Entering this week’s slate of games, there was an argument to be made that the Arizona Cardinals were the least respected 2-0 team in the history of the NFL. In spite of a win on the road against the defending AFC Champion New England Patriots, to add to a divisional victory in Week 1, the Cardinals were still in the bottom half of most power rankings. The slight was they were there on the strength of their defense and getting the rub of the green on big plays in each of those games. So the new question is, will the Cardinals now become the least respected 3-0 team in the history of the NFL?
When upstart teams get by on strong defense and crucial big plays it’s called controlling the game and being opportunistic. When upstart and unheralded teams like Arizona do it they are written off as flukes. When do those scales tip and the Cardinals get recognized as a dangerous team capable of playing with anyone in the league? Probably not until John Skelton is returned to full health and the Cardinals solve their quarterback conundrum without one player’s status deciding it for them. One thing is for sure, the Cardinals will likely enter Week 4 as favorites, a new role for them this season. How will they cope with that tag?
For the Eagles, this was another stumbling display where good performances from certain individuals and positional groups didn’t link up to create a complete game. The Eagles are sitting at a 2-1 record that many perceive to be flattering them. Can they capitalize on the record they have stumbled to and start to put together some more convincing performances in the coming weeks? They only need a couple of players to rediscover their form to do just that.
Philadelphia – Three Performances of Note
No Spark
The one thing this Philadelphia offense should have is a spark from their skill position players to launch a score from anywhere on the field. This week that ability was almost completely lacking as the Eagles never looked like throwing off the shackles of the Arizona defense. The deep ball was successfully taken away. Michael Vick looked deep three times without reward, and on one of them DeSean Jackson appeared more interested in disputing whether or not he was being interfered with than finishing the play and trying to catch the football. Meanwhile on the ground, in spite of some strong blocking in isolation, LeSean McCoy couldn’t get the stable platform that he is so devastating from and didn’t force a missed tackle on his 13 carries. The players already mentioned should be able to get something during a 60-minute game, particularly against a defense as aggressive as Arizona’s which will leave plays to be made. This week the Eagles simply couldn’t make them, and the longer this team continues to look lethargic on offense the more the pressure will grow on them in both local and national media.
Pressure Off the Edge
One of the few bright spots in the Philadelphia performance came, as expected, from their edge pass rush which systematically dismantled the Cardinals' pass protection. Their defensive ends accounted for 13 of the 18 hurries the Eagles recorded, and eight of those came from the starting pair of Jason Babin (+4.2) and Trent Cole (+2.8). The Eagles got pressure to former teammate Kevin Kolb on 12 of his 29 dropbacks, and sacked him three times. Perhaps most encouraging for Eagles fans is that Brandon Graham continued to perform well as the team gently ratchet up his snap count each game. This week the former No. 13 overall pick collected 17 snaps, and responded with a sack, a hurry, and three tackles for loss in the ground game.
Inconsistent Offensive Line
Injuries have dealt a cruel blow to the Eagles’ offensive line before the regular season is even a month old, and the replacements for the two Jasons, Peters and Kelce, were found wanting in this week’s loss in Arizona. They were the weak links in what was an otherwise strong offensive line display that really kept the Cardinals’ devastating pair of defensive ends quiet. While Evan Mathis (+2.2), Todd Herremans (+1.7), and particularly Danny Watkins (+4.2) put in stellar performances, the duo of Demetress Bell (-4.3) and Dallas Reynolds (-2.3) struggled to fill the void for a former All-Pro (Peters) and a player who appeared to have found his feet at the start of his second season (Kelce). The two accounted for 10 of the 13 hurries the offensive line allowed in this game, and, with the Eagles never rushing wider than their left side B-gap, Bell was almost a non-factor in the running game. These two holes have the potential to derail the Eagles’ offense, cost them the dominant left side that led their offense last season, and stunt the development of their young center. If the Eagles’ don’t get better in the future the pressure will be on the likes of McCoy and Vick to up their game and start to carry this offense.
Arizona – Three Performances of Note
Unsung Heroes Shine
The Cardinals' offensive backfield is a very confusing place, inhabited by players that many want to succeed, many feel should succeed, and those fighting back to get their chance to succeed. This was the week for Kolb (+1.7 passing) and Ryan Williams (+2.2) to stand up and stake their claim to be the Cardinals’ key players to emerge from the current confusion. Against his former team, Kolb had the last laugh. He was able to stand in the pocket and be efficient under heavy pressure from the Eagles' defense and collected big plays against both pressure and blitzes from the Philadelphia defense. Kolb controlled the middle of the field to complete all but two of his passes between the numbers, and he went 12 of 14 for 179 yards, which included two scores on such passes that crossed the line of scrimmage. Considering the Eagles’ passing game struggled to get into gear, it must have been doubly satisfying for Kolb to lead the Cardinals’ to a third-straight win, put one over on his former employers, and re-emphasize the point that he should be starting even when John Skelton returns to full health.
Peterson Continues to Impress
That this week was Patrick Peterson’s worst game of the season, in both a grading and statistical sense, shows the strides he has made during his second season in the NFL. He gave up a pair of first down completions to Jackson but nothing deep, and the greatest blemish on his copybook (which drags his grade down) was a rather weak missed tackle on a crossing route by Damaris Johnson late in the second quarter. Aside from that, his worst play of the game was probably his sole offense snap, when he made a poor read and keeping the ball on a option for a 4-yard loss. Through three weeks, Peterson has allowed only 35.3% of his targets to be completed, and on the six passes that he has allowed to be completed he has surrendered an average of fewer than 3 yards after the catch. Is he developing into the shutdown corner so many expected him to be?
Ends Kept Quiet
Even before he left the game through injury, Darnell Dockett’s fast start to the season was brought to a shuddering halt by Danny Watkins and Todd Herremans. Limited to only one hurry and one tackle, Dockett was not the factor he had been previously, particularly in the Cardinals’ home opener against the Seahawks. In fact, the only pressure he got this week was when he pursued Vick on a scramble and forced a throw away. Inline he was a complete non-factor. On the other side, Evan Mathis did a similar job on Calais Campbell (+2.4) but, as his grade suggests, the Cardinals' RE did a better job of exploiting other matchups against the likes of Demetress Bell and Dallas Reynolds for four of his five pressures and a batted pass. What will be heartening for the Cardinals’ coaching staff to see is that their defense didn’t crumble without a huge game from either end, and that the Cardinals’ linebackers picked up the slack–in particular. Sam Acho (+3.8) who finished the game with a career-high seven pressures (2 Ht, 5 Hu) and also a turnover forced on a scramble by Vick.
Game Notes
— The two snaps that Greg Toler recorded around the 12-minute mark in the fourth quarter were his first since the Cardinals’ Week 17 loss in San Francisco back in 2010.
— Did the Eagles make enough of the performance by their guards? Between the tackles they rushed only 13 times, but collected 6.4 yards per carry.
— In the absence of Adrian Wilson, the Cardinals platooned Rashad Johnson (33 snaps) and James Sanders (32 snaps) at safety with the former Patriot and Falcon having the greater impact with his fumble return touchdown and a pair of garbage time hits.
PFF Game Ball
The Cardinals jumped out to their lead courtesy of some big plays, and some fortuitous bounces. They clinched the win thanks to some pivotal plays from Ryan Williams, who put last week’s fumble against the Patriots behind him with some big runs to ensure this week’s game never had the same opportunity for drama.
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