More Marv! How Arizona Cardinals can turn the tide vs. Rams
Sep 14, 2024, 8:29 AM
TEMPE — The wheels came falling off for the Arizona Cardinals in Sunday’s 34-28 loss to the Buffalo Bills thanks to inconsistency and poor execution, especially late.
Now, Arizona gets a Los Angeles team that’s had little resistance against the Cardinals over the years. Since Sean McVay got to town in 2017, L.A. has won all but two of its 14 divisional games against the Cardinals. There’s also that decisive Wild Card win in 2021.
Pull back the scope even further for the Cardinals and you’ll find a winless home mark against the Rams since 2014.
It’s safe to say L.A. has had Arizona’s number for some time. But with yet another regular season, comes the chance for the Cardinals to buck the trend in Year 2 of the new regime. That is if they make the right adjustments following last week’s loss.
A look at the biggest changes Arizona can make in hopes of successfully defending its home turf against the Rams:
Get Marvin Harrison Jr. the ball!
Even the Marvin Harrison Jr. haters couldn’t have expected the rookie’s Week 1 showing to be so rough.
Seeing just three targets come his way, Harrison walked out of Buffalo with one catch (and a drop) for four yards on the day.
It was clearly not the NFL debut anyone drew up for Harrison. And it’s a performance that cannot be repeated in Week 2.
While quarterback Kyler Murray got a lot of flak for “missing” the No. 1 wide receiver near the end of the game, the wideout struggled to get open more times than not. Sometimes that was due to the coverage the Bills deployed on the rookie, throwing an addition defender his way. Other times, Harrison just couldn’t finish his routes thanks to Arizona’s short passing attack and Buffalo’s pass rush.
So, what changes can be made in a week’s span?
Yes, Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray was practicing on Friday (this time without the leg sleeve). #AZCardinals pic.twitter.com/vwJArSlOKf
— Cardinals Corner (@AZCardsCorner) September 13, 2024
For one, they can get Harrison on the move pre-snap. That didn’t happen at all last week, with head coach Jonathan Gannon and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing opting to utilize the wideout primarily at the X. Moving him to the slot and/or at the Z will at least give the defense different looks of the No. 1 wide receiver.
It’s also on Harrison to think less and just play, something he admittedly didn’t do consistently throughout Week 2.
As for Murray’s role in all this, he’s got to find the right spots to force the issue at times, with or without added reps.
The connection with Murray and Harrison should improve with every week, especially since these first two are the very first instances of them playing in a game with one another.
Go deep(ish)!
You know what was missing in the Cardinals’ loss to the Bills last week? Successful down-the-field shots.
Only three times did Murray attempt a pass of at least 20 air yards, all incompletions and none going Harrison’s way. Still, Murray finished middle of the road (14th) among starting quarterbacks in deep ball percentage at 9.7%. Another four passes came in the intermediate range (10-19 yards). Only one was caught, albeit for a touchdown.
Taking what the Bills were giving it, the Cardinals offense stuck primarily to short passes.
Not having that deep presence allowed Buffalo’s secondary to focus on keeping everything in front of them.
In Week 2, that’s gotta change.
Taking a few more chances deep (or at least intermediately), especially with Harrison, is crucial in keeping the Rams defense on its toes.
On top of Jared Goff and the Lions scoring on one of their two deep balls throughout last week’s win over the Rams, the QB had seven in the intermediate range.
Now, not all of them hit, but a couple of those turned into chunk plays.
Can’t have a chance at explosives unless you take some shots.
Pressure makes Ws
The Cardinals had little success rushing the passer against a stout Bills offensive line last week.
This week, however, Arizona’s pass rush has a golden opportunity to prove some naysayers wrong against a Rams O-line riddled by injury.
While the prognosis for the line improved Friday, with McVay now expecting starting right tackle Rob Havenstein and right guard Kevin Dotson to play on Sunday, the line is far from 100%.
Starting guard Steven Avila and tackle Joe Noteboom are on injured reserve, while Alaric Jackson is nearing the end of his two-game suspension.
Those injuries and the suspension played a big role in Los Angeles’ lackluster pass protection, with Stafford being the fifth-most pressured QB (14) in Week 1, per NFL Next Gen Stats. And while the Lions came out of the matchup with the win, they managed to sack Stafford just twice.
If not for Stafford (and his 49 pass attempts) putting the team on his back, the Lions likely would have avoided overtime and walked out of Week 1 with a decisive win.
Still, getting double-digit pressures would be a big step up for a Cardinals pass rush that had just six a game ago.
If there was ever a time for Zaven Collins to show why he received an extension this offseason, it’s this weekend.
It’s not just on him, though, with Dennis Gardeck and Xavier Thomas needing to produce off the edge in Week 2.
