David Johnson vs. Roquan Smith
As previously mentioned, the Cardinals have taken an absolute beating through its first two games of the season. The fact that they’ve been outscored by 52 points doesn’t even begin to tell the whole story though.
This week, it appeared as though Wilks May have been sending a not so subtle message/suggestion to Mike McCoy, his offensive coordinator. You may remember him from the John Fox days as someone mentioned as a possible offensive coordinator candidate after Adam Gase left.
But McCoy has been the subject of much criticism so far in Arizona and it’s similar to the heat he took while serving as the offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos. His offensive approach is stale.
As such, Wilks has emphasized the need to ”get creative” in how they use star running back David Johnson. Wilks stressed the need to get him the ball in space and use him more out of the backfield as a pass catcher as well as in the slot.
#AZCardinals HC Steve Wilks says he told coaches to "scale back" this week to minimize thinking and "get guys to play fast." Says that talked to OC Mike McCoy this morning per playbook. Will emphasize getting ball to David Johnson in space.
— Paul Calvisi (@PaulCalvisi) September 17, 2018
This is where, theoretically, Roquan Smith should excel. One of his greatest strengths coming out of college and on display so far this season is his ability to go sideline to sideline. He is incredibly fast and should be the one primarily tasked with covering Johnson out of the backfield.
As we saw in the game against the Green Bay Packers, Nick Kwiatkoski struggles to keep up with pass catchers across the middle and out of the backfield. Smith should have no such problem.
The Arizona Cardinals lose 34-0.
— Paul Gerke (@PaulGerke) September 16, 2018
They only managed 5 first downs and 137 total yards. The Cards committed 9 penalties and only ran *one* play on the Rams side of midfield... The last play of the game.
If you’re the Bears, the last thing you want is for the Cardinals to get their stud running back going on offense. If he gets into a flow and a rhythm, it could be just what the team needs to get back on track. The Bears — and more specifically Smith — need to nip that in the bud. They need to keep their foot on an offense that is clearly beaten down.