Harry
ASFN Consultant and Senior Writer
I think both Coordinators stay, though an interview wouldn’t shock me. On the offensive side Petzing had an up and down year. When he was good, he was very, very good. When he was bad, he was at least mediocre.
This job was Petzing’s first chance to be an Offensive Coordinator. Based on his focus thus far you’d think his background would be with running backs and ground attacks. Nothing could be further from reality. His background was actually in the passing game, especially focusing on wide receivers and tight ends. The fact that he ended up with a dominant running game tells me a great deal. Not only is he flexible, but he is realistic. Examining the roster he was given he concluded that his team had the best chance of success running the ball. So not only did he have to learn the Coordinator job, but also he had to learn how to structure a running game. This was a bold choice, so put away the talk he is risk adverse. I do think it’s a false assumption that considering his extensive passing background that we are seeing Petzing’s preferred offense. Don’t be surprised if they get a speed receiver, that the Cards pass a lot more in 2025. If he decides to primarily run, he needs to fully commit. The Cards best games were ones where they kept running even when they weren’t successful. This eventually wore down their opponents and the Cards dominated the 4th quarter.
The biggest challenge new Coordinators face is that they have so many new situations requiring decisions that much of the effort becomes on-the-job training. So some failures are inevitable. I like what Obama said, “You can't let your failures define you. You have to let your failures teach you.” Only time will tell which category Petzing will end up being classified in. In some cases he adjusted to situations. At other times he let the opposition draw him off his game plan. Last year it was hard to analyze what worked due to the massive personnel changes. This season, except for the line, he had most of his key personnel the entire year. This meant Petzing should get a true handle on what worked and what didn’t. Of course personnel changes will impact this somewhat. I expect the 2025 season will be a make it or break it year. Frankly if he succeeds, he likely gets a head coaching job. If he fails I expect a new Coorinator.
I anticipate he succeeds. He’s bright and he learns from experience. He should have better personnel. He will have a better handle on what works. I.think he’ll be bold and that usually wins in the NFL.
Rallis was very impressive. Working with a weaker initial roster was tough, then his unit suffered devastating injuries. His relative success means he will get interviews and maybe a job, but I think he’s here another season. His biggest accomplishment IMO was making an often effective pass rush despite losing virtually every experienced rusher to injury. He also lost critical defensive linemen but somehow was often able to contain rushing attacks. In many games the Cards won only because the defense held the opposition in striking distance. Several times, but not universally, that was good enough. Except for Baker’s run defense there was no hero discovered. Virtually every success was a team effort. Rallis likely learned more from season one than Petzing was able to do, as a lot worked. He made the most of that knowledge.
Special teams were handled by assistant coach Jeff Rodgers. This unit was outstanding. Dallas became the first player to score a TD under the new kickoff system. For the most part Dortch securely handled putts. He showed good overall judgment on which punts to field. Nobody always guesses correctly on the weird bounces a football will take. Dortch wasn’t flashy, but he was sound. The Cards might get a bigger threat at the position, but Dortch did an adequate job. They lost one of the best kicking weapons in the game when Prater went down. Ryland was brought in and was developed into an impact kicker. I give the staff much of the credit for this. Ryland history would not have labeled him a major weapon, yet he proved to be one of the best decisive kickers in the game. I believe he will be retained as the kicker and perhaps his ceiling hasn’t yet been reached. His pressure kick against Carolina would have been good if made from 60+ yards. The punter, Gillikin, was also outstanding. He sometimes out-kicked the coverage but more often flipped the field. The coverage was decent, occasionally spectacular. On the whole this might have been the best unit.
It would take too much space to cover all the coaches, but I need to mention a few. The Cards employed 3 coaches related to the passing game. Terrell, titled a Coordinator and Whipple, who worked with WRs. Ben Steele worked with TEs. Steele was outstanding. The top 3 TEs were all productive. McBride soon may be the best in the game. Unfortunately the WRs left much to be desired. The first aspect I always examine is fundamentals. These were lacking. When a QB is forced out of the pocket receivers should be trained to match his direction or run back toward him. This group didn’t do that. Also when covered tightly, especially on short outs & hooks, receivers should head back to the QB, shielding the defender with their body. Again this didn’t happen. So if you’re not teaching this and demanding compliance what are you doing? You can add in fighting for a catch and walling off a defender to the technique required. Add in breaking off routes if you see a blitz. Were they teaching anything? Was there any discipline?
The routes looked okay, but nothing special. The stacks, screens and crossing routes were pedestrian. I just didn’t see much that impressed me. If I were in charge I’d change both of these coaches. If they didn’t install the basics, they couldn’t execute my idea of a passing offense.
Autry Denson did the RBs and I saw little there to displease me. Connor starred. I was impressed with how quickly Benson adapted to the Cards’ offense. He looked uncomfortable in the first couple of games, but soon became a very impressive offensive weapon. Demercado was mostly a role player, but showed he could contribute yardage when given the oppotunity.
Adams and Cook coach the Oline with Adams being the top guy. This is the hardest unit to assess due to constant disruption from injuries; all to often season ending. I like what they’ve done when pulling linemen. The Cards do it well, but need work on protecting the backside when pulling. They typically handled outside speed rushers well. They did struggle to protect the A gap. Additionally they are physically weak when drive blocking is required. They were marginal against stunts.
I’m intentionally skipping the QB guys as I have no idea what level of authority they have.
Ryan Smith, CBs’ coach, would seem to have a great future. The improvement of the young CBs is impressive. I don’t suspect they’re finished products, but they are already quite good. I’d be curious to know if he’s involved in the assignments. I’d like to see how Williams would do if matched against opponents’ top receiver when playing man. Toney did well with safeties considering Baker and Thompson have always struggled in pass coverage. Rabbit came on very strong in all aspects.
Assessing Dline coach, Derrick Leblanc and assistant William Peagler, would seem unfair. Their injury history was worse than the Oline. They lost too many key players for too many games. Despite not having a premier Anchor Tackle, they held up against the run in most games. There were too many holding penalties IMO. I’ll cover this more in my unit assessment. They were inconsistent when rushing the passer. The coaches used sometimes effective stunts. It wasn’t perfect but better than expected.
Rodriquez and Siefkes did a decent job with the LBs. My only complaints were when playing zone, slowness to react in pass coverage and not getting well positioned. Inside LBs were too shallow in zone. Outside LBs gave too much cushion and needed to do better in contain.
It’s always tough assessing coaches as their duties and authority varies from team to team. On the whole I thought this team did a solid job of developing players. They need to improve strategy and determination to bring this home. I thought half time adjustment were inconsistent, but that should improve with experience.
This job was Petzing’s first chance to be an Offensive Coordinator. Based on his focus thus far you’d think his background would be with running backs and ground attacks. Nothing could be further from reality. His background was actually in the passing game, especially focusing on wide receivers and tight ends. The fact that he ended up with a dominant running game tells me a great deal. Not only is he flexible, but he is realistic. Examining the roster he was given he concluded that his team had the best chance of success running the ball. So not only did he have to learn the Coordinator job, but also he had to learn how to structure a running game. This was a bold choice, so put away the talk he is risk adverse. I do think it’s a false assumption that considering his extensive passing background that we are seeing Petzing’s preferred offense. Don’t be surprised if they get a speed receiver, that the Cards pass a lot more in 2025. If he decides to primarily run, he needs to fully commit. The Cards best games were ones where they kept running even when they weren’t successful. This eventually wore down their opponents and the Cards dominated the 4th quarter.
The biggest challenge new Coordinators face is that they have so many new situations requiring decisions that much of the effort becomes on-the-job training. So some failures are inevitable. I like what Obama said, “You can't let your failures define you. You have to let your failures teach you.” Only time will tell which category Petzing will end up being classified in. In some cases he adjusted to situations. At other times he let the opposition draw him off his game plan. Last year it was hard to analyze what worked due to the massive personnel changes. This season, except for the line, he had most of his key personnel the entire year. This meant Petzing should get a true handle on what worked and what didn’t. Of course personnel changes will impact this somewhat. I expect the 2025 season will be a make it or break it year. Frankly if he succeeds, he likely gets a head coaching job. If he fails I expect a new Coorinator.
I anticipate he succeeds. He’s bright and he learns from experience. He should have better personnel. He will have a better handle on what works. I.think he’ll be bold and that usually wins in the NFL.
Rallis was very impressive. Working with a weaker initial roster was tough, then his unit suffered devastating injuries. His relative success means he will get interviews and maybe a job, but I think he’s here another season. His biggest accomplishment IMO was making an often effective pass rush despite losing virtually every experienced rusher to injury. He also lost critical defensive linemen but somehow was often able to contain rushing attacks. In many games the Cards won only because the defense held the opposition in striking distance. Several times, but not universally, that was good enough. Except for Baker’s run defense there was no hero discovered. Virtually every success was a team effort. Rallis likely learned more from season one than Petzing was able to do, as a lot worked. He made the most of that knowledge.
Special teams were handled by assistant coach Jeff Rodgers. This unit was outstanding. Dallas became the first player to score a TD under the new kickoff system. For the most part Dortch securely handled putts. He showed good overall judgment on which punts to field. Nobody always guesses correctly on the weird bounces a football will take. Dortch wasn’t flashy, but he was sound. The Cards might get a bigger threat at the position, but Dortch did an adequate job. They lost one of the best kicking weapons in the game when Prater went down. Ryland was brought in and was developed into an impact kicker. I give the staff much of the credit for this. Ryland history would not have labeled him a major weapon, yet he proved to be one of the best decisive kickers in the game. I believe he will be retained as the kicker and perhaps his ceiling hasn’t yet been reached. His pressure kick against Carolina would have been good if made from 60+ yards. The punter, Gillikin, was also outstanding. He sometimes out-kicked the coverage but more often flipped the field. The coverage was decent, occasionally spectacular. On the whole this might have been the best unit.
It would take too much space to cover all the coaches, but I need to mention a few. The Cards employed 3 coaches related to the passing game. Terrell, titled a Coordinator and Whipple, who worked with WRs. Ben Steele worked with TEs. Steele was outstanding. The top 3 TEs were all productive. McBride soon may be the best in the game. Unfortunately the WRs left much to be desired. The first aspect I always examine is fundamentals. These were lacking. When a QB is forced out of the pocket receivers should be trained to match his direction or run back toward him. This group didn’t do that. Also when covered tightly, especially on short outs & hooks, receivers should head back to the QB, shielding the defender with their body. Again this didn’t happen. So if you’re not teaching this and demanding compliance what are you doing? You can add in fighting for a catch and walling off a defender to the technique required. Add in breaking off routes if you see a blitz. Were they teaching anything? Was there any discipline?
The routes looked okay, but nothing special. The stacks, screens and crossing routes were pedestrian. I just didn’t see much that impressed me. If I were in charge I’d change both of these coaches. If they didn’t install the basics, they couldn’t execute my idea of a passing offense.
Autry Denson did the RBs and I saw little there to displease me. Connor starred. I was impressed with how quickly Benson adapted to the Cards’ offense. He looked uncomfortable in the first couple of games, but soon became a very impressive offensive weapon. Demercado was mostly a role player, but showed he could contribute yardage when given the oppotunity.
Adams and Cook coach the Oline with Adams being the top guy. This is the hardest unit to assess due to constant disruption from injuries; all to often season ending. I like what they’ve done when pulling linemen. The Cards do it well, but need work on protecting the backside when pulling. They typically handled outside speed rushers well. They did struggle to protect the A gap. Additionally they are physically weak when drive blocking is required. They were marginal against stunts.
I’m intentionally skipping the QB guys as I have no idea what level of authority they have.
Ryan Smith, CBs’ coach, would seem to have a great future. The improvement of the young CBs is impressive. I don’t suspect they’re finished products, but they are already quite good. I’d be curious to know if he’s involved in the assignments. I’d like to see how Williams would do if matched against opponents’ top receiver when playing man. Toney did well with safeties considering Baker and Thompson have always struggled in pass coverage. Rabbit came on very strong in all aspects.
Assessing Dline coach, Derrick Leblanc and assistant William Peagler, would seem unfair. Their injury history was worse than the Oline. They lost too many key players for too many games. Despite not having a premier Anchor Tackle, they held up against the run in most games. There were too many holding penalties IMO. I’ll cover this more in my unit assessment. They were inconsistent when rushing the passer. The coaches used sometimes effective stunts. It wasn’t perfect but better than expected.
Rodriquez and Siefkes did a decent job with the LBs. My only complaints were when playing zone, slowness to react in pass coverage and not getting well positioned. Inside LBs were too shallow in zone. Outside LBs gave too much cushion and needed to do better in contain.
It’s always tough assessing coaches as their duties and authority varies from team to team. On the whole I thought this team did a solid job of developing players. They need to improve strategy and determination to bring this home. I thought half time adjustment were inconsistent, but that should improve with experience.
