Arizona Cardinals Playbook Changes Will Be Minor, Unless...

The topic this article is supposed to address is how staff and player personnel changes are going to impact the Arizona Cardinals’ playbook in 2009.

Defensively, the answer is easy. New defensive coordinator Bill Davis, in accordance with head coach Ken Whisenhunt’s desire to embrace his inner Bill Cowher; is installing the finishing touches on a 3-4 defense for the team, moving away from the hybrid defense deployed by former coordinator Clancy Pendergast.

The thoughts internally are that the hybrid did not fully utilize the players’ strengths. At times last season it seemed that the players were flat out confused by their assignments on given plays.

The hope is that the 3-4 will create more pass-rushing opportunities for outside linebackers Chike Okeafor, who has proven to be a viable pass rusher throughout his career, Clark Haggans, a veteran of the 3-4 from his days in Pittsburgh, and rookie Cody Brown. The two fundamental advantages of the 3-4 are that it’s harder for offensive linemen to correctly identify their blocking assignments pre-snap and it creates more mental pressure on the quarterback, who’s not sure which side the pressure will come from.   

Offensively, the topic of how coaching and player personnel changes will impact the team’s playbook is damn near impossible to address at the end of May. Whereas philosophical shifts on defense make it easier to pinpoint changes, much of a team’s offensive game plan is determined by how specific scenarios, such as injuries or positional battles, play out.

The 2009 Cardinals, in particular, will base much of their offensive game-planning on their player personnel, not their coaching staff’s philosophy.

Sure, I could tell you that head coach Ken Whisenhunt has repeatedly vocalized his desire for a more well-balanced offense during his two-plus years as the team’s head coach, and that his decision to promote the gritty Russ Grimm to running game coordinator seems to indicate a renewed emphasis on this desire.

But then I’d have to tell you that plans to feature the running game more prominently have been laid out, then all but abandoned when the season started in each of the past two years. Whisenhunt has shown a willingness to put his ego on the back-burner during his tenure with the Cardinals; when he realized that the team’s best chance to win was to let Kurt Warner put the ball in the air and let one of the team’s two Pro-Bowl caliber receivers come down with it, that’s what he did.

The team’s offense has been prolific even without a solid running game. Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, with an occasional cameo from Steve Breaston, have been so good that, even though defensive coordinators know the ball is going in the air, they still have had no answers.

The running game, for the most part, has been an after-thought for much of the past two years. There are some who make the argument that the battle to be the starting running back will be a key battle in this year’s training camp. I disagree for two reasons. One is that the current trend in the NFL is to platoon at running back, so the line between “starter” and “back up” is growing ever more blurry and both will get their fair share of carries. The other more important point, as I stated above, is that the Cardinals, as things stand right now, will go only as far as their passing game takes them.  

With all due respect to Beanie Wells, he is about to enter his rookie season, so expecting him to be the “home run hitter” out of the backfield Whisenhunt is seeking, particularly right out of the gates, is unrealistic. And while Tim Hightower emerged as a reliable runner, particularly near the end zone, last season, I am fairly confident that his niche as a goal line back is about as far as his career with the Cardinals will go.

As the roster currently stands, the offensive game plan is fairly obvious: Early in the game, the team will heavily favor the pass, with an occasional running play thrown in just to keep the defense guessing. If the team has a double-digit lead in the second half, the attack will be scaled back to feature more running plays and short underneath passes for Boldin, with the goal being to keep the clock running as much as possible.      

That said, there are several scenarios that could force the team to re-think this strategy. Two in particular stand out.

One is an injury to Kurt Warner. No disrespect to Matt Leinart, but the reason the team's passing game, particularly the deep passing game, is so dangerous is because of Warner’s ability to read defenses downfield and make the right decisions; the same pass made by Warner and Leinart would be considered smart for the former and risky for the latter.

It comes down to trust, and Warner has built that trust with the coaching staff, Leinart has not. Therefore, Warner has more influence on a coaching staff that is conservative by nature, and he often can impose his will in calling for more passing plays. If Leinart is forced to play, there could be a renewed emphasis on conservative play calling and thus on the running game, in which case we’d quickly find out what the platoon of Wells and Hightower are really made of.

The other major scenario that could influence offensive play calling is the continuing soap opera that is Anquan Boldin. Just as there is little doubt that Larry Fitzgerald is firmly entrenched as the team’s number one wide receiver, there is little doubt that Boldin is the more versatile of the two. In fact, he has taken to calling himself a “football player” instead of a wide receiver in the last year or two, and the distinction is appropriate.

Because of his size and background as a quarterback, Boldin gives the team more opportunities for trickery. They can run him out of the backfield, they can use him for short underneath routes and passes over the middle, he can even throw a pass. His presence must be accounted for at all times by opposing defenses.

If his situation with the team is not amicably resolved and Boldin either holds out for a significant chunk of time (sitting out nine games would automatically make him a free agent next season, though it would also cost him a lot of money) or is traded, a significant shift in philosophy would occur, and Whisenhunt, Grimm, and passing game coordinator Mike Miller would be able to once again embrace their conservative Pittsburgh roots. 

But as the old adage goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Barring any major injuries or roster turnover, the Cardinals are unlikely to stray too far away from the passing game, which has been their bread and butter over the last two years. In this scenario, any playbook changes will likely be minor.

But then again, it’s only the end of May. Week one is a long way away.