Prepare yourself for a new-look defense in Arizona
Aug 5, 2011, 4:18 PM | Updated: 5:49 pm
The Arizona Cardinals hired Ray Horton as defensive coordinator to improve a unit that allowed the third-most points in the league last season while surrendering the fourth-most amount of yards.
Horton, who has promised his defense would blitz on its first play in the season opener, has some interesting ideas in mind of how to get the most out of some players who may have underachieved last year.
“We have some very, very athletic guys that can move, and I told them everybody on our team will blitz and everybody will be in coverage,” he told Sports 620 KTAR’s Doug and Wolf Friday. “For a quarterback, when they’re standing up you can’t say ‘Well I’ve got the four big guys, let’s count them and let’s count the middle backer and we’ve got it all figured out.’
“No you don’t. You’ll have to pick and choose who you want to block.”
Horton said it’s like a chess game, as he needs to figure out what the offense is trying to do and design a way to counter-attack.
And whether that is by using an unconventional defensive look or just getting his players to do a better job, Horton says a big thing is just making sure to let his players know what is expected of them.
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