Revenge of the Birds
The Arizona Cardinals roll into central Florida to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday in the 1:00 pm (Eastern) slot. Tampa is 6-5-0 and is currently on a three-game slide, but in first place in the NFC South standings. The Cards are 3-8-0 and want to gain some momentum going down the stretch to build on for next season. They sit in last place in the NFC West Division, the NFL’s most difficult division.
RELATED: WILL MAYFIELD PLAY AGAINST THE CARDINALS?
Buccaneers’ starting quarterback, Baker Mayfield, is currently injured, still nursing a left shoulder injury sustained in the 34-7 beatdown handed out by the Los Angeles Rams last weekend.
In a recent press conference, Mayfield answered questions from the media about how his non-throwing shoulder is doing and if he will play against Arizona on Sunday. The answer: will have to wait and see. That conclusion could very well be answered right before kickoff.
Mayfield’s backup is veteran journeyman Teddy Bridgewater. He was selected in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings after a sterling career at Louisville, where he was named the Big East Offensive Player of the Year. In his final college season, he threw 31 TDs against just four interceptions.
In training camp of 2016, he suffered a non-contact injury to his left leg for which an ambulance was summoned. He was the lead story on every sports show. After an MRI, it was confirmed that he tore his ACL and suffered other structural damage, including a dislocation of the knee joint. There was talk that he would lose that leg. Everything in that knee was blown up.
The following year, he signed a one-year deal with the New York Jets. From there, he has played for eight NFL clubs as a backup. This year with the Bucs, Bridgewater has only tossed 15 passes for 62 yards.
With Mayfield being up in the air this week, who does the Arizona coaching staff work out a game plan for?
The answer: Both quarterbacks.
Usually, teams will employ their QB room with athletes that are of a similar ability and stature as their starter. Makes no sense to have a mega-runner such as Lamar Jackson, and his backup a pure pocket passer like Tom Brady. The assignments all across the offense are different. Having similar styles of quarterbacks just works out better for everyone.
Well, Tampa Bay didn’t get that memo. Mayfield and Bridgewater are not the same style of signalcaller. Not at all. Mayfield can – and will – run, but only when flushed. There aren’t any planned running plays for Mayfield. He needs a clean pocket, but can improvise if needed.
Bridgewater has lost some of his speed since college due to his injury, but he still has a tendency to take off from the pocket.
Like Mayfield, Bridgewater is a calculated, football-smart rhythm passer. He likes to dink-and-dunk and operate in the short passing game while using play-action. He is...
