The Arizona Cardinals defense has been under siege the last couple weeks, and captain Darnell Dockett knows they need to step up and start stopping people.

“This week was very huge for us as a team,” Dockett said of improving. “You know, just communicating and just putting a lot of egos to the side and just focusing on doing the right things, no matter who makes the plays.”

Most of the defense’s struggles have been attributed to players being out of position during plays, so making sure everyone understands their roles will be key for the team to improve.

As will, of course, experience. Head coach Ken Whisenhunt has maintained that the team needs time to learn the system, and Dockett echoed those sentiments.

“It’s a complicated defense for us but we are learning it,” Dockett said. “We are excited about it. Coach [Ray] Horton has done a great job of emphasizing the importance of it in the long run and our guys are buying in.”

The good news, for the Cardinals, is that the Seattle Seahawks are next on the schedule. The team has scored just 17 points in its first two games, and could be just what the Cardinals need at this time in the season.

Come up with a good performance Sunday is crucial, and Whisenhunt is confident positive results are not far off.

“We feel good about what we’ve done with our defense this week as far as preparations for Seattle,” he said. “This is a process. We’ve got a lot of new moving parts and our guys are working to get better.

“Hopefully we’ll show that Sunday.”

There’s a good chance they will, and while holding a bad offense down wouldn’t mean the Cardinals have arrived, it would be at least a glimpse of what they can become.

“Once we get it all down, and we will get it all down because that’s our job as professionals,” Dockett said, “we’re going to be one of the best defenses.”

Arizona Sports’ Charlie Feinerman contributed to this report

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