Coffee and Cardinals: Will Continuity Pay Dividends on Offense?

Good morning, Arizona Cardinals fans! And welcome to today's cup of coffee and Cardinals.

Happy Friday to those on a normal work week, hopefully things flow smoothly for everybody and before you know it, the weekend will finally be here!

We'll start today's round-up with another reminder of Arizona's belief in their offense figuring things out:

Benefits of Cardinals' Continuity by Arizona Sports' Tyler Drake

Drake: "The Arizona Cardinals were far from circling the wagons when it came to adding offensive pieces.

"Instead, the defense got the facelift, while the offense enters 2025 largely running it back behind quarterback Kyler Murray, tight end Trey McBride and wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch in the passing game.

"The lack of significant moves signals the front office’s feeling in the current makeup of the offense ahead of Year 3 under current leadership."

The front office is certainly confident - but should they be?

Statistically speaking the Arizona Cardinals' offense was by no stretch bad last season, though various factors prevented them from emerging from good to great status.

Perhaps running it back with the same group will yield different results, though with no major upgrades, Arizona is truly banking on both Kyler Murray and Drew Petzing to take the next step.

Where Kyler Murray and Trey McBride Can Improve Most by SB Nation's Walter Mitchell

Mitchell: "In my opinion, what can make all the difference in the world this season for elevating the Cardinals’ passing game are three things:

"Take far more downfield shots from play-action (see the Rodgers video —- watch his feet and how he creates added space and time for him throw) —- Kyler CAN do this.
"This year Kyler has to step up and rip the ball downfield, and avoid, whenever possible, floating passes off his back foot.
"Run a collection of rub routes (pick plays in the intermediate areas of the field), via short motions from slot into twins and trips, meshes, scissor combos."

Besides scoring more touchdowns, it's tough to ask more of the Murray/McBride duo - though Mitchell's thoughts on extending plays via play-action and taking more shots down the field should prove to be big for the offense.

Trey McBride Can Lead Passing Game At Tight End, But Wideouts Will Have Chances by AZCardinals.com's Darren Urban

Urban: "Coach Jonathan Gannon, not surprisingly, doesn't delve too far into passing game specifics. He wants the unit to be efficient. His first thought is being able to find flexibility every week, since every game plays out differently.

"Perhaps Harrison breaks out to be the star that many expect. McBride's talent won't wane, but there is always a chance his stats could shrink.

"The Cardinals just want to translate it into wins. That can happen with a tight end at the top of the leaderboard, but it can work out otherwise as well."

Arizona certainly will need their wideouts to produce more. Even if the Cardinals don't utilize them like most teams do, yet for the sake of balance Arizona will need their boundary weapons to contribute.