The Arizona Cardinals are among the most aggressive defenses in the NFL when it comes to blitzing. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph doesn’t show much front wise but he likes to bring pressure and play loose behind it coverage wise.

Given how poorly the Patriots offensive line has played this season, I would expect Joseph to tee off on the Patriots on Monday night.

Here are some of the different types of pressures the Patriots will see.

 

Diagram 1: Pressure out of Base and Nickel: The Cardinals play a lot of base defense but they will also play a lot of nickel as well. When they do, they like to blitz off the slot with their nickel or edge defenders. They will bring anywhere from four to six defenders when they are in nickel.

Diagram 2: 30 Front Pressure: The Cardinals are a Base 30 front team and they do a good job of mixing up their fronts so that they can create individual match-ups up front. Playing fronts like this Double Eagle front cover up offensive lineman and allow defensive lineman to win one on one match ups.

Diagram 3: T-E Stunts: Arizona runs a lot of T-E stunts out of their 30 and 40 fronts. The Patriots will see both two man and four man twists in this game. Twists make it tough to slide your protection to a side especially if the defense is in a 30 front.

Diagram 4: Shell Coverage: Arizona will play a lot of shell coverage on the back end. Shell coverage is quarters or Cover 4 coverage. By playing shell coverage, that allows Arizona to bluff, pressure or bail and have protection on the back end.

Arizona has struggled this season at 4-8 but their defense is still talented and well coached. They will give the Patriots a lot of problems defensively. The Patriots will need to communicate along the offensive line and Mac Jones will need to be able to I.D the hot. If they cannot do either of those things consistently, it will be a long night in the dessert.