Cardinals Offense is Different - Kyler Murray Knows It

Kyler Murray wanted the Arizona Cardinals a little less out of shotgun before the new regime got here.

Sep 25, 2022; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury talks with Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) during the second half of the game against the Los Angeles Rams at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports / Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

ARIZONA -- You don't have to search far and wide to find the differences between current Arizona Cardinals play-caller Drew Petzing and the previous placeholder Kliff Kingsbury.

Kingsbury - hired fresh out of the collegiate ranks - instilled a shotgun-friendly offense that was designed to spread defenses out. Petzing, in his first season at the helm in the desert, utilized quarterback Kyler Murray more under center with a run-first approach in mind.

The differences between the two coordinators (well, Kingsbury was the head coach in Arizona before now transitioning to a coordinator job in Washington after being fired) are fairly stark.

More than anybody, Murray himself would know after now having experience working with both.

Despite dealing with an ACL injury in the first half of 2023, Murray returned to action for the final eight games of the season and - all things considered - looked fairly good in Petzing's new-look offense.

Arizona established one of the better rushing attacks in the league last year, even in Murray's absence. With their mobile quarterback now up and ready for a full season, there's hope it can even expand.

The success we saw with the Cardinals' shift in offensive approach and philosophy is something Murray wanted previously with Kingsbury, according to the quarterback's latest appearance on Wolf and Luke.

"The first couple years [in Arizona] I asked to do a little bit more of it because I feel like we had tendencies. Obviously with the former regime, it was a lot of shotgun, a lot of 'air raid' and stuff like that. Teams could kind of go off tendencies. When you get under center you got to respect the run," Murray said.

"You got to respect outside zone, you got to respect play action. You can't see the ball certain times. There's just a lot of things - yeah, this is a new age of game and everybody's throwing it around, but to be able to do both and be as versatile as possible is what I like to be and what I think Drew and everyone else wants to be. Not be predictable. They do a great job.

"They do a great job of scouting ourselves. I feel like Drew's a genius. He's a really smart dude. He's very self aware of what if we did this, why it didn't work or vice versa. It just little details. I'm very big on the little details because it all matters. I do enjoy being under center and I'm sure we'll do a little bit more of it."

It's not as if the Cardinals reverted back to the old days and never went to shotgun. According to nfelo - an NFL personnel/data tracking site - the Cardinals still utilized shotgun on 44% of first down plays, which was right near the league average.

(First down plays were used to help adjust to game context)

Yet this was a drastic difference between that number and Arizona's 64% usage of the formation under Kingsbury in 2022. That rate was good enough for fourth in the NFL.

The Cardinals' overall pass rate dropped from 65% to 59% under Petzing, though their rush rate jumped from 34% to 40% in 2023.

The differences also go further into the personnel usages between Kingsbury and Petzing.

Kingsbury opted for 13 personnel (one running back, three tight ends) just two percent of the time in 2022.

Under Petzing last season, that jumped to 10% - only the Chiefs (12%) and Seahawks (11%) used the package more than Arizona.

And, even with Murray out for the first half of the season and the Cardinals utilizing multiple backup quarterbacks, Petzing's offense saw a 7.6 average depth per target compared to Kingsbury's 7.0.

The Cardinals utilizing play-action more last season would certainly lead some to believe that kept more defenses close to the box, weary of the run and overall more honest in their coverage approach.

Tempo was utilized more under Kingsbury, as the Cardinals led the league in no-huddle usage at 32.7%. That dropped down to 10.2% under Petzing, which still finished above league average. Arizona also had a slight edge in time of possession with Kingsbury calling the show.

One of the major differences fans noticed was Petzing's aggressive tendencies on two-point conversions.

Many felt like Kingsbury didn't put his foot on the gas enough in those situations, and the numbers back that line of thought. The Cardinals opted to skip the PAT 25% of the time in 2022 compared to Petzing's 34.2% rate last season - though it's important to note both percentages led the league.

It will be very intriguing to see how Arizona's offensive approach tweaks moving into 2024. The presence of Marvin Harrison Jr. may unlock several different elements for Petzing to utilize. The Cardinals also drafted the second running back off the board in Trey Benson, so snap distributions in the backfield could potentially shift as well.

Now with a full season of tape for defensive coordinators - and at least a good sample of games with Murray healthy - it's up to Petzing to learn what went right (and wrong) while crafting his overall image of attack.

The Cardinals found their identity in 2023, and with more reinforcements to ensure running the ball will still be successful, that shouldn't change.

The foundation is set for Arizona to have a well balanced attack in 2024, and that's thanks to the different philosophy Petzing has brought.