Tag: Arizona Cardinals score

Isaiah Simmons is being criminally under-utilized by Cardinals

With back to back losses for the Arizona Cardinals, is it time for them to unleash their 8th overall pick, Isaiah Simmons?

There were plenty of angry reactions from fans following the Arizona Cardinals’ Week 4 loss to the Carolina Panthers. One of them, and perhaps the most logical of the bunch, was questioning the almost non-existent use of 2020 No. 8 overall pick Isaiah Simmons.

Simmons was called for a horse collar tackle on Arizona’s first defensive drive of the season in San Francisco. he was then burnt by RB Raheem Mostert for a 76-yard touchdown. Since then, he has hardly seen the field.

When the Cardinals started off 2-0 and had back-to-back exceptional defensive performances, the benching of Simmons was looked past.

The Cardinals are now 2-2, and are coming off a terrible defensive performance.

The time is now to play Isaiah Simmons.

Despite the recent performance against the Panthers, the Cardinals defense has been reasonably improved since last year, particularly when they had their starting safeties. Still, it is not enough in its current state to compete with the high-flying offenses of the NFC West.

Outside of Budda Baker, the Cards are missing speed and another sideline-to-sideline defender. Simmons fits that bill.

He may not be ready. That much is clear. However, playing practice squad safeties that are consistently getting burnt in coverage is not an acceptable alternative.

Simmons was a standout at Clemson and earned the Butkus Award in 2019. Here’s a quick recap of the last group of players to win that coveted award.

2018- Devin White

2017-Roquan Smith

2016- Reuben Foster

2015- Jaylon Smith

2014- Eric Kendricks

2013- C.J. Mosley

2012- Manti T’eo

2011- Luke Kuechly

2010-Von Miller

Those are some elite NFL players that won the Butkus award in previous years. One would imagine last year’s winner will be pretty good in his own right.

Until the Cardinals defense starts playing well enough to win football games again, Simmons should not be on the bench. His athleticism and ball skills are something this defense could desperately use right now.

The defense needs a spark. Let Simmons be just that.

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Overreaction Monday: Cardinals are free-falling in the NFC West

The Arizona Cardinals may be in panic-mode following an embarrassing loss to the Carolina Panthers. The team has fallen to 2-2 on the year.

Arizona Cardinals fans were on cloud nine following the team’s impressive 2-0 start. They had gone into Levi’s Stadium and taken down the defending NFC champion 49ers (before their entire defense went on injured reserve). Following that victory, they killed Washington in their home opener.

Two weeks later, the Cardinals are back at .500 after losing to two mediocre teams. Had the Cards played to their potential to this point, they would likely be 4-0.

Their loss to the Detroit Lions was supposed to be a wake-up call. It was a close game that came down to a few turnovers by Kyler Murray. Those were supposed to be cleaned up, and the team needed to learn from that loss.

Instead, they were embarrassed by the Carolina Panthers led by Matt Rhule, who was coaching his fourth NFL game.

What was most concerning about Sunday’s loss? Everything.

Arizona wasn’t effective in any phase. The offense, which features Kyler Murray, DeAndre Hopkins, Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk, failed to get going against a bad Panthers secondary.

First off, what is going on with the offense? The first two games felt as if they were ready to explode into a top-five unit in the league. The talent is certainly there, and they showed flashes to start the year. Even against Detroit, the team could move the ball. The game just came down to a few mistakes by Murray.

Kliff Kingsbury’s game plan was interesting to say the least. There was no attacking the ball downfield, outside of missed first-quarter opportunities to Larry Fitzgerald and Andy Isabella. After being labeled an MVP candidate, Murray looks off. It is quite concerning, given that we know Murray has the potential and talent to be an elite NFL quarterback. Kingsbury, on the other hand, showed his ability to adjust and scheme his players open last season. Both of them are plenty capable, so what is happening here?

Secondly, the defense was picked apart by Teddy Bridgewater in the short passing game. Carolina, who featured two backup offensive linemen, completely shut out Arizona’s pass rush. The Cardinals had three pressures on the day and zero sacks. Outside of Devon Kennard’s absence, the defensive line was intact.

Where is Chandler Jones? Where is Jordan Phillips?

Vance Joseph seemingly gave the Panthers first downs at will, playing ten yards off-the-ball soft zone coverage. The concerning part here is Carolina’s offense thrives off the short and intermediate passing game. So why are they playing so far off the ball? There were no adjustments made all day.

I understand that having two starting safeties out makes it difficult to play press man-to-man, especially given the way Curtis Riley played yesterday. There’s no reason to be angry with the soft coverage game plan going into the game. But, if you’re still being picked apart at halftime, change something.

Isaiah Simmons, the 2019 Dick Butkus Award, hasn’t seen the field on a struggling defense. How is that plausible?

At this pace, the Arizona Cardinals are free-falling in the league’s best division. Even if they turn things around, these two losses will come back to bite them unless they can make up for it by beating two of the very good teams on the latter part of their schedule.

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Should the Cardinals Sign Pro-Bowl S Earl Thomas?

Following the Cardinals’ 23-26 loss to the Detroit Lions and glaring needs at safety, should the Cardinals bite the bullet and sign Pro-Bowl safety Earl Thomas?

The Arizona Cardinals experienced one of their more gut-wrenching losses in recent memory to the Detroit Lions on Sunday, falling 23-26. The team has lost to worse teams before, but this one felt different for both the Cardinals and their fans. This team is full of talent and potential, but can’t seem to reach it.

Part of Sunday’s disappointing loss came as a result of a very thin secondary for the Cardinals. By the time Detroit was at midfield in their game-winning drive, the Cardinals had backup safeties to their backups playing. The result was Marvin Jones breaking a tackle to move Detroit into field-goal range.

The incredible Budda Baker played through a thumb injury that requires surgery, but his availability in the future is uncertain. He will have surgery this week.

Baker’s plans are to only miss next week’s game against Carolina, but that is far from a certainty. He could end up missing a few weeks. This injury unfortunately pairs with the injuries to safeties Jalen Thompson, who is on injured reserve with an ankle injury, and Chris Banjo, who left Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury.

So, what can the Cardinals do to add talent to their safety room? Many fans have expressed their desires to sign former Cardinal Tony Jefferson, though he does not appear ready to return to football as he recovers from a season-ending knee injury in 2019.

The obvious most talented option left for Arizona is none other than seven-time Pro-Bowler Earl Thomas III. After being an anchor in Seattle’s legendary Legion of Boom, Thomas signed with the Baltimore Ravens on a one-year deal. He was a large part of Baltimore’s stout 2019 defense. Thomas was released by Baltimore before the start of the season.

A seven-time Pro-Bowl and three-time First-Team All-Pro safety doesn’t get released in training camp very often. Thomas allegedly got into a fight with a teammate that led to him throwing a punch. This came months after he reportedly got into a scuffle with DT Brandon Williams after their loss to Cleveland. ESPN’s Adam Schefter has also reported Thomas missing or being late to some team meetings in his one-year stint with Baltimore.

Arizona would have to believe Thomas can prevent these type of incidents from occurring again for them to have any interest. There is certainly a risk in bringing a player into a locker room with that recent track record, but the payout if all works out is an All-Pro safety to bolster the secondary.

Budda Baker has settled in nicely in his role at free safety, which is the same role occupied by Thomas. While Baker has shown his positional versatility on the field, Thomas is usually locked into free safety. That becomes an issue when Baker returns, unless Vance Joseph wants to have Baker roam the field.

The bottom line is, Earl Thomas is a great player who makes the Arizona Cardinals better in the secondary. However, his release from Baltimore likely deters Steve Keim from bringing in the former All-Pro.

Depending on the status of Baker’s thumb surgery, Arizona would be better off adding one of the other free agent safeties given the hopeful short term injuries to their two starting safeties. Thomas may be a great player, but Arizona made Baker the highest-paid safety in the NFL. They rightfully believe in him.

Other free agent safeties include Tony Jefferson, Haha Clinton-Dix, Eric Reid and Demarius Randall. It would be a surprise if Arizona didn’t look into at least one of these options before Sunday’s game against the Panthers.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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