PERSONNEL NEWS

Strategy And Personnel

The Sports Xchange

October 25, 2018 at 12:12 am.

PLAYER NOTES

–LG Mike Iupati (back) and RG Justin Pugh (hand) each were able to practice on a limited basis on Wednesday after both players missed last Thursday night’s game against Denver. That’s a good sign they could be ready for Sunday’s home game against the 49ers.

–FS Tre Boston (ribs/shoulder) did not practice on Wednesday and there’s a good chance he will miss his second consecutive game, especially with the bye week looming ahead to give him some extra time to recover. Boston’s absence was noticeably felt during the Cardinals’ 45-10 loss to the Broncos last week when second-year pro Rudy Ford, getting the start in place of Boston, got caught out of position on what turned out to be a 64-yard scoring play on a deep pass from Case Keenum to Emmanuel Sanders.

“Rudy was inconsistent,” head coach Steve Wilks said. “I thought he did some good things, but of course, when you come out of the post right there and you give up a big play, that’s unacceptable. It was a lack of communication out there, not just with Rudy, but with the other 10 guys as well.”

–With Tre Boston still hurting and Rudy Ford being largely responsible for a back-breaking touchdown in last week’s loss to the Broncos, the Cardinals wasted no time in bringing in another safety. On Monday, the team signed six-year veteran Eddie Pleasant, who has appeared in 78 games for the Texans since entering the league with Houston in 2012 as an undrafted free agent out of Oregon.

“He’s smart,” head coach Steve Wilks said. “I know that just from talking to guys around the league. He’s a very physical guy. Again, with Tre being out, we need that kind of body back there, a physical guy that’s smart, that can get lined up, that can learn this system quickly and I think he can bring that.”

–WR Larry Fitzgerald (hamstring) did not practice on Wednesday, although he hasn’t missed any games since suffering the injury just before the start of the regular season.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: CB Patrick Peterson undoubtedly will have all eyes upon him Sunday at State Farm Stadium following news that he has been asking the Cardinals to trade him. A 30-minute meeting with team president Michael Bidwill apparently was enough to calm Peterson down and recommit his efforts to the team, but he clearly isn’t happy and it will be interesting not only to see how the home crowd treats him, but how Peterson responds against the 49ers’ wide receivers. If he ever needed one of his complete, shut-down games, this one is it.

GAME PLAN: Offensively, there clearly will be some new wrinkles to the game plan now that Byron Leftwich has replaced Mike McCoy as offensive coordinator. According to rookie quarterback Josh Rosen, the biggest difference will be putting more of a focus on what the team does well, which could be hard to distinguish as the Cardinals haven’t been able to do anything well in actual game settings. An extra emphasis will be put on protection, however, as both Rosen and head coach Steve Wilks acknowledged Arizona will employ some max protection on the line to help get the running game going for David Johnson, who has yet to run for 100 yards in a game this season.

Defensively, the Cardinals’ biggest problem three weeks ago when they met the 49ers was defending the perimeter, especially on runs to the outside and screen passes and short dumps to the far left or right. The Cardinals need to do a much better job with their gap integrity, but also with quickly swarming to the ball. Keep an eye on the safeties, where their best performer this season, Tre Boston, figures to miss his second game with rib and shoulder injuries. Rudy Ford made a handful of mistakes in replacing Boston and it will be interesting to see how much time newcomer Eddie Pleasant may or may not get if Ford struggles again.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH

–Cardinals RB David Johnson vs. 49ers MLB Fred Warner. Johnson is still waiting to notch his first breakout game of 2018 and there could be no better time for him to do it then against Warner, San Francisco’s rookie Mike linebacker. Warner only had three tackles when the teams met three weeks ago and Johnson has been getting hungrier and hungrier to start pounding the ball. He’ll get extra help this week as the Cardinals plan to give him one or two extra blockers at the line of scrimmage.

–Cardinals DE Chandler Jones vs. 49ers LT Joe Staley. Jones had a gigantic game against the 49ers three weeks ago, mostly lining up against Staley and getting a strip sack, three tackles for losses, a fumble recovery and a couple of batted-down passes, one of which wiped out a 49ers’ two-point conversion attempt. Jones has been steady all season but feels a monster game is coming soon. Staley will have to be at his best to prevent that from happening on Sunday.