Watch: Arizona’s 0-6-5 sub defense package
Vance Joseph has quietly put together one of the league’s best defenses through six weeks. The Arizona Cardinals were ranked among the top teams in many defensive categories coming into Week 6 – as highlighted in this article from Cards Wire – and after their performance Monday night against the Dallas Cowboys, some of those numbers are sure to improve.
Studying what they have done on that side of the football through their first six games, I noticed something interesting from their past few contests. In long yardage situations, the Cardinals rolled out a 0-6-5 defensive package. No down linemen, six linebackers and five defensive backs. They have only used it a handful of times, starting in their game against the Carolina Panthers, but they used it more against both the New York Jets and the Cowboys in such down-and-distance situations.
What this grouping does is a couple of things. It allows them to rely on quickness and athleticism up front, as they can use stunts and twists with more athletic linebackers rather than defensive linemen as a way to generate pressure. But with five defensive backs they can still play solid coverage numbers in the secondary.
Another component of this? Rookie Isaiah Simmons. There have been questions about his role with Arizona and the fact that the Cardinals have not used him a ton, but in these packages his versatility has a home. He can be used in man coverage in tight ends, or even as a deep safety or middle runner in Cover 2 schemes.
In this video breakdown, we’ll look at four examples of this package in action:
Now again, the Cardinals have only used this a handful of times. Less than ten by my charting. But it is interesting to monitor, and I am curious to see if they use it more going forward. It allows them to be athletic up front, to have numbers in the secondary, and to carve out a role for Simmons, their rookie defender.
If they do keep using it, another question emerges: How will offenses adjust?
