Arizona Cardinals Midseason Report: Are Weaknesses a Threat to Derail Season?: The saying in sports is “winning cures all.” The Arizona Cardinals sit atop the NFL at the midway point of their season, winning four straight games since their lone loss at the hands of the Denver Broncos. At 7-1, most things have gone right for the Cardinals this season. But does winning really cure all? Weaknesses don’t go away simply because a team is successful. Any problem areas within the team are pushed under the rug as they enjoy Victory Monday. Those weaknesses stay hidden until something goes wrong. Lose a game, and suddenly everyone wants to talk about what should have changed weeks ago to prevent (insert weakness here) from costing the team a game now. What weaknesses does the team with the best record in the NFL have midway through the 2014 season? Let’s bring them to light for the sake of discussion. Red-Zone Offense Scoring touchdowns in the red zone has been one of the biggest issues the Cardinals have had to deal with this season. At least, it was early on. From Weeks 1 through 6, Arizona ranked last in red-zone offense, scoring a touchdown on just a third of their trips inside the opponents’ 20-yard line (5-of-15). In three weeks since then, the Cardinals are seven of eight—their 87.5 percent conversion over that time ranks second in the league behind only the Broncos (91.7 percent). Quarterback Carson Palmer threw three touchdowns in last week’s win over the Dallas Cowboys, with all three coming in the red zone. Rookie running back Marion Grice added a one-yard touchdown run to make it a perfect four of four in the red zone. With that, the Cardinals raised their season average in the red zone 10.1 percent—from 42.1 to 52.2—and jumped from 31st to 26th in the league. The difference over the past month? Palmer. He missed three games from Weeks 2 through 5, and though the Cardinals went 2-1 with backup Drew Stanton at the helm, the offense struggled to put up points in the red zone. No one was worse over that time, as Arizona converted just two of nine red-zone attempts (22.2 percent) into touchdowns. Running the numbers for all teams in the weeks Palmer has played this season, the Cardinals rank eighth in the league in red-zone offense, scoring 10 touchdowns on 14 trips (71.4 percent). Those three games he missed completely threw off the numbers and now misrepresent the Arizona offense in the red zone. The overall numbers still look bad because of how poorly the team performed in the red zone with Stanton, but it has taken a step in the right direction since Palmer’s return. Can the team survive this weakness? In reality, the red-zone offense is not a weakness at all—it’s a strength...as long as Palmer remains healthy and behind center. Passing Defense This stat is a bit misleading. “Officially,” the Cardinals have the 32nd-ranked passing defense in the NFL, allowing 286.8 yards per game through the air. That’s not the entire story, however. Arizona ranks in the middle of the pack in yards per pass attempt allowed at 7.4 YPA (ranked 16th). Here are some more stats to fill in the blanks on the pass defense: * 62.8 completion percent (14th) * 13 touchdowns (11th) * 83.1 passer rating (8th) * 12 interceptions (1st) Remember Peyton Manning throwing four touchdowns during that Week 4 drubbing? The Cardinals picked him off twice, something no team had done in the regular season since Week 13 of 2013—a span of seven games. Arizona’s pass defense is not as bad as it “officially” is. Yardage stats mean virtually nothing; it’s what teams do with all those yards that counts. For the most part, quarterbacks have not punished the Cardinals for allowing yards in the passing game this season. Having one of the best run defenses in the league helps matters. When you know teams can’t run on you, it allows the secondary to focus on covering receivers and keeping everything in front of them. Free-agent pickup Antonio Cromartie has been the best of the bunch; he’s in the midst of a remarkable comeback after a disappointing 2013 season with the New York Jets. Cromartie ranks as the fifth-highest-graded cornerback in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). He is seventh in passer rating allowed (54.3), fifth in passes defensed (six), second in completion percentage allowed (41.7) and second in cover snaps per reception allowed (15.8). He is arguably the best free-agent signing by the Cardinals brass since Kurt Warner signed in 2005. If he finishes strong this season, re-signs in Arizona and continues his dominance, he may end up being one of the best free agents ever in the desert. Can the team survive this weakness? Much like the red-zone offense, this is not as big a weakness as experts say it is. Arizona is fifth in points allowed through Week 9 at 19.5 points per game. Which stat do you trust more? Ted Larsen and Paul Fanaika “Winning cures all.” I’ll ask again: Does it? Backup center Ted Larsen stepped in at left guard after the first preseason game because of an injury to Jonathan Cooper (turf toe). All Larsen has done is get beat by any defensive lineman lined up over him. Right guard Paul Fanaika has been a mainstay on the line since head coach Bruce Arians arrived in Arizona. He was below average last season, and this season he is worse. Not because he’s regressed, but because he’s playing hurt. What can be done about a below-average starter getting hurt? He could be replaced with someone who is said to be the future of the NFL at his position, a player whom the tandem of Arians and general manager Steve Keim made their first-ever pick a few short months after being hired. If only the Cardinals had that guy on the roster. Can the team survive this weakness? In short: Yes. All Arians has to do is choose one of the two guards to sit in favor of Cooper. If Larsen gets the boot, Cooper would be in his old spot. If it’s Fanaika, Larsen should move from left to right to allow Cooper his old spot. Either way, Cooper needs to start at left guard the rest of the season. Keim told the Doug and Wolf Show on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM in late October how impressed he and Arians were with Cooper’s improvement in practice: The other day, B.A. and I were on the practice field and he was letting me know what a good job Jonathan has done the last couple weeks and how much he’s looked improved just in terms of his movement, his lateral quickness. He just started to look like the same guy again. … He continues to improve and we certainly have not lost any faith in him. We watched some preseason tape from last year and it just reminded us of what type of player he can be. I just think with a little more time and continued effort on his part, he’ll end up being a great player for us. What’s holding him back right now? The worst that could happen is Cooper starts at left guard and struggles. Then he’s playing like Larsen was, only now he’s getting repetitions and game experience, which could help him grow as a player. The other side of that coin is Cooper steps in and dominates folks across from him, making the team that much better. The Cardinals are 7-1 and sit atop the NFC West, the NFC and the NFL. Having the best record in the league does not mean the team is without weakness. These issues are not damning in terms of immediate play for the rest of 2014. Heck, two of them are not true weaknesses at all. The last one, however, is a problem. What happens if Larsen or Fanaika—or both simultaneously, God forbid—fail on a play and the result is an injury to a key player like Palmer or Andre Ellington? You think the guard play is an issue now? Let one of those two get hurt because of a shoddy offensive guard with Cooper on the bench. You’ll see a lot of Cardinals fans get very angry very quickly, and talking heads will start questioning the coaching methods of Arians. Sure, thats a massive what if, but thats a distinct possibility every time Larsen or Fanaika blow an assignment. All stats provided by Pro-Football-Reference unless otherwise stated. Read more NFL news on BleacherReport #Football #NFL #NFCWest #ArizonaCardinals
Posted on: Wed, 05 Nov 2014 13:07:43 +0000
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