‘Vanilla’ defense not helping Arizona Cardinals look good

Cardinals linebacker Sam Acho knows the team has not run its normal defense during the preseason.

As is customary, Ray Horton has left out the blitzes and pressure-schemes in favor of simple, basic stuff.

With that — and perhaps because of it — the Cardinals have not done too well, being run over seemingly at will by both the New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs.

But Acho, a second-year pro out of Texas who is penciled in to start at one of the team’s outside linebacker spots, says the play-calling is no excuse for the struggles.

“Even if you keep it basic, we expect we can run one play and cover anybody,” he told Arizona Sports 620’s Doug and Wolf Tuesday.

That’s why it is a little concerning that the group has looked so bad, though it is worth remembering what you see now is not what you’ll get when the regular season starts — at least in terms of playcalling.

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