Chargers vs. Cardinals: Previewing Arizona's Preseason Week 2 Matchup
After struggling in their preseason opener, the Arizona Cardinals will look to rebound Saturday night against the San Diego Chargers in Glendale. It will be a challenge for the team to play any worse than they did a week ago.
Arizona's starters did well against Kansas City, with the offense producing a touchdown and the defense forcing a turnover in their only series.
What happened next was largely forgettable, with the Cardinals backups getting outscored 34-12 by their Kansas City counterparts.
Injuries have marred the Cardinals' preparation for their second preseason game, with guard Mike Iupati and defensive tackle Corey Peters both going down during the week. Both were signed as free agents this offseason to solidify their respective lines.
Arizona's running game will again be the subject of much attention after failing to gain any momentum against the Chiefs. The addition of running back Chris Johnson, signed earlier in the week, should increase competition in the backfield, although it remains to be seen if the offensive line can create consistent running lanes.
San Diego, meanwhile, is coming off a 17-7 win over the Dallas Cowboys in their preseason opener. The Chargers are looking to take a step forward after last season's 9-7 campaign that saw them miss the playoffs.
There's been no indication that either team plans to play their starters beyond the first quarter, as is commonly the case in the second week of preseason. Click ahead for the full preview of Saturday night's matchup.
Location: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ
Time: 7 p.m. MDT
TV: NFL Network (National), ABC-15 (Local)
News and Notes
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Changes to the offensive line
The big news this week, as reported Wednesday by ESPN's Adam Schefter, is the loss of left guard Mike Iupati for up to eight weeks with a knee injury. In the worst-case scenario, Iupati would miss five regular-season games.
Per Kent Somers of AZCentral.com, veteran Ted Larsen took Iupati's place with the first team in Wednesday's practice.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the offensive line, swing tackle Bradley Sowell has been getting first-team reps at right tackle. According to Craig Grialou of ArizonaSports.com, Bruce Arians said he's getting Sowell ready to fill in during Bobby Massie's three-game suspension to start the season.
"It’s just a precautionary thing. He’s played left and right most of camp. We need to get him some more right tackle snaps right now."
All in all, this is the exact opposite of how the Cardinals would like to be readying their much-maligned offensive line for the start of the season.
Tweaks were a possibility following the unit's shaky performance against Kansas City in the first preseason game, but the Cardinals are now looking at a massive overhaul. Expect to see a lot of players shifting around over the next three games as Arizona looks for any combination that will get it successfully through the first month of the regular season.
Who's going to run behind the patchwork line?
We'll stick with the running game since it brings a smile to Cardinals fans' faces from Tombstone to Flagstaff.
Rookie running back David Johnson returned to practice this week, and according to Fox Sports 910's Mike Jurecki, he's been quick to remind the Cardinals why they drafted him.
Arizona also signed Chris Johnson this week, likely pushing Kerwynn Williams and Robert Hughes down the depth chart. According to Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site, Carson Palmer thinks the former 2,000-yard rusher is the right guy to spell Andre Ellington.
Arians will be the first to say nothing's guaranteed for any player, but you'd have to imagine things are now set up for Ellington and the elder Johnson to share time in the backfield, while the younger Johnson is utilized primarily as a receiving threat until he gets more comfortable in the offense.
Both Johnsons should see some time against San Diego on Saturday.
Latest Injury News
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As mentioned in the previous slide, the big injury news was Mike Iupati's knee injury, but he wasn't the only player to go down this week. As Mike Jurecki reported, defensive tackle Corey Peters was carted off the practice field Wednesday with a left leg injury.
Here is the unofficial injury list, courtesy of Darren Urban and the Cardinals' official website.
| Mike Iupati | G | Knee |
| Corey Peters | DT | Leg/unknown |
| Sean Weatherspoon | LB | Hamstring |
| Shaq Riddick | LB | Hamstring |
| Rob Crisp | T | Knee |
| Michael Floyd | WR | Hand |
| Jonte Green | CB | Hamstring |
| Jerraud Powers | CB | Oblique |
Arizona signed Peters this offseason to a three-year deal, with the expectation he would be the starting nose tackle in the team's base defense. Alameda Ta'amu, a fourth-year player out of Washington, would likely get the first crack at the job should Peters be out long term.
Key Matchup
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Arizona's secondary versus San Diego's passing offense
There's no place else to look after the Cardinals backups made Chase Daniels look like Peyton Manning in the preseason opener. Philip Rivers and the Chargers should pose an altogether stiffer test, so Arizona's secondary will need to show significant improvement in Week 2.
Arizona's starters fared well in their one series against Alex Smith, ending the drive with a Tyrann Mathieu interception. A strong showing against a Chargers offensive that finished last season ranked 10th in passing yards will be a good sign heading into the all-important third preseason game.
Reports out of San Diego have said that wide receivers Keenan Allen, per Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune, and Stevie Johnson (h/t CBSSports.com's Jason La Canfora) have both looked good in camp, so this should be a good test for the Cardinals starters.
The magnifying glass, however, will come out after the first quarter. Frankly, what we saw from Arizona's second and third stringers wasn't good enough against Kansas City. No team can afford to be paper thin, but that's the current state of Arizona's defensive depth chart.
Last week we asked if anyone would step up as a defensive playmaker. This week we ask if anyone will step up as a reliable contributor in the event of an injury.
Not good.
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Three Things to Watch
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1. Will Logan Thomas take another step forward?
It may not be the most inspirational adjective in the dictionary, but Thomas looked solid against the Chiefs. Honestly, sometimes that's all you can ask from a young quarterback in a preseason game.
Thomas was poised in the pocket and showed off the arm strength that made it so easy to fall in love with him in the 2014 NFL draft. Overall, he finished with 107 yards on 9-of-15 passing. He threw an interception, but Jaron Brown should've caught that pass.
Solid.
While it's tough to envision him being the heir apparent to Carson Palmer, Thomas did show enough to prove he belongs on the Cardinals roster. He now needs to build off his performance.
2. The safety dance
Arizona has four productive safeties, three of whom are competing for starting positions: Tony Jefferson, Deone Bucannon and Tyrann Mathieu. Bucannon, of course, has made it possible for Arizona to get all three on the field at once with his ability to step in at linebacker in sub-packages.
It will be interesting to see how James Bettcher continues to manage the situation in the second preseason game. With Sean Weatherspoon's continued absence, Bucannon has been forced back into the middle linebacker role, something that is likely to continue on Saturday. Will he get any reps in the secondary?
There's a saying that if you have two quarterbacks you like, you really don't have any. Well, the same can not be said for safeties, and given their lack of playmakers at other positions, the Cardinals should be thankful for the talent they have at the position.
Getting the most out of that talent should be an excellent source for creativity.
3. Can they run the ball at all?
This question is old and tired at this point, but the answer keeps coming back as "no," so we're forced to ask again.
Against Kansas City, the Cardinals managed just 75 yards on 27 carries, good for a 2.8 yards-per-carry average. Andre Ellington saw three carries, picking up three yards.
As mentioned in the second slide, the deck is being shuffled along the offensive line, and it's not for the better. Although forced into this situation by injury and suspension, the hope is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Prediction: Chargers 27, Cardinals 13
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Even in the preseason moral victories are a cringeworthy notion, but that's exactly what the Cardinals ought to be looking for against the Chargers. More than momentum, more than a victory, Bruce Arians needs information.
The offensive line is again a mess, and the spine of the defensive front is missing.
First and foremost, Arizona needs to see which combinations along the offensive line work the best. There is nothing the team can do about Iupati and Massie missing the start of the season, but they need to find a way to survive those games.
On the other side of the ball, the coaching staff needs to determine who among the backups is capable of filling in for an injured starter during the regular season. The performance against Kansas City wasn't good enough, and isolating two or three guys the team can trust is a start.
Short of a complete turnaround, it's hard to imagine the Cardinals team we saw last week competing with a Chargers team that comfortably beat Dallas in their preseason opener.
The great thing about preseason, though, is that's OK. Arizona will have two more games after this one to build momentum.
For now, pay more attention to the number of solutions found than the number of points on the scoreboard.
Final: Chargers 27, Cardinals 13
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