TYLER BASSETT

First look at Cardinals D has me scared of the secondary

Aug 12, 2011, 4:43 AM | Updated: 3:46 pm

While many were anxiously awaiting a meaningless
preseason football game just so they could get their first
glimpse of Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb, I was
one of the few that was not.

Sure, I wanted to see Kolb and the offense, but really, my
focus in the first preseason game was going to be on the
defense.

I’ve heard Ray Horton talk numerous times since February
and I liked what he said each time.

Going into Thursday’s game with the Oakland Raiders my
expectations for Horton’s defense were low.

Low in a sense that I wasn’t expecting many (if any)
blitzes, stunts, zones or specific packages. Instead I was
ready for straight vanilla. I wanted to see the raw talent
level, overall attitude and discipline from the defense.

What did Horton have to work with and what did he
implement in a speed of light fast two weeks.

After all, once you get a quarterback, defense wins
championships in the NFL.

What I saw, and it just kept glaring at me, was a weak
secondary.

To be fair, this secondary lost Dominique Rodgers-
Cromartie to a trade, Adrian Wilson is sidelined with an
injury, Michael Adams is out with an injury, Matt Ware was
just signed earlier this week and one of the (in my eyes)
expected starters is rookie Patrick Peterson.

This group is learning and adjusting on the fly. Can they
do it quick enough? I know the Carolina Panthers certainly
won’t be feeling sorry for them.

A.J Jefferson is no starting NFL cornerback. He’s just
not. I fully expect Peterson to be in that spot by Week 1
— hopefully a lot sooner than that even. I’m not saying
he’s headed to the Pro Bowl, but he needs to show why he
was selected No. 5 overall last April.

I don’t care about the numbers. I went by the eye ball test. The men in black and silver were open time
and time again — and I mean Grand Canyon wide open.

The question I was left to ponder: will Horton’s schemes,
zones, blitzes, stunts and wrinkles be enough to help this
secondary when the games count?

Time will tell.

TY’s Outtakes

What I learned this week…

When you’re on a keyboard as much as I am you think you
know a thing or two about keyboard shortcuts. Earlier this
week I was in a conversation while using our in-house
instant messaging system when all of a sudden I started
typing in strikethrough. It
took me a solid 10 minutes and many guesses before I
finally went to Google. What did people do before Google?
I’m too young to know.

Tweet of the week…

Train
wreck sports talk radio at its finest here w/ new Indiana
football coach Kevin Wilson. A must-listen. http://t.co/qARzwtCless than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet Reply

I’m ready for college football season to start. I think
it’s safe to say Indiana coach Kevin Wilson is too.

Suggestion of the week…

This is great speech by Michigan State quarterback Kirk
Cousins. Biggest takeway for me was when he said this:
“Privilege should lead to responsibility, in fact, greater
responsibility.”

I also have a few weird suggestions this week. You can
watch them
here
and
here
.

Tyler Bassett

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First look at Cardinals D has me scared of the secondary