Formidable Foe

The Bucs did their job in week 1 by beating a team in which they should beat in the Atlanta Falcons. However, week 2 presents a more formidable foe in the Arizona Cardinals who will be hungry for their first win after losing to a short handed Patriots team last Sunday. The Cardinals have many big named players across their roster and have quality depth throughout their team. They have a great coaching staff led by Bruce Arians and an very good GM in Steve Keim who has done a great job in the draft. Here is a quick breakdown of their offense, defense, and special teams units.

Offense

The offense is led by their skill guys in Rb David Johnson and Wr Larry Fitzgerald who both are dangerous in open space. In addition to those two, they have Mike Floyd, John Brown, and Jermaine Gresham who present size and speed making the Cardinals offense tough to stop. Leading the offense is veteran Qb Carson Palmer who is very accurate and loves to take shots down the field. His weakness though is his mobility as he won't scramble but will stand in the pocket and deliver the ball with timing. The weakness on the offense is the O-line especially on the right side with DJ Humphries who is suspect. The left side is decent with Veldheer and Iupati who are better run blockers then they are pass protectors. Overall, the offense is capable of putting up points quickly.

Defense

The defense is very skilled and athletic starting with their all pro corner in Patrick Peterson who just makes plays every Sunday. Their defensive line is big and physical starting with DE Calias Campbell, DT Corey Peters, and star pass rusher in Chandler Jones. The Cardinals play a mix of 3-4 and 4-3 fronts in which they do a great job of mixing their personnel and love to bring pressures off the edge. Their linebackers are quick and athletic led by Deone Bucannon who is an hybrid as he is a former safety so is an excellent open field tackler already. In addition to Bucannon, they have Kevin Minter and Markus Golden who are both athletic and physical, Golden is one of their better pass rushers of the edge. Their secondary is led by Patrick Peterson who is a lock down corner as well as Tyrann Mathieu who flys around the field. Safeties Tony Jefferson, Tyvon Branch, and DJ Swearinger all rotate in and play their share of snaps. Jefferson is really good against the run, suspect vs the pass though.

Special Teams

Their special teams is solid with Chandler Catanzaro who is an above average kicker. Their punter Drew Butler is very good at directional punting and does a good job of pinning teams back inside the 20. Their return teams is dangerous with Rb Andre Ellington back there as he can make defenders miss and he is someone the Bucs have to account for.

Overall, this is a much stronger team than the team the Bucs just beat so it's going to be a great challenge come this Sunday.