Here's a great article (wait, blog, whatever they are) from
http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/KentSomers
I didn't see it posted and it fills in a lot of blanks I personally had been wondering about.
Warner, Whisenhunt strike compromise
The strengths of quarterback Kurt Warner and the offensive philosophy of coach Ken Whisenhunt have never fit together like the teeth of two gears.
Warner is a gunslinger and at his best, and happiest, when receivers are spread from sideline to sideline. Put the offensive fortunes in his hands, get of his way and let him work. He's banking that his touchdown passes will far outnumber the interceptions and fumbles.
Whisenhunt is more conservative. He likes the running game and the play-action pass. In his system, the quarterback is more of manager and the risks he's authorized to take are calculated and plotted.
Both sides were smart enough to realize that pounding a square peg into a round hole would produce only splinters, so compromises were made. The square peg was rounded off a bit and shaved. The round hole was widened.
Altering this offense to fit Warner, and vice versa, hasn't been a seamless endeavor. But the results have been better than most expected.
The Cardinals have scored an average of 28.4 points the past seven games, and Warner has 24 touchdown passes on the year, the most by a Cardinals quarterback since the team moved to Arizona.
Warner has pushed coaches to open up the offense, to use more multi-receiver sets and to give him the freedom to make more plays with his right arm.
Whisenhunt and his staff, including offensive coordinator Todd Haley, have agreed to some alternations. Before the season, Whisenhunt talked about running the ball about 55 percent to 58 percent of the time. Instead, the Cardinals are passing about 60 percent of the time, proof of the coaches' willingness to adapt.
That's not all because of Warner. Injuries have prevented receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald from playing much together. With just one of them in the game, teams have moved a safety closer to the line of scrimmage, daring the Cardinals to throw to other receivers instead of running.
“When that happens,” Whisenhunt said, “you have to hit some passes. You have to make some plays.”
There's no question, however, that this is a different style of offense than the Cardinals would be running if Matt Leinart was healthy and starting. The run game would be more of an emphasis, and Leinart would not enjoy the freedom Warner has.
“I have to give the coaches credit because they've adjusted things since Day 1,” Warner said after last Sunday's victory over Atlanta. “Part of it is the no-huddle, the four-wide (receivers). When you give me the freedom to see what's going on and make some different adjustments, I think it makes us even tougher.”
It's not as if Warner has been handed a credit card with no maximum limit. His turnovers have frustrated this staff at times, and it was a fumble by Warner that caused the sideline dustup between Warner and Haley in the New Orleans game 10 days ago.
The staff has emphasized to Warner that he needs to check down to secondary receivers rather than force a pass to a primary one that might be covered.
On game days, Haley relays the calls from Whisenhunt to Warner, and Haley is constantly in Warner's ear, reminding him to make the smart play and not to force things.
The meshing of the two philosophies has not always been smooth. After Warner took over for Leinart in Week 6, the gears occasionally locked up. That's to be expected when there are strong personalities on both sides.
“Some of the things I'm used to and feel strongly about, Kurt hasn't had a lot of experience with, or doesn't feel as comfortable with,” Whisenhunt said. “Coaches have done a good job of adjusting what we do to fit Kurt's strengths. And Kurt, in turn, has done some things we've asked him to do to best fit into what we're doing.”
Topics: SPORTS, cardinals, Kurt Warner, Ken Whisenhunt
posted by KentSomers on Tuesday, December 25, 2007 at 05:52 PM
http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/KentSomers
I didn't see it posted and it fills in a lot of blanks I personally had been wondering about.
Warner, Whisenhunt strike compromise
The strengths of quarterback Kurt Warner and the offensive philosophy of coach Ken Whisenhunt have never fit together like the teeth of two gears.
Warner is a gunslinger and at his best, and happiest, when receivers are spread from sideline to sideline. Put the offensive fortunes in his hands, get of his way and let him work. He's banking that his touchdown passes will far outnumber the interceptions and fumbles.
Whisenhunt is more conservative. He likes the running game and the play-action pass. In his system, the quarterback is more of manager and the risks he's authorized to take are calculated and plotted.
Both sides were smart enough to realize that pounding a square peg into a round hole would produce only splinters, so compromises were made. The square peg was rounded off a bit and shaved. The round hole was widened.
Altering this offense to fit Warner, and vice versa, hasn't been a seamless endeavor. But the results have been better than most expected.
The Cardinals have scored an average of 28.4 points the past seven games, and Warner has 24 touchdown passes on the year, the most by a Cardinals quarterback since the team moved to Arizona.
Warner has pushed coaches to open up the offense, to use more multi-receiver sets and to give him the freedom to make more plays with his right arm.
Whisenhunt and his staff, including offensive coordinator Todd Haley, have agreed to some alternations. Before the season, Whisenhunt talked about running the ball about 55 percent to 58 percent of the time. Instead, the Cardinals are passing about 60 percent of the time, proof of the coaches' willingness to adapt.
That's not all because of Warner. Injuries have prevented receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald from playing much together. With just one of them in the game, teams have moved a safety closer to the line of scrimmage, daring the Cardinals to throw to other receivers instead of running.
“When that happens,” Whisenhunt said, “you have to hit some passes. You have to make some plays.”
There's no question, however, that this is a different style of offense than the Cardinals would be running if Matt Leinart was healthy and starting. The run game would be more of an emphasis, and Leinart would not enjoy the freedom Warner has.
“I have to give the coaches credit because they've adjusted things since Day 1,” Warner said after last Sunday's victory over Atlanta. “Part of it is the no-huddle, the four-wide (receivers). When you give me the freedom to see what's going on and make some different adjustments, I think it makes us even tougher.”
It's not as if Warner has been handed a credit card with no maximum limit. His turnovers have frustrated this staff at times, and it was a fumble by Warner that caused the sideline dustup between Warner and Haley in the New Orleans game 10 days ago.
The staff has emphasized to Warner that he needs to check down to secondary receivers rather than force a pass to a primary one that might be covered.
On game days, Haley relays the calls from Whisenhunt to Warner, and Haley is constantly in Warner's ear, reminding him to make the smart play and not to force things.
The meshing of the two philosophies has not always been smooth. After Warner took over for Leinart in Week 6, the gears occasionally locked up. That's to be expected when there are strong personalities on both sides.
“Some of the things I'm used to and feel strongly about, Kurt hasn't had a lot of experience with, or doesn't feel as comfortable with,” Whisenhunt said. “Coaches have done a good job of adjusting what we do to fit Kurt's strengths. And Kurt, in turn, has done some things we've asked him to do to best fit into what we're doing.”
Topics: SPORTS, cardinals, Kurt Warner, Ken Whisenhunt
posted by KentSomers on Tuesday, December 25, 2007 at 05:52 PM
