Nearly a decade has passed by since the Arizona Cardinals last won a game in the Playoffs, but within the organization, there’s optimism that the tide may be turning in their favor. The NFC West feels as open as ever, the defense is chock-full of new faces who figure to make a huge impact immediately upon their arrival, and the offense is primed for a breakout… or so we’ve been told.
At the very least, there is a cohesive plan in place for an offense led by a dynamic, albeit inconsistent quarterback (Kyler Murray), one of the leagues very best tight ends (Trey McBride), a second-year top five overall pick at receiver (Marvin Harrison) and one of the league’s most frustratingly consistent rushing attacks (led by James Conner) to make said leap.
To get to the point where everything comes together and the talent and potential of this group is actually realized, the Cardinals need to strive for what I’d like to call the Three C’s of Success… Continuity, Communication and Contingency. Although they haven’t given it an admittedly cheesy name like I have, this is exactly what the Cards have been working for in the offseason.
‘Continuity’ — Familiar Faces Return on Cardinals Offense
While Cardinals fans have likely spent much of the offseason getting familiar with all of the new additions on the defensive side of the ball, there won’t be a steep learning curve when watching Arizona’s offense.
Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com notes that in 2025, the Cardinals will be returning 18 of the 20 players who started at least one game for them in 2024, and 10 of their 11 starters from Week 1 in 2024 are expected to be Week 1 starters when this season begins. Additionally, offensive coordinator Drew Petzing will be returning for his third season with the team.
In addition to not having to get so many new faces up to speed with a new playbook to start a new season, there are additional benefits to returning so many players from a unit that finished 11th in total offense the season prior.
“There’s some conversations that you’re skipping over because you’ve already had them so you can dive into some of the deeper details of the job in a lot of different areas, which has been great,” Petzing told ESPN.
Second-year guard Evan Brown, who took over the starting job for the injured Will Hernandez in Week 6 last year, didn’t have this luxury last year. But with a full season of experience under his belt, he was able to explain how important it is to have such familiarity and trust with his teammates.
“It’s just invaluable because things move that much faster when you’re on the same page,” Brown said. “You see what’s happening, and you can trust the person next to you that’s going to be out there. So, it’s just if you can do one thing just a little bit better, a little bit faster, man, two inches in the O-line game and pass and run can make a world of difference.”
‘Communication’ — In-Depth Conversations Now Second-Nature in Cardinals Locker Room
This continuity leads to the next ‘C’ in this exercise… when you’re working with the same guys from one year to the next, the Communication among teammates and coaches is inevitably improved and streamlined.
Starting center Hjalte Froholdt, who has started 34 games for Arizona over the last two seasons, shed some light how even in the moments where there are missteps or mess-ups, the communication among teammates who are familiar with one another allows the team to get to the root of the problem quicker.
“Communication is good and even if there’s a mistake — mistakes happen,” Froholdt said. “It’s still quick to be like, ‘Hey I need to do that better.’ Or you can identify your own mistakes before you even talk to somebody. It was like ‘Hey, I messed up. It was supposed to be this because I didn’t check to that properly quick enough,’ instead of coach coming over and being like, ‘Hey did you see the nickel?’ And he’s like, ‘No.’ So, everybody communicates, so that’s really awesome to be a part of.”
‘Contingency’ — Identifying the Secondary Options
With their communication fast-tracked, that also means the Cardinals offense has been able to focus on the “contingency plans” within their offense. The continuity of the group has allowed the Cardinals offense to better identify the looks their seeing, and thus, they’re able to identify the options they have to counter quicker than normal.
Now, if you can focus on the tiny details, that gets you just that much better,” Evan Brown added.
Petzing agreed that these conversations have happened earlier in camp than expected, and as a result, rather than spending so much time during the early days of camp working on logistical tasks like where players are supposed to be lined up and what the progression of each play should be, it’s allowed the team to move faster through their installs.
Whether all of these ‘C’s’ help Kyler Murray take his game to another level, allow Marvin Harrison to bounce back after a disappointing rookie season, or keep Trey McBride on the top tier of tight ends remains to be seen, but for now, there are high hopes internally that the Cardinals season could potentially result in another C… championship.
The Three ‘C’s’ to Success for the Cardinals Offense in 2025