Evaluations are always difficult in preseason games when there are a myriad of different players on the field throughout the four quarters, while taking into account who the opponents are at any moment. That was certainly the case Saturday evening in the Arizona Cardinals’ 16-14 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Having said that, here are my observations for the defense and special teams, keeping in mind that not playing were defensive linemen Bilal Nichols and Justin Jones; linebackers Kyzir White, Mack Wilson Sr., Zaven Collins and Dennis Gardeck; cornerbacks Sean Murphy-Bunting, Garrett Williams and Max Melton; and safeties Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson.
Backups vs. Saints starters, including quarterback Derek Carr
In the first quarter, New Orleans gained only 44 yards on 18 plays (2.4 average) and had two first downs, was 1-for-5 on third down and punted three times.
Starters on defense for the Cardinals included linebackers Owen Pappoe and Jesse Luketa, cornerback Divaad Wilson and safeties Joey Blount and Dadrion Taylor-Demerson.
Taylor-Demerson tied for the team lead with four tackles (three solo), while Pappoe had three (two solo). The latter had a good tackle on running back Jamaal Williams on the second possession, limiting him to two yards on third-and-12.
Head coach Jonathan Gannon said, “I thought they hung in, they battled. The field position kinda wasn’t in our favor early if I remember right and we battled and made some stops so that was good to see.”
Over the top
Gannon took responsibility for a second-and-1 play from the Saints 21-yard line with 22 seconds remaining in the first half when Jake Haener connected on a 58-yard pass to the deep left where wide receiver A.T. Perry beat rookie cornerback Elijah Jones. After two scrimmage plays, Blake Grupe kicked a 33-yard field goal on the final play of the half to give the Saints a 6-0 lead.
“I wasn’t pleased with the end of two-minute,” Gannon said. “That was a miscommunication issue on the coaches, myself, so we gotta get that cleaned up because it led to points there.”
Lack of discipline
After quarterback Clayton Tune led an 11-play, 76-yard drive to give the Cardinals a 14-13 lead with 1:55 remaining in the game, the deep backup defense couldn’t stop the Saints and local Arizona high-school quarterback product Spencer Rattler from moving 56 yards in 12 plays for the game-winning 37-yard field goal by Charlie Smyth with five seconds remaining.
Most crucial were two five-yard penalties for lining up in the neutral zone. The second was by rookie free-agent defensive lineman Myles Murphy on second-and-10 from the Arizona 37-yard line.
Worse was one on defensive lineman Phil Hoskins on third-and-6 from the Arizona 44-yard line that set up third-and-1 and resulted in a first down.
“That’s disappointing,” Gannon said. “Gotta stay onside and play by the rules.”
Rookie edge Xavier Thomas shows out
The Cardinals’ fifth-round pick opened some eyes as the team looks for help after BJ Ojulari was lost for the season because of a torn ACL.
Thomas had three tackles (two solo) with one for loss, one sack and two quarterback hits. The sack for a four-yard loss came in the fourth quarter on a third-and-5 play from the Cardinals 47-yard line that led to a punt.
Said Gannon, “I thought he played high, high motor; high effort which was really good to see. I saw a violent edge out there. I think he rushed pretty good. He was definitely back around the mix. He caught my eye. He’ll have a lot to learn from too, but it was good to see him out there lathered up and playing.”
New kickoff rule
Of the seven kickoffs, six were returned, but none for more than 30 yards.
Three Matt Prater kickoffs were returned 29, 25 and 27 yards with the eventual line of scrimmage the 27, 25 and 30.
For the Cardinals, DeeJay Dallas had a 30-yard return to the 31-yard line, Xavier Weaver had a 28-yard return to the 30 and Tony Jones Jr. had a 22-yard return to the 37. The touchback occurred after the winning field goal when New Orleans elected not to risk a long return.
Asked his reaction overall, Gannon said, “I can’t wait to watch the tape right now. We got it out a couple times. One popped on us a little bit. It was interesting to see them kick it through there on the last one, so it was good. We’ll have a lot to learn from off the tape.”
Weaver had punt returns of 19 and 15 yards. Prater had no field-goal attempts and celebrated his 40th birthday with two extra points, the final one giving the Cardinals their late lead.
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