SB Nation - Gerald Hayes

Arizona Cardinals Injury Report; Gandy To IR

Andrew602 — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 10:00:21 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

Mike Gandy's likely reaction after learning he won't return to the Cardinals next season. Bye bye Mike.

The Cardinals remained relatively unscathed at midpoint this week, with only eight players landing on the injury report. Most notably was left tackle Mike Gandy. He however, won't come off the report as he was put on injured reserve late Wednesday afternoon. Gandy has likely seen his last moments as an Arizona Cardinal and I can't say he'll be missed much.

Other notables that made the report were Larry Fitzgerald (knee), Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (toe), Bryant McFadden (hamstring), and the still-injured Neil Rackers (groin). Aside from Rackers, all are expected to be fine and play on Sunday.

Some less fortunate to make the list were Sean Morey and Ben Patrick, who are both suffering from concussion-like symptoms. That news isn't good for Morey, who has dealt with concussions in the past. Losing Morey is a blow to a special teams unit that has been tops in the NFL so far. Also doubtful for Sunday's game is linebacker Will Davis. He recently returned from knee surgery, but should be ready once the playoffs begin.

Making other news yesterday was linebacker Pago Togafau, who was pulled up from the practice squad to back up Gerald Hayes. Togafau should see most of his time on kick off duties. In his place, the Cardinals added Ali Highsmith to the squad as he cleared waivers, a fact that would not have happened after the previous two training camps.

Top Ten Arizona Cardinals' Draft Picks of the Past Decade

Hawkwind — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:00:21 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Does this trio of Arizona Cardinals (Reggie Wells, Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston (left to right)) make the cut in the top ten draft picks of the past decade? (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

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Call us old-fashioned but reaching the end of a decade is a great time to look back at the previous ten years and with that in mind ROTB will be taking that look with some special top ten lists over the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned and chime in on what we missed, special memories or just your two cents.

As we all know building a team through the draft is the best way to win consistently and as we also know the Arizona Cardinals haven't always been known as one of the better drafting teams in the league. With the improved play on the field though, the winds of change are blowing throughout our draft evaluation as well. Of the Cardinals starting 22, fourteen starters have come via the draft over the past decade and it's quite possible that the number could grow by four or five next season if guys like Matt Leinart, Brandon Keith, Ben Patrick, Cody Brown or Gabe Watson are ready to step into the starting lineup. Here's a look at the top ten draft picks of this decade.

Adrian Wilson - 3rd Round 2001 (64th overall) - By any definition Adrian Wilson has been a successful draft pick and considering that 64 players were selected before him, including three safeties (one even selected by the Cardinals), A-dub has been a steal. He's currently one sack from entering the exclusive 20/20 club (only ten members) and he's twice been named as a Pro Bowl starter (2006 & 2008). Wilson is also currently the longest tenured Cardinal and in his nine seasons he's started 116 games (including playoffs) amassing 677 tackles, 19 sacks, 22 interceptions, 12 forced fumbles and scored four touchdowns. He's also the only player in NFL history to have multiple 99 yard return touchdowns without the benefit of a kickoff return.
Reggie Wells - 6th Round 2003 (177th overall) - Wells isn't a Pro Bowl level offensive guard but anytime you find a quality starter in the sixth round of a draft, you've made an amazing pick. He became a starter in just his second season and only a broken ankle in 2005 (missed seven games) have kept him off the field. Since that injury he's started 65 consecutive games (including playoffs) and was a team captain for the 2008 season. He's also been versatile, starting games at left guard, left tackle and right tackle and even took snaps at center during the 2005 season. A case could be made that Wells has offered the most "bang for the buck" (draft pick speaking), of any selection this decade.
Anquan Boldin - 2nd Round 2003 (54th overall) - Boldin didn't waste any time proving to the NFL that he was a premier receiver. In his first professional game he had 217 receiving yards (NFL record) and since then he's set numerous records including most receptions for a rookie, most reception in the first 26 games of a career, fastest to 300 & 400 receptions and he's also set countless team records as well. He's a three time Pro Bowler, a team captain (2007) and endeared himself to Cardinals fans with his fearless, passionate playing style. Despite playing in 16 games only twice in his career, Q has amassed 570 receptions, 7,299 yards and 44 touchdowns
Darnell Dockett - 3rd Round 2004 (64th overall) - Mr. Nine-O was a starter from his very first day in the desert but he didn't really have a breakout season until 2007. In his first three season's he'd start 47 of 48 games and while he was productive, he only managed six sacks. That all changed in 2007 though as he racked up nine sacks and set a career high in tackles. He's now mentioned as one of the best defensive tackles in the league and despite some inconsistency at times, it's hard not to at least put him in the top five at his position. In his six seasons as a Cardinal, Dockett hasn't missed a game while totaling 271 tackles, 26 sacks, four picks and six forced fumbles while being voted to one Pro Bowl.
Larry Fitzgerald - 1st Round 2004 (3rd overall) - You might think it's awful hard to screw up the third overall pick but in the previous four years the Cardinals had five first round selections and the closest thing to a productive starter was Bryant "skillet hands" Johnson. Fitz was considered one of the best receivers to come out of the college ranks in quite some time and he certainly has not disappointed. In six seasons Fitz has established himself as arguably the best receiver in the NFL and his record setting performance during last year's post season run cemented his legacy as an all-time great. Despite still being just 26 years of age, Fitzgerald has already amassed 511 receptions, 6,966 yards and 56 touchdowns.
Lyle Sendlein - Undrafted in 2007 - So technically Sendlein isn't/wasn't a draft pick but anytime an undrafted free agent turns into a starter, someone deserves a massive pat on the back. After not getting drafted in 2007 though he played in 12 games as a rookie, including two starts, and has since started 23 consecutive games (including playoffs). After struggling at times as a rookie, Sendlein has remarkably improved during his second year as a starter and he's looking like a guy who can anchor the center of the Cardinals' offensive line for quite a while.
Gerald Hayes - 3rd Round 2003 (70th overall) - Hayes often gets overlooked by flashier players on the defensive side of the ball but he's developed into one of the most dependable defenders on the team. After two seasons playing mostly special teams, Hayes was supposed to start the 2005 season at middle linebacker before a preseason knee injury sent him to the injured reserve. Since that injury he's missed only two games and averaged almost six tackles per game and started 53 games. In his six seasons (not counting the one missed due to injury) he's amassed 389 tackles, five sacks, four picks and forced seven fumbles.
Steve Breaston - 5th Round 2007 (142th overall) - Breaston was drafted as a return specialist, a spot he excelled at as a rookie, but when the Cardinals used a third round pick on another receiver the following year, Boobs took it personally. Breaston onto the NFL-scene with 77 receptions for 1,006 yards in just his second year in the league and he's established himself as a legitimate deep threat. He's started twelve games over the past two seasons, filling in for an injured Boldin, and he's helped the Cardinals develop one of the most dynamic passing games in the league, not to mention the best trio of receivers.
Antonio Smith - 5th Round 2004 (135th overall) - Smith is really the only guy on this list who didn't make an almost immediate impact but once he broke into the starting lineup, he was quite productive. He spent most of his rookie season on the practice squad and didn't become a full time starter until the latter half of his third season. While he never really was a play-maker, Smith was consistently productive and a great pick in the fifth round. Smith left this past off season for big free agent money with the Houston Texans but as a Cardinal he played in 62 games, 39 starts, and racked up 125 tackles, 14.5 sacks and three forced fumbles.
Tim Hightower - 5th Round 2008 (149th overall) - The 149th selection of the 2008 draft was followed by a collective "who?" from Cardinals fans and draft 'experts' alike but Hightower has quickly proved to be quite a hidden gem. After starting his rookie season as a very effective goal line/short yardage specialist, he emerged as the starting running back midway through the season and he's managed to keep the starting job despite a promising rookie, Beanie Wells, nipping at his heels. Through just two short years Hightower has proven to be a fairly complete back with the ability to swing out of the backfield, protect his quarterback as well as tote the rock. With the Cardinal's dual running back approach, he's not getting a ton of carries but he's on pace to surpass 1,000 yards from scrimmage this season and could approach double digit touchdowns for the second consecutive season.

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One thing that is quite impressive when looking back at the past decade worth of drafts is how well the Cardinals drafted in the 2003 and 2004 draft. In those two years combined they turned fourteen overall picks into seven quality NFL starters and four Pro Bowl level players. Needless to say, a 50% success rate in the draft is a guaranteed formula for winning. With the past couple of draft classes looking very promising, hopefully we'll be able to look back in five years and see the same kind of success. Who is the best overall pick in your mind and who would be in your top ten?

Grading the Defense: Arizona Cardinals vs Tennessee Titans

Andrew602 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:00:11 -0000

by Wade Payne - AP

Arizona Cardinals' Calais Campbell (93) and Bertrand Berry (92) stay on the field after the Tennessee Titans scored a touchdown in the final moments of an NFL football game Sunday.

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Arizona Cardinal punter Ben Graham had just pinned the Titans back at their 1 yard line with 2:37 remaining on the clock. With two timeouts left Vince Young and the Titans offense marched down the field, with Young completing 9 of 16 passes for 94 yards and the game-winning touchdown. The Titans also were 3-3 on 4th downs, including the touchdown pass that sealed the Cardinals fate. That itself should sum up the Cardinals defensive effort on Sunday.

Defensive Line - The Cardinals defensive line played an intense game, containing Vince Young and sacking him 4 times after the Titans offensive line had only allowed 7 sacks on the year(season low). Darnell Dockett was the constant force of pressure, bringing down Young 3 times, giving him 7 sacks on the year. They also did a respectable job of limiting Chris Johnson, until he was able to break the big one in the second half for 85 yards. The problem on the day was that the Cardinals may have not forced enough pressure, as Vince Young was able to throw for 387 yards and had his way with the defense.

Linebackers - The Cardinals linebackers were already banged up before the game, with Chike Okeafor, Karlos Dansby, and Gerald Hayesall being limited in practice the last few weeks. It's no surprise that one of them was going to leave the game(Dansby) by injury. They also were particularly solid at slowing Chris Johnson, but running is running and at the end of the day, the Cardinals allowed 154 rushing yards to Johnson. The Cardinals linebackers also had a hard time covering the flats and Young exploited that when they were playing zone coverage. The Cardinals linebackers need to get healthy fast with Adrian Peterson coming to town on Sunday night.

Defensive backs - Vince Young - a quarterback who's known for making plays with his legs - threw for 387 yards for 1 touchdown on Sunday. In all fairness, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie had a good game, limiting the receivers he covered and batting away 3 passes. Adrian Wilson also played well against the run and did a good job spying Young. Bryant McFaddencontinued to struggle and missed the ball when the Titans faced 4th down for the first time on their game-winning drive. McFadden has had tough showings the past three weeks and teams seem be targetinghim more. It's difficult to put your finger on what exactly the problems with the secondary are. Whether it's personel or coaching, Bill Davis needs to put together better game plans against teams that can pass the ball.

My defensive grade: D

They held the Titans to 6 points in the first half and limited Chris Johnson until the 85 yard run. They're failure to get just one stop on 4th down is what really hurt them and ended the Cardinals chanced of improving to 8-3. What grade did you give the Cardinals defense and why? What should Bill Davis be doing differently?

Poll

How would you grade the Cardinals defensive effort on Sunday?

A

7 votes

B

17 votes

C

61 votes

D

73 votes

F

43 votes

201 votes | Poll has closed

Arizona Cardinals Run Defense Has Tough Test Ahead

Andrew602 — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:05:24 -0000

More photos » by Tim Larsen - AP

The Cardinals run defense will need to be at the top of their game against the Titans this Sunday, and it starts with proper tackling.

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As Sunday's game approaches, the Arizona Cardinals defense will need to steadily prepare themselves for the lethal running attack of the Tennessee Titans. With the legs of Chris Johnson, LenDale White, and Vince Young, the Titans feature one of the best rushing offenses in the league - if not the best - and are first in the league averaging 168.4 rushing yards per game.

The Cardinals began their season shutting down every runner they lined up against until the Panthers came to Arizona and ran for 270 yards. Since then they've given up an average of 156.75 rushing yards per game over the last 4 games. The Cardinals linebackers have had their fair share of troubles staying healthy, with Chike Okeafor and Gerald Hayes battling back injuries. With Hayes back and the recent addition of Monty Beisel, the Cardinals are hoping they can at least limit Tennessee to get the win.

So far this year, the Titans have faced only one rush defense ranked worse then 22nd, which was the Bills ranked 31st overall against the run. The average run defense they've faced this year is 15th in the league, which means owning the number one rush offense hasn't been easy. The two top ten rush defenses the Titans have faced have been the Steelers and 49ers, in which Chris Johson ran for a combined 180 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Johnson has gradually become one of the deadliest running backs in the league over his first two years. In looking at his stats, I couldn't find many cracks in his game. He gets the same production in all 4 quarters, on 1st and short or 3rd and long, and in any formation. One interesting stat however, is his production compared at home to the road. At home, he averages more yards per carry(7.9) and has 6 of his 8 touchdowns, which isn't good news for the Cardinals defense. I'll leave you with another key stat - his production compared to the number of pass attempts per game.

Pass Attempts Per Game	Att	Yards	Avg	TD
1-20	173	1158	6.75	7
21-30	26	84	3.2	1

Arizona Cardinals Release TE Byrd, Sign LB Monty Beisel

Andrew602 — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:31:29 -0000

More photos » by Tom Gannam - AP

One of Beisel's rare appearances as a Chief. Beisel only played in three games and was released. He looks better in Cardinal red anyway.

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The Arizona Cardinals have released their 4th string tight end Dominique Byrd today, and signed former Cardinal linebacker Monty Beisel.

Searching for depth at linebacker – especially after Gerald Hayes and Chike Okeafor missing games with back problems and having the inexperienced Reggie Walker and Ali Highsmith on the roster – the Cardinals brought back veteran Monty Beisel today. The Cards wanted Beisel when his contract expired after last season , but Beisel instead followed Todd Haley to Kansas City. Then Beisel was cut after just three games and has been searching for a job since. He had been in contact with the Cardinals in an attempt to come back since then.

To make room on the roster, the Cards decided they couldn’t hang on to four tight ends any longer. They released Dominique Byrd, who had yet to appear active in a regular-season game this season. With Anthony Becht and Ben Patrick taking hold of the two tight end spots on game day and Stephen Spach a more accomplished blocker than Byrd, Byrd was the odd man out.

via azcardinals.com(Urban)

Beisel, an ROTB favorite, was a special teams ace last year and should provide veteran depth to a linebacking corps that has been banged up the last few weeks. In the three years he was with Arizona, Beisel appeared in 40 games and registered 78 tackles. The Cardinals signed linebacker Pago Togafau and defensive end Jason Banks to the practice squad, both also being former Cardinals. They released FB Jed Collins and DT Antoine Holmes to make room.

Grading the Defense: Arizona Cardinals vs. St Louis Rams

Hawkwind — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:08:47 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Curry - AP

Rams QB Marc Bulger is pulled down by Arizona Cardinals safety Antrel Rolle as Calais Campbell looks on during the first quarter. (AP Photo/Jeff Curry)

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The Arizona Cardinals defense continues to impress, under new coordinator Bill Davis, and on Sunday they limited the St. Louis Rams to just 13 points and dominated for most of the game despite missing multiple starters. Granted the Rams aren't exactly an offensive juggernaut but the Cardinals' "bend but don't break" game plan is starting to work very well. After this week the defense ranks just 21st in yards per game but a very respectable (and remarkably improved) 11th in points per game.

A couple of quick stats before we get into the defensive breakdown:

Two of the Rams' scoring drives, accounting for ten points, started in Cardinals territory thanks to turnovers from the offense.
The Rams had four four-and-out drives and seven drives that accounted for 30 yards or less.

Run Defense: The box score say Steven Jackson racked up 116 yards on 24 carries (4.8 ypc) so we certainly can't give the defense a big "atta-boy" but overall the run defense was better than the overall numbers would suggest. Although they didn't stop a single run behind the line of scrimmage, almost half of Jackson's yards came on one big 48 yard scamper meaning outside of that run he averaged 3.0 yards per carry. The run defense was also very stout in short yardage situations stopping the Rams on three out of four times in third or fourth-and-one opportunities. Karlos Dansby led the way with nine tackles and the return of Gerald Hayes had a significant impact as well.

Pass Defense: The secondary lost Bryant McFadden relatively early in the game but still did a good job of causing Marc Bulger all kind of trouble. He completed just 51.4% of his passes and his yards per attempt (5.8) and QB rating (57.8) were both below his season averages. With McFadden on the sidelines, the Rams picked on his replacement, Micheal Adams, a bit but the defense were still able to lower their yards per game average. Adrian Wilson also forced the only Rams turnover when he picked off Bulger in the second quarter.

Pass Rush: The Cardinals continue to get to the quarterback using a pass rush by committee approach with Will Davis, Darnell Dockett and Antrel Rolle getting into the mix this week. No player on the team has reached five sacks yet but eight different defenders have recorded multiple sacks and twelve different players in all have taken down a QB at least once this season. Bill Davis continues to use his pieces well and his defense does a good of getting to the quarterback without having to bring heavy blitzes. The Cardinals currently rank 6th in team sacks with 28.

Honor Roll:

Gabe Watson: Watson still hasn't regained the starting nose tackle job but it seems like he might be getting more and more snaps as the season progresses and he played well in this game. He made four solo tackles and Jackson ran for a grand total of three yards on those plays, including two that went for no gain.

Antrel Rolle: Rolle continues to play well and he logged the first sack of Bulger (although the NFL hasn't assigned the sack to him yet). Rushing the passer isn't Rolle's forte but he's athletic enough to create havoc once he gets into the backfield. Five tackles isn't a big game for Rolle but he's a big reason why the Rams weren't able to score a big play in the passing game.

Adrian Wilson: I know A-dub could be on this list every week but after picking off another pass for the second week in a row, I just couldn't leave him off. While he hasn't blitzed as much this season, Wilson is just one interception from matching his career high of four.

Darnell Dockett and Calais Campbell: This defensive end duo continues to create a great deal of havoc. Nine-0 has logged a sack in three consecutive games and forced his first fumble of the season on the Rams final offensive play. Not much is expected, stat-wise, from defensive ends in a 3-4 defense but this duo continues to shoulder their fair share of the workload.

Michael Adams: Adams filled in for McFadden once he went down and it was pretty clear that Bulger and company were going to pick on him early and often. At times Adams struggled in coverage but Adams showed the tenacity and grit that earned him a roster spot. He's fearless run supporter and in time may develop into a decent nickel corner.

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All in all the defense logged another game where they gave their offense every opportunity to win the game. The yardage totals continue to look high but as long as they're keeping teams out of the endzone, we can't complain too much. Thoughts?

Poll

How would you grade the Cardinals defensive effort on Sunday?

A

34 votes

B

155 votes

C

51 votes

D

4 votes

F

2 votes

246 votes | Poll has closed

Arizona Cardinal of the Week: Week 10

Andrew602 — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:46:08 -0000

More photos » by Tom Gannam - AP

Anquan Boldin corrals a touchdown early in the game against the St. Louis Rams. Boldin has been on a tear lately, catching 16 passes and 208 yards in 2 games.

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Although the Cardinals didn't impressively beat the St. Louis Rams on Sunday, there were some players from the game that stood out and now will be nominated for their efforts. Let's also give a shout-out to Beanie Wells for running away with COTW award last week and gaining 52% of the votes. He's on the list again this week and let's see who else is with him.

Anquan Boldin -Since Boldin sat out against the Bears three weeks ago to rest a sprained ankle, he's had the best strech of games this year. There's more pop in his step and he's come through when the Cardinals needed first downs. In the last two games Boldin has 16 catches for 208 yards and a touchdown.

Kurt Warner - For the last three weeks Warner has been on the list of nominations. And what do you expect after not throwing any interceptions in that span and leading the Cardinals to victories? The most impressive part of Sunday's game is that in only 2 quarters of action, Warner threw for 203 yards, 2 touchdowns, and had a passer rating of 146.3.

Beanie Wells - Wells had another impressive game but didn't live up to the expectations I set earlier in the week. It could be the early fumble or the lack of offense in the second half but either way Wells was able to run the ball efficiently. In the game, Wells carried the ball for 74 yards and powered his way into the end zone to get his 4th touchdown of the year. It's only a matter of time before Beanie breaks the 100 yard mark.

Tim Hightower - Hightower should play the Rams every week because they have produced his only(2) 100 yard rushing games of his career. The most notable run was the 50 yarder he broke early in the game, that eventually led to a Cardinals touchdown. Hightower had 100 rushing yards for 7.9 yard average on the day.

Gerald Hayes - Had Steven Jackson not broke a 48 yard run late in the game, the Cardinals defense would've held him to 68 yards at 2.9 YPC. Obviously we can't play the should've could've game but the larger part I want everyone to see is that the return of Gerald Hayes had a huge impact against the run. He only had 3 tackles but he disrupted a lot of plays and swarmed Jackson any chance he had. Besides, most defenders can't tackle Jackson the first time anyway.

Adrian Wilson - Wilson had 5 tackles, 1 pass defense and also picked off a pass on Sunday. Wilson didn't get beat in coverage at any point and was usually lurking around the line of scrimmage. Wilson's size gives the Cardinals a lot of helping defending the run.

As always, if you feel anybody should be added to the list just drop a comment. Who did you vote for and why?

Poll

Who is the Arizona Cardinal of the week?

Kurt Warner

85 votes

Beanie Wells

28 votes

Tim Hightower

122 votes

Anquan Boldin

43 votes

Gerald Hayes

8 votes

Adrian Wilson

25 votes

311 votes | Poll has closed

Rams vs Cardinals: Gameday notes & injury report

VanRam — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:23:26 -0000

by Dave Weaver - AP

Can this man single-handedly stop Texas...and just how would he look with Golden Horns on his helmet?

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Don't count on injuries to give the St. Louis Rams a break today. The visiting Arizona Cardinals won't likely be sitting many player when they take drop into the Ed Jones Dome today.

RIght now, it looks like the only player out for Arizona is LB Chike Okeafor. The questionable list includes: CB Michael Adams (hamstring), LB Karlos Dansby (shoulder), T Mike Gandy (pelvis), LB Gerald Hayes (back), CB Bryant McFadden (ankle), WR Sean Morey (head), TE Ben Patrick (knee).

The Rams will be without DE Victor Adeyanju and OG Richie Incognito. As we've mentioned, the Adeyanju injury leaves them thin at defensive line. DE Chris Long is the only player listed as questionable, and Spagnuolo made it sound as though that would be a game time decision.

Continuing on the o-line theme form 3k's post yesterday, the PD has a look at the unit. No surprises there. This is a really strong group for the Rams now, with the potential to get better. One thing that's really helped the Rams this year is the depth. Adam Goldberg has started all but one game this season.

The Cardinals are kind of sneaky good again this season, winning five of their last six with the league's fifth best passing offense. It'll be a big day for our secondary.

Stray thoughts on college football

I watched the Mississippi State at Arkansas game yesterday, and three players really stood out. The obvious is Ryan Mallett. He's an accurate and strong QB, smart too, but needs to develop his ability to find other receivers when his guys are covered up too tightly. Surely, he stays in another season. Arkansas WR Cobi Hamilton, a freshman, is one helluva receiver. I was really impressed with Mississippi State running back Anthony Dixon. He reminded me of Steven Jackson, similar moves and style. There's probably a reason for that: Sylvester Croom, the former Bulldogs head coach who was hired as the Rams running backs coach this season. Croom isn't getting enough credit for Jackson's big season, but he should be.

Les Miles, seriously?

Ndamukong Suh will get a national stage when Nebraska is sacrificed to Texas in the Big 12 championship game. I still think it could be a pretty interesting game, and I look forward to watching what he can do against one of college football's elite teams.

Michigan got beat by guys in sweatpants...Rodriguez has to go now.

Arizona Cardinals vs. St. Louis Rams: Injury Report

Hawkwind — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:20:40 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

Arizona Cardinals ~~wide receiver~~ special teams ace Sean Morey continues to deal the after effects of a concussion. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

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As the season wears on the Arizona Cardinals injury report seems to get longer and longer and this week is no exception. In all there were 13 players listed on the report with four DNP's, eight limited particpations and a single player who was listed but participated fully. Duece Lutui is officially on the report because he missed practice but it wasn't injury related so we can assume that he'll be back at practice today. Joining him on the DNP list are Bryant McFadden (ankle), Chike Okeafor (back) and Michael Adams (hamstring). On the limited side were Steve Breaston (knee), Karlos Dansby (shoulder), Mike Gandy (pelvis), Gerald Hayes (back), Kenny Iwebema (knee), Sean Morey (head), Ben Patrick (knee) and Adrian Wilson (groin). Reggie Wells continues to be on the report with a broken thumb but he's yet to miss any practice or game time because of the injury.

Needless to say that's quite a bit of talent standing on the sidelines, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Five of the eleven starters missed at least some of practice yesterday, including three of our four linebackers, so hopefully this was just a day where Ken Whisenhunt took it easy on some veterans. It's good to see Hayes back in practice, even if just on a limited basis, and there is some hope that he'll be ready to go by Sunday. Okeafor is a guy we'll have to continue to monitor as his back continues to give him problems. He's missed two games already this season and he's one of the more consistent pass rusher. If he's unable to go then his OLB spot will again be filled by a combination of Bertrand Berry and rookie Will Davis.

The Rams injury list isn't nearly as long but there are some key names.

Did Not Practice:

G Richie Incognito (foot)
DE Chris Long (knee)

Limited Participation:

C.J. Ah You (knee)
DE James Hall (back)
DE Leonard Little (knee)
DT Clifton Ryan (toe)

Grading the Defense: Arizona Cardinals vs. Seattle Seahawks

Hawkwind — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:30:11 -0000

More photos » by Paul Connors - AP

Arizona Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson does his best Superman impersonation while intercepting a shuffle pass from Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck during the final minutes of the Cardinals' 31-20 win. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

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In what's becoming a bit of a trend, the Arizona Cardinals defense had some up and down moments throughout their game against the Seattle Seahawks. On the upside, they allowed just only 20 points but on the downside they gave up 472 yards of total offense to a unit that was averaging less than 340 yards per game. The defense also harrassed and sacked Matt Hasselbeck four times but allowed relatively unknown Justin Forsett to rush for over 120 yards. All in all thought the bottom line is that their effort was good enough to win and they made some very important plays when they needed to perserve the lead.

Rush Defense: What else can you really say? Forsett, a seventh round pick from a year ago with 20 career carries coming into the game, basically ripped up the Cardinals front seven from start to finish. In total he carried the ball 17 times, with six of those rushes going for at least ten yards. Since the Hawks didn't trail by two scores until the the latter half of the 4th quarter, they were able to keep the running game a factor for most of the game. In addition to Forsett's yardage the Hawks got another 41 yards on a combined seven carries from Julius Jones (who suffered a terrible injury), Louis Rankin and Matt Hasselbeck. In total they racked up 164 yards on the ground on 24 carries (a gaudy 6.8 ypc average) while only losing yards on two of those carries. The Cardinals rush defense has fallen to eighth in the league and with Stephen Jackson, Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson coming in the next three weeks, they'll need a much better effort to stay inside the top ten.

Pass Defense: This might be a hard stance to defend but I think the Cardinals pass defense was at least decent on Sunday. Sure, Hasselbeck threw for over 300 yards but he also only completed 50% of his passes, threw more picks than touchdowns and had a QB rating under 60. Digging a little bit deeper, 84 of his 315 passing yards on the day came on two mistakes by Bryant McFadden, but more on that later. Most of Hasselbeck's game was limited to short passes, as evidence by his yard per attempt number of 6.1, and the pressure that the front seven was able to apply certainly had an influence on his performance. The overall yardage number is tough to ignore but considering that it took 52 pass attempts to barely break 300 yards, I'd still consider it a decent performance by the secondary.

McFadden's Tough Day: If there was one guy who had a tough day on Sunday, it was Bryant McFadden. He not only was personally responsible for the Hawks two biggest offensive plays but he also accounted for three penalties totaling 51 yards. The first big play allowed, a 53 yard pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh, was simply a case of McFadden never finding the ball. By the time he turned his head to locate the ball, it was in Housh's hands and McFadden had to grab a handful of facemask to get him to the ground. It total the play moved the Hawks from their own one yard line to the Cardinals' 31 and they would score thier first touchdown five plays later. His next big mistake was a bit less obvious but head coach Ken Whisenhunt confirmed it yesterday during his press conference. On the Seahawks second touchdown the Cardinals secondary was in a "three deep" defense and it was McFadden's job to cover anyone who went deep on his side. Somehow though he overlooked John Carlson streaking down the seam and the pass ended up going for a 31 yard touchdown. Blown coverages are going to happen at every level of football but this combined with a couple more poor plays really highlighted a bad day at the office for McFadden.

Pinning the Seahawks Deep: One thing that I think has gotten overlooked so far is where the Seahawks had to start most of their drives and once you see this you may look at their yardage totals a bit differently. The Hawks had 13 drives in this game and their average starting field position was their own 19, but even that doesn't tell the whole story. Four of those 13 drives started inside the Hawks' five yard line, including back to back drives that started at their own one yard line, and nine of the 13 drives started at or inside their own 20. Pinning them that deep is a testament to not only Ben Graham and the Cardinals special team coverage units, but also the Cardinals offense. When the offense doesn't turn the ball over they take a tremendous amount of pressure off this defense and making an opposing offense drive the length of the field really helps the "bend but don't break" philosophy.

Honor Roll:

Will Davis: We haven't talked much about him even though there's a large segment of the Cardinal-fandom that lists OLB as our biggest need heading into next years draft, but Davis is playing really well. Officially he had just one tackle but if watch the tape he's starting to show up more and more. With Chike Okeafor sidelined with an injury, Davis was splitting time with Bertand Berry and he was able to pressure Hasselbeck a couple of times and looks fairly comfortable in his role at outside linebacker. All in all not a bad rookie season for our sixth round pick.

Clark Haggans: Perhaps the games's defensive MVP, Haggans registered two sacks and six total tackles. We didn't expect a great deal from him but so far he leads the team in sacks and is on pace for his best season since 2006.

Antrel Rolle: Somebody must be whispering in Rolle's ear about the possibility of big dollars in his future because Rolle is finally turning into a bona-fide playmaker. He once again led the team in tackles and his pick of Hasselbeck in the fourth quarter was the first of two nails in the Hawks' coffin.

Karlos Dansby and Darnell Dockett: I almost didn't want to list these guys considering that the Seahawks ran all over the Cardinals front seven but Dansby and Nine-0 were instumental in the pressuring of Hasselbeck. Dansby carried the load without Gerald Hayes in the lineup and finished with eight tackles and half a sack. Dockett registered half a sack as well and finished with six tackles of his own.

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Considering the defense was missing two starters, I still look at this as a positive game for them as a whole. There are some aspects that can certainly be improved upon but overall I think this kind of effort/outcome gives this team a chance to win more often than not. Thoughts?

Poll

How would you grade the Arizona Cardinals defense?

A

5 votes

B

111 votes

C

136 votes

D

8 votes

F

9 votes

269 votes | Poll has closed