NFL
By: Brock Vierra
The 1-6 Arizona Cardinals may look like a ballclub that has fallen on hard times but I assure you this in not the case. See Arizona is in the midst of a full rebuild and while many expected the Cardinals to get the number one pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, a thought that might come through, no one expected to see such a competitive spirit from Jonathan Gannon and Co. With multiple impressive performances and three one-possession losses, the Cardinals are slowly building a winning culture. However, there’s no substitute for building a winning culture like winning so here are three keys that the Cardinals need to do in order to beat the Ravens on Sunday.
The Cardinals need to let Josh Dobbs Grip It and Rip It
Four vert and four downs to bomb it, let Josh Dobbs go deep. Quite frankly, Baltimore is one of the best teams in the league and their defense is too good for the Cardinals to consistently sustain drives. Go for the big shot. Honestly, why not? The Cardinals have speedsters at wide receiver, a league that is centered around making the game more advantageous for offenses with the refs gross use of defensive pass interference, and again, why not?
The Cardinals have nothing to lose but a Baltimore team that is rolling might overlook the downtrodden Cardinal offense. Josh Dobbs has been a perfect fit for the Cards and if Kyler Murray is set to return, Dobbs playing time might soon be over. Let the vet go out there and play some ball. He’s a smart guy, he has a good arm and he’ll probably take the check down. When that 1 v 1 matchup comes up deep, let it fly.
Cardinals EDGE rushers need to play contain
I can not express how much of an athlete Lamar Jackson is. Jackson has a 200+ million dollar contract because of it. It is his greatest tool. How do we combat this? We take away his athleticism. No this is not the monologue to some Gregg Williams speech in 2009, this is legit Xs and Os. Lamar can not make explosive plays when he’s contained in the pocket and with a pass-catching core that can be hot and cold, forcing Lamar to be mundane instead of explosive is the key to defensive success.
On read option or RPO plays, forcing Lamar to either hand the ball off to the running back or make him cut inside is the Cardinals’ best shot at containing the duel-threat QB. Slowing the ball carrier at an always collapsing mesh point will allow Arizona’s secondary defenders the ability to contain/ wrap up said ball carrier.
Prevent the deep threat
If the Ravens are going to score, force them to do so slowly. With Lamar being one of the best deep ball throwers in the league and with the Cardinals releasing safety K’Von Wallace, Baltimore will take their shot. It will be up to Budda Baker and the rest of the DB room to step up and prevent the big play. Now that’s easy in concept but the problem is that if Arizona commits defenders to defending the deep ball, they’ll have to worry about Mark Andrews making plays underneath.
The question for Gannon and his staff is that if you play single high safety, who covers the deep third? With a diminished secondary, it will be crucial that Gannon matches up the right DBs against pass catchers. How Gannon handles the secondary without Wallace should give us some insight into who he believes will be contributors in the future.
For the Cardinals, the message is clear. It is going to take a full-throated effort for 60 minutes to knock off one of the best teams in the league. However, it is also known that you aren’t a threat. The Ravens might be looking past you guys so a surprise win wouldn’t be the most surprising thing in the world.
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