Cardinals’ special teams’ coordinator Jeff Rodgers did a fabulous job this past season in improving the unit’s performance from the worst in the NFL in 2017 to 5th best in 2018.
Two of the main reasons why were undrafted rookie free agents Dennis Gardeck (Sioux Falls) and Zeke Turner (Washington), who combined for 23 tackles and punt block TD.
Down the stretch last year, I was hoping that the coaches would play Gardeck and Turner as the ILB tandem in their defense—-but it never happened.
Gardeck caught my attention in the first pre-season game when at MIKE LB he recorded 5 tackles in the second half versus the Chargers, and his superb TD saving tackle on QB Nik Simonek three yards from the goal line sealed the Cardinals’ 24-17 victory.