The Arizona Cardinals’ preseason box scores looked great on offense and ugly on defense, but Mike LaFleur isn’t buying into the numbers one bit.
Arizona finished exhibition play with the league’s top marks in yards per game on offense, leading the way in total, rushing and passing yards. The unit also averaged just under 28 points per game. On the other side of the ball, the Cardinals gave up too much, landing 22nd in overall yards allowed and 27th against the run.
Still, LaFleur made it clear those results don’t carry much weight once the real games begin.
“These defenses are at such a disadvantage in the preseason. You don't show absolutely anything.
I'm not covering for anything. No matter who gets thrown out there, you want them to just go execute fundamentally and just play the call and do the best you can within the call, but it's a pretty simple deal from an offensive standpoint when you know they're doing this or that.
"It's when you don't know if they're doing this, that, the other, and you know everything in between. That's when it gets tough.
And what's tough on a defense and a defensive coordinator and a defensive scheme is what's that fine balance between allowing our guys to go play fast, but also making it so we as offensive guys don't know what's coming? Unless you're just absolutely the most loaded defense ever, then sometimes you can just run a few calls and they just happen to be better than you, and that kind of is what it is.
"But no, there's nothing that I put into numbers or any of that kind of stuff. I just want to see our guys execute the call.
I want to see us operate, and I want to see our play style. I thought we operated well, not well enough.
I thought our play style was pretty good. There's room for improvement right there, and I thought by the player, by the position, there was some good execution.
There was a lot to clean up.”
In Other News...
Cardinals Fans Have Seen Where Greg Dortch Still Carries Real Value
Greg Dortch is getting another opportunity, this time with the Bills practice squad as he heads back to the area where he was born. The veteran wide receiver and punt return specialist was released by the Lions during final roster cuts, and for Cardinals fans, it is another reminder of how much he could still offer in the right role.
Dortch spent five seasons in Arizona, where his value often went beyond the box score because of what he could do on special teams and in a crowded receiver room. Buffalo has a clear need at punt returner, and Dortch also brings familiarity with members of the coaching staff, which gives this move a little more texture than a typical late-summer pickup. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Quietly Addressed A Depth Concern Fans Should Notice
The Cardinals continued to round out the edges of their roster by adding a pair of practice-squad pieces, bringing in defensive lineman Jared Harrison-Hunte and offensive lineman Vershon Lee. It is the kind of quiet move that rarely grabs attention on its own, but it does give Arizona a little more insulation on both lines as the season grinds on.
Harrison-Hunte arrives with stops in Carolina and at Miami and SMU on his resume, while Lee comes over after spending time with the Vikings and playing at South Carolina. For a team trying to keep its depth chart flexible, these are the sort of under-the-radar additions that can matter later if injuries or attrition start to test the room. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Suddenly Have A Real Shot To Reshape This Roster
The roster cut deadline brought the usual churn across the NFL, and for Arizona it also opened a small but meaningful window to keep reshaping the roster without waiting for the next wave of free agency. Once teams trimmed down to 53 players, the leagues waiver process kicked in for anyone with fewer than four credited seasons, giving clubs a chance to add talent based on a priority order tied to the original draft order.
For the Cardinals, that matters because they sit third in the waiver claim order, behind only the Raiders and Jets. The wait now becomes the key part, with Arizona set to learn after the waiver period ends whether any of those available players have landed in its building, and whether this roster cleanup turns into a late August opportunity to upgrade a depth chart that is still taking shape. [Read more 🡒]