Top 2 Priorities for the 2025 Arizona Cardinals' Defense
by Walter Mitchell
Number 1: Tackling
Should any NFL defensive coaches be given a mulligan for their team's poor tackling?
No.
This is professional football and professional football players are paid to tackle and tackle well.
Yesterday during JG's presser, he exclaimed how tough his players in the secondary are. He said,
"We don't have one guy in the defensive backfield that's scared or a coward or doesn't wanna play with his pads."
This statement is right in line with a theme that JG introduced to his players from day one: "I am looking for killers."
The problem is --- JG's defensive players thus far in Arizona don't tackle consistently well. Not even close.
Cardinals' 2024 PFF tackling grades:
Garrett Williams --- 58.9
Budda Baker --- 62.0* (dude was #2 in NFL with 161 tackles, 122 solo and a whopping 55 stops, but he missed 28 tackles --- which reveals the fact that so often Budda was the only player regularly in position to make tackles --- and as a safety if he didn't get to the ball carriers on a dime, like he so often does, it's very difficult to tackle them in the open field)
Dadrion Taylor-Demerson --- 53.8
Zaven Collins --- 55.0
Kei'Trel Clark --- 69.3
Jalen Thompson --- 83.5
Mack Wilson Sr. --- 60.7
Starling Thomas V --- 67.5
Dante Stills --- 29.5
Sean Murphy-Bunting --- 29.3
Baron Browning --- 28.2
Max Melton --- 49.4
L.J. Collier --- 31.7
Darius Robinson --- 74.7
Bilal Nichols --- 46.3
Justin Jones --- 44.7
2024 Tackling Grades for Cardinals UFA signees:
Josh Sweat (PHI) --- 69.0
Dalvin Tomlinson (CLE) --- 28.9
Akeem Davis-Gaither (CIN) --- 50.2
Mykal Walker (WAS) --- 65.6
Calais Campbell (MIA) --- 28.2
J.J. Russell (TB) --- 74.4
2024 NFC West Team Tackling Grades:
1. SEA --- 63.9
2. SFO --- 48.8
3. LAR --- 46.3
4. ARI --- 43.9
Conclusion:
If the Cardinals are going to compete for the 2025 division title and a playoff berth, then these NFC West team tackling grades and rankings for the Cardinals have to improve significantly.
2. Getting Hands on the Football:
2024 NFC West Rankins for INTs, PBUs and QB/RTGs
1. SFO --- 11 INT, 46 PBUs, 96.3 QB/RTG
2. SEA --- 13 INT, 39 PBUs, 97.4 QB/RTG
3. LAR --- 14 INT, 40 PBUs, 100.5 QB/RTG
4. ARI --- 9 INT, 26 PBUs, 120.7 QB/RTG
Conclusion:
The hands on the football stats are a function of a team's ability to pressure the QB and to play tight coverage, both in zones and man-to-man. The Cardinals were woefully deficient in these areas in 2024. Credit Monti Ossenfort for addressing the pass rush in free agency and the draft. The Cardinals' 2025 pass rush should be much improved, but therefore, so must the Cardinals' preparedness to play sticky coverage.
Are Jonathan Gannon and Nick Rallis the defensive geniuses that many Arizona Cardinals' fans and pundits keep assuring us?
Want to tackle that question?
Are Jonathan Gannon and Nick Rallis the defensive geniuses that many Arizona Cardinals' fans and pundits keep assuring us?
ReplyDeleteI don't think they've had the talented weapons needed to make a credible evaluation at this juncture. No excuses this season. They have enough talent. However, there is no excuse in the football world for poor tackling. NONE. Poor tackling is not just poor coaching, scheme and talent, it brings into question has JG really toughened up our culture.
After you talk to Walter, let me know if you would like help, I would be happy to.
DeleteIt seems counterintuitive tgat tackling wouldn't be stressed by a defensive head coach. When Gannon was in Philadelphia he and head coach Nick Sirriani didn't allow live tackling drills. They thought it help keep teams healthier for the longer season. Tackling is pretty poor across the league until 3rd or 4th game of the season. Its probably a direct result of teams trying to stay healthy down the stretch. Not saying I agree with it but it's probably a part of the new NFL landscape. There's an article by Reuben Frank on Gannon and tackling philosophy from his Philly days. It sounds pretty similar to Walter's point.
ReplyDeleteYep, Gannon stressed player versatility when DC in Philly so he could run multi situational schemes. He's on the same wavelength in AZ. I think we're gonna see a lot of different jerseys on the field every game. Hopefully, they all improve their tackling
DeleteThere are numerous ways in which to teach form tackling without having to go live. I remember when Pete Carroll, one of the best coaches ever imo of teaching tackling and best of all, safe tackling, hired a tackling expert in SEA whom if I recall correctly was an assistant coach at UCLA --- that's right, Pete hired an assistant coach in SEA exclusively in charge of tackling --- and even with a defensive staff that Pete now heads in Las Vegas with hired DC Patrick Graham and a defensive staff that (with Pete Carroll) has a combined 126 years of NFL coaching experience --- and get this --- Pete has yet again brought to his players a tackling coach in LV.
DeleteConversely, Jonathan Gannon has hired a defensive coaching staff that combines for only a mere 45 years of NFL experience with JG having 17 of the 44: (these numbers also include the 2025 season)
JG --- 17
Nick Rallis --- 8
Ronald Booker (DQ-Control) - 5
Winston DeLattiboudere (DL) --- 1
Matt Feeney (OLB) --- 5
Cristian Garcia (ILB) --- 2
Alec Osborne (DQ-Control) --- 1
Patrick Toney (S) --- 3
Ryan Smith (CB) --- 3
Booker, DeLattiboudere, Osborne, Toney and Smith came to the Cardinals straight from college staffs.
Put it this way, the 49ers' have 50 years of NFL experience combined in DC Robert Saleh (25 years) and veteran defensive advisor/assistant HC Gus Bradley (25 years) --- that more years of NFL experience than the entire Cardinals defensive staff (including JG)combined, 50 to 45.
In terms of coordinating NFL defenses and calling the plays on game days (either as DC or HC), Saleh and Bradley combine for 25, while Gannon and Rallis combine for 6.
What you won't see from Jonathan Gannon on his staff is any experienced defensive coach, veteran defensive advisor or tackling coach. Also, quite remarkably, all of the assistants Gannon has hired, including Nick Rallis, were new to the NFL assistant roles they were hired for.
The other thing that sticks in my craw is that Jonathan Gannon imo does not deserve a mulligan for telling Monti to focus in years 1-2 mostly on the offense. I think that JG predicted that would buy him a couple of mulligans and avoid any pressure to win.
In my opinion, if there is no urgency to win, there is no urgency to tackle.
You can't flip an on-and-off button for tackling urgency --- either it's built in, or it's left out.
Just yesterday on PHNZ "All City Southwest Bias" podcast, the pundit, Greg Esposito, talked about Jonathan Gannon as having "already proven that he can get the most out of what little he has" on defense. As if last season was some kind of a major success for the Cardinals on defense. Oh, really?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw0NKi9vfw8&t=154s
What did the 2024 JG defense do well?
Tackle? No.
Stop the Run? No.
Rush the Passer? No.
Play tight Pass Coverage? No.
Look at how the defense played coming out of the bye week when the Cardinals were in 1st place. They used a soft, prevent zone defense on their way to a loss at MIN, they lost at home to SEA with Zach Charbonnet having a 126 yard 2 TD dominant performance, then lost in Carolina to the 3-win Panthers, making Bryce Young look like a budding star and Chuba Hubbard look like an All-Pro RB while gaining 146 yards and 2 TDs, including the game-winner in OT when two Cardinals had him. lined up to tackle and he ran right through them.
A defensive-minded HC, as you state, 61, should at least have his defense tackling. That's the most important place to start --- and in two seasons as HC his team's tackling grades have gone from a sub-par 54.1 in his 1st season to a 43.9 in year 2. This is building a culture for what? And Cardinals fans and pundits are empathic that Nick Rallis is going to be a HC for some NFL team next year?
Do you think I should make an article out of this lengthy comment?
DeletePossibly: Some interesting points regarding our coaching staff in general (true on both OFF & DEF). The tackling issue has been issue since Bowles left the building (even then we complained about some of the 'special' players that weren't going to tackle. THe comparison against NFC West is always interesting. The NFL as a whole (IMO) has forgotten how to tackle, more focus is now on forcing a turnover
DeleteYou are turning my opinion on the coaching staff. While I do think they do a good job putting guys in the right place if they can't teach how to finish the play by tackling then it really does not matter how great of a job you do putting them in a position to make a play cause they will just miss the tackle. I like the idea of bringing in a tackling coach and shoot if we just got to a 60 grade I think we would improve 10 spots on defensive ranking. Honestly after reading the first part of the article I though it would be 1. Tackling. 2 tackling. We have been a terrible tackling defense and I agree that it on the coaches developing players to improve tackling and holding the player accountable when they miss a tackle. Bruce Arians would have a Blooper reel and talk shit to all the players missing tackles to 1 let them know its not okay and 2 to call them out in front of the team so everyone knows who is giving up plays because they didn't make the tackle.
DeleteThe Cardinal public has gone completely irresponsible in their unearned love affair with this coaching staff. They have never coached a winning season. Little improvement from KM and poor situational play calling on both offense and defense. This staff is mediocre inexperienced unaccomplished. Just today I saw 2 Talking Heads predicting the under on an 8.5 win season. I wouldn't bet they're wrong.
ReplyDeleteWalt keep telling it how it really is. Card fans don't hear a lot of reality from anyone else.
Thanks for the encouragement, 61. Seems like the Cardinals' fans way --- hype up coaches and players before they have yet to truly earn it. Constant hype on potential. Well, like Bill Parcells always said, "Potential means you haven't done anything yet."
DeleteJust like with players, I'm willing to give coaches 3-4 years. This is especially the case when the HC came in to a complete trainwreck of a situation. But this is the year we need to see improvement, because MO cleared away the financial ruin and JG now has the weapons to be successful.
ReplyDeleteThe only real trainwreck of the situation that MOJO inherited was Kyler Murray, a pissed-off locker room because of his lack of leadership and his outrageously underserved contract. There were still plenty of talented players on the roster and free agents like Zach Allen and Byron Murphy whom they could have found a way to keep building around. They chose Kyler and pretty much the heck with anyone else. But they tried their best to convince people it was a trainwreck for other reasons and people bought right into it.
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