Panthers Unable To Stop a One-Dimensional Arizona Cardinals Offense

John MarneJan 11, 2009

Sure, you could argue that RB Edgerrin James is pretty good, and WR Steve Breaston is solid, but No. 11 Larry Fitzgerald has been Arizona's bread-and-butter all year. They are usually unable to establish the run game with James, and backup RB Tim Hightower is a pretty situational back.

Steve Breaston is not exactly a pro-bowler. Without injured WR Anquan Boldin they are essentially one-dimensional on offense.

Why then was the Carolina defense unable to stop Fitzgerald on Saturday? I'm no NFL defensive-coordinator, but I'd say the best way to stop a man like Larry who is beating you on almost every down would be to play man defense, and double him. Play him tight with the corner, get a good jam at the line and keep safety help over top.

This would be especially easy to accomplish given that the Panthers spent so much time in the nickel package on defense.

The Panthers instead insisted on playing zone defense. They would sit their corner and nickel-backs about 3-5 yards off the line, and when the receiver reached the back of their "under" zone, they would leave him and move up, maintaining their zones.

Up would come a safety to pick up the receiver as he passed from the under zones to his own cover 2 zone. It is the gap where the receiver is not covered by either where he would receive the ball.

I cannot count how many times this resulted in a big gain from Fitzgerald. He had over 150 receiving yards in the first half.

I can understand why this may have been a good way to game-plan against the short slant that Arizona had been running very effectively throughout the season, but as a coordinator you need to adapt.

I understand that Panthers QB Jake Delhomme had an abysmal game, but success in football comes from the defense. Just look at the teams who made the AFC championship game.

I believe that if Carolina had been able to contain Fitzgerald, they would have won the game. That failure lies directly on the shoulders of Panthers defensive-coordinator Mike Trgovac.