The Cardinals went to great lengths this past offseason to upgrade a porous pass defense, making ex-Steelers CB Bryant McFadden their only major free-agent addition and selecting a pair of defensive backs with two of their first four draft picks (third-round S Rashad Johnson and fourth-round CB Greg Toler).

But while there's still plenty of time to turn things around, daily team observers would have a hard time justifying a passing grade for the team's secondary up to now.

Through a quarter of the season, the Cardinals were ranked 32nd in passing yards allowed and were on pace to give up 36 TD passes — the same number that led the league last year by a wide margin.

"One big problem has been the inability to pressure the quarterback, with the lack of an elite pass rusher clearly being felt in coverage," said one team insider.

But a much bigger problem has been the secondary's across-the-board inconsistency, with nobody illustrating the unit's up-and-down nature more than second-year LCB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who wore goat horns and a hero's wreath in consecutive games against the Colts and Texans, respectively.

"The team wasn't happy at all after he blew a coverage on a TD by (Colts WR) Reggie Wayne (in a 31-10 shellacking by the Colts) — a play that they had specifically worked on in practice leading up to the game," the insider said.

"Then he turns around and makes the game-winning play (a 49-yard interception return for a high-stepping TD) against Houston.

"He's just been very inconsistent, and the coaches expect a lot more out of him. They want him to practice at a high level all of the time and realize that he can't always make up for mistakes with his terrific speed.

"But with eight interceptions in his first 19 starts (including playoffs), he's obviously a dynamic talent."

As for McFadden, while he's definitely considered an upgrade from the departed Rod Hood on the right corner, he has been far from a dynamic improvement.

"He's been solid at best," the insider said. "He hasn't been 100 percent because of an ankle problem and has missed some tackles. But he had his best game against Houston, and the team would be happy if he plays that well all the time."

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