First look at Cardinals D has me scared of the secondary

While many were anxiously awaiting a meaningless preseason football game just so they could get their first glimpse of Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb, I was one of the few that was not.

Sure, I wanted to see Kolb and the offense, but really, my focus in the first preseason game was going to be on the defense.

I've heard Ray Horton talk numerous times since February and I liked what he said each time.

Going into Thursday's game with the Oakland Raiders my expectations for Horton's defense were low.

Low in a sense that I wasn't expecting many (if any) blitzes, stunts, zones or specific packages. Instead I was ready for straight vanilla. I wanted to see the raw talent level, overall attitude and discipline from the defense.

What did Horton have to work with and what did he implement in a speed of light fast two weeks.

After all, once you get a quarterback, defense wins championships in the NFL.

What I saw, and it just kept glaring at me, was a weak secondary.

To be fair, this secondary lost Dominique Rodgers- Cromartie to a trade, Adrian Wilson is sidelined with an injury, Michael Adams is out with an injury, Matt Ware was just signed earlier this week and one of the (in my eyes) expected starters is rookie Patrick Peterson.

This group is learning and adjusting on the fly. Can they do it quick enough? I know the Carolina Panthers certainly won't be feeling sorry for them.

A.J Jefferson is no starting NFL cornerback. He's just not. I fully expect Peterson to be in that spot by Week 1 -- hopefully a lot sooner than that even. I'm not saying he's headed to the Pro Bowl, but he needs to show why he was selected No. 5 overall last April.

I don't care about the numbers. I went by the eye ball test. The men in black and silver were open time and time again -- and I mean Grand Canyon wide open.

The question I was left to ponder: will Horton's schemes, zones, blitzes, stunts and wrinkles be enough to help this secondary when the games count?

Time will tell.

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TY's Outtakes

What I learned this week…

When you're on a keyboard as much as I am you think you know a thing or two about keyboard shortcuts. Earlier this week I was in a conversation while using our in-house instant messaging system when all of a sudden I started typing in strikethrough. It took me a solid 10 minutes and many guesses before I finally went to Google. What did people do before Google? I'm too young to know.

Tweet of the week…

I'm ready for college football season to start. I think it's safe to say Indiana coach Kevin Wilson is too.

Suggestion of the week…

This is great speech by Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins. Biggest takeway for me was when he said this: "Privilege should lead to responsibility, in fact, greater responsibility."

I also have a few weird suggestions this week. You can watch them here and here.