Cardinals OC Addresses Struggles

The Arizona Cardinals are just 2-4 on the season, and OC Drew Petzing knows they need to be better.

Sep 10, 2023; Landover, Maryland, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon (left) hugs Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing before the game against the Washington Commander at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Brent Skeen-Imagn Images / Brent Skeen-Imagn Images

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals are just 2-4 on the season, underperforming to most expectations despite being in the second year of a rebuild.

The Cardinals' offense carried serious potential with the emergence of a healthy Kyler Murray and weapons in both the rush (James Conner, Trey Benson) and pass (Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson, Greg Dortch, Trey McBride, Zay Jones) department.

They've only flexed their muscle on occasion, with the rest of games leaving fans wondering why a potentially potent offense has stuttered far too often.

In terms of numbers, the Cardinals' offense ranks in the middle of the pack for total yards per game (332.2) and points per matchup (22.2).

Middle of the pack certainly isn't awful, though with the current state of Arizona's defense, it's no secret the Cardinals need their offense to be above average on most occasions.

In three of Arizona's last four games, they've yet to score more than 14 points - the lone outlier being their 24-23 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

What in the world is going on?

Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing offered his perspective.

“I think it’s scheme. It’s where we’re putting people. It’s execution. It’s throwing and catching. It takes 11 people to be good especially in known pass downs, and I think we’ve just gotta be a little bit better," Petzing told reporters.

Arizona didn't play their starters in the preseason. While Conner's been a steady and reliable weapon since arriving, the Cardinals' top playmakers through the air (McBride, Harrison, Dortch, Jones) are either in their first year under Petzing or are in their first season as a full-time starter - the lone exception being the sophomore Wilson.

They're also missing their starting right side of the line in tackle Jonah Williams and guard Will Hernandez, both of whom are expected to miss significant time (if not the entire season).

It's also Murray's first season fully healthy under Petzing, as the first half of 2023 was spent rehabbing a torn ACL.

You could use the aforementioned points as excuses, though we're now a third of the way through football season - most of the miscommunication and plays where the offense isn't on the same page shouldn't be happening repeatedly.

Arizona's offense primarily functions through play-action. If the Cardinals are running the ball well, that opens up the well-oiled machine we saw in wins against the 49ers and Los Angeles Rams.

When Arizona can't establish the run - like we saw on Sunday - defenses are able to win early downs and force the Cardinals into obvious passing scenarios.

Inconsistent is how many have described the Cardinals, and that's the precise word used by Petzing.

“I’m always going to say my play-calling is how we roll as an offense. So when we’re rolling I take a lot of pride in that. I also think I got to give a lot of that credit to the players and their execution," said Petzing.

"And when we’re not, I got to look at myself and say, ‘What can I do better?’ So I think, as you look throughout our first six games now, I think we got to clean up the inconsistency and that starts with me as a play-caller.”

If the Cardinals are to rescue their season in Week 7's Monday Night Football bout with the Los Angeles Chargers, everybody from top to bottom will need to be better - and more consistent.