Cardinals as ready as they can be for Rams backup John Wolford
Dec 31, 2020, 6:45 PM | Updated: 11:41 pm
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph of the Arizona Cardinals reacts during the second half of the NFL game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at State Farm Stadium on December 08, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. The Steelers defeated the Cardinals 23-17. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson was asked Thursday if there was anyone on the team who had managed to catch an Arizona Hotshots AAF game back in 2019.
That is not normally a relevant question to ask. But it sure was heading into Week 17 against the Los Angeles Rams, with former Hotshots quarterback John Wolford standing in for the injured Jared Goff.
“Nah, no one ever saw him throw a ball before so I believe this is going to be his first NFL start and first time playing in the NFL so we don’t have any footage on him,” Peterson said.
He’s right, as was what he followed up with after saying that.
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“Only thing that we have a nugget on is he’s mobile. That’s it, so we’ll have to wait and see on Sunday what he gives us,” he said.
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph didn’t shy away from saying it will be a challenge to contain Wolford’s legs. With that in mind, they are expecting borderline the same offense they faced last week in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
He mentioned the zone-blocking scheme, bootlegs and play-action passes on first and second downs the Rams will run, like the 49ers.
Now, on third down, that’s where Wolford having zero NFL snaps will make a difference, per Joseph.
It’s obvious that containing the Rams’ rushing attack and forcing Wolford to make plays is how Arizona can create a huge advantage.
“Their run game is where it starts for us,” Joseph said. “It’s a run-first offense, even with their starting quarterback.”
This is the point where you’re asking, “Well, they didn’t stop the same type of offense last week, or a third-string quarterback in C.J. Beathard, so what’s going to change now?”
It’s a great question!
The 49ers averaged nearly 10 yards on first-down plays in Week 16 against the Cardinals. They ran the ball 30 times for 227 yards, and even with the Rams missing starting running back Darrell Henderson, San Francisco was also without starter Raheem Mostert.
The parallels are there, except for the fact that Wolford has as much in-game NFL experience as you or I.
“I probably will anticipate them running the same offense but you never know,” Peterson said. “That’s always the mystery when you’re facing a quarterback that you don’t have much film on so we really don’t know what they’re going to do.”
