Between the Lines: Cardinals Line Keeps Warner Clean, Pave Way to Playoffs

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The last time the Cardinals won a division title, Jim Hart was throwing to Terry Metcalf and Mel Gray. In between there has been a franchise move, 30+ years of ineptness, one Jake Plummer-led playoff win and years of disappointments.

But here they are, having wrapped up a playoff spot with three weeks still to go in the season. It hasn't hurt that the Cardinals play in the NFC West, but Arizona has made some pretty clear steps forward, as they showed by beating Dallas and Miami earlier this season.

What impresses me is how the Cardinals went out and fixed the team's most glaring problem. Back in the Denny Green days, Arizona had a solid quarterback (Kurt Warner), a big money free agent tailback (Edgerrin James), two outstanding receivers (Anquan Boldon and Larry Fitzgerald), but they were hamstrung by an awful offensive line.The Cardinals couldn't run the ball on anyone, and Kurt Warner was in danger of being broken in two every time he dropped back to pass.

Four years later, the Cardinals still struggle to run the ball, but they have fixed their pass protection problems. Warner has been sacked 20 times this season, which ranks 11th best in the league. But when you consider how often the Cardinals throw the ball (a league-high 510 attempts), the Cardinals' sack rate is actually eighth best in the league. And after a poor start to the season in which Arizona allowed 12 sacks in the first four games, the Cardinals have allowed only eight sacks in the past nine games, an average of one sack for every 45.75 attempts.

So how have they done it? I went back and watched the Cardinals Week 14 win against the Rams, as well as their debacle against the Jets in Week 4, plus portions of the to get a better idea as to what's been fixed with the Cardinals. In watching the three games, it's apparent that the line is a well-coached unit (credit to Russ Grimm) that has benefited from consistency. In the past, the Cardinals kept shuffling the offensive line personnel to try to fix the problems. Now, they have a front five that have started every game this year.

Headed In The Right Direction
Year	Sacks	Att./Sack
2005	45	14.89
2006	38	15.57
2007	24	24.58
2008	20	25.50

The Cardinals have largely fixed the problems through turning to youth. Arizona drafted Levi Brown in the first round in 2007, and he's been a starter at right tackle since day one. Right guard Deuce Lutui was a second-round pick out of Southern California in 2006. He became a starter during his rookie year, lost some weight (down from 370 pounds in college to 335 pounds now) and has been a consistent starter for three years. Lyle Sendlein, an undrafted free agent from Texas in 2007, beat out expected starter Al Johnson to start every game at center this year.

Reggie Wells, a 2003 sixth-round pick, is the veteran of the line and the one consistent starter who stretches back to the days when Kurt Warner was running for his life, while Mike Gandy, a 2007 free agent acquisition, has been the left tackle for the past two years. Not coincidentally, Warner's sack rate improved dramatically in 2007.

In watching the Cardinals attempt to run the ball, it's apparent that this is still not a great run-blocking unit. The Cardinals front five are good at getting in front of defenders, but they generate little push, so the holes are more accurately described as miniscule creases. But when it comes to pass blocking, it's an athletic group that can handle man-to-man matchups while knowing their assignments well enough to pick up blitzes or hand off stunts.

Well, it would be more accurate to say that there are four members of the line athletic enough to handle man-to-man matchups. Levi Brown may be the player on the line with the best pedigree (he was the fifth pick in the 2007 draft), but he's also the one member of the line who looks overmatched at times. In rewatching the Cardinals games I have saved, Brown gave up seven of the nine sacks. He was a disaster against the Jets, giving up four of the five sacks the Cardinals allowed. He allowed the only sack that Arizona gave up against the Rams and both sacks the Cardinals allowed against the Panthers. On all seven sacks, Brown was beaten to the outside on speed rushes. Of the other two sacks I logged, Lutui gave up one and Sendlein gave up the other.

Coming out of Penn State, Brown was projected to be a left tackle, but he moved to right tackle with the Cardinals, supposedly so he could protect lefthander Matt Leinart's blind side. Warner has been starting for the past two seasons, but there's been no talk of moving Brown to left tackle because he's simply not the blocker that Gandy is. Brown's problem as a right tackle is the quickness of his feet. Brown also has six false starts this year, while the rest of the line has four false starts, which is both a sign of concentration issues, but also of his worries that he'll be able to beat speed rushers to the corner.

From what I've seen, Gandy has been very, very good. He's consistently protected Warner's blind side, showing the ability to send rushers on past Warner while Warner helps out by stepping up. He's also been flagged for only one hold and one false start in 13 games. The Cardiinals paid him well to snag him in free agency, but it was money well spent. Inside, Lutui (three holds, two false starts), Sendlein (one hold, one false start) and Wells (no penalties all year) have been very solid, with Wells, a former tackle, being especially good in pass blocking.

What's most notable about this group is that they should stay together for a while. Brown, Lutui and Sendlein are all 25 or younger, while the 29-year-old Gandy is the old man of the line. Gandy and Lutui are under contract through 2009, Sendlein is under the Cardinals control through at least 2009, and will only be a restricted free agent in 2010; Wells is signed through 2010 and Brown is locked up through 2012. So as long as Warner forgets that he's getting old and he has the receivers to throw to, the offensive line should be in place to keep Arizona battling for playoff spots in years to come.