With former Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury in town to face his former team as the new offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders, PHNX Cardinals wanted to get a feel for the differences in the offense Kingsbury ran from 2019-2022, and the one that Arizona coach Jonathan Gannon and OC Drew Petzing are running now.
So PHNX Cardinals’ Bo Brack asked the question of QB Kyler Murray while I attended Commanders availability at Arizona State University where Washington practiced all week.
Murray didn’t offer much insight and that’s no surprise. Nobody wants to throw anybody under the bus in this age of viral videos. And nobody in the NFL wants to give away state secrets.
The one thing that will keep us all guessing — maybe forever because he probably won’t elaborate — is that wink at the end of Murray’s answer. It was so subtle that many missed it, but not you, Cardinals nation. We’re all ears for your interpretation.
For his part, Kingsbury was nothing but complimentary of his time here. Despite the 2021 collapse after a 7-0 and 10-2 start, despite a roster chock full of deficiencies, and despite the 5-10-1 final season, Kingsbury insisted that he enjoyed his time in Arizona and learned from it.
“That’s why I’ve still got my house here,” he said. “Man, I love it out here. I will always be grateful to Michael [Bidwill] for giving me that opportunity that he did; first fired college coach ever to get that opportunity.
“I have a great appreciation for the place and the players. Obviously, when you look at the film, Budda Baker is still [all in with] the way he plays the game. Jalen Thompson, Zaven [Collins], all those guys. It’s exciting to get to play a bunch of guys you know and have a bunch of respect for.”
Kingsbury was asked about his time working with Murray and the state of their relationship. He didn’t address the latter part but spoke on the former.
“It’s been fun to watch him,” he said. “The end of last year, I thought you could see the confidence getting back in the knee. He made a bunch of great plays and played really well, and he’s played great this season. They’re a couple plays away from being undefeated.
“You see the speed, the quickness, the competitive nature is there. I basically banked my entire career on what he would be and I still believe in it. It’s cool to see him playing as well as he is.”
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Kingsbury said he used the time after he was fired to study NFL offenses and refine his play calling. He also sought advice from Baltimore Ravens OC Todd Monken. In 2023, he spent the year at USC as a senior offensive analyst under coach Lincoln Riley before taking his current post in time to guide rookie QB Jayden Daniels.
“It’s been fun to take the year at USC and just kind of step back and be around Lincoln and be the good cop the entire year and then get back into it,” he said. “It’s been a good perspective change. It’s been a fun group. DQ [Commanders coach Dan Quinn] does a great job with the staff and culture so I’m really enjoying myself.”
To recap, we got nothing from Murray and a loveliest from Kingsbury.
There aren’t a lot of players left from the offense that Kingsbury ran. Without much insight from Murray, with Will Hernandez dousing the line of questioning on Thursday, and with Trey McBride missing practice all week while in the concussion protocol, we turned to offensive lineman Kelvin Beachum and receiver Greg Dortch for their thoughts.
“Completely different philosophies,” Beachum said. “One is on the ball, hurry up and the goal is to get as many plays in as possible to push the tempo. This offense now is a more traditional, pro-style offense.
“We’re trying to establish the line of scrimmage and run the ball,” Dortch added. “A lot of things are under the center, play-action and then it’s pass after that.
“With Kliff it was more kind of spread open, bubble screens, get the ball out quick to your playmakers.”
As previously noted, much of the personnel on the offensive units has changed to suit the philosophy, but both players are certain this offense suits its personell.
“Hell, yeah it suits this personnel,” Dortch said. “We’ve got a great powerful back with James [Conner], we have all the pieces receiver-wise, we’ve got a great O-line and we’ve got a great quarterback. We’ve got everything we need.”
“I think this offense fits what we’re trying to do and what we’re trying to build here,” Beachum added. “What we’re trying to build here is playing complementary football — making sure the offense is taking care of the defense and the defense is taking care of the offense.”
Neither player was willing to opine on which approach is better.
Neither player was willing to opine on the contrast of finesse vs. physicality in these two offenses.
Neither player was willing to opine on the propensity for penalties under Kingsbury (the Cardinals led the league twice and finished top-five in penalties all four of Kingsbury’s seasons).
And nobody was willing to opine on how reliant the Kingsbury offense was on superhuman performances from Murray, instead of a more balanced attack.
Fortunately for you, PHNX Cardinals’ Johnny Venerable and Bo Brack were more than willing to offer their thoughts.
3 Keys to a Cardinals victory
Be the better offense: The coaches and the players downplayed the return of Kingsbury, but you can bet Kyler Murray wants to show his estranged former coach how much he has progressed in Drew Petzing’s system, and you can bet that Kingsbury wants to prove that he is the offensive guru that Michael Bidwill envisioned when the Cardinals hired him in the wake of the Steve Wilkes disaster.
It would help if the Cardinals are able to establish running back James Conner the way they did in the first half in Buffalo, and the way they did all day against the Rams. If Washington has to worry about the run, it will make its porous defense all the more susceptible.
Bring Daniels back to earth: It’s funny how hype works in the NFL. Jayden Daniels had two OK performances in the first two weeks of the season in which he was efficient with Kingsbury’s short passing game but did not throw a TD. One week later, people are asking if he’s a better QB than No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams.
The NFL’s over-analysis machine is absurd, but that doesn’t mean Daniels won’t present problems with his arm — and more so with his legs. Watch film of the Bengals game and you’ll notice that Daniels rolls and runs exclusively to his right. That’s Kingsbury putting Daniels in positions to succeed, but it also may be a limiting factor of the offense.
Should the Cardinals spy him with a player such as Mack Wilson Sr.? Can they sustain pressure up the middle with two more defensive linemen (Justin Jones, Khyiris Tonga) out of the lineup? Limiting Daniels’ ability to hurt the Cardinals with his legs will probably remind everyone that he is still a rookie with lots of development ahead. And if he doesn’t slide on one of those runs the way his OC and his former coach at ASU want him too, well, that could provide another tough lesson.
Turnovers: Washington is the only team in the NFL that has not turned the ball over this season. That’s good because the Commanders have only forced one turnover (only Jacksonville is worse at zero).
The Cardinals are even in the turnover department with three each way, but they should have had a pick-6 against the Lions if the officials hadn’t blown dead that infamous first-half play just before the two-minute warning. In a game that figures to feature a lot of offense, turnovers could play a larger role than usual.
Matchup to watch
Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. vs. Commanders secondary
It’s unclear if the Commanders will move shut-down-cornerback-by-default Benjamin St-Juste from side to side to defend Harrison, or if they will rotate coverage with players such as Michael Davis and Emmanuel Forbes Jr,. also taking a crack.
Here’s what we do know. The Washington defense has allowed the second most passing yards per game in the NFL (255.7), the seventh highest completion percentage (71.9) and the Commanders are tied for the third fewest sacks in the NFL with four, even though they did a better job of pressuring Bengals QB Joe Burrow last week, giving him an average time of 2.06 seconds to throw per Pro Football Focus.
Those stats are a good indication of why Washington has allowed the third most points per game at 29.3.
Even if Washington opts to take Harrison away with coverage adjustments (we’re not sure they can), that should open opportunities for the rest of the receiving corps, whether it’s tight end Elijah Higgins, or receivers Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch.
The Cardinals passing game needs to feed this week.
Final injury report
Quotable
Game Notes
- Washington’s offense has scored on every drive in the past two games (excluding kneel downs), making it the only team since at least 2000 to score on every drive in multiple games (excluding kneel downs).
- With a win, the Cardinals would improve to 16-7 against the NFC East since 2014, including a 9-3 record over the past 12 games.
- With a tackle for loss, LB Zaven Collins would have at least one tackle for loss for a fifth consecutive game, matching the longest streak of his career (2022). Only Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson (five games) and Rams LB Byron Young (five) have longer active streaks than Collins.
- Jayden Daniels has three rushing touchdowns in his first three NFL games. He can join Robert Griffin III, Cam Newton and Anthony Richardson as the only quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era with four rushing touchdowns in their first four career games.
- After Sunday’s game, defensive lineman Darius Robinson is eligible to come off IR. So are tackle Christian Jones and cornerback Elijah Jones. Robinson has been working out aggressively on the side. Coach Jonathan Gannon would not say whether Robinson will be activated next week. He doesn’t deal in hypotheticals.
- How important is a win for the Cardinals? Since 1990, 34 of 235 teams (14.5 percent) to start 1-3 made the postseason.
And now it’s time for our predictions.
Predictions
Top photo via Getty Images
