Revenge of the Birds
After beginning the season with a lot of promise, winning their first two games, the Arizona Cardinals have evened out their record with a pair of losses. Both shortfalls were contests they had, then gave the game away. What hurts even more is the fact that the final two were division games.
RELATED: CARDINALS OPEN AS BIG FAVORITES AGAINST TITANS
Their next opponent is the winless Tennessee Titans, who are 0-4-0 and have scored the fewest points in the league with 51. Currently, the spread favors an Arizona win by 7.5 points. The Titans are viewed as one of the worst teams in the NFL.
But things happen. In Week 3 this year, the Cleveland Browns went into their game against the Green Bay Packers with a 0-2-0 record. The Packers were ranked as the second-best team in the league and leading 10-0 with nine minutes left, only to lose 13-10.
The Cardinals need this win. What do they need to do to get it?
One thing Arizona can count on is a decent to good pass rush each game. They are built to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks and try to make them pursue decisions early. With defensive tackles Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell, plus EDGE rushers Josh Sweat and Darius Robinson, this group is getting it done each week.
Playing Tennessee will play right into Arizona’s strength. The Titans are horrible in the passing game. They are allowing their opponent’s defense time to get into the backfield with a pressure rate ranked 30th and a QB knockdown rate of dead last in the NFL. Tennessee’s offensive line has allowed the second-most sacks in the league this year (17).
Tennessee’s offensive line has allowed pressure on 50% of dropbacks. They currently have an overall pass-catching grade ranked 26th in the league. They rank second-to-last in passing yards (614).
And what is odd is that the Titans have really invested heavily in their offensive line. They have arguably the game’s best offensive line coach in Bill Callahan, the head coach’s father. They took RT J.C. Latham and LG Peter Skoronski in the first round and inked two key free agents in OT Dan Moore and OG Kevin Zeitler.
It just has not been good with pass protection for Tennessee. The Cardinals need to put pressure on the entire game and send a fifth defender at a rate of two of three downs. Shut down the pass and make Tennessee have to rely on the run game.
The Titans are one of the worst teams at covering tight ends. If you have Cardinals TE Trey McBride on your fantasy team, start him in this game.
McBride is already a nightmare for defensive backs and linebackers. He is 6’-4” and a beefy 246 pounds. He knows how to use his body size to fend off defensive players on a passing play. He is a former basketball star who can jump and...
