How the Arizona Cardinals Changed Their Offense to Help Carson Palmer Succeed

The Arizona Cardinals throw the ball deep, and aim to do so often. That’s what head coach Bruce Arians does and who he’s always been as an offensive mind. Long vertical lines zig-zag throughout his playbook to manipulate secondaries into committing in one direction or the other.

That approach was limited somewhat by backup quarterback Drew Stanton when regular starter Carson Palmer missed a month due to a sleeping nerve in his shoulder. Stanton was still a fine replacement, with enough arm strength that Arians’ game plan didn’t need to be dismantled. But when he went down with a concussion and a raw Logan Thomas entered in Week 6, all thoughts of deep, sailing footballs vanished.

Now to stay atop the NFC West the Cardinals need a healthy Palmer. They need an energized Palmer and a quarterback who has a fully awake shoulder.

What they have instead right now is a quarterback who’s oh so close to full health and almost ready to reignite an offense that’s in its natural state with him operating at full capacity under center. But he’s not quite there yet.

That shows beyond arbitrary medical percentages, though after sifting through the numbers and game film the Cardinals’ estimate of 80-percent health for their quarterback is probably just about right.

Palmer returned for a 30-20 Week 6 win over the Washington Redskins Sunday that lifted the Cardinals to 4-1. The Palmer we saw was different, though, and more restricted. His arm strength was inconsistent, at times making quality, accurate deep throws and struggling with others.

That’s expected any time a quarterback has something sleeping in his shoulder, because shoulders are quite important for the act of throwing a football.

Palmer needed a month of rehabilitation and several appointments with specialists. He was able to log only a limited appearance on the practice field during the Cardinals’ final workout prior to their Week 6 game. At the time Arians had somewhat encouraging words, telling Darren Urban of Cardinals.com that his quarterback was throwing with decent velocity.

But his next words to Urban, while Palmer flew to Denver for another meeting with a specialist, weren’t quite as peachy.

“Honest to god, for the first time in 20 years, I really don’t know who’s starting,” he said. Gulp?

That gives you an idea of Palmer's condition prior to Sunday’s game, and the recovery yet to come.

So the Palmer we saw against the Redskins was a quarterback who could complete deep passes when asked and do so with accuracy. But by design, he wasn’t asked often.

Knowing the limitations of his quarterback, Arians cranked the knob on his vertical attack down to a more manageable level. Palmer still threw plenty and more than expected, with his 44 pass attempts being the third highest single-game total during his Cardinals tenure.

With that high volume of dropbacks and Palmer’s lack of mobility even when healthy, it’s surprising he wasn’t sacked more, especially when facing the Redskins' pass-rushing duo of outside linebackers Ryan Kerrigan and Brian Orakpo.

Palmer staying in an upright position for much of the game even while being blitzed on nearly 30 percent of his dropbacks shows how much the Cardinals offensive line has improved.

That blocking was easier with the pass distances shorter.

In 2013 Palmer passed for 4,274 yards at an average of 7.5 per attempt. Of that total, 2,554 yards came through the air (subtracting run-after-the-catch yardage), the third most air yards in the league according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

That shows both the level of Arians’ deep-ball love, and the juice still left in Palmer’s 34-year-old arm when healthy.

The mileage Palmer could get on that arm in Week 6 was much different. Against the Redskins he attempted only two passes that traveled at least 21 yards through the air, according to ESPN Stats and Information.

The restrictions placed on Palmer by Arians really showed with his passes either behind the line of scrimmage or within five yards. There were 22 of his 44 attempts in that category, which resulted in 66 percent of his completions.

	Attempts	Completions	Yards
Behind LOS	5	4	64
0 to 5 yards	14	8	48
6 to 10 yards	8	8	10

Taking that further, 27 of Palmer’s attempts traveled 10 yards or less, which is considerably higher than his average in 2013. A season ago, he threw 18.6 attempts per game at that distance, according to PFF.

The result Sunday was a per-attempt rate of 5.7 yards, another significant drop-off when compared to his other start this season during a Week 1 win over the San Diego Chargers. That ended with a per-attempt average of 8.2 yards, the seventh time Palmer averaged eight yards or more in a game with the Cardinals.

But he can still sling it, even if he wasn’t doing it as often after Arians put a restrictor plate on his offense. Palmer's 20-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Michael Floyd in the first quarter Sunday shows the different dynamic he brings to a vertical offense. His rainbows float deep, and they usually arrive at their intended destination even through tight traffic.

After advancing to Washington's 20-yard line the Cardinals faced a 1st-and-10. There would be no chipping away on the ground in the red zone here.

Floyd was part of a bunch set to the right with the muscle of two tight ends, which hinted strongly at a run. Tight end John Carlson sat offset and stacked behind the line of scrimmage, the standard hand tip for an off-tackle run.

Instead, Carlson stemmed off into the flat as an outlet, while the other tight end Rob Housler ran a deep middle hook to about the five-yard line. Floyd took a post route that angled in at the eight-yard line, while wideout Larry Fitzgerald broke his post off at the same distance on the opposite side.

As always, note the vertical lines.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

The routes run by Floyd and Housler are designed to force the safety—in this case Ryan Clark—to make a difficult decision and commit in a direction. Or at least lean ever so slightly.

That’s what Clark did when he planted with his back foot and favored Housler as Palmer was preparing to throw.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

The quarterback now had his window, but it was a narrow one. Yet this is an example of an essential completion in a Bruce Arians offense. Though Stanton proved capable, the Cardinals need a reliable set of veteran crosshairs for this throw if it’s to regularly result in a successful connection.

The ball came to rest in Floyd’s hands, clearing the outstretched arm of a defender in front while Floyd boxed out the cornerback behind him.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

A healthy Palmer changes the structure of Arizona’s offense with a deep and accurate arm that Arians can trust. His shoulder isn’t quite there yet, but he’s close, and the Cardinals’ upcoming schedule provides soft landing spots for an offense with a quarterback on the mend.

Over the next two weeks the Cardinals face a pass defense allowing an completion rate of 70.2 (Oakland Raiders in Week 7) and a secondary tied for third in passing touchdowns allowed at 13 (Philadelphia Eagles).

The deep looks will increase along with Palmer’s shoulder comfort. And, ideally, so will the wins.