Arizona Cardinals: Don’t worry too much about Tyrann Mathieu injury
Although Arizona Cardinals third-year defensive back Tyrann Mathieu was a fully legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate after more than bouncing back from a somewhat rusty 2014 season, the beat will still march on for one of the NFL’s most dynamic teams.
The Arizona Cardinals are no stranger to major injuries, and last season’s ACL tear to Carson Palmer was perhaps the biggest. But just as Palmer has more than made up for the missed time in 2015, other members of the Cardinals stepped up last season. Drew Stanton‘s injury forced the Cards to move to third-string QB Ryan Lindley, but despite these enormous injuries, this team still managed to squeak into the playoffs.
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This year, the Cardinals lost veteran running back Chris Johnson to a broken leg, but, since then, rookie David Johnson has emerged as a potential future superstar. Once again, the Cardinals have shown that they have the depth, talent, and coaching to overcome injuries with ease, and, in fact, there’s no doubt that their current starting RB is, in fact, an upgrade over their previous workhorse back.
The latest big blow to the Cardinals is the season-ending injury to defensive back Tyrann Mathieu, who tore his ACL in the fourth quarter of the team’s blowout win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Mathieu has been one of the best players in the NFL this season, picking off five passes with a whopping 16 passes defended. Moreover, few players in this league are as versatile, as physical, or as good at tackling offensive weapons in open spaces.
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For as brilliant of a player as Mathieu is and for as unique as his skill-set is, the Cardinals have the firepower to overcome this one. In fact, if it’s ever possible to move on from a Defensive Player of the Year “with ease”, then the Cardinals would be the team to do it. I mean, I can almost imagine Bruce Arians laughing in his office and saying, “You think THIS ONE is a big deal?”, because, as I mentioned, they overcame two quarterback injuries last year.
The stakes and aspirations are higher this time around, but losing a star defensive back isn’t nearly as bad as losing a star QB and his serviceable backup. That “star QB”, of course, is Comeback Player of the Year hopeful Carson Palmer, who has thrown for at least 250 yards in nine straight games, which is the longest active streak.
Although the Cardinals are sixth in the NFL in points per game allowed and boast an underrated run defense, we all know that the strength of this team lies on the offensive side of the ball. The emerging threat that Johnson provides out of the backfield cannot be understated, and, in fact, Johnson’s play is more of an upgrade than Mathieu’s injury is a downgrade.
Regardless, the Cardinals high-flying passing attack has helped this team come in second in points per game and first in yards per game, and it isn’t just about Palmer either. Yes, he’s the MVP candidate, but the Cardinals also have the NFL’s best wide receiver trio. Larry Fitzgerald looks as good as ever, John Brown is almost as big of a second-year breakout story as Allen Robinson, and Michael Floyd just might be the hottest wideout in all of football right now with just one game with less than 70 receiving yards since the start of November.
Heck, you could even say that the Cardinals have the best receiving quintet in all of football, as darkhorse J.J. Nelson and second-year Clemson product Jaron Brown are both capable weapons at Palmer’s disposal.
If the Cardinals explosiveness on offense doesn’t convince you that the Mathieu injury is more of a “tough blow” than a “devastating” one, then let’s turn to the defense. It may not be as stacked as the defenses that, say, the rival Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams field, but there’s a reason why they are sixth in the league in points per game allowed.
Firstly, James Bettcher has proven to be as capable of running the defense as Todd Bowles was, and Arians’s experienced hands can be found imprinted all over that defense. Great coaching leads to resiliency, and anybody questioning Arians’s coaching chops has probably let the past couple of NFL seasons pass them by. We’ve seen contending teams like the New England Patriots soldier past major injuries year-after-year behind strong leaders like Bill Belichick, and the Cardinals can do the exact same thing here.
Secondly, and most importantly, the Cardinals are still stacked in the secondary even without Mathieu. Make no mistake, the Cards will lose their best weapon and playmaker back there, but you could easily argue that No. 1 corner Patrick Peterson is the team’s most valuable DB. Most Cardinals fans would take things a step further and argue that PP has been even better than Josh Norman this season, as Peterson has shut down top WRs like A.J. Green and Antonio Brown this year.
Dec 10, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Minnesota Vikings fullback Zach Line (48) is tackled by Arizona Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu (32) at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Vikings 23-20. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Wait, Peterson shut down Brown? The guy who tore up Chris Harris Jr. this past Sunday?
Yes. Yes, he did.
That said, the way you replace a player like Mathieu is by having depth, and the Cardinals just might have the deepest secondary in the NFL.
Whether it’s safeties who can fly around the field like Rashad Johnson, Tony Jefferson, and DJ Swearinger, a “money linebacker” like Deone Bucannon, or underrated CBs like Justin Bethel and Jerraud Powers, the Cardinals aren’t lacking in the depth, explosiveness, or playmaking departments.
Thanks to their capable coaching staff and wide array of options in the defensive backfield, the Cardinals can be creative and find ways to replace Mathieu.
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They will miss him, but this injury doesn’t make the Cardinals any less of a Super Bowl contender. This is a team that is still capable of dropping 40 on any given Sunday, and this is a team that still has impact defensive players like Calais Campbell and Peterson on their side.
Will they be less able to stop the likes of Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers? Obviously. But the Cardinals are still capable of beating teams like the Green Bay Packers and Seahawks, and it would be foolish to call them anything other than a premier Super Bowl contender.