I can't agree with "great." They were good enough to win, but they were hardly great. They played a top notch offensive team that was in the top five in almost every offensive category last season and likely this season too. And with that being THE consideration, they did enough and I'm happy with them. But there were enough breakdowns and lapses in coverage in spots.
Butler struggled a great portion of the game. If there is one thing about him, and it's an area that has not shown much growth on his part, it's his propensity to bite hard on double moves. Most of the times when you see him get beat on a deep pass it's because he bit on a double move. He has decent make up speed, but his lack of length shows up when he has to make a play on the ball where the receiver may have a half to a full step on him. Law was not the tallest guy, but he somehow made himself long when he had to defend a ball over the top. Butler is not as good in that regard, though he did make a hell of a play defending one of those (Brown, IIRC).
Ryan played about as well as you can against the guy he was defending - a HOFer who almost never drops a pass that his hands touch. The second TD on Ryan was about as good as it gets coverage-wise. Larry Fitz just made a play only a HOFer can (AND SHOULD) make. People killed him on the last drive, but his coverage was pretty tight there as well. All things considered, Ryan actually played well by NFL standards. You're just not going to stop a future HOFer in his 13th season . . . and you're starting your 4th. I don't really care what anyone says about that. It's the popular thing to pile onto Ryan, but I think he played well last season and last Sunday. He will get beat. He will give up the occasional play. He isn't shutdown. But he's about as good as a CB2 in this league gets and he will cash in this off season. Many teams will want his services.
Coleman was probably the best of the bunch. He played extremely well, especially down the stretch. He almost picked the ball twice, and both would have happened in big spots. I wonder where he was on the final pass where Cy gave up the play to put AZ back in field goal position. I was very pleased with Coleman since I, admittedly, get nervous with him on the field. He's got a future in the league. I expect to see some plays given up, but I also think he will continue an upward trajectory.
McCourty was his normal self, which is very very good. I loved the way he chin checked Palmer on the QB sneak in the third. And although he initially missed the tackle on the long run (the whole team did), the man ran Johnson down and could have caused a fumble. In retrospect, I don't know how Johnson held on to that ball. He showed that he's more than just a deep cover safety, playing a lot near the line and making plays in the run and short pass game. He still isn't very good when asked to cover man-to-man, though (IMO). Maybe that's why he hates it so much.
Harmon was inconspicuous, which I guess is good for a guy in the secondary. He should have picked Carson early in the game, but he was going for the tackle and not necessarily wrongly so. He was playing slap box with Johnson on the long run instead of grabbing him and bringing him down, but I know it's a hard thing to do. He at least slowed Johnson down enough for McCourty to gain ground.
Chung was ALL OVER THE FIELD. Other than the one holding penalty, he played another really really good game. He made some jaw jarring hits near the LOS . . . more than a few. He played well when asked to cover. He's just a good player and playing like his second round status now. I have no worries anymore when he is on the field, whether playing a LB-type role in the run game or as a DB in passing situations. He has earned his extension and is one of our better, albeit slightly underrated (IMO), defensive players. He has made himself indispensable. I have a real appreciation for what he brings to the team.
