Going up against the Eagles is going be a true test for the Arizona Cardinals. It’ll be the toughest match-up on paper to date. So far, the Cardinals have doubled down on the offense’s bad tendencies. On defense, while looking good in games, we still have a long way to go on paper.
Going into this match-up, after 4 weeks the Cardinals rankings are as follows:
Offense: 14th in points, 14th in yards, 15th in passing yards, 16th in rushing yards.
Defense: 28th in points, 17th in yards, 23rd in passing yards, 5th in rushing yards.
It’s not looking good on offense, and even though the defense has looked good of late, it does not reflect in the statistics. The offense does not get off to a good start, and in doing so they are usually behind most of the game. That doesn’t help a defense that, under the current coaching staff, is better suited to playing with a lead.
One positive is the defense is, as has historically been the case, creating turnovers on the ground, ranking 3rd in forced fumbles. They are still struggling to intercept opposing quarterbacks, unfortunately. I, as you might know, am not sold on Vance Joseph. Though, I am glad that the Cardinals were able to limit McCaffrey and in doing so finally got over the hump over the Panthers. This is the real challenge for both offense and defense.
Here are the Eagles rankings:
Offense: 4th in points, 2nd in yards, 6th in passing yards, 5th in rushing yards.
Defense: 9th in points, 3rd in yards, 7th in passing yards, 9th in rushing yards.
The offense runs a balanced attack, with Jalen Hurts having taken a step forward as a passer this season. Still, he can be late in reads as he was last week against the Jags, throwing late to his receiver on the deep crosser.
They went four wide with one back running sail to the boundary side. He tried to fit it into a tight window, unfortunately, didn’t have the velocity leading to this pick-six.
One area I do think the Cardinals can have an advantage is sealing an edge. The Eagles can give up yardage on the ground in chunks. The Jaguars advantageously took advantage of the over-aggression of the linebackers. With such a good line, attacking the linebackers in outside zone runs could give the Cardinals chunk plays like the play below.
They were in their 4-3 base single high man across the board, and as you saw the Jags were able to get the edge leading to a huge run, and even though the linebacker was able to force the fumble, Christian Kirk was able to recover. They were able to cash in on his drive putting them up by 14 points.
The Cardinals will have to be aware of that secondary. Jonathon Gannon has been stellar for the Eagles this year utilizing all his toys to a top-ranked defense. The play call below baited Trevor Lawrence into a James Bradberry interception.
Great read and play by Bradberry, this was a single high look man across the board, except it wasn’t. This was actually a blitz with the slot corner rushing the throw, while the safety, pretending to blitz as well, pulled back to pick up the number three receiver on the flat, with Bradberry passing the go route to the safety. Giving a look that Christian Kirk is wide open, once it’s in the air, Bradberry breaks for the ball.
This is a classic example of baiting the quarterback. This wouldn’t have been possible if the slot didn’t rush the pass in the first place. They rank 1st in turnovers with five interceptions and four forced fumbles.
We can’t forget about number 7.
For people who don’t think Haason Reddick can power through blocks, I’ve seen it on film before, even with the Cardinals. Reddick has natural leverage on 100 percent of Offensive Linemen. That gives him an advantage when it comes to bull rushing tackles who are backpedaling. This isn’t something he goes to more so he sets it up. Because he’s still 235 pounds, and when a lineman clamps he can’t move him – that’s when his speed comes in. Wherever he lines up against whether it’s D.J. Humphries or Kelvin Beachum, they will have to be light on their feet. He beat Humphries on an outside inside move last year when the Cardinals faced the Panthers, which led to a fumble recovered by Carolina. Kyler will have to be on full alert for Reddick being that he is a quick Linebacker who can chase him down if need be.
The Eagles secondary can have miscommunication issues leaving receivers wide open. This is what kept Jacksonville in the game, see examples below.
These were full blown missed assignments that were caused by miscommunication, whether it was handing off an assignment, help bracketing a receiver or just full on getting beat on a double move (last video Christian Kirk).
I was listening to the “Inside the Birds” podcast and they mentioned that they noticed (like I have) that defenders throw their hands up to create a wall at the line of scrimmage because they notice that’s how they can defend Kyler throwing over the middle. They are also not impressed by our defense noting that we rank 8th worst in 3rd down defense and 6th worst in redzone defense. They feel like if the Eagles protect they will score low 30’s high 20’s.
All in all, I don’t like what was said. We can’t expect for our defense to do what it does best, force fumbles, it will come down to scheme. The good news is Jalen Hurts is somewhat where Kyler Murray was a few years ago in his development, so our defense should be knowledgeable enough on how to contain him. It’ll be up to Vance to do so as he has two very capable linebackers who can play the QB Spy position.
The offense has its hands full, but Zach Ertz as well as Trey McBride will have to be the key in attacking those Match zone coverages. I also feel like they need to get away from running the ball through James Connor – he’s not dynamic enough to carry the load between the 20’s. Kyler will need to be a part of the run game, 91 yards in 4 games is his lowest output.
The Eagles fan base knows this is a potential trap game, he’s to hoping they fall in it.
