Arizona Cardinals’ Dan Williams: Rams hit us early with big plays
Oct 5, 2012, 9:10 PM | Updated: 10:46 pm
The Arizona Cardinals defense has been the team’s greatest strength thus far this season. But on Thursday night against the St. Louis Rams, they surrendered two big plays that proved costly in the team’s first loss of the season.
Defensive tackle Dan Williams said head coach Ken Whisenhunt warned them before the game to expect the Rams to take some shots early. And, did they ever.
Danny Amendola’s 44-yard one-handed catch set up the Rams touchdown pass to Lance Kendricks on the opening drive.
“I think actually we probably weren’t up for the game in the beginning,” Williams said. “They kind of hit us early with a few big plays so they had a good mixture; they had a good game plan. No huddle on the ball. They kind of slow it down at certain times and came with the run game. They just kind of caught us off guard a few times.”
The 27th-ranked Rams offense scored their first offensive touchdown in three games on Kendricks’ score. The Cardinals defense did seem to settle down after the opening series and put steady pressure on Rams quarterback Sam Bradford. But it wasn’t enough for the Cards to secure their fifth win of the season.
“It definitely was tough. We just need to come back and regroup and make our corrections and get better as a team,” Williams said.
For the first time this season, Arizona’s defense was outdone by their opponent’s. The Rams’ attack sacked Kevin Kolb nine times and made the key plays when they needed to.
Despite Kolb’s struggles, Williams believes the Cardinals have the right man leading their offense going forward.
“[Kolb’s] just a strong person and it shows on the field,” Williams explained. “The plays that he’s been making really have been helping the team and I think as an offensive line we’ll get better, but having a guy like Kevin back there is definitely good for the offense.”
