It’s Earl Watford’s Job to Lose as Arizona Cardinals’ Fill-in Right Tackle

By Shaun Church | Sep 2, 2015

Arizona Cardinals starting right tackle Bobby Massie will be suspended to start the 2015 season thanks to an unfortunate night during Super Bowl week that ended with the fourth-year pro being arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol—he reportedly had a .136 percent blood-alcohol level at around 3 a.m. the night before the big game.

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For violating the league’s substance abuse policy, Massie will miss the first three games of the season, which means head coach Bruce Arians must find a fill-in while the Ole Miss alum serves his time.

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Until this week, that replacement had been fourth-year tackle Bradley Sowell, who was Massie’s teammate at Ole Miss (Sowell started at left tackle while Massie manned the right side). Now it appears former fourth-round pick, offensive guard Earl Watford, will have a chance to start in place of Massie, according to Adam Green of ArizonaSports.com.

Last week, Sowell struggled to keep Oakland Raiders outside linebacker Khalil Mack in front of him. He allowed eight pressures—including two sacks—in his half of play, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

By itself, Sowell’s performance might not be enough to let Watford try his hand at right tackle in the final go-round before things get real on September 13.

One could excuse the abominable outing from Sowell as being dominated by one of the league’s best linebackers, because hey, even star left tackle Jared Veldheer struggled to hold him off. However, Watford also saw action against Mack and fared much better against the former top-five pick.

One of the things they wanted to do is experiment with Earl Watford [at right tackle], and you have to say … he’s done a better job than Bradley Sowell has done [against Khalil Mack]. —Cris Collinsworth

It was somewhat surprising to see Mack still in the game late in the third quarter last Sunday night. But it may have been what Arians needed to see in order to give Watford the start Thursday.

Ultimately, it could lead to Arians penciling Watford in as the part-time starter at right tackle—and maybe it could lead to more than that.

What did we see from Sowell and Watford against Mack that caused Arians to make the switch? We got lucky and saw a move Mack tried against both Sowell and Watford. The results follow.

As you can see in the play above, Sowell is immediately overpowered by the ridiculous long-arm move of Mack. In transition, the linebacker grabs his opponent by the armpit and pulls him out of the way as he converts his speed rush into an inside move, completely turning Sowell around and culminating in a third-down sack of quarterback Carson Palmer—one of two sacks he had against the Cardinals.

Now it’s Watford’s turn.

Mack uses the same move, but he begins it later in his rush. That means Watford has a chance to get his massive frame into Mack more than Sowell did, in turn making it more difficult for Mack to get the separation he needs on the long-arm move to throw Watford out of the way when he converts to the inside move.

Watford recovered just in time to stymie No. 52 in black, saving backup quarterback Drew Stanton from being plastered to the O.co Coliseum turf.

Watford will start at right tackle for the Cardinals against the Denver Broncos and should play at least the entire first half, if not more. And if he doesn’t look like a complete amateur, as Sowell did last week, he should earn a spot as the fill-in starter at right tackle while Massie serves his suspension.

And who knows—if Watford plays well enough in Massie’s absence, Arians may decide to roll with him all season. After all, Massie is in a contract year and, as a two-plus-year starter on a playoff team, he could be looking for big money next offseason. There is a real chance Massie does not return next season regardless of whether he plays this season or not.

Watford is cheaper and, though it looks like a long shot now, could end up being better than Massie at the position. It might be worth it if he plays well to let Watford start over Massie all season.

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