A New Era of Cardinals Football is Here
The Arizona Cardinals defeated the Denver Broncos 18-17 in their pre-season opener despite trailing for all but two seconds of the game.
The Cardinals' defense didn’t apply much pressure to the passer last season in the sack department with only 36. Arizona lost half of that production with departures from J.J. Watt and Zach Allen.
At the top of the league sat Jonathan Gannon's defensive unit for the Philadelphia Eagles, who led the NFL in sacks with 70.
Gannon, along with defensive coordinator Nick Rallis, appears to have given the Cardinals' pass rush some much-needed energy.
Arizona was able to rack up eight QB hits from eight different players throughout the night, with two sacks coming from second-year pass rusher Cam Thomas and veteran Dennis Gardeck.
Zaven Collins also appeared to be much more comfortable in his new OLB role, picking up multiple pressures off the edge and logging a solo tackle with a QB hit in limited reps.
For a team that struggled to generate pressure, to have this type of success (even in a mere pre-season game) is a sign of positive change.
One of those sacks and multiple pressures came against Russell Wilson and the Broncos' first-team offense.
While the secondary is still young and filled with some holes, some of the young DBs still made an impact on the game. The Cardinals' defense came away with six PBUs, including a heads-up interception in single coverage from second-year cornerback Antonio Hamilton.
Rookie Kei'Trel Clark made an athletic diving deflection, and the Cardinals’ secondary held Broncos QBs to just 19 completions on 37 attempts for 190 yards and an overall passer rating of only 65.2.
Even if the talent is mostly young/inexperienced guys, the energy and speed with which this unit played had plenty more life than we're used to seeing.
While the defense showed up for most of the night, the offense took a while to get started. The Cardinals' offense did appear to benefit from a more pro-style approach from offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, however.
A team that was once heavily based on screen passes and option plays from the shotgun formation looked relatively comfortable running more plays under center in the pre-season opener, going more north/south and allowing for more effective play-action.
Arizona was able to muster 309 total yards of offense on the night with over 100 yards on the ground despite a slow start to the game.
Much-anticipated rookie quarterback Clayton Tune entered the game after veteran Colt McCoy went 4/4 for only 17 yards. Tune had a quiet start, going only 6/13 with 53 yards and an interception (albeit a product of Rondale Moore slipping) in the first half.
Tune did show some flashes of talent, with a strong arm and an ability to hold his poise in the pocket, even under pressure and going 7/10 for 82 yards with a nice TD to WR Kaden Davis to mark his final pass of the evening.
It was David Blough, however, who stole the show for Arizona. After allowing a Broncos touchdown with only 1:30 left to play, Blough was able to lead Arizona down the field for a touchdown before converting a two-point conversion to ultimately finish a game-winning drive.
Blough went 8/14, for 86 yards and a TD on the night.
It's doubtful that many fans expected Blough to be the highlight of the Cardinals' pre-season opener. While it is only one game, the focus on the QB competition seems to have shifted away from expected backup Colt McCoy to Clayton Tune and David Blough - at least for the moment.
Yet the most glaring difference in this Cardinals team is their toughness, physicality and fire. This is something to be expected from Gannon, but it's a bright sign for a team in grave need of strong leadership.
Gannon is showing that the Cardinals are here to play serious football, and that's what this gritty pre-season win proves to long-suffering Arizona sports fans. While it may have been just one pre-season game, the energy and spirit in the team felt brighter than previous years. The new regime is a breath of fresh air to the organization.
A new era of football begins in the desert.
