With the New York Giants facing the Arizona Cardinals this week we turn to Seth Cox of SB Nation’s Revenge of the Birds for our weekly ‘5 questions’ segment.
Ed: Which is likely the more realistic version of the Cardinals. The team that lost 31-7 to the Seattle Seahawks or the team that pushed the San Francisco 49ers in a 36-30 loss?
Seth: That is the million dollar question for the Arizona Cardinals. We knew the defense would be an issue, more on that later, but we expected a little more from the offense.
The Cardinals threw the ball 52 times for 280 yards against the Niners. Again, the stats 280 yards and two passing touchdowns are good, but their pass game is basically
a really good run game. They are the second-worst team in explosive plays and they almost play not to lose, as opposed to make big plays and put pressure on the opposition.
It also tends to coincide with big deficits, so teams are willing to allow them to beat them with a death by thousand cuts, because it runs so much time and they know their own offense will go in and score immediately.
Ed: The Giants drafted Saquon Barkley No. 2 overall in 2018, and as great as he was there were also mixed feelings about that. How do fans feel about the selection of Jeremiyah Love, and does it look like he will justify being the third overall pick in the draft?
Seth: This is a little hard to explain. I think 95% of fans are positive in the sense that Jeremiyah Love was a blue chip prospect and looks like he will be very good to great in the NFL.
However, I feel like it is 50/50 at best if fans agree with the usage of that pick for that position, when you are looking at maybe the worst defense in the NFL that is not actively trying to tank like the Dolphins.
Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles, heck even Caleb Downs may have helped more in the immediate, but I don’t think that means anyone is overthinking it right now, but they are definitely going to continue to monitor things.
Ed: If you could take one player off the Giants’ roster and put him in Arizona’s lineup, who would it be? Why?
Seth: Well, now that Brian Burns is gone, I think it would be Jermaine Eluemunor. The Cardinals desperately need help at the right tackle position and Eluemunor has not only a claim as the best right tackle in the NFL, but maybe as the best tackle overall. That would help the above problem with the pick of Jeremiyah Love and the lack of explosive offensive plays… right?
Ed: What are your early thoughts on Mike LaFleur as a head coach? Does he look like a guy who could be Arizona’s coach for a while?
Seth: Unfortunately for the Cardinals, LaFleur is on the clock as soon as he starts. The average tenure of a Cardinals head coach since they moved to Arizona is three years. Not many coaches get past that, and the ones that do usually flame out very early into their second contract, if they even start that second contract.
That being said, outside of procedural/pre-snap penalties, LaFleur looks more than capable of being a really good head coach in the NFL. So much so that you feel at times like this could be the coach that bucks the trend of misfortune for the Cardinals head coaches. But they need to clean things up, and then show they can compete within their own division for him to have any real shot as being the long-term answer.
Ed: The Cardinals are a slight favorite. If the Giants are going to win, what would that look like? What weaknesses can the Giants exploit?
Seth: Does your team have a quarterback/running back/offensive talent? If so, then this could be your lucky day, as the Cardinals defense has been mostly bad, and sometimes downright atrocious this season.
Think about this stat from the Cardinals 36-30 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the Cardinals ran 31 more plays and possessed the ball 17 more minutes than the Niners… and the 49ers outgained them by 72 yards. That is really unfathomable.
So, if the Cardinals defense doesn’t find a way to slow down what has been an impotent offense of the Giants since the injury to Jaxson Dart, I don’t know how they can stop any team’s offense. And also, I don’t see them stopping the Giants offense. They did okay against the Chargers, but I think with how well the Giants are coached, and how much they can run the ball, something the Cardinals cannot stop, it will be an interesting game.
Stop the short passes by Jacoby Brissett, make him stand in the pocket and try and push the ball down the field and live with the results.
On offense, hand the ball to Cam Skattebo and Najee Harris and work the play action game.
If you do all of that, the game will be competitive and the Giants as home dogs may look silly.
Good luck and good health in this one.
