Adaptability is key for Kyler Murray, Cardinals offense under new OC Drew Petzing

TEMPE — Drew Petzing isn’t oblivious to the fact that the Arizona Cardinals have a franchise quarterback already on the books in Kyler Murray.

It was a definitive positive that stood out to the new Cardinals offensive coordinator during the team’s courtship with the former Cleveland Browns quarterbacks coach.

Petzing, however, understands there is much more that goes into an offense than a team’s signal caller.

“I think he’s a really talented player, that was one of the appealing things about this job to me was being able to work with a quarterback of his caliber,” Petzing said Thursday. “But it’s about the entire offense and ultimately the entire team.

“It’s not going to be just about him. He knows that, I think (Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon) knows that, I think as an organization we will preach that. We need to build a great offense and a great defense and a great special teams unit to go out and be successful. I think that’s really going to be the focus as we head into the season.”

One of the appealing parts of the #AZCardinals' OC job for Drew Petzing was getting to work with Kyler Murray.
 
"But ultimately, it's about the entire offense and ultimately the entire team. It's not going to be just about him.” (1/2) pic.twitter.com/Y0osVrss7h

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) February 23, 2023

But as his head coach likes to say, don’t get it twisted. Petzing may be taking an overarching approach to building the offense, but he wouldn’t be the guy if Gannon didn’t believe he could mesh with Murray.

The head coach made sure to emphasize who the team has under center for the foreseeable future and felt Petzing best fit the vision in mind to get the QB back on the up and up as he continues to rehab from a season-ending knee injury.

Still, working around Murray’s injury and his unknown recovery timeline will present hurdles for the coaching staff as it embarks on reconstructing an offense that floundered under head coach Kliff Kingsbury in 2022.

Luckily, Petzing’s previous stop with the Browns has further prepared him on remaining flexible and ready for anything this league might throw at him.

With starting quarterback Deshaun Watson suspended for the first 11 games of the season last year, Petzing went to work with backup option Jacoby Brissett.

The result was more than many expected, with Brissett turning in one of his best seasons as a pro behind 2,608 yards and 12 touchdowns to six interceptions on 64% passing. He also scored on the ground twice.

It’s all part of the name of the game that is the NFL.

“It speaks to the adaptability. It speaks to being able to adjust,” Petzing said. “Regardless of the circumstances, you got to find a plan and put a plan together to make sure that multiple people are ready to go. I think that’s the nature of the NFL business.

“Rarely, the first 11 you enter the field with in September end the season in January. You got to be ready to adjust and certainly the experience last year taught me a lot about how to do that and certainly going to use that knowledge here in Arizona.”

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