Login

Register | Forgot Your Password? | Close
AP: dd3f7386-465d-4a9a-91e7-a899cfe88002
Arizona Cardinals' Quentin Groves sits on the ground after making a tackle during the second half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, in Glendale, Ariz. The 49ers defeated the Cardinals 24-3. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The Arizona Cardinals defense, which is coming off a poor showing against the San Francisco 49ers, needs to step it up against a potent Green Bay Packers pass offense this Sunday at Lambeau Field.

The Packers have built a powerhouse offense around a pass-first philosophy and have assembled the second-best red zone attack in the league this season.

While the Cardinals defense has been the team's strength this season, their performance against the 49ers was troubling.

"On Monday Night Football, [the 49ers] biggest plays came on a three, a four and a six-yard pass. It's embarrassing and they know it and they'll respond," defensive coordinator Ray Horton said.

Horton doesn't believe changing the scheme will make a difference. He said the problem is much simpler and easy to fix. It's also an area he placed much more emphasis on in practice this week.

"Tackling. There is nothing wrong schematically. It's just we have to make a play that's presented in front of us," Horton said.

The Cardinals missed a total of six tackles against the Niners on Monday night, and while that's not a high number, two resulted in touchdowns.

Horton will take a page out of Dick Lebeau's playbook this week, the Hall of Famer and legendary defensive coordinator of the Steelers, who Horton learned his effective 3-4 blitz under at Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

"At this level guys understand technique and what they're supposed to do," Horton explained. "But did we do extra tackling drills, yes we did. I was disappointed in how we performed tackling against the San Francisco 49ers or lack thereof tackling."

The Cardinals defense certainly has a pedigree of talented backs that have the ability to make key stops when called upon. They'll need to play like they did the first four games of the year when they were revered as one of the best units in the NFL if they hope to contain an aggressive Packers attack.

2 Comments   |   Join the conversation »
  • Add A Comment 
  • Abuse
    FitzIsMyHero wrote...
    I like what he said...
    Offensively, this team is a mess and will continue to be a mess. I have no faith or confidence in Graves, Whiz, and the Offensive Coaching Staff. Its time to shake things up and move on to bigger and better things. Honest to God, they should be getting ahold of Bill Parcells, Tony Dungy, Jon Gruden, or WHOEVER, to come in and Manage the Personnel, Coaches, and most importantly, THIS TEAM! OR EVEN HIRING THEM AS CONSULTANTS will work wonders. I dont mean to sound crazy, but whoever's reading this knows that the offense isnt responding to Whiz. Hes been unable to get them going...
  • Abuse
    CardsFan_ wrote...
    Still find it amazing
    that people expect an offense to be able to respond after losing both starting tacklesand both top RBs. One day people will learn that the specific players actually DO matter and that you can't just throw any bodies out there and expect everything to perform the same.
close

Share: