Before the season even started, Jonathan Gannon was quizzed and questioned multiple times about his pass rush and how the Cardinals would keep up -- questions that got more frequent when BJ Ojulari and then Darius Robinson got hurt, questions that flared before the trade deadline and even lingered after the deal for veteran Baron Browning.
But as good as Kyler Murray and the offense has been during the Cardinals' four-game winning streak, it is the defense that has played at a level few expected. In that month, the Cardinals are third in the league allowing only 14.3 points a game, and are tied for third with 13 sacks with a top-10 ranking in passer rating allowed.
Gannon was philosophical in explaining why he had been so confident in his team's potential getting after the quarterback.
"It takes time," Gannon said. "A lot of guys are playing multiple spots (with) different guys in and out of the lineup and the continuity of the guys that are playing right now. I get it. I know, Rome is a great city. It wasn't built in a day, but I understand there is a tangible clock on all of us.
"I think if you trust your process and continue to make your process a little bit better and you've got the right people in place, good things should happen."
The coach has more than once noted that he thought the Cardinals needed to "affect the quarterback" more often. No one is going to say the Cards are one of the top pass-rushing teams. But it is fair to say that one of the points Gannon and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis often emphasize -- the marriage between pass rush and coverage -- is up at a high level right now. The schemes are good, and the players are executing well.
Safety Budda Baker got his first sack against the Jets. Second-year man Dante Stills -- who was actually a healthy scratch one game earlier this season -- leads the team with 3.5 sacks, with a laundry list of guys who have notched one this season.
Browning had a couple of pressures in his first game and he figures to only improve.
That's the script Gannon planned on all along.
"I was confident in the coaches," Gannon said. "I was confident in the players, and I think that they've done a good job to all kind of step up their game. They're playing better individually and collectively right now. It takes all those guys."
