The Arizona Cardinals might be 3-0, but there appears to always be room for improvement. Safety Kerry Rhodes indicated as much after practice on Thursday. Jose Youngs of Arizona Sports files this report.
"We know we're not great and we know we're not where we want to be yet," Rhodes said after practice on Thursday. "We've got work to do and we've come out these first two practices and have gotten after it. So, nobody is slacking off. We'll be ready to go."
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"Coming into the year we knew we had the potential to be one of the better defenses and we came into camp and had a lot of swagger and had a lot of confidence," said Rhodes. "But I think the best thing for us was the preseason when we went out and didn't play that well. It let us know we had to come out and be prepared every game and be ready to go every game. I think that helped us out a lot."
The Cardinals have indeed responded very well to the early calls to playing better defensively after a horrid start to the preseason, where Arizona gave up the most points in the league. The Cardinals have only allowed 13.3 points per game, second-fewest in the league. The defense is allowing 33% on third downs and has 12 sacks on the season from seven different players. And it isn't just shrimp offenses they've been cutting down on; Arizona has put down New England and Philadelphia, two of the most highly regarded offenses in the country.
Against Miami, there will be different threats. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill is one of them, but the Dolphins offensive line has proven to be effective at minimizing the pass rush, allowing only two sacks and giving Tannehill the chance to throw the football.