PFF: Cardinals have NFL’s sixth-best passing attack
It wasn't too long ago where the Arizona Cardinals had one of the most feared passing attacks in the NFL.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer (3) throws against the New Orleans Saints during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
It wasn’t too long ago where the Arizona Cardinals had one of the most feared passing attacks in the NFL.
With Carson Palmer at quarterback and Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown, Michael Floyd and J.J. Nelson the receivers, the Cardinals in 2015 were second in the league in passing yards and tied for third in touchdowns via the air.
Arizona slid a bit in 2016, however, with Palmer struggling to find consistency and only Fitzgerald being a reliable option. Floyd struggled with drops before being released, Brown battled through a sickle-cell trait and was a shell of his normal self, and Nelson was good at times, but largely inconsistent.
The Cardinals still managed to have the ninth-most passing yards in the league in large part due to running back David Johnson, whose 80 catches, 879 yards and four touchdowns supplemented Fitzgerald, who led all of football with 107 receptions that he turned into 1,023 yards and six scores.
Those two return, and with Brown healthy and Nelson taking another step forward, the Cardinals figure to once again have a good passing attack. Heading into the season, ProFootballFocus ranked Arizona’s passing game sixth overall.
RB David Johnson highlights the Cardinals at No. 6, as all he did in 2016 was field the highest receiving grade among all 62 qualifying running backs. His 92.6 grade was second across all positions, to only Julio Jones. QB Carson Palmer threw the third most TDs on quick passes (21), Larry Fitzgerald finished joint-second with 63 receptions from the slot, and the combination of J.J. Nelson and John Brown gives the Cardinals receiving threats that start to stack up. Can Nelson and Brown increase their yards per route run from last season? If so, watch out NFC West.
Palmer being effective with short passes makes sense, as the Cardinals adjusted their passing attack last season to feature more quick routes as the offensive line struggled to hold up.
That said, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians would like to throw the ball down the field, which is where Brown — who averaged 13.3 yards per catch last season, and Nelson, who was at 16.7, come into play.
Along with those players, the Cardinals will also count on Jaron Brown, who is coming back from a torn ACL, and tight ends Jermaine Gresham and Troy Niklas. Chad Williams, a third-round pick out of Grambling State, and Brittan Golden, who had a good offseason, could also make an impact this season.
Ranked ahead of the Cardinals on the list are the New England Patriots, who claimed the top spot, along with the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Related
Larry Fitzgerald gets his forever threads in touching gold jacket dinner, moves closer to Hall of Fame immortalization
Carson Beck’s debut reignited intrigue surrounding Arizona Cardinals
Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald a true GOAT amongst GOATs
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell tabs Cardinals’ Budda Baker as ‘on the cusp’ of a Hall of Fame player
Carson Beck among Cardinals’ big winners from Hall of Fame game
Cardinals’ Carson Beck aces 1st big NFL test with Hall of Fame game showing
Comments
7 Comments
I"ve been saying this all off-season, AZ has one of the best offenses in the NFL. Palmer wasnt the problem last year, the O-Line was as he no pass protection hit more than any other NFL QB yet still somehow played at a Pro-Bowl level over 2nd Half of last season once BA adjusted his offense.
Now that Palmer will have excellent pass-protection in front of him, he will be back playing at an Elite All-Pro caliber level again as long as he is protected. When Protected Palmer is a top 5 QB in BA's offense, when he isn't he is AVG.
ARI has surrounded Palmer with a ton of weapons as well & elite speed, AZ has more speed at WR than any other team in the NFL in John Brown (4.31), JJ Nelson (4.27), Jaron Brown (4.39-4.41), Chad Williams (4.34), Aaron Dobson (4.33) with Fitzgerald working out of the slot, and at 6"3/220 he is a massive mismatch out of the slot.
Palmer will have an Elite rushing offense as well w/ the best RB in the NFL who doubles as a truly elite WR in RB David Johnson (4.45), Rookie RB TJ Logan was the fastest RB in the draft (4.36 40) excelling both as an inside & outside runner but he has a ton of value also doubling as a True WR with excellent hands and was also the top KR in the country last year. At TE ARIs 6"5 Jermaine Gresham excels as a receiving TE as does a now fully healthy 6"7 Troy Niklas who could have a very big season if he can stay healthy, which is massive question mark.
Overall though, AZ has a extremely talented loaded elite top 5 caliber offense, pair that with a top 5 defense that is stacked with talent including a bunch of premiere talents, and AZ shouldn't have any trouble contending in the NFC as a top playoff contender winning 10-13 games as long as they stay healthy.
As long as Palmer is protected, which he will be so as long as the linemen stay healthy, Palmer will return to playing at the level he did in 2015, he just needs protection and a clean pocket, keep the trash away from his feet.
Arizona is going to be able to put a lot of pressure on defenses this year. With more speed than any other roster in the league w/ speedsters such as John Brown (4.31) & JJ Nelson (4.27) will be the starters most likely but Jaron Brown (4.39-4.41), Chad Williams (4.34), Aaron Dobson (4.33) (esp Chad Williams I think for a rookie he will have a big role as talented as he is) Arizona will be to put a tremendous amount of pressure on defenses & no defense in the NFL has enough quality DBs to shut down all of those guys, that in turn is going to open up things underneath for Fitz, David Johnson, TJ Logan (who has blazing long speed n runs a 4.36 40), Jermaine Gresham etc.
All that speed also will open things up for the RBs & David Johnson as they aren't going to stack the box with a passing game as lethal as AZs, making life far easier on David Johnson.
I really like how Arians/Keim have built this defense, it is designed to put tremendous pressure on a defense at all 3 levels. As long as Palmer is protected, Arizona will have a very, very explosive offense this next season but protection is crucial.
also , last season Palmer had to deal with a lot of injury to his WR's injuries and a drinking problem really limited what and who Palmer could pass to.
Looking to this season, to see Palmer have a great year !