The Arizona Cardinals made great strides defensively in 2011 under the direction of defensive coordinator Ray Horton. The defensive unit was the driving force for a 7-2 finish to the season after starting the year 1-6. The defense made John Skelton look like a savior. They made improvements across the board. They hope to be even better.
Fox Sports writer Adam Schein is jumping on the Ray Horton bandwagon and believes that the Cardinals will have one of the season's more dominating defenses. He tweeted this:
My sleeper dominant defense is Arizona. Look at how they played in the 2nd half. Great young talent. Well coached under Ray Horton.
— Adam Schein (@AdamSchein) July 8, 2012
Horton himself expects his defense to be in the top 10 of the league. He knows the schemes work and he trusts the players to execute them, especially now that they have had a full season and offseason to master it.
With established veterans in Darnell Dockett, Adrian Wilson and Kerry Rhodes and budding young stars in Calais Campbell, Daryl Washington and Patrick Peterson, the personnel is there.
They have depth at defensive back and veteran guidance in Clark Haggans and Vonnie Holliday. In Sam Acho and O'Brien Schofield, they have hungry youth with potential.
The team is poised to me dominant as Schein believes. If so, a postseason berth is not out of the question, regardless the offensive performance. The defense is planning on playing like it has to do it. We will see.
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