The Cardinals haven't been a legitimate contender in the NFC since Bruce Arian's short stint with Arizona that led to two postseason appearances and nearly a trip to the Super Bowl. Ever since, they have been in a rebuilding phase, harnessing a new identity and passing attack behind quarterback Kyler Murray on offense.
It's very often the case, however, that a successful rebuild first manifests itself on the defensive side of the ball - often through better scheming and making better use of previously underutilized talent. For no division has this been truer than the NFC West of late.
2011 San Francisco 49ers: Jim Harbaugh morphs a pedestrian unit lacking big names outside the linebacker position into one of the best defenses in the league and leads the Niners to the NFC Championship Game.
2012 Seattle Seahawks: Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman establish the Legion of Boom and, with the help of Bobby Wagner and Bruce Irvin, hold opposing offenses to 15 points per game.
2017 Los Angeles Rams: Aaron Donald and Robert Quinn anchor a front seven that regularly shuts down high-powered offenses like the Texans and Colts during Sean McVay's first season as head coach.
2019 San Francisco 49ers: Kyle Shanahan makes the most of the formidable defensive front that John Lynch architected through the draft, resulting in a trip to the Super Bowl.
Can Kliff Kingsbury and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph follow these footsteps with the talented, but still-blossoming, unit they've assembled in the desert?
Perhaps, but they haven't yet put the pieces together. Last season, despite getting 19 sacks from former Patriot Chandler Jones and standard lock-down coverage from Patrick Peterson in his 10 games active, the Arizona pass defense finished 31st in the league, allowing big performances by Matthew Stafford, Jared Goff and even Jimmy Garoppolo.
Peterson, a staple of the Arizona defense for years, desperately needs support from younger contributors, especially with his starting equivalent Robert Alford suffering a season-ending injury last week. The Cards will lean on Byron Murphy as Alford's replacement as well as recently-extended safety, Budda Baker, who should play an even more active role versus the pass this year.
Meanwhile, rookie Isiah Simmons has been the talk of training camp, able to flex from inside linebacker to pass rusher to safety. Identified by some as the greatest overall talent in the 2020 draft, Simmons can be the difference maker that Arizona needs to elevate their defensive unit into the elite category.
The Cards face tough offenses in Dallas, Seattle and Philadelphia this season. If Kingsbury and Joseph can find a way to replicate the recent defensive success had by their division rivals, it could very well result in the Cards' first postseason trip since 2015.
Comments