Game of the Week: Versatility of Cardinals wideouts will wreak havoc on Eagles defense
The "Rule of Three" is a basic standard in modern professional football that's as close to undefeated as you expect from a rule of thumb. Every great NFL offense has at least three legitimate mismatch threats. Of course, all this is predicated upon having the capable passer to get them the ball, but the common thread is a trio of game-plan options.
Any good defense can take away one great thing. The really good ones can manage to blunt two. When you've got a trio of offensive options, you've always got a chance.
Sometimes this is a great run game paired with two mismatch pass-catchers. Sometimes you've found gold and have three consistent pass catching threats.
When you've got a capable run game that seems to produce regardless of the guy getting carries, a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback and three consistent pass-catching winners? Now you're cooking with gas.
The Arizona Cardinals, as they prepare to take on the NFC East-leading Philadelphia Eagles (I know, weird) have the makeup of an offense able to produce regardless of the defense across from them.
HAVE OPTIONS, WILL USE 'EM
A week ago we dove into the problems wide receivers Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton cause defenses, and the Steelers' trio came through with 201 yards and 26 catches within that group to knock off the rival Bengals (hate to say we told you so).
The Cardinals' own burgeoning triple threat includes mainstay Larry Fitzgerald and upstarts Michael Floyd and John Brown, who all create many of the same difficult game-plan decisions for NFL defensive coordinators. The run game has featured a Rolodex of players on call. But the real difference this season has been the health of field-reading distributor Carson Palmer, and the growth of three receiving options that each deserve double team attention -- if only that were possible.
Each of these guys brings a little something different to the table, but have just enough overlap in their skill sets that they aren't pigeonholed into only certain kinds of plays, keeping opposing defenses guessing. Let's take a deeper look at how the Cardinals use this surplus of talent.
LARRY FITZGERALD
As easy as it would be to just glide past the old reliable warhorse, it would be a giant mistake. Last season was a mess for the Cardinals, and whispers of a diminishing game for Fitzgerald on a battered roster started to become common -- as common as the thought that he may not remain in Arizona.
The business side of things resolved itself, the Cardinals roster was reinvigorated with some good health, and all of a sudden Fitzgerald looks not much unlike he did years ago.
The important thing for any defensive player scouting Fitzgerald to understand is he doesn't fit in the "possession receiver" box that many older, accomplished receivers tend to fall in.
Naturally, Fitzgerald still has his size, and his route-running is still top notch. In those got-to-have-it, big-time conversion situations, Fitzgerald is still the most reliable option on this team, typically garnering double-digit targets per week. The first strides he takes in separating at the top of the stem of his routes are still one of the more difficult things to cover in football (see below). <first LF pic>
It's fair to say he doesn't get the separation in downfield routes as he once used to. That said, the Cardinals still find a way to make him a big-play threat.
It's one of the oddities of studying Fitzgerald's game tape, but although he sometimes looks to lack high-end burst to separate in downfield routes, when used in catch-and-run situations he still builds extremely well with the ball in his hands (see below). <second LF pic>
MICHAEL FLOYD
Big. Fast. Strong. That's Floyd in a nutshell. And as a compliment to Fitzgerald, who brings a more refined version of those same attributes to the table, Palmer has his choice each time he drops back based upon how the defense chooses to account for the Cardinals' other big-bodied pass catcher.
One of the ways Arizona consistently features Floyd to help declare how teams are treating him is isolating him on the backside of 3x1 offensive sets. When teams leave help over the top of Floyd on the backside, that's great information to evaluate the prospects of the other receivers frontside.
But much like Antonio Brown a week ago, Floyd has become a reliable option isolated on the backside even when the extra defender is present (see below). <MF pic>
He displays great growth you want out of any young wide receiver. Double teams don't mean pack up your bags -- they mean it's time to go to work with some precision route-running to manipulate the leverage advantage they're trying to get on you.
Floyd has been great in the past month at making big plays when singled on the outside, and finding holes in seams on in-breaking routes. But it's been his ability to not become an after-thought when defenses shift their coverage that's made the Cardinals particularly difficult to stop.
JOHN BROWN
The linchpin to this Rule of Three idea for the Cardinals has been the work of the dynamic and dangerous Brown. Although Brown is the smallest of the group by far at 5-foot-10, he doesn't fit into some "slot receiver" presumption. In fact, it's not unusual to see stacked receivers with Brown as the point-man and the bigger Fitzgerald as the off-the-ball receiver -- a reversal of typical NFL roles.
What allows for this is Brown's explosive speed and unique body control. His ability to be a vertical receiver who goes up and gets outside, downfield balls is something that surprises on a near-weekly basis.
In those moments where defenses make pains to roll coverage to Fitzgerald and Floyd, this is when Brown really goes to work (see below). <JB pic>
Not surprisingly, Brown has explosive catch-and-run ability as well, so the gameplan-specific screens and look-passes are something that the Cardinals are able to disguise because of their willingness to run them with multiple receivers on their roster.
Each of the three of these receivers is capable of a 10-catch, 100-plus yard day, so defenses continue to guess on where to send their coverage from down-to-down, or simply are forced to play it straight and not guess.
As long as these three continue to stay healthy and produce at a consistently high level, the Cardinals offense will remain as difficult of an out in the playoffs as there is around the league. The Rule of Three is alive and well in Arizona.
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Matt Chatham played for the Patriots and Jets over nine seasons in the NFL, winning three Super Bowls. He is also the founder of footballbyfootball.com. You can follow him on Twitter
