Thus far the Cardinals are providing people the answer towards what team in the NFC provides the biggest threat to Carolina in the Panthers’ attempt to run the conference. With the highest scoring offense and highest yard per game average in the league this season the Cardinals are slowly becoming a serious subject in the Super Bowl discussion. With a short week of preparation they now focus on the final quarter of the regular season against a team in Minnesota that is struggling with themselves both on the field and in the locker room.
Short Day For “All Day”
Last week Adrian Peterson had himself a bad day. The man known as “All Day” was stymied for a pedestrian like 18 yards on 8 attempts. While that game was less than impressive it was not the first time Peterson had been stopped for less than 100 yards this year. In week 1 he only brought in 31 yards from the backfield against San Francisco and then in week 4 he only had 81 against the Broncos in Denver. Week 6 he had 60 yards and after that he was just short the hundred by 2 yards against Detroit. Before the game against Seattle the last time Peterson had been stopped short of the century mark was against Green Bay at home where he was stuffed multiple times and only tallied 45 yards. After last week’s performance Peterson described the defeat as “being outcoached” and has since drawn a lot of attention with those comments as they were viewed as attacks at head coach Mike Zimmer’s game planning prior to the contest. Peterson honestly should be impressed that he is leading the league in rushing like he is considering he has been gone from the sport for almost a full year before this season began. His talent makes him a focus of defenses around the league, but if anything can be discovered by last week’s quotes it is that Peterson is a player that can grow easily frustrated if he doesn’t get his big carries early. If the Cardinals can get stops on Peterson at or behind the line of scrimmage early, they may be able to just let Peterson think himself out of the game entirely. The minute the All Pro running back mentally snaps, the game will focus entirely on the signal caller wearing purple for the Arizona defense.
Breaking Teddy’s Line
Teddy Bridgewater may be one of the better young quarterbacks in the league today. Among the likes of Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel and Derek Carr some could argue that Bridgewater has become the most accomplished of the 2014 draft class up to this point. Not only is the quarterback leading his team to a potential division title, but he is becoming a serious threat as both a runner and passer out of the pocket. However his lack of effective targets comes out in the astonishing 34 sacks he has taken thus far. With the lack of route running ability by those in the Vikings receiving corp, it forces Bridgewater to sit in the pocket perhaps a bit too long waiting for the play to develop. Not to mention the offensive line for the Vikings isn’t necessarily built to be a pass protecting line. For years all the Vikings have asked their linemen to do is open gaps for Adrian Peterson. Now with a young quarterback behind them they have been forced to use their footwork and hands far more than they have been accustomed to due to the fact that Bridgewater isn’t yet that quick of a reader of a defense. Because of that the former Louisville Cardinal has become quite the scrambler but finds himself at times scrambling into pressure and setting himself up for sacks and other large hits in the open field. If the Cardinals can get to the quarterback through tight coverage down the field as well as strong bull rushes up the middle, they could just get Bridgewater to make that one wrong spin into an incoming Dwight Freeney or Calais Campbell, who has yet to have a truly dominating performance this year. The Cardinals have the speed to chase down the Vikings quarterback, they have to make sure however that it is before he gets across the line of scrimmage however.
Getting Johnson and Williams The Ball
Last week it was mentioned that the Cardinals would need to get David Johnson and the rest of the running backs into the fray quickly if they were going to sustain their success over the last month of the season. Luckily the young rookie and his partner in crime Kerwynn Williams did exactly that with an impressive performance against the St. Louis front line. The two combined for 158 yards on the ground with the sole touchdown coming off a carry by Williams. Plus Johnson was able to show that he can carry a large workload with his 22 carries throughout the game while only fumbling the ball one time, which was recovered by the Cardinals thus saving a drive. That kind of ball control and overall dominating the point of attack is exactly what needs to continue and perhaps will become more common as the last four games end here for the regular season. It goes without saying that coaching staffs like to save up their players and let them rest up prior to the postseason, and Palmer throwing 40 to 50 times a game will not be a major focus for Arians and the rest of the offensive coaching staff as they get closer to clinching the division and the first round bye. Getting these two young backs in a serious flow will be critical the close the end of December comes and with that the team can expect a healthy and rested Carson Palmer to throw lasers into his receivers arms.
This game could turn into a laugher quickly if the Cardinals show up like they are believed to. Yet the last few times that a run away was in store for this team they have turned into tight games that gave the faithful a lot more sweat on their brow than they initially expected. Mike Zimmer will be telling his defense to go all out as his Vikings squad is still in the running for the NFC North and no better momentum for them than beating the number two team in the conference this Thursday at University of Phoenix Stadium at 6:25 PM on the NFL Network. If Arians gets his boys started early, the last four games of the year should start off well for the boys in red.
Vikings – 22 Cardinals – 35