Arizona Cardinals: Five keys to winning NFC West

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October 6, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle D.J. Humphries (74) during the first quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the 49ers 33-21. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

Protect the quarterback

One of the reasons for Palmer’s success in 2015 was the ability of the Cardinals offensive line to protect him. He was sacked just 25 times in 2015.

That number skyrocketed to 40 in 2017. There were plenty of other times when Palmer was running for his life and avoided a number of official sacks.

Not every sack was the fault of the offensive line last season. There were some instances early on in 2016 that Palmer held the ball too long and caused a sack.

A big part of that was again due to health. There was a lot of shifting players along the line last season. Left tackle Jared Veldheer was lost half-way through the season.

This season looks to see improvement though. Veldheer likely moves to right tackle with D.J. Humphries moving to left tackle. Humprhies saw some success at left last season and is more natural for him.

The Cardinals drafted a couple of big guys on the line in Pittsburgh’s Dorain Johnson (6’5, 305) and Vanderbilt’s Will Holden (6’7, 312). Some consider both steals in the draft.

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