Offensive Juggernaut

[iRobot]

We all know the defense took a hit this off-season with the loss of Dansby and the following suspension of Washington. I thought the drop off may be small with Minter filling in for Dansby, if any drop at all, but the loss of Washington is really going to shake things up.

The subsequent additions to the defensive line and defensive backfield will help bolster the pass defense, but I think the run defense is going to notice a drop off from the previous #1 ranking.

That being said... I think the additions on offense could potentially create an offensive juggernaut. Hear me out first.. *sips a little kool-aid to moisten harsh throat*

The weakest links last season were located in three areas IMO: Tight End, Offensive Line, Running Back (not in any particular order)

All areas are upgraded.

LT - Veldheer has shown he can be an above average starter.
LG - Cooper projects as a top tier guard and shown flashes before injury.
C - Sendlein is always hovering around average.
RG - Fanaika was serviceable, but I hope Watford can win the role.
RT - Massie IMO is going to be better than Winston was last year.

--I know there are questions regarding the line still (? at LG, RG, RT) but it would appear to have the potential to be better. This is going to be one of the key cogs in how this offense runs.. juggernaut? Potentially.

TE - Carlson is buzzing through camp and if healthy, is an upgrade on last years entire crop of TE's
TE - Ballard healthy is a very solid all around TE to have.
TE - Housler is being pushed to be better.. will he answer the call? Can he?
TE - Niklas projects to eventually be the best TE on the roster but he's fighting himself and his body right now.

Considering some would argue that Jim Dray was our best TE last season... this has to be seen as an upgrade regardless of potential or anything else.

RB - Ellington is finally going to be unleashed.. well, more than last year. Mendy is gone and Andre will get the bulk of the load.
RB - Taylor has shown he can be a good off/between tackle carrier in reserve duties for Ellington.
RB - Dwyer is an upgrade over Ryan Williams.

There is a great deal of potential to have a real running game in the desert, which will open up the field even more for our receivers (which we added two true speed guys that will open up things even more).

This offense can truly be something special this season. The main component that I haven't mentioned... Carson Palmer. Can he lead this team to the post season AND then to the Super Bowl? I believe it's possible but it would be the first time Palmer has registered any post season victories.

The tools around him will all be there, at least on paper.

Anybody else excited?

 

[Dan H]

Being better offensively should help mitigate the weakness at MLB. If we can get up on teams and force them to pass to keep up, it plays to the strength of our line and secondary.

 

[Iceman]

What about the 3rd receiver position? Fitz, Floyd, then who? Roberts gone? Golden maybe?? I know its not that big of a deal, but it nice to have an additional threat that has explosive speed to get up the field. Love the roster moves and this team for this upcoming season. Already have my tickets for opening game vs. Chargers!

 

[BurqueCardFan]

We brought in Ted Ginn Jr for the 3rd WR spot. 3rd round pick Brown is supposed to be pushing for playing time as the 3rd or 4th WR.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

What about the 3rd receiver position? Fitz, Floyd, then who? Roberts gone? Golden maybe?? I know its not that big of a deal, but it nice to have an additional threat that has explosive speed to get up the field. Love the roster moves and this team for this upcoming season. Already have my tickets for opening game vs. Chargers!

LOL seriously? We completely upgraded 3rd WR and 4th WR and have one of the best WR corps we have had (potentially)

Teddy Ginn is a legit #3 (and he is sneaky good as he made big catches all throughout the last 2 years I have watched him) and gives us deep speed. And if you dont buy into John Brown just yet I dont blame you but I sure as hell wouldnt trade him for Andre Robert straight up at this point even at the same salary.

Keep in mind Roberts REALLY struggles his first offseason. John by all accounts has been incredible so far.

I also think Floyd will be Alshon Jeffrey good this year but well see. WR is a strength for AZ imo.

 

[Garthshort]

iRobot, the fan in me is very excited. But when I think about it, I realize that our Offense will only be good, if Carson Palmer is good. He has all the weapons, so, imo, he has no excuses not to have a vg year. In fact I can hear Frank Sinatra singing, ".......it was a very good year".

 

[cardncubfan]

Nice write up iRobot. I too think our offense will be much better this year. Maybe not juggernaut better but better none the less. For one they will already have a year of Arians offense under their belt & two the improved OL/receiving corps.

 

[Catfish]

Good job Robot. Nice compilation. With Ted Ginn signed, we should have our #3 receiver and Jonny Brown will be fighting to get into the mix as well. Our receiving corps should be deeeep.

 

[earthsci]

iRobot, the fan in me is very excited. But when I think about it, I realize that our Offense will only be good, if Carson Palmer is good. He has all the weapons, so, imo, he has no excuses not to have a vg year. In fact I can hear Frank Sinatra singing, ".......it was a very good year".

Interesting point. Check out this list -

The 7 Worst Quarterbacks Set to Start in 2014

They believe that he is being wasted here due to our lack of OLine.

 

[52brandon]

Interesting point. Check out this list -

The 7 Worst Quarterbacks Set to Start in 2014

They believe that he is being wasted here due to our lack of OLine.

After 1 season in a completely new offense, that's a bit of a reach. But good. Doubters are great motivation. Let's see how it plays out. I think we will have a respectable O this year. Can't say juggernaut, but good enough to win games rather than not lose them like last year

 

[iRobot]

I think the potential is there to be a high powered/scoring offense but this year, more than any other since Kurt Warner, is about how much they want it and how well it translates onto the field.

There really isn't much left for an excuse as it would appear the areas with the most deficiencies have been upgraded.

 

[TJ]

One obstacle out of the way is the learning curve the players had last season. It took the entire offseason and the first seven or eight games for the offensive players to know their assignments and for Carson to know where to throw the ball (hindsight, not all of his picks were not his fault). I remember being at the Tampa Bay game and watching receivers being redirected by Carson to go to different areas of the field.

We didn't lose significant pieces on offense like we did on defense. If anything, we gained a lot, along with the younger players like Ellington playing bigger roles.

 

[52brandon]

I think the potential is there to be a high powered/scoring offense but this year, more than any other since Kurt Warner, is about how much they want it and how well it translates onto the field.

There really isn't much left for an excuse as it would appear the areas with the most deficiencies have been upgraded.

It's also the only time since Warner we had a QB that would start on another NFL team

 

[splitsecond]

I have thought about this and have been afraid to put it in writing because I didn't want to jinx anything. Now that the burden has been lifted from my shoulders, these have been almost identical to my thought over the last month about the offense.

 

[Cardiac]

We all know the defense took a hit this off-season with the loss of Dansby and the following suspension of Washington. I thought the drop off may be small with Minter filling in for Dansby, if any drop at all, but the loss of Washington is really going to shake things up.

The subsequent additions to the defensive line and defensive backfield will help bolster the pass defense, but I think the run defense is going to notice a drop off from the previous #1 ranking.

That being said... I think the additions on offense could potentially create an offensive juggernaut. Hear me out first.. *sips a little kool-aid to moisten harsh throat*

The weakest links last season were located in three areas IMO: Tight End, Offensive Line, Running Back (not in any particular order)

All areas are upgraded.

LT - Veldheer has shown he can be an above average starter.
LG - Cooper projects as a top tier guard and shown flashes before injury.
C - Sendlein is always hovering around average.
RG - Fanaika was serviceable, but I hope Watford can win the role.
RT - Massie IMO is going to be better than Winston was last year.

--I know there are questions regarding the line still (? at LG, RG, RT) but it would appear to have the potential to be better. This is going to be one of the key cogs in how this offense runs.. juggernaut? Potentially.

TE - Carlson is buzzing through camp and if healthy, is an upgrade on last years entire crop of TE's
TE - Ballard healthy is a very solid all around TE to have.
TE - Housler is being pushed to be better.. will he answer the call? Can he?
TE - Niklas projects to eventually be the best TE on the roster but he's fighting himself and his body right now.

Considering some would argue that Jim Dray was our best TE last season... this has to be seen as an upgrade regardless of potential or anything else.

RB - Ellington is finally going to be unleashed.. well, more than last year. Mendy is gone and Andre will get the bulk of the load.
RB - Taylor has shown he can be a good off/between tackle carrier in reserve duties for Ellington.
RB - Dwyer is an upgrade over Ryan Williams.

There is a great deal of potential to have a real running game in the desert, which will open up the field even more for our receivers (which we added two true speed guys that will open up things even more).

This offense can truly be something special this season. The main component that I haven't mentioned... Carson Palmer. Can he lead this team to the post season AND then to the Super Bowl? I believe it's possible but it would be the first time Palmer has registered any post season victories.

The tools around him will all be there, at least on paper.

Anybody else excited?

Yes I'm excited about the Cards Offense this year. You covered it well but IMWO not enough emphasis on the WR upgrades. Ginn fits this O better than Roberts and the addition of the WR's we added in the draft and I can't wait see what their impact is this year.

 

[cardpa]

One obstacle out of the way is the learning curve the players had last season. It took the entire offseason and the first seven or eight games for the offensive players to know their assignments and for Carson to know where to throw the ball (hindsight, not all of his picks were not his fault). I remember being at the Tampa Bay game and watching receivers being redirected by Carson to go to different areas of the field.

We didn't lose significant pieces on offense like we did on defense. If anything, we gained a lot, along with the younger players like Ellington playing bigger roles.

I think this is an excellent point you bring up here which has kind of been a bit overlooked. LT is certainly much better than last year. LG is certainly going to be much better. Cooper was looking very good until the injury. No reason not to expect him to pick up where he left off. The right side of the line should have somewhat of an upgrade with the only question being how much. I do not see it being worse than last year.

The 3rd receiver spot is definitely better simply because there is now a deep threat that did not exist last year. I truly believe that having Dwyer reunited with BA is going to compel him to be better. He was never that bad in Pittsburgh. I expect 500 yds or more from Dwyer. He will be the inside runner. Overall this offense will be in or near the top 10 in the league. That translates to the defense spending less time on the field which is never a bad thing since its a lot more difficult for the other team to score when their offense is on the bench.

 

[iRobot]

Glad to see that I'm not the only one sippin the kool aid.

I think this year still has great potential regardless of what happened in the middle of our defense.

 

[Austin Zonie]

Somebody's got to temper these expectations. Cooper is much less than a sure thing due to his injury still limiting his activities.

In order for our D to stay off the field longer, they have to be able to force the opposing O off the field. We may very well take a step back in this. Even with an improved O.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Darkside]

Somebody's got to temper these expectations. Cooper is much less than a sure thing due to his injury still limiting his activities.

In order for our D to stay off the field longer, they have to be able to force the opposing O off the field. We may very well take a step back in this. Even with an improved O.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great point. I keep coming at it another way--saying our improved offense will keep our weakened defense off the field more. But you're absolutely right that it could go the other way.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

 

[Shaggy]

Interesting point. Check out this list -

The 7 Worst Quarterbacks Set to Start in 2014

They believe that he is being wasted here due to our lack of OLine.

Check out the comments that were left. Not one is liking the writer.