Arizona Cardinals: Is Bruce Arians’ Offense Good for the Cardinals?

Bruce Arians wants to go down field.  and by down field he means plays of at least 20 yards.  Carson Palmer likes to go down field as a matter of fact he would prefer to do so.  Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, and Andre Roberts all have one thing in common.  The all like to catch the deep ball.  You put all three of these factors in at one time and you have the chance to create a really good down field offense.  As an added extra just about every running back on the roster has the ability to really excel in pass protection.  When you have a coach that likes to run two tight end sets a block back is a nice piece to have.

First play of the game on offense for the Cardinals was a sweet touch pass of 18 yards to Michael Floyd.  Next pass was that was thrown was a bomb to Andre Roberts which he dropped but would redeem himself on a play similar to the one in which he dropped for a 38 yard touchdown pass.  Another big play saw Larry Fitzgerald from the Cardinals half yard line on a deep comeback for 17 yards.  Now not all balls thrown 10+ yards are going to be for 20 or more yards, but to consistently get passes for big yards frequently trims the field down in a hurry. Arians calls a good football game as well.  Although he prefers to go deep, what he has in Palmer is real vital.  Something that the quarterbacks from last season did not posses. That is the ability to read a defense and make the right adjustments at the line of scrimmage.

One of the biggest keys to success for the Arizona Cardinals new offense is going to be the running game.  Play action will be key for the Arians led Red Bird offense in order to maximize their chances of successfully going down field with the ball.  About 4 yards per carry should do the trick, but as offensive and running backs know you want to strive to get that up.  The better you run the ball the effective play action will be. Another key will be the development of Rob Housler and the rest of the tight ends.  Housler is a speed guy and posses great size at 6’5 250lbs. If all falls into place Housler should have a good if not great year.  Palmer tends to use his tight ends often in a game and that should fit right into the scheme of things.

Before I wrap it up, I also want to mention that this offense also fits back up quarterback Drew Stanton.  He is a very reliable back up, who like Palmer is looking down field, just ask Calvin Johnson.  The one time Lions back up QB is fearless in the pocket and is much more accurate than Cardinals past back ups in John Skelton, Ryan Lindley and Brian Hoyer.   Could be safe to say he is the best back up quarterback in the division. 8/14 for 107 yards was the line on Stanton that puts him at about 13 yards per play.  With all this being said it seems as if Bruce Arians hit the jackpot with the Cardinals and with the improved O Line seems to be a great fir in the Desert.