though, and think you have a great shot at going 2-1 this season!

I learned a long time ago that anything is possible in football and in life. That is what makes football so great. On any given Sunday(Monday,Thursday) anything can happen. (Just look at the Jets). That's why I drink during the game. Everything is better with a beer! Well that about it for my weekly quota of cliches.

 

[goheels22002]

Welcome to the AZ Cards fans and thanks for sharing all the information.

Question: It looks like Kolb gets the start. What's his frame of mind about coming off the bench?

Do you think he's got the smarts to read and react to a defense that will change things up from a 4-3 base to the 3-4 to the mythical 3-4 2-Gap that Bill Belichick has been building from body parts of Ty Law, Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi, Ricahrd Seymour, Rodney Harrison and Ross Ventrone (inside joke) in his lab deep under Gillette Stadium? Basically can Kolb process what he sees fast enough to adjust at the line of scrimmage work through his progressions?

 

[gmabel830]

Welcome to the AZ Cards fans and thanks for sharing all the information.

Question: It looks like Kolb gets the start. What's his frame of mind about coming off the bench?

Do you think he's got the smarts to read and react to a defense that will change things up from a 4-3 base to the 3-4 to the mythical 3-4 2-Gap that Bill Belichick has been building from body parts of Ty Law, Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi, Ricahrd Seymour, Rodney Harrison and Ross Ventrone (inside joke) in his lab deep under Gillette Stadium? Basically can Kolb process what he sees fast enough to adjust at the line of scrimmage work through his progressions?

I've got to think Kolb's confidence is probably as good as it has been for awhile given he was 6/8 and threw the game-winning TD pass in crunch time off the bench last week. As I've stated earlier, I think our best chance is to play up tempo, 2 minute drill type offense as much as possible. Kolbs said in an interview this week that he likes the up tempo style (and has the been most successful) as he is generally calling his own plays and not over-thinking plays coming in from the coaches and what they might be thinking/seeing/expecting.

The issue with Kolb since he has been in AZ has been a total lack of pocket presence -- he's taken a lot of sacks, and worse has a tendency to turn his back on the play and bail out of the pocket at the first sign of pressure. And, given our O-line, pressure has been frequent. Kolb's ability to effectively navigate the pocket and not panic at the first sign of pressure is going to be a big key.

For better or worse, I think we would be best off putting the offense in Kevin's hands, playing to his strengths, and seeing if we can keep pace with the Pats offense. A tall order indeed, and one not at all likely to have a successful outcome, but I don't see any chance at a successful outcome any other way.

 

[PP21]

gmabel sums it up better than I could.

I don't doubt that Kolb is smart enough to recognize stuff from defenses, but I doubt his ability to stand tall in the pocket which completely negates any pre-snap reads he makes.

It'll be interesting to see the approach we take Sunday.. If we try and use the hurry up more frequently or not? I think they will and should given the results Kolb has given from it.

 

[PATS16N0]

I learned a long time ago that anything is possible in football and in life. That is what makes football so great. On any given Sunday(Monday,Thursday) anything can happen. (Just look at the Jets). That's why I drink during the game. Everything is better with a beer! Well that about it for my weekly quota of cliches.

haha, well, i'll definitely be watching, and a little anxious on every Arizona 3rd down and equally anxious on every New England third down...

But I strongly suspect i'll be able to relax by the end of the first half

 

[Gumby]

I've got to think Kolb's confidence is probably as good as it has been for awhile given he was 6/8 and threw the game-winning TD pass in crunch time off the bench last week. As I've stated earlier, I think our best chance is to play up tempo, 2 minute drill type offense as much as possible. Kolbs said in an interview this week that he likes the up tempo style (and has the been most successful) as he is generally calling his own plays and not over-thinking plays coming in from the coaches and what they might be thinking/seeing/expecting.

......

I think I need to find you the thread where the baseball statistician guy started going off about moneyball or whatever that was when we were whining about SB 46.

to synopsize - if we increase the number of possessions in a game by BOTH TEAMS playing uptempo it increases the odds of the two teams returning to the AVERAGE TENDANCIES.

Comparatively - the patriots avg tendancy is probably closer to 5 pts per drive versus the Cards 3pts per drive interspersed with turnovers.

The generally accepted philosophy is Pats opponents want to dominate TOP and keep the ball away from Pats / limit the number of possessions to have any chance at all. And then hope for a few lucky bounces. Hell, it worked twice for the Gints.

So - is the AZ uptempo game a short possession-time uptempo or is it more of a hurry-up to the line and then milk the clock before we snap it uptempo?

 

[Kontradiction]

I'm guessing Patrick Peterson will be lined up against Brandon Lloyd so it should be a good week, yardage-wise, for the TE's and Welker. Didn't see your game last week until the very end when the officials again made a joke out of the game. What does your run defense look like so far?

 

[goheels22002]

For better or worse, I think we would be best off putting the offense in Kevin's hands, playing to his strengths, and seeing if we can keep pace with the Pats offense. A tall order indeed, and one not at all likely to have a successful outcome, but I don't see any chance at a successful outcome any other way.

Good luck with that. An old fashioned up-tempo shootout would be great.

 

[MadCardDisease]

I'm guessing Patrick Peterson will be lined up against Brandon Lloyd so it should be a good week, yardage-wise, for the TE's and Welker. Didn't see your game last week until the very end when the officials again made a joke out of the game. What does your run defense look like so far?

The Cardinals Defense did a decent job at stopping Marshawn Lynch. The biggest problem is that they were put in bad spots due to offensive turnovers and big returns from the Seahawks special teams.

Mike Sando the ESPN blogger for the NFC West put together some info on the Cardinals defense over the last 10 games:

Cards' defense can earn respect vs. Pats - NFC West Blog - ESPN

 

[JoeSixPat]

I notice you did not post a response to the Patriots going no huddle...so...what is your opinion of your defense if they can't get their sub packages on the field?

Our premier guys play the majority of the game and are generally strong in both the passing and running games -- I mean, no one stops the Pats offense, but I think we have as good a chance as anyone to contain them as much as one can.

I expect lots of no huddle too ... But as you point out the guys on the field are still not to be taken lightly.

I expect this will be one of the biggest tests for the Patriots OL this season, and it's coming before they have really had a chance to gel. The fact that the D Coordinator is off the Steelers tree leads me to believe the Cardinals will push the OL as well.

And while some are fond of saying that the Patriots offense starts with the TEs, the reality is that it starts and ends with the OL. When they protect Brady and give him time, they nearly always win.

When they don't, the Patriots are more prone to lose.

Really appreciate the first hand view from an AZ fan.

Phoenix is full of very savvy football fans and you've done them proud with your analysis.

 

[MadCardDisease]

it appears that Fitzgerald had a man crush on Brady:

azcentral.com blogs - Kent Somers - Larry Fitzgerald admires Tom Brady from head to foot

Receiver Larry Fitzgerald was asked for his thoughts on Patriots quarterback Tom Brady today and called him a "model of consistency."

And speaking of models...

"Not to mention he has the most beautiful wife in the world, too, so he's every man's dream, or every woman's dream, I mean. I bought a pair of Uggs just to try to be like him."

 

[MadCardDisease]

Latest injury report from the Cardinals

While Skelton missed practice for a second straight day, the Cards’ growing injury list – it hit 15 total Thursday – had cornerback Patrick Peterson on it as limited with a groin injury. Peterson is one of four defensive backs who were limited Thursday, including safeties Adrian Wilson (ankle), Rashad Johnson (thigh) and cornerback Jamell Fleming (shoulder). Linebacker O’Brien Schofield (knee) also remains limited.

Go here for the full injury report.

azcardinals.com | Injury Report