Arizona Cardinals' defense working on improved communication in preparation for Raiders

The Arizona Cardinals came away from Sunday's 44-21 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs with a list of issues to address.

Among those was communication on defense, something the team acknowledged right from the end of last weekend's game and throughout this week.

Linebacker Isaiah Simmons wore the green communications decal on his helmet for the very first time, as the conduit of signals and calls for the Cardinals' defense against Kansas City. It was his job to relay defensive coordinator Vance Joseph's calls to the rest of the defense.

"The calls went out pretty well. The calls were all good. It was loud, so it’s a little harder but other than that I feel like it was smooth for the first go-around," Simmons said after the game.

Simmons was far from the only one to blame for the Cardinals' inability to stop Kansas City's offense. Teammates made mention of the need for improved communication this week as the Cardinals prepare for Week 2 in Las Vegas against the Raiders.

"When we're out on the practice field, we've got to treat it like a game, communication and signals," Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury said. "And it can't just be going through the motions and saying, 'Hey, we're going to get it right on Sunday.'"

Kingsbury thought the focus on communication was there in Wednesday's practice.

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The Cardinals watched film from the Kansas City game, and it wasn't a pleasant experience. Defensive lineman Rashard Lawrence described it as "definitely tough, definitely animated."

"It's a lot of different moving parts on game days, so you definitely have to be good on your communication," Lawrence said.

Linebacker Nick Vigil said a lot of things that happened last week came down to communication, and it's something that has to be cleaned up.

"But to even have a chance in this league, everybody's got to be on the same page," Vigil said.

The Cardinals No. 1 defensive players didn't get to see action in preseason games as a whole, and that seemed to be an issue in Week 1.

"That was the first reps we've got as a group, you know, together. And I think it showed, early on in the game," Vigil said. "And so yeah, we've just got to be better in communication. Just make that a point of emphasis going forward."

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Joseph took responsibility for the defensive performance on Thursday and acknowledged that communication was an issue, but emphasized that it was only part of a bigger problem. Joseph felt the entire "operation" wasn't good enough despite the efforts of the players.

"We just didn't play fast. We couldn't get lined up, the calls were coming out slow, and we didn't play clean enough," Joseph said. "And (Kansas City) did. And when you play good people who are playing clean and you're not, it looks that way."

Joseph also affirmed Vigil's comments about the defense not having played together as a unit. He said he hoped the defense would play well because of what players showed in practice, but it didn't transfer to the game.

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The idea of not playing in the preseason could be re-evaluated, Joseph suggested, but added that there have been teams who have started the season playing well on defense after inaction in the preseason.

A key Sunday will be getting early stops, which won't be easy against a Raiders offense with standout skill position players.

"Confidence is everything, so playing your best ball early is really key. That speaks to the game plan working and it speaks to guys doing their jobs," Joseph said. "If you make them adjust early, that's a win for the defense. If you don't, they can look like last week."

Cornerback Marco Wilson said communication is about attention to detail.

"Communication is probably the most important thing on defense, so we've always got to be better with that," he said. "You can't miss the small things because they end up being big things."

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Get in touch with Jose Romero at Jose.Romero@gannett.com. Find him on Twitter at @RomeroJoseM. 

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals' defense working on improved communication in Week 2