TEs and RBs Open All Day and Night in Cardinals' "Soft Cover" Defense



By Walter Mitchell

Two perfect examples from the Red and White Scrimmage.

TE

https://x.com/PaulCalvisi/status/2086606866277384414?s=20

RB

https://x.com/PaulCalvisi/status/2086613768528859232?s=20

Two perfect examples from the Red and White Scrimmage.

Not a single Cardinals' defender in the vicinity.

Some will inevitably make the excuse, "well this is a practice."

Yeah, it's a practice all right. It happens every freaking game.

All day and all night.

More on this during today's Red Rain Podcast

Comments

  1. NSCardAugust 10, 2026 at 5:31 AM

    First man in to celebrate with Love was Adams. It matters.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Flash87August 10, 2026 at 5:58 PM

    The preseason narrative has to be the development of the offense as well as the players. McFleur has really done a nice job of reformatting the offensive DNA. Can't wait to see what our starters can do. The other side of the coin has to the lack of development on this defense.Outside of a few defensive line players making a play where is this defense? Rallis Scatter defense is holding this team back again. If they continue to look like this all of preseason I don't expect him to be here by mid season.

    ReplyDelete
  3. CardsFan31August 11, 2026 at 7:34 AM

    Walt, do you have thoughts as to why the Cardinals are not making adjustments to their defensive scheme? By all accounts, Rallis is an intelligent coach. When he was hired, I recall him being described as a rising star and a potential Sean McVay on the defense side of the ball. (Boy was that a bad take!) But putting that aside, he unquestionably has eyes. I’ve seen him on the sidelines at practices and games. And I’m sure he watches film. This means he is undoubtedly aware of the team’s shortcomings. I think it’s also safe to assume that he researches the schemes used by other teams, and that he is familiar with the concept of man coverage. He’s also undoubtedly aware of his players’ strengths and weaknesses. So, when pundits say, “The Cardinals should use Player X at position Y,” or “Player Z should be used in man coverage rather than zone,” I’m certain Rallis has considered these adjustments. You don’t get to be a DC in the NFL if you are a clueless, bumbling idiot. Right or wrong, he must have reasons for his decisions. Is it a combination of stubbornness and hubris; he wants to eventually prove that he’s right and the rest of the league is wrong. Does he believe the players will perform worse in a modified scheme? Does he believe they scheme is solid, but the players are not running is correctly, so they simply need more reps? I refuse to accept that our defensive woes can be minimized (notice I didn’t say fixed) by a few simple tweaks (such as playing more man coverage), yet our coaching staff is too stupid or ignorant to make the changes. There has to be a better answer. I’m curious about your thoughts.

    ReplyDelete

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