Nick Rallis' Defense Is Too Slow, Passive, One-Dimensional and Underutilized

courtesy of nfl.com

By Walter Mitchell

This past week Darren Urban of azcardinals.com predicted the Cardinals starting lineups on defense and offense.


A guess at the Cardinals' starting defensive lineup for the 2026 season-opener against the Chargers (azcardinals.com)

Here. are his defensive predictions:

* SOLB Zaven Collins

* SDE Walter Nolen

* NT Roy Lopez

* WDE Darius Robinson

* WOLB Josh Sweat

* MLB Mack Wilson Sr.

* LCB Will Johnson

* SS Budda Baker

* FS Dadrion Taylor-Demerson

* SCB Sean Muprhy-Bunting

* RCB Denzel Burke

Yikes. 

Here are their 2025 tackling grades:

* SOLB Zaven Collins - 38.8

* SDE Walter Nolen - 73.8

* NT Roy Lopez - 53.0

* WDE Darius Robinson - 52.9

* WOLB Josh Sweat - 69.3

* MLB Mack Wilson Sr. - 41.9

* LCB Will Johnson - 51.2

* SS Budda Baker - 47.4

* FS Dadrion Taylor-Demerson - 74.8

* SCB Sean Muprhy-Bunting - 29.3 (2024)

* RCB Denzel Burke - 34.5

Note: One can readily see why the Cardinals were the worst tackling defense in the NFL in 2025. Only Walter Nolen (in 6 games) and Dadrion Taylor-Demerson. Nolen did not start in any games and Taylor-Demerson started only 4 games. 

The stunning anomaly here is Budda Baker, who for years has been the Cardinals' best and most productive tackler. Perhaps Budda got tired of having to be the only player to cover for everyone else's poor tackling efforts. But, as I argued during the season last year, Nick Rallis' "caution and cushion" defense has eviscerated his ability to storm the alleys to get to the ball carrier before he can make a cut up field. This is a matter of split seconds. Moving Budda full-time to strong safety and giving him the freedom to take first steps forward, rather than backward should help him have a huge bounce back year. That, and utilizing him as a run and pass blitzer, should help Budda play faster and more suddenly. 

Pass Rush Grades/Sacks:

* SOLB Zaven Collins --- 69.7 --- 1.5

* SDE Walter Nolen --- 80.1 --- 2.0

* NT Roy Lopez --- 63.6 --- 2.0

* WDE Darius Robinson --- 41.0 --- 1.0

* WOLB Josh Sweat --- 73.6 --- 12.0

Note: This is the #30th pass rushing team in the NFL. And the Cardinals are running it back, this time under the leadership of former Texas Longhorns DC Pete Kwaitkowski. He has some athletes to work with here and if he gets the green light to turn them loose in an effort to disrupt plays in the backfield, then the team's fortunes could change. 

Coverage Grade/Interceptions:

* Mack Wilson Sr. --- 59.8 --- 1

* Will Johnson --- 60.7 --- 0

* Budda Baker --- 35.7 --- 1

* Dadrion Taylor-Demerson --- 57.3 --- 2

* Sean Muprhy-Bunting --- 53.1 (2024) --- 3 (2024)

* Denzel Burke ---61.2 --- 3

Note: Sorry to have to say this but if this is the Cardinals' secondary this season, they and the team have very little chance to win. This is by far the slowest, least aggressive and weakest tackling secondary in the NFL. This is a secondary where playing man to man coverage is an absolute liability. The only one potentially proficient in man coverage is Dadrion Taylor-Demerson. The others lack the requisite speed and agility. The good news is the Cardinals have stronger athletes who are far better served to play man coverage to turn to in Cody Simon, Owen Pappoe, Karson Sharar. Max Melton, Elijah Jones, Starling Thomas V and Kitan Crawford. The bad news thus far has been Nick Rallis' inability to develop these better athletes. 

In today's NFL, defenses with speed and the tackling "want to" are the most difficult to exploit. 

40 Times

ILB:

Mack Wilson Sr. --- 4.71

Cody Simon --- 4.59

Owen Pappoe --- 4.39


LCB

Will Johnson --- 4.58

Elijah Jones --- 4.44


RCB

Denzel Burke --- 4.48

Max Melton --- 4.39

Starling Thomas V --- 4.38


In my opinion, this is the best, most athletic, quickest and versatile defensive lineup for the Cardinals this year:

LOLB: Jordan Burch (6-4, 279, 4.67)

LDE: Walter Nolen (6-6, 310, 4.96)

NT: Roy Lopez (6-2, 312, 5.19)

RDE: Darius Robinson (6-5, 290, 4.95)

WOLB: Josh Sweat (6-5. 265, 4.53)

MILB: Cody Simon (6-2, 230, 4.59)

WILB: Owen Pappoe (6-0, 230, 4.39)

LCB: Elijah Jones (6-2, 185, 4.44)

SS: Budda Baker (5-10, 195, 4.45)

FS: Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (5-10, 197, 4.41)

RCB: Max Melton (5-11, 187, 4.39)

NCB: Dadrion Taylor-Demerson

NFS: Andrew Wingard (6-0, 200, 4.57)

Short Film Session with Red Rain's friend, Marcos Labrada


Walter B J Mitchell
@WBJMItch

Marcos, thank you. This is such an excellent analysis of two the Cardinals' many breakdowns on defense vs CIN. This is the epitome of why we call the Cardinals' base coverages "soft zones." And why I have been calling the philosophy of Gannon's/Rallis' defense "caution and cushion." Fascinating too that of the 7 CBs the Cardinals have drafted in 3 years, Denzel Burke has emerged as the best cover guy over much more heralded players like Garrett Williams, Max Melton and Will Johnson. Meanwhile the Cardinals coaches are playing Darren Hall and Jaden Davis over 2024 3rd round pick Elijah Jones, who in pre-season, routinely broke up the deep passes that Hall and Burks whiff on here. Yet the caveat with Burke is his consistent liability as a tackler. Unless he shows a far greater want-to and attention to proper tackling techniques, no competent NFL GM or HC should want to play him. Did anyone see Burke's poor technique and subsequent whiff on JaMarr Chase's opening drive TD on a simple swing pass? Yet, after the game Gannon said he thought the team effort was good. Which is precisely why Gannon is incorrigibly delusional.

PancakesSoul
@PancakesSoul

Embarrassing breakdown, cover 3 miscommunication the first time, that's fine let's just do the same exact thing again.

Watch the two videos that Marcus dissects so well:

https://x.com/PancakesSoul/status/2005962900758827096?s=20

https://x.com/PancakesSoul/status/2005962900758827096?s=20









 

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