Monday Read Option: Arizona Cardinals Blitz Their Way to a 3-0 Start Against 49ers
By Jason Lisk
The Cincinnati Bengals are the most statistically dominant team so far, and it’s made even more impressive considering they have been without starting WR Marvin Jones, star receiver A.J. Green missed most of the Week 2 game against Atlanta with a foot injury, and pro bowl LB Vontaze Burfict missed the game yesterday. Cincinnati has outscored opponents 44-3 in the first half of their three wins. Andy Dalton has more touchdown catches (1) than sacks taken (0), and as a result, Cincinnati is 1st in net yards per pass play so far, while also ranking 2nd in net yards per pass on defense. If you want to point to schedule – well, sure, they haven’t played the Broncos or Seahawks, though they do get the Patriots in week 5 off a bye – you might note that their opponents are 5-1 in their other games played.
Then, there are the Arizona Cardinals, probably the least talked about and respected 10-6 team in a while. Arizona’s defense lost Karlos Dansby in free agency, Daryl Washington to suspension, veteran stalwart Darnell Dockett to a season-ending injury, and has been without John Abraham since the first game. Oh, and they are also without their starting quarterback, Carson Palmer, who has been out the last two games.
[RELATED: 49ERS AND CARDINALS FANS BRAWL]
How many teams would have survived those kinds of losses and even been competitive, let alone 3-0 against the Chargers, Giants, and 49ers? Arizona has continued to roll despite those losses, with a defense that is a bear for anyone. It starts with having two stars, Patrick Peterson at lockdown corner, and Calais Campbell at defensive line, along with a deep defensive line and versatile safeties/defensive backs that cover and blitz from all angles.
On Sunday, the 49ers basically conceded that they could not run against the Cardinals front. Gore and Hyde ran only 9 times for 19 yards, while Colin Kaepernick had 53 combined runs, scrambles, and pass attempts. They did so against a team that was playing defensive backs in linebacker roles for a fair chunk of the game. Larry Foote played despite a shoulder injury, and had 6 tackles, but it was first round pick Deone Bucannon, drafted as a safety, and strong safety Tony Jefferson that really impressed me.
Throw the depth chart out the window, which lists Jefferson and Tyrann Mathieu as starters, and Rashad Johnson and Deone Bucannon as the backups. I’ll await a Pro Football Focus breakdown of snaps for all these players, but it felt like they were on the field a lot together. Bucannon was lined up in a linebacker slot on a sizable number of plays, including the first run play of the game. He was the one who tripped up Gore behind the line (though the announcer credited Cromartie, and the play-by-play lists Dan Williams, who fell on Gore as he was going down, with the tackle).
All of these safety/athlete types on the field at once–whether they are in a traditional nickel or with a “single high safety” look–allows for much versatility when it comes to disguising blitzes. The key blitz came near the end of the first half, as San Francisco had started 5 of 6 on third down and led 14-6. Arizona went with 7 blitzing players, leaving only four in coverage, but Kaepernick had to turn away from the side where Boldin broke open, and get rid of the ball under pressure.
Including the above 3rd down, San Francisco was only 1 of 6 for the rest of the game. The second half featured more diverse coverages and blitzes, and was aided by San Francisco penalties. Anquan Boldin had a costly unnecessary roughness penalty when he butted his helmet into Jefferson, moving San Francisco back to a long first and goal, in their one clear chance in the second half.
Bucannon then made one of the plays of the game on second down. San Francisco went with a read option. They were lined up trips to the right, with Arizona in man defense on all three. Kaepernick read the defensive end crashing and properly kept the ball for what could have been a big play. Bucannon, though, was lined up in the middle linebacker spot, and curled around the edge to mirror and shut down Kaepernick.
I’m not sure that’s a play many traditional middle linebackers make, and instead of a gain, it was a further loss. It was also Bucannon on the next play that drew the clipping penalty on Jonathan Martin, racing through the line as Martin was to deliver a cut block on the backside defender.
The final big play effectively ended San Francisco’s last chance to take the lead. Kaepernick had been under pressure all day but managed to slip back or past the line of scrimmage on scrambles, until this one. Again, it’s Bucannon and Jefferson coming on a blitz, with Jefferson getting the sack on the delay, after Bucannon comes up the middle and takes on the blocking back.
I’m not sure if it is intentional, but the four safeties for Arizona wear similar numbers: Jefferson (22), Johnson (26), Mathieu (32), and Bucannon (36). In fact, Mathieu got credit for that read option tackle on Kaepernick by Bucannon in the play-by-play, even though he was not near the play. If Seattle has the Legion of Boom, this group of versatile safeties (where only one is often traditionally in a deep zone role) is going to need its own nickname pretty soon. If only we had a President Matthew or Mathieu in our history, they could be the Presidents.
QUARTERBACK CATCHES GALORE
Quarterbacks can occasionally catch balls on tipped passes, and end up on blooper reels. Rarely, though, do teams actually throw passes to the signal caller. In 2013, only Geno Smith and Tyrod Taylor caught a pass for positive yards, and Taylor was not the starting quarterback. In 2012, Terrelle Pryor and Matthew Stafford were the only players to gain positive yards after a catch. In most years, you might get two passes all year for a big gain to a quarterback. Drew Brees, for example, was the only one to catch a pass of over 10 yards in the 2004 season.
Yesterday, we had two, with Dalton and Russell Wilson, and nearly had a third, when the sweetest of the bunch, to Johnny Manziel, was called back by penalty. Trend? I don’t expect Peyton Manning or Tom Brady to be running routes any time soon, but we’ll probably hit the golden age of quarterback catches by mid-season.
PHILLY VS. WASHINGTON GOT NASTY
Once upon a time, Philadelphia and Washington engaged in the “Body Bag Game” when Buddy Ryan was in Philly. This one may have been one of the most intense matchups since, and it was elevated emotionally by DeSean Jackson’s return to Philadelphia. You know about the ejections of Chris Baker and Jason Peters after Baker drilled Nick Foles on a would-be interception (that was eventually ruled incomplete). Baker got pelted on his way out of the stadium, as well.
But even before then, things had been building and that was just the final eruption. It had been emotional all game, but really shot up in intensity after Jackson’s touchdown and celebration.
After that, every pass play seemed to involve woofing and jawing among the players. Then, in the series right before Baker hit Foles, Cousins had gotten hit after the whistle had blown the play dead for a penalty. That one involved a sweet flop.
Baker’s hit was likely an escalation of those events just minutes earlier, and round two will likely need to be tightly refereed, or things could get heated again.