Sunday in Seattle another challenge for Arizona Cardinals defense

A few weeks ago, Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph reflected on the gauntlet of top offenses and quarterbacks the team faced in the first three games and noted with a smile that he didn’t sleep much.

So it was that Joseph was asked Wednesday if he had ever imagined losing sleep this week preparing for Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith.

He quickly answered, “Not really.”

Joseph then said, “I didn’t watch Geno (earlier). I kinda heard the numbers. But watching him all week, he’s done some special stuff. Obviously, the guy’s talented. He was a second-round pick, should have been a first-round pick (nine) years ago, so time flies.

“But sometimes guys sit for a while and they kinda see the big picture and they learn from the past. He has done that. He’s playing controlled, he’s reading defenses, keeping plays alive. When you watch him, you can’t say it’s not real. It’s real. He is playing his butt off.”

Since starting 29 games for the Jets in his first two NFL seasons, Smith has mostly sat on his butt. Prior to this season, and since 2015, he had started only four games and three were with the Seahawks in 2021 when Russell Wilson was injured. Smith started one game in 2017, his only season with the Giants, and then played in five while attempting only four passes in 2018 with the Chargers.

In 2020 with Seattle, he played in one game and passed five times. However, the truth is, signs of what might be possible this season were there to see when he played last season. While the Seahawks were 1-2 in his three starts, both losses were by three points and in the four games he played, his completion percentage was 68.4 with five touchdown passes, one interception and a passer rating of 103.0.

In five games this season, Smith leads the NFL with a 75.2 completion percentage and 113.2 passer rating. His average per attempt of 8.31 is third in the league, while his touchdown percentage is sixth with nine TDs and interception percentage tied for fourth with only two.

Equally impressive is his third-down production. The Seahawks rank third in the league with a 48.2 conversion rate and on those plays he has completed 73.5 percent of his passes with two touchdowns, no interceptions, 8.71 yards per attempt and a passer rating of 119.2.

Smith is also a great bargain for the Seahawks. He’s playing on a 1-year contract worth $3.5 million that included a $1.26 million base salary, $500,000 signing bonus, $585,000 roster bonus, $50,000 workout bonus and $65,000 per-game roster bonuses that have a total value of $1.105 million.

Asked about Smith’s performance this season, Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said, “I love it. I’ve cheered for him a long time. (Texas State coach) Jake Spavital and (Houston coach) Dana Holgorsen, two close friends, coached him at West Virginia, so I used to watch him a bunch. His arm talent is tremendous, as good as anybody in the league. He went into a tough situation. I think quarterback of all positions is situational at times; where you get drafted and who they surround you with. It can go south in a hurry, but to show that type of mental toughness, the resiliency he’s shown, and the way he’s playing, you can see he has something to prove.

“You turn the tape on, I don’t care who you are, if you watch it and you didn’t know names, you’d think he’s a top-five guy. He’s playing that well. I think his OC (offensive coordinator Shane Waldron) has been tremendous at putting him in positions to be successful. I’m really proud of what he’s done honestly. Just knowing him like I do and just hope he has a really bad game Sunday.”

Said quarterback Kyler Murray, “I was a big Geno Smith fan (when) he was at West V. He’s playing real hot right now. He’s playing really well. We’ve got to be locked in this week because he’s playing probably some of the best football any quarterback in the league is playing right now. The defense will be ready. We’ve got to be ready on offense to put up points and we know that.”

Joseph added, “Geno has been playing at a high level. His arm talent is special. He can make every throw. He’s making big-time throws in traffic. He’s running around making broken plays and that’s scary.”

There were three examples of that in Seattle’s 39-32 loss to New Orleans last week when his mobility resulted in moving in the pocket or leaving it on two plays with one a designed bootleg.

The first was a 35-yard touchdown toss to wide receiver Tyler Lockett and the second came on a scramble to his left and a 50-yard touchdown connection with receiver DK Metcalf. The bootleg was also to his left and was a perfect throw over the coverage for 32 yards to tight end Noah Fant. Meanwhile, a 32-yard scoring pass to Metcalf on a scramble was nullified by a holding penalty.

Coach Pete Carroll said, “He’s been throwing like that. It’s fantastic that it is coming out in the game, and they are huge plays. Geno can throw everything. He can throw it all and we’ve always seen that. He’s always had a marvelous range of, through the motions and what he can do with the football. But it’s really exciting to see it happen in the game so naturally and so comfortably for him.”

Of course, the supporting cast is a large part of Smith’s success.

Lockett has 32 receptions for 406 yards and Metcalf, 28 for 372. Running back Rashaad Penny has rushed for 346 yards (6.1 average), but is out for the season after suffering a broken fibula and ligament damage against New Orleans.

However, rookie Kenneth Walker III scored on a 69-yard run against the Saints and has 146 rushing yards (6.3 average).

Walker missed significant time in the preseason because of a hernia injury and it showed when he went the wrong way on some plays earlier in the season.

He said those days are over: “I’m ready. We practice it every day. I feel real comfortable with the offense. I’ve got older running backs in there to teach me everything that I need to know, so I feel real comfortable in the scheme.”

Said Carroll, “He’s just getting comfortable with the timing of hitting the line of scrimmage, seeing the blocks at full speed, and he’s just getting comfortable. He’s going to get a lot better. He will get more and more feel working with the guys. He hasn’t had that many turns (23 carries) yet.”

DeeJay Dallas will move up the depth chart to RB2.

Joseph is impressed. He said, “Walker is a real dude. He’s made big plays in the league now. No one was close to catching him (on the long run). He’s a big-time back and I think with more opportunities, he’s going to get better.

“He is a special, special player. They may get better with this guy, I don’t know, but they’re doing it Pete’s way: running the football and taking shots, so it’s going to be a challenge. Stopping the run and keeping ’14’ (Metcalf) from beating you and ’16’ (Lockett) from beating you; it’s the plan. But to stop the running game first and take away those two receivers is an impossible task when you think about it.”

Clearly, the plan can be fine, but executing it is the key. As Joseph concluded, “That’s your game plan in this league. You have to stop their best players first. If you don’t you probably won’t win. That’s every week in this league. Everyone’s got guys and it’s a tough every week.”

Which means not a lot of sleep for embattled defensive coordinators.

The Eno and Keaontay Show

Kingsbury confirmed Friday that both running backs James Conner (ribs) and Darrel Williams (sprained MCL/knee) won’t play Sunday against Seattle. Running backs Corey Clement and Ty’Son Williams were signed to the practice squad this week, and Clement is expected to be elevated to the roster and be active. Kingsbury said, “It looks like Corey will be up.”

On Conner, Kingsbury said, “Hopefully next week, but we’ll see. For Williams, he said, “Next week may be pushing it, but hopefully soon thereafter.”

Eno Benjamin will start with rookie Keaontay Ingram his backup. This will be the first game active for Ingram. Clement, who has been cramming to learn some of the offense after arriving in Arizona earlier in the week, will at least play on special teams. Those units are missing Jonathan Ward, who injured his hamstring against the Eagles and was placed on reserve/injured.

After practice, Clement said he hadn’t been informed of the team’s plans and told gophnx.com, “I didn’t want to jump the gun early, but it will be good to suit up again and have some fun playing football.”

In his sixth NFL season, Clement played 17 games with the Cowboys in 2021, participating in 78 snaps on offense (6 percent) and 61 percent of the special-teams snaps. He became an unrestricted free agent in March and was signed by the Ravens on July 26 only to be released 20 days later.

Also out for the Cardinals are cornerback Trayvon Mullen Jr. (hamstring) and kicker Matt Prater (hip). Center Rodney Hudson (knee) took part in stretching and drills Friday, but wasn’t fully engaged. Kingsbury said Hudson’s status will be a game-day decision and added that the decision won’t be affected by the fact that the Cardinals play next Thursday against New Orleans. “If he can go, he’ll go,” Kingsbury said.

Cardinals double down on Ammendola

The team did more than keep kicker Matt Ammendola on the practice squad this week. They signed him to the roster, although that is obviously not for the long term. There is hope that Prater will be ready for next Thursday’s game against the Saints.

Still, it’s difficult to imagine coaches being confident sending him on the field for a crucial kick on the road in raucous Lumen Field. On one level, it’s understandable that there might be just as risky to bring in someone new again.

However, that’s what the Chiefs did when they released Ammendola from the practice squad after a 34-yard fourth-quarter miss against the Colts in Week 3. That game turned out to be Kansas City’s only loss this season. The Chiefs then signed Matthew Wright, who has made all eight of his extra points in two games and is 3-for-4 on field-goal attempts. He hit from 44 and 31 yards against Tampa Bay and although he missed from 41 Monday night against the Raiders, he did connect on a 59-yarder as time expired in the first half.

Kingsbury was asked this week what he thought of guard Justin Pugh’s support for Ammendola after last Sunday’s game.

“That’s the type of person he is since I’ve been here,” Kingsbury said. “Just to watch his emergence as a leader, I think has been impressive. Whatever we ask him to play, he’ll play: tackle, guard, center and he’s open to helping the team. That’s the type of cat he is, and the Jersey came out of him a little bit. It was a little R-rated, but that’s how he rolls. You like to see guys have each other’s back.”

As for the locker room being together, Kingsbury said, “Yeah, I think we have good guys. We have guys that, like I said, it’s bigger than football with a lot of these guys, man. They’re good people. They do good things in the communities, have families, and makes it really fun to coach and be around them.”

Next step for the defense

While noting that he believes the defense has improved, especially after the first-game disaster against Kansas City, Joseph was asked what the next step is for his group.

He said, “For us the next step is making plays that can turn games. Even on Sunday, the last drive, they had a third-and-12 and to not make that play, that hurt. Then we missed two critical tackles and a couple of mis-fits after that.

“We stopped them (without a touchdown), but at the cost of burning all three timeouts. The next step would be a dominant defense to stop that third down and give us time and timeouts. Making game-changing plays is the next step.”

Simmons putting Week 1 behind him

Joseph said he is “proud” of linebacker Isaiah Simmons, whose snaps have steadily increased after they were drastically slashed in Week 2 after the loss to the Chiefs.

“He’s practiced the way he’s played,” Joseph said. “That’s paid off for him. He’s a guy with big-time talent. He’s preparing the right way and it’s paying off for him. We are a better defense with him on the field. That’s shown the last few weeks. He can make plays other guys can’t make. He’s a natural eraser with his length and his speed. And he likes contact, so having him on the field makes us a better defense.”

He will be needed to make plays against the Seahawks Sunday.

Don’t hesitate to comment or ask questions on Twitter @hbalzer721 or email me: howard@gophnx.com