Behind Enemy Lines: 5 Questions with Cardinals Digest Reporter Donnie Druin
This week, we're checking in with All Cardinals publisher Donnie Druin, who gives us a little insight into the Arizona Cardinals and what the New York Giants are up against when they visit the desert.
What similarities do you see between the Cardinals defense and what Gannon ran in Philadelphia?
The Eagles banked on the versatility of their front seven to create different looks last season, and we've already seen that here in Arizona. Both HC Jonathan Gannon and DC Nick Rallis were masterminds of that defense, and they brought Kyzir White - who held the coveted green dot in Week 1 - from Philadelphia to run the show.
On Sunday, we saw a very aggressive defense in blitzing/pressure out of their base 3-4, with guys like Zaven Collins dropping into zone coverage with a few exotic looks, one of which featured no players down in a three-point stance.
I'm not quite sure what the rotations looked like for Philly last season, but 14 different Cardinals played double-digit snaps vs. Washington, and the coaching staff made it a point to keep fresh bodies in the front seven. Gannon/Rallis don't have the true puzzle-piece fits to their scheme like they did in Philadelphia last season, but fingerprints/wrinkles from 2022 are obvious.
The Cardinals are a team in transition. Where would you say they’re most vulnerable right now, and where would you say their strength is?
The low-hanging fruit would be at quarterback with Kyler Murray's injury. Still, I'll steer the conversation to the defensive line, where the team lost half of their 36-sack total from last season with departures from Zach Allen (free agency) and J.J. Watt (retirement). You have a starting lineup of Jonathan Ledbetter, L.J. Collier, and Carlos Watkins/Kevin Strong in the trenches.
This doesn't exactly strike fear into opposing offenses, and that's understandable, especially when making plays in the run game. Their safety tandem of Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson is their strength. It is perhaps the most underrated safety unit in the league thanks to Baker's All-Pro ability and Thompson's overall solid play as a safety and slot corner when needed. Teams often don't hit big plays with those two patrolling the defensive secondary, and that was again the case on Sunday.
What kind of offense are they running with Josh Dobbs at quarterback, and how does that play into his strengths?
Going from an air-raid offense under Kliff Kingsbury to a more traditional, pro-style offense under Petzing has been quite the transformation. The Cardinals, first and foremost, want to establish the run with James Conner in the backfield and build from that with a quarterback under center to carry out play-action and bootleg looks.
Though we've only seen it carried out in three preseason games and one regular season contest, "balanced" might be the best term thus far. They've kept things fairly simple for Dobbs since he just arrived, but utilizing his mobility could be in the cards (no pun intended) as he gets more settled.
In Week 1, they simply asked him to make quick reads (his 4.4 YPA shows) and not throw interceptions, which he could do. It appears Dobbs will be asked to keep the offense on schedule and allow a mixture of defense/rushing attack to control games, and his football IQ is best suited for that style of play.
Which matchups vs. the Giants will give the Cardinals the biggest headaches?
Against Saquon Barkley, you need defensive linemen who can invade the backfield and disrupt gaps before Barkley can truly get going - the Cardinals simply don't have that.
Once Barkley hits the next level, very few linebackers in the league can prevent that home run play. I'm also not confident in anybody to stick with the physical specimen that is Darren Waller for 60 minutes a game, and Arizona just dropped their biggest/fastest defensive chess piece in Isaiah Simmons.
I'm very interested in what Arizona draws up to prevent both Barkley/Waller from making plays at State Farm Stadium.
What Cardinals unit and/or player is most flying under the radar?
Arizona's offensive line is often overlooked. On the outside, you have an above-average D.J. Humphries on the left with No. 6 overall pick Paris Johnson on the right, who has impressed since he got here.
Elijah Wilkinson is very much a stopgap at left guard, but Hjalte Froholdt looks to have embraced the switch to center and has turned into a mauler while Giants fans are quite familiar with what Will Hernandez can do - it's just a matter of staying healthy. This isn't a great unit, but I think it will slowly but surely develop into a respectable one.
- Get the latest breaking news and analysis on the New York Giants
- Follow and like us on Facebook
- Submit your questions for our mailbag
- Check out the Giants Country YouTube Channel.
- Subscribe and like the LockedOn Giants YouTube Channel
- Connect with us via text alerts! Free 14 Day Trial!
