Arizona Cardinals: Defenders may be an overrated bunch

The Arizona Cardinals defense was a respected unit entering the weekend but a thorough thrashing brought it down to earth

The defense of the Arizona Cardinals just couldn’t get off the field. Try as they may, the highly-touted defenders from the desert couldn’t manage a stop. The Philadelphia Eagles were converting numerous third downs on them, and each one was taking more and more wind out of Arizona’s sails.

When the final gun mercifully sounded, the Cardinals were a severely-beaten squad. The defense wasn’t the only culprit for the lopsided loss. The offense was putrid, and special teams’ coordinator Amos Jones once again proved that he’s totally clueless.

But the fact that the offense and special teams were struggling came as no big surprise. More was expected from the defense, however. Even after losing Markus Golden last week, it appeared as if they had enough remaining talent to overcome the sack artist’s torn ACL.

Carson Wentz, the talented Eagles’ signal-caller, made mincemeat out of the Cards’ coverage people. The 6’5″, 237 pounder went 11 for 12 on third downs, for 225 yards and three touchdowns. He threw for 304 yards on the day, with a career-high four scoring tosses.

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Justin Bethel and Budda Baker were torched for long scores, while Deone Bucannon and Tyvon Branch gave up shorter ones. Patrick Peterson, who held Philly wide receiver Alshon Jeffery in check (three catches, 31 yards), threw a sideline tirade following Baker’s blown coverage. It was a justified show of emotion from a player who shows up each and every week.

It’s becoming painfully apparent that Arizona’s defense can’t deal with above-average passers. They had no problems with the likes of Jacoby Brissett and Brian Hoyer. But Matt Stafford, Dak Prescott and Wentz combined to throw for 10 touchdowns against them, way too big a number for any pass defense.

If the Cardinals have any hopes for a postseason appearance, James Bettcher’s bunch will obviously need to improve greatly. Even if the offense gets a couple of blockers back, quarterback Carson Palmer and company will most likely be mediocre at best. The wrist injury running back David Johnson suffered has had a devastating effect on the Cards’ ability to move the ball and score.

Arizona has alot of money invested into their defense, and management deserves more bang for their buck. They won’t win many more games if Sunday’s performance becomes the norm. It’s not too late to remedy what’s ailing them, but they need to figure it out soon.

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