After beginning the season with a lot of promise, winning their first two games, the Arizona Cardinals have evened out their record with a pair of losses. Both shortfalls were contests they had, then gave the game away. What hurts even more is the fact that the final two were division games.
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Their next opponent is the winless Tennessee Titans, who are 0-4-0 and have scored the fewest points in the league with 51. Currently, the spread favors an Arizona
win by 7.5 points. The Titans are viewed as one of the worst teams in the NFL.
But things happen. In Week 3 this year, the Cleveland Browns went into their game against the Green Bay Packers with a 0-2-0 record. The Packers were ranked as the second-best team in the league and leading 10-0 with nine minutes left, only to lose 13-10.
The Cardinals need this win. What do they need to do to get it?
Consistent pass rush
One thing Arizona can count on is a decent to good pass rush each game. They are built to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks and try to make them pursue decisions early. With defensive tackles Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell, plus EDGE rushers Josh Sweat and Darius Robinson, this group is getting it done each week.
Playing Tennessee will play right into Arizona’s strength. The Titans are horrible in the passing game. They are allowing their opponent’s defense time to get into the backfield with a pressure rate ranked 30th and a QB knockdown rate of dead last in the NFL. Tennessee’s offensive line has allowed the second-most sacks in the league this year (17).
Tennessee’s offensive line has allowed pressure on 50% of dropbacks. They currently have an overall pass-catching grade ranked 26th in the league. They rank second-to-last in passing yards (614).
And what is odd is that the Titans have really invested heavily in their offensive line. They have arguably the game’s best offensive line coach in Bill Callahan, the head coach’s father. They took RT J.C. Latham and LG Peter Skoronski in the first round and inked two key free agents in OT Dan Moore and OG Kevin Zeitler.
It just has not been good with pass protection for Tennessee. The Cardinals need to put pressure on the entire game and send a fifth defender at a rate of two of three downs. Shut down the pass and make Tennessee have to rely on the run game.
Blow up the targets with McBride
The Titans are one of the worst teams at covering tight ends. If you have Cardinals TE Trey McBride on your fantasy team, start him in this game.
McBride is already a nightmare for defensive backs and linebackers. He is 6’-4” and a beefy 246 pounds. He knows how to use his body size to fend off defensive players on a passing play. He is a former basketball star who can jump and shield his body going up for rebounds. His vertical jump is 33” and he has 4.56 speed.
Against the Seattle Seahawks, McBride had 11 targets with seven receptions. Against the Titans, QB Kyler Murray needs to spot him around 22 balls and watch the fireworks. Titans linebacker Cody Barton is the most likely candidate to cover McBride. He is 6’-2” and weighs 237 pounds. Barton is a good tackler, but his coverage skills are just average. So far this year, he has just one batted ball and zero pressures. His job is to cover the tight end or running back on passing downs and help with run support.
McBride has an easy path to snaps and targets in an offense that sees a ton of two-high looks. Oddly enough, McBride has just one receiving TD this year. That is a crazy stat. He leads the Cardinals in targets (35), receptions (24), yards (234), yards after contact (104), first down conversions (14), and receiving plays of 20+ yards (2).
The only stat he is not leading the franchise in is average yards per reception (9.8), where he ranks third, and TD catches (1). Despite leading in almost every Arizona category, he is not a popular target in the Red Zone. This needs to change this weekend.
Use McBride in the intermediate passing game of five to 10 yards and stretch the defense out a bit more. Currently, Arizona is ranked #31 in pass completions of 5 to 15 yards. The underneath stuff should be there all game long. McBride has a 93.0 receiving grade of catches in the 5–15-yard range, so he knows how to get open and use his girth.
Get inside the 15-yard line and throw McBride the ball to his outside shoulder and a bit high, where he can jump and use his frame to shield off his defender.
Don’t let off the gas
The Cardinals were leading the New Orleans Saints 20-10 late in the third quarter, then allowed them to get back into the game and have four opportunities at the end to tie the game. Against the Carolina Panthers, Arizona was up 27-3 in the third quarter, then watched the Panthers score three touchdowns before losing 27-22.
The Cardinals had the San Francisco 49ers beat 15-13 and suddenly drop what would have been a first down pass, then watched them drive down the field like the 49ers were playing a high school defensive unit in order to get into makable field goal range. The Seahawks got the ball back with 28 seconds and then kicked the winning field goal.
This defense has to find a way in the fourth quarter to stop its opponent. More importantly, the offense has to keep drives going to milk the clock and allow the defense ample time to rest or just run off what time is left.
There isn’t an in-between with Arizona’s offense. It is usually all or nothing. Discover how to complete drives and accept field goals to build up the scoreboard.
If the Cardinals build a big lead against the Titans, the game plan should be to pile it on and keep scoring points. This team has a bad habit of complacency and being happy they have the lead late in the contest.
Stop that now. In this game.
