Meet the Opponent: Cardinals Host Undefeated Eagles
The time for talk is nearly over, and the Arizona Cardinals are ready to defend their home nest.
That's something they haven't done well in recent memory, last winning at State Farm Stadium on Oct. 24 of last year.
Now, the Philadelphia Eagles arrive to town as the league's lone undefeated team, a fiery 4-0 with cylinders firing on both sides of the ball.
To help preview the Eagles, we had the pleasure of speaking with Eagles Today publisher Ed Kracz, who answered a few questions regarding Philadelphia heading into Week 4:
Q: The Philadelphia Eagles are 4-0, and at least from the outside, that's a bit surprising. Certainly the team will say they're not shocked, but how much of their early success has been expected?
Ed Kracz: Not sure how surprising it is given the roster construction GM Howie Roseman managed in the offseason. The thinking from some close to the situation early on – myself included - was that it had the potential to be one of the best rosters in the NFL.
Perhaps the surprise is that, with so many new pieces, especially on defense, things have come together as quickly as they have.
Roseman added four new starters on the defensive side of the ball and each are making an impact – edge rusher Haason Reddick (team-high 3.5 sacks), linebacker Kyzir White (second on team in tackles), cornerback James Bradberry (team-high two interceptions, including a pick-6), and safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (100 percent of the defensive snaps in each of the last three games).
Rookie first-round pick, DT Jordan Davis, gets about 22-25 snaps per game, and has done well in that role.
Factor in that safety Marcus Epps is in his first season as a full-time starter and Brandon Graham is returning from an Achilles tear that cost him 16 of the 17 games in 2021, and it’s been a pretty good overhaul.
On offense, the draft-night trade for A.J. Brown has given the Eagles two No. 1 receivers when you consider DeVonta Smith lines up on the other side of Brown, though many times Browns rns routes out of the slot after pre-snap motioning there.
Q: Both A.J. Brown and Miles Sanders rank in the top three of their respective positions in terms of yards. Philadelphia's offense seems to be firing on all cylinders, averaging nearly 29 points per game. What's been the biggest reason for Philly's offensive success thus far?
Kracz: Jalen Hurts is the reason. He has improved considerably since last year, his first as the team’s starter. He is trusting his receivers to make plays, he is getting the ball out quicker, and he is keeping his eyes downfield when the pocket breaks down rather than being so quick to run the ball.
Having Brown has been a huge help for him. The two are best friends who go back a long time. This is also the second year he will be Smith, and that chemistry has grown.
The Eagles led the league in rushing last year with Hurts leading the team in rushing. They are one of the best running teams again this year, but it’s because of Sanders, who is in the final year of his rookie deal and intent on getting another contract somewhere, if not Philly, in the offseason. Sanders has so far stayed healthy and if he does that, after playing just 12 games in each of the past two seasons, he will lead the team in rushing, not Hurts.
Q: Defensively, the Eagles have been just as good in limiting the other team. Fans know guys such as Fletcher Cox and Darius Slay will always be locked in, but who has been underrated in Philadelphia's defense in your opinion?
Kracz: I would say middle linebacker T.J. Edwards. He leads the team in tackles after having 125 of them last year, which was second-most on the team behind Alex Singleton, who left for Denver in free agency. Edwards was an undrafted free agent in 2019 out of Wisconsin and he has climbed the depth chart each year to now, which is his first time as a full-time starter entering a season. He was inserted into the starting lineup midway through the season and has gotten better since.
His play is the reason that third-round rookie linebacker Nakobe Dean has played just three defensive snaps all season.
Edwards is the “green dot” player for defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, setting the defense, and is a big reason the Eagles have been able to control the middle of the field through four games.
Q: The Cardinals haven't quite figured out how to play four solid quarters of football, but still possess offensive firepower to make any game interesting. From your perspective, what's the level of concern the Eagles drop their first game of the season in the desert?
Kracz: The Eagles are going to lose at some point; they aren’t going 17-0. It could be this week. Traveling across the country is never easy for any team, whether it’s east to west or vice versa.
Another thing to consider is that the Eagles face a big NFC East title the following week when they host the Dallas Cowboys, who are sitting just a game behind Philly at 3-1 heading into the weekend.
Those two factors could contribute to a loss, which really wouldn’t be the end of the world for them.
Q: Football is a team game, but give me one matchup (positional group or player vs player) you're circling that can help decide Sunday's meeting.
Kracz: It may be out-of-the-box thinking, but Zach Ertz is one to watch against the Eagles’ linebackers – especially Kyzir White - and secondary – particularly James Bradberry.
Ertz gave a potentially prescient answer when asked on a virtual call with Eagles media on Monday if he can be the first Cardinals tight end to top 100 yards receiving in a game since 1989.
Ertz’s answer: “Yes.”
He then paused and said: “I expect to do it soon.”
You know he’d love to make it happen against the team that drafted him second overall in 2013 and helped lead to a Super Bowl championship four years later.
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