Judge: Eagles' D-coordinator has Warner's number
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Prove it.
The Arizona Cardinals players arrived at the team's facility here Wednesday with T-shirts that had those two words emblazoned across the front sitting in their lockers, put there by a team employee.
Maybe that employee should have just limited them to the defensive players. The offense has been proving itself all season long, but it's the defense that has just been proving itself in the playoffs.
After a season in which the Arizona defense finished 19th in yards allowed, it is second among the league's playoff teams in yards allowed, dropping the per-game number from 331.5 in the regular season to 259.5 in the playoffs. A defense that gave up 26.6 points per game in the 16 regular-season games has that down to 18.5 in two playoff games.
So it's not Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and that offense that has the Cardinals in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, but rather the defense.
Just try and name some of their players -- I dare you. It would be understandable if they had an inferiority complex, but they don't.
"That doesn't matter to us," defensive end Antonio Smith said. "If we get to the Super Bowl, people will know us."
A month ago, that looked highly unlikely. In Week 16, the Cardinals lost 48-7 to the New England Patriots. In that game, New England rolled up 514 yards of offense and Matt Cassel threw for 345 yards and three scores.
Talk about demoralizing. It didn't help that some speculated that some of the Cardinals defensive players quit, a notion disputed by the players and coaches.
"After that New England game, we just decided it was time to play better," Smith said.
The horror of that game sent the Cardinals defenders looking for answers. Coach Ken Whisenhunt said he always thought the talent was there, but there was something missing.
"They just weren't playing the defense the way it needed to be played," Whisenhunt said. "They had to understand their roles."
In the season finale, they cut the yardage number down to 330 against the Seattle Seahawks. In two playoff victories, they gave up 250 yards to the Atlanta Falcons and 269 yards to the Carolina Panthers.
How can it change so fast? It's called talent.
The Cardinals have it. It was just young talent, players that needed to grow up. You look at their defensive roster and it's filled with youngsters, drafted by the team as the cornerstones of the defense.
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| Darnell Dockett and the Cards D have nine takeaways in the playoffs. (US Presswire) |
The average age of the unit is 28.6 years. But if Travis LaBoy, the normal starting right end, were in the lineup instead of Berry, the average age would be 27.8.
"We have a lot of young guys who are just now hitting their stride," linebacker Karlos Dansby said.
When I asked Smith, who at 27 is having a nice postseason so far, about the youth of the defense, he looked up as he sat on a stool in front of his locker at the team's practice facility and pointed to his left. There were the lockers of Berry, Robinson and Okeafor.
"We have some old dudes over there," he said.
Rookie defensive end Kenny Iwebema joined in the ripping.
"B-Rob is really an old man," Iwebema said.
The leader of the defense isn't 30. It's 29-year-old safety Adrian Wilson. Now the longest-tenured Cardinals player on the roster with seven seasons, Wilson plays a fiery game and the defensive players say he leads with a quiet calm.
"We've just been limiting our mistakes and I think that's the key, playing sound and fundamental football and not beating yourself," Wilson said.
It helps to have the man they call "Fart Box." That would be defensive tackle Darnell Dockett. His relentless style, and ability to penetrate is key to the defensive success.
His flatulence is the reason for the nickname.
"It's all the time with him," Smith said.
Even in the huddle?
"All the time," Smith said.
What isn't hot air anymore is hearing that the Arizona defense is playing well. In addition to limiting yards allowed, it has nine takeaways in the playoffs. That has continued a season-long trend of taking the ball away -- it tied for fifth in the league with 30 takeaways this season.
Asked why the takeaways are coming in bunches now, defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast said it's because of the defensive line.
"They're playing in the other team's backfield," he said.
The development of rookie corner Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie has also paid off in a big way. The Cardinals eased him into the starting lineup this season even though they drafted him with the 16th pick last April. Coming from Tennessee State, the athletic ability wasn't the issue, it was the mental side. He has improved there and has an interception in both playoff games.
"He has a lot of great natural ability -- ball skills and he's a great athlete," corner Rod Hood said. "Now he's just getting the opportunity to show it. It was just a matter of time for him to get in and get the opportunity to play ball."
It was also just a matter of time before the young players meshed. Talent can show up individually, but it won't be worth a damn unless the 11 guys on the field are buying into the scheme, staying away from freelancing and trying to do too much by themselves.
The Cardinals defensive players were trying to do too much earlier this season. There was too much "me" going on out there. Now they've come together at the right time.
One more solid performance and they might be on their way to the Super Bowl.
Aside from the "Fart Box," there is now nothing stinky about the way they're playing.
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