CARDINALS

Versatility and depth make Arizona Cardinals’ defensive front intriguing

Bob McManaman
azcentral sports
Arizona Cardinals defensive end Frostee Rucker (92) works on  drills during training camp on Sunday, August 2, 2015 in Glendale.

The word “starter” gets thrown around as much as a football during the NFL season, but with the exception of a few positions – namely quarterback – it’s becoming a misnomer in today’s modern game.

It’s especially true among defensive linemen, where virtually every team, including the Cardinals, rely on a revolving rotation of players throughout the course of a game to keep bringing the heat on opposing offenses as well as to keep everyone fresh.

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For every J.J. Watt, who participated in 95 percent of the Texans’ defensive snaps a year ago, there are 25 Ed Stinsons, who took part in 19.2 percent of the Cardinals’ defensive snaps in 2014.

“The way the game is changing, the days of guys playing the whole game without coming out are over. That’s not possible anymore,” Cardinals defensive tackle Frostee Rucker said. “The way we approach it here is knowing that all our guys can roll on game day and there won’t be any drop off.

“It’s every single person. All hands are on deck with this. One single person can make a play, but it’s the collective group that’s going to make us go.”

It’s basically that way at most every position. Depth isn’t just stockpiled in case of injury; it’s cultivated for strategy purposes, as well. When the Cardinals built their front seven, they did it with an eye for making sure all of the sum parts were interchangeable by signing and drafting versatile talent with the expressed purpose of shuttling them all in and out of the lineup.

“Everybody wants to know who the starters are,” coach Bruce Arians said. “It depends on what package we have in a game. We have about 16 starters on offense and we’ve got about 18 starters on defense, depending on what package we’re going to play that week.”

The Cardinals lost three important players from their front seven in defensive tackles Darnell Dockett and Dan Williams and linebacker Larry Foote, who now serves on the coaching staff, but Pro Bowl defensive end Calais Campbell thinks this year’s group of linemen and edge rushers might be the best he’s played with in his eight seasons.

It features a cross section of veterans with starting experience like interior linemen Cory Redding, Alameda Ta’amu, Corey Peters and Rucker, plus time-tested outside linebackers such as LaMarr Woodley, Matt Shaughnessy and Lorenzo Alexander.

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But it’s the injection of talented youth like Alex Okafor, Kareem Martin and rookies Markus Golden and Rodney Gunter that the Cardinals hope they can pour between the veterans to help cement the overall unit.

“We have a lot of great pieces in place,” Campbell said. “We’ve got guys with experience that can play great, and there’s a bunch of young guys that are talented and have the potential to be great. It’s made our D-line room become very competitive – the most competitive room I’ve seen in my whole career.”

Brentson Buckner, the Cardinals’ defensive line coach, played on a pair or dominating D-lines with the Steelers and the Panthers. He made Super Bowl appearances with each and said this Cardinals unit has the potential to be just as good.

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“The thing that made us unique in Pittsburgh was we were all interchangeable in that 3-4 defense,” Buckner said. “They wanted guys who could play all three positions because they wanted guys to stay fresh. The year I went to the Super Bowl, I started four games at nose guard and I was the starting left end. In Carolina, it was depth. We knew our first four would go out there and go hard because the next four behind you were just as good and it wasn’t going to be a drop off. You didn’t have to save yourself, ‘Oh, I’m going to be struggling in the fourth quarter.’ You trusted the guy behind you.

“That’s what we’re trying to build here. The competition is phenomenal. We’ve got guys pushing each other and wanting to see each other have success. Knowing everybody can play, it makes for a good room.”

Everybody will contribute up front, regardless of who makes the team. Rookies will get their shot, too, according to Arians, who said they’re capable of challenging vets from the first moment they put on their pads.

“I don’t care where you came from or how you got here; we’re going to play the best ones,” he said. “Your draft status, the amount of money you make doesn’t mean (expletive) to me.”

Some of the younger players are already inspiring the older ones.

“Oh, no doubt,” Ta’amu said, singling out undrafted rookie free agent Xavier Williams from Northern Iowa. “Whenever I see Xavier in there doing work, I’m like, ‘Ah, I’ve got to go in there and do better than him.’ That’s how you get better. Everybody’s motivating each other.”

It works both ways, as veterans offer up daily coaching to the newbies.

“You’re trying to lead by example but at the same time, educate these guys and let them know this is how it’s done,” Redding said.

The Cardinals don’t have an elite pass rusher they can count on for double-digit sacks, unless Campbell or Okafor elevate their game, so the hope is that their strength in depth will account for more pressure on the quarterback. Arizona’s 35 sacks last season ranked 24th in the league.

“The more guys you have getting sacks, the better your team is,” said Campbell, who had seven in 2014, one fewer than Okafor. “If you have just one guy getting a whole bunch, I mean, that’s good for him. But you need the team, you need to be able to rotate in when he’s out of the game. What happens if he goes down with an injury? You need a collective group to produce.”

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Arians is counting on Campbell to produce more this season. On Monday, he said Campbell should be “unblockable” given his size and explosiveness.

“This year, I plan to be,” Campbell said. “I’ve been working very hard to go out there and put together my best season to help this team win. So, I’m going to go out there and leave it all on the field.”

They all better do that or they’re going to get an earful from Buckner, their straight-shooting coach.

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“They know I’m not going to BS them or sugarcoat anything because we’re men,” Buckner said. “We say we’re family. Well, you won’t lie to your family. You tell your family the truth and sometimes, the truth hurts. We’ve got a saying in our room: Do you want the naked truth or a well-dressed lie? And everybody wants the naked truth.”

Reach Bob McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Monday at 5:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 with Roc and Manuch and every Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. on Fox Sports AM 910 with The Freaks with Kenny and Crash.

PHOTOS: 2015 Cardinals training camp