CARDINALS AT PANTHERS
People have laughed off Arizona Cardinals quarterback Ryan Lindley in their game against the Carolina Panthers, but he showed improvement in the regular-season finale and looked like an NFL quarterback.
I watched a lot of Lindley coming out of college, and he played in a pro-style offense at San Diego State that pushed the ball down the field. His problem was he was a little scatter-shot on his accuracy; he would miss some routine throws because of ball placement. That’s still the case in the NFL, but he made some strides in that area against the San Francisco 49ers last week.
Two throws stand out. On a third and 9, the 49ers ran a “Cover 3” zone. John Brown ran a deep dig, Lindley did a good job holding 49ers linebacker Michael Wilhoite to prevent him from getting underneath the throw, then Lindley made an excellent throw for 19 yards. He showed a lot of poise and composure. This is also worth noting because the Panthers play a lot of zone, and Lindley will need to make plays like this.
Then later in the quarter, a 21-yard pass to Larry Fitzgerald was as good an anticipation throw as I’ve seen this season. Lindley recognized “2 man” coverage and turned it loose well before Fitzgerald started his break on his corner route.
Lindley has the instincts of a pocket quarterback, and one thing that stood out was his willingness and ability to throw outside the numbers at the intermediate levels. He has the arm strength to make those throws. Cardinals coach Bruce Arians was more aggressive with Lindley last week as the game progressed. He was taking deeper drops and making intermediate and downfield throws. And Lindley wasn’t afraid to turn it loose. That fits Arians’ approach.
What the Panthers do well at times, and especially did against the Saints, is they were phenomenal understanding route concepts based on formation and down-and-distance tendencies. Part of that might have been because they know the Saints well, being a division rival. Understanding what the Cardinals want to do in the passing game will be key.
Lindley is a hard guy to predict because I wouldn’t be surprised if he threw it really well, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he threw three interceptions, as he did last week. You’re not going to be able to turn the ball over like that in a playoff game, obviously. But the Cardinals should feel better about Lindley after some of the things he showed last week.
RAVENS AT STEELERS
The news that Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell is out is enormous, but there’s not a lot to analyze there. Bell is one of the best backs in the NFL and the blow to the Steelers offense is enormous. Everyone knows that.
I do wonder if the Steelers play a more up-tempo game with Bell out. That way they can put the game in Ben Roethlisberger’s hands more. They won’t go up-tempo every play, but maybe do more of it. By playing up-tempo they can minimize the Ravens’ strong pass rush a bit, and perhaps they can spread the field to get more of their athletic receivers on the field. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them speed things up.
One Ravens defender to watch is cornerback Lardarius Webb. He has played better lately, and do they move him to match up with Antonio Brown, who will line up all over the formation? Webb has the same body type, so maybe that makes sense. But Brown is really, really good, probably the best route runner in the NFL. He’s extremely quick in and out of breaks. It’s a very tough matchup. But the Steelers will want to attack the Ravens’ secondary.
On the other side, the Ravens’ offense comes in struggling a bit. Two weeks ago I thought quarterback Joe Flacco had arguably the worst game I can recall from him. He had a horrible game at Houston. And that happens once in a while. He started a bit slow against the Cleveland Browns in Week 17 but rallied. His 16-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith against “quarters” zone coverage was a great, firm touch throw after Browns safety Jim Leonhard reacted to tight end Owen Daniels. That opened up the skinny post for Smith.
Flacco will need to make some of those throws. Their offense has been interesting this year. They do a lot of quick-drop stuff, and I think Flacco is better when he pushes the ball downfield. But offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak’s offense doesn’t do that a lot. And they’ve gotten tremendous production out of Justin Forsett, which is a function of Kubiak’s offense. So there’s a mix and match there.
One other thing to watch is Baltimore’s offensive line, which has been revamped. A pair of rookies, James Hurst at left tackle and John Urschel at right guard, will start. Marshal Yanda moved to right tackle last week, the first game the Ravens' Pro Bowl guard started there all season. You’re going to see a lot of Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau’s pressure concepts in this game. The Browns had some of the same blitz and pressure concepts as the Steelers last week, and they gave the Ravens some problems in pass protection.
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NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell watches as much NFL game film as anyone. Throughout the season, Cosell will join Shutdown Corner to share his observations on the teams, schemes and personnel from around the league.
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