What Brown Trade Means for Cardinals Against Panthers

Cardinals play the Panthers at home Sunday, October 8th.
What Brown Trade Means for Cardinals Against Panthers

As discussed earlier, the Arizona Cardinals have traded starting left tackle Levi Brown to the Pittsburgh Steelers this morning.

Which begs the question, how will Bradley Sowell and the rest of the offensive line perform against a potential top ten defense? Here is how the Carolina Panthers defense ranks among the league in the first 4 weeks of play.

Look at their top defensive players, especially the defensive line. You have guys like Lotulelei and Kuechly who are constantly looking to make big plays against the offense.

Top Defensive Performers:
DT – S. Lotulelei 1 sack
DE – G. Hardy 3 sacks
DE – C. Johnson 2 sacks
LB – L. Kuechly 29 tackles

If the Arizona Cardinals want to win on Sunday, they have got to do their job to make sure that the Carolina Panthers defensive line stays quiet. Give Carson Palmer enough time to make smart throws to the big three receivers (Fitzgerald, Floyd, & Roberts). The Cardinals have the offensive weapons to spread the ball and keep the cornerbacks guessing to move the chains. Carolina does a great job of stopping the run, the Cardinals offensive line will have to go all out, giving the offense as many chances for big runs and play-action setups as possible.

Shipping out Levi Brown may ease some fans nerves when you don’t have to hear “False start #75” all game long, but remember what last year was like without him. A lot is riding on the shoulders of Bradley Sowell, let’s hope the offensive line and running backs will be able to keep Carson Palmer upright enough on Sunday and for days to come.

Sources:
http://www.nfl.com/teams/statistics?team=CAR
http://www.nfl.com/teams/carolinapanthers/depthchart?team=CAR