To say that the outside narrative on the Arizona Cardinals’ pass rush (or lack thereof) has people in a panic would be a massive understatement.
And while there are legitimate concerns over how the team’s edge group will perform this season, it’s also true that a pass rush doesn’t exist in a vacuum.
Stopping the run and being ahead in games are also factors in putting opponents in known-pass situations, which helps generate pressure.
The Cardinals hope improvement in the interior line will take care of the first item, while a potentially consistent and explosive offense could provide more leads than occurred in last year’s 4-13 season.
Head coach Jonathan Gannon insists it’s also up to his staff to figure out ways to improve the rush and much of that can change from game to game based on the opponent.
We’ll get to that in a moment, but when Gannon was asked recently if he was OK with his group following the loss of BJ Ojulari for the season and Darius Robinson for at least the first four games, he said, “I’m comfortable. I am,” while acknowledging, “I know you guys might not be comfortable but that’s OK. That’s your opinion.”
He then explained, “We’re drastically different than this team, than that team, than the other team. Everyone has different ways to do things, and I think we’re going to be fine. It’s on the coaches to do a good job of who we have to make sure we can have success.
“We’re going to figure out with what we have going into Buffalo, we’ll put a plan together that is the best thing for our players and our team to win the game. And that can look different a lot of different ways.”
The one reality is that even if the Cardinals had the second coming of Reggie White on the roster, getting to Bills quarterback Josh Allen would be a challenge.
There were only three quarterbacks in 2023 that played at least 16 of their team’s games and were sacked fewer than 30 times: San Francisco’s Brock Purdy, 28; Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, 27; and … yes, Allen with 24. Purdy and Mahomes were in the Super Bowl, while the Bills were 11-6 and lost to the Chiefs in the playoffs by a field goal.
How the Cardinals approach their defensive plan Sunday will be critical. After all, it’s buyer beware trying to get to Allen considering he rushed for 524 yards on 111 carries last season and scored 15 touchdowns.
Monday, Gannon said, “He can make a lot of plays, and if you’re not right with rush mechanics he makes you pay. You have to be on the coverages because he can throw it anywhere. A big strong guy makes plays with his legs and his arm. A really good player.”
Asked Wednesday about the difficulty of getting those rush mechanics right, Gannon knew that Allen was sacked the fewest time in the NFL last season and said, “Partly because of his O-line. They played with each other I think the whole year; continuity there. They’re good, they’re well-coached.”
Gannon was correct: The five linemen last season started all 17 games and missed few of the offense’s 1,164 snaps: left tackle Dion Dawkins (1,120), left guard Connor McGovern (1,136), center Mitch Morse (1,129), right guard O’Cyrus Torrence (1,164) and right tackle Spencer Brown (1,161).
Those five missed a total of only 110 snaps during the entire regular season.
Morse was released in early March, so McGovern is moving to center with re-signed unrestricted free agent David Edwards the left guard. Edwards played all 17 games last season with no starts and played 148 snaps.
Gannon continued to say about Allen, “When you do get in the backfield a little bit, he’s got the ability to extend plays, make you miss, run away from you, run through you.
“So you’ve just got to be on it. That’s knowing your opponent. That’s going to be a big-time challenge for us, so we have to do well if we’re going to win the game.”
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