Cards better in red zone
One of the biggest differences from the Cardinals last year as opposed to this season is their marked improvement in the red zone, Bob McManaman writes. Their matchup today with the Seahawks features the NFL’s top two red-zone offenses.
When your field goal kicker had a fantastic year, it doesn’t necessarily mean an NFL team enjoyed a successful season. Take the 2019 Cardinals, for instance.
Zane Gonzalez kicked 31 field goals a year ago, the third-most in the league, and yet the Cardinals went 5-10-1. OK, so it didn’t help that Arizona’s defense allowed the most yards in the league (6,432), the most completions (421) and the second-most receiving touchdowns (38).
But the point is, the Cardinals were able to move the ball well in the first year of quarterback Kyler Murray and head coach Kliff Kingsbury. The difference was, they couldn’t score touchdowns when they got into the red zone. Arizona had the fourth-worst touchdown percentage (45.28) inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.
Of Gonzalez’ 31 field goals, a whopping 23 of them came once the Cardinals had crossed into the red
zone. Every time he had to settle for three points in those situations, it made Kingsbury sick to his stomach.
Flash forward to this season, and entering Sunday night’s game against the visiting Seahawks, Kingsbury is feeling as chill and refreshed as that famous draft-day image of him kicking back at his Paradise Valley mansion with the fire pit burning in the back yard.
The Cardinals (4-2) have scored points each of the 20 times they’ve ventured inside the 20-yard line, getting 16 touchdowns and four field goals. Their red zone touchdown efficiency is 80.0 percent, which ranks second in the league behind only the Seahawks (5-0), who have converted 16 of 18 red zone trips into touchdowns (88.9 percent).
“I think it’s a combination of things,” Kingsbury said when asked about his team’s red zone proficiency in 2020. “I do think the emphasis that we put on it after really struggling there last year, we thought it cost us games not being able to convert touchdowns and so that was a heavy emphasis all through training camp, all through the offseason, the virtual training we did.
“And then Kyler’s making plays and he’s not taking negative plays. There haven’t been any sacks in the red zone. We’re staying on schedule and guys are locking in and executing at a high level when we get down there.”
The only time the Cardinals want to see Gonzalez on the field once they cross deep into enemy territory is when he’s kicking extra points. He’s been doing plenty of that lately. The Cardinals have scored touchdowns on eight of their last nine red zone opportunities over the last three games (88.89 percent), the best in the league over that span, and they’ve scored TDs on all 14 of their goal-to-go situations, tied with the Buccaneers and Titans for the best percentage overall.
In Murray’s eyes, the reason for the turnaround is simple.
“Practice. It’s Year 2. Everyone being more comfortable. Attention to detail. All those things,” he said. “Last year, we were kind of just learning it on the rope. Not as comfortable with everything. This year, we’ve had plenty of time to see it through meetings, through Zoom, and then go out and run it, rep it, walk through it.
“When you get the reps in, it’s hard not to execute it. Obviously, not executing happens, but for us, we’re a lot more comfortable in Year 2 in the system. Everyone knows what to do and I think that’s just a recipe for success.”
It helps having a mobile quarterback who can throw on the run or tuck it and scamper for positive yardage. The Cardinals have that in Murray, who leads the league with a 7.3-yards per carry average, and so do the Seahawks in veteran Russell Wilson, who leads all quarterbacks with 19 touchdown passes.
“Both quarterbacks are so mobile that they cause all the problems when you run the ball, but then to move and find receivers and get a second shot at the play, that’s where it really helps,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “And inexperienced guys that don’t handle it that well don’t necessarily take advantage of it. But obviously, Russell has done that for years and Kyler is such a natural that he’s causing all kinds of problems.”
The Cardinals’11rushing touchdowns are the most in the league and Murray has six of them, the most by a quarterback this season and one shy of a franchise record. Four of those rushing scores have come in the red zone, where Murray has multiple, designed running plays scripted for him. Sometimes, those scrambles are also just instinctual, where he will take off if he feels pressure or sees a running lane.
“My reads are my reads and the defense has to account for my legs as well as me being able to throw the ball down there,” Murray said. “I think it just puts a defense in a bind. It’s tough to deal with.”
Tough to deal with? Wilson remains one of the most elusive quarterbacks in the game nine years into his NFL career, but when it comes to Murray’s escapable moves, Wilson said it’s no contest.
“He’s as quick as a cat,” Wilson gushed. “He’s just moving around like crazy.”
Red zone success, however, is a team success. It takes everyone doing their part, whether it’s the offensive line, a receiver throwing a key block, or the coach calling the right play in the right situation. Penalties and turnovers, meanwhile, can ruin it all in the blink of an eye.
“When you get down in the red zone, everything tightens down,” Cardinals left guard Justin Pugh said. “It’s more of a crowded area and the defense can use the back of the end zone as that 12th defender. So, you have to be able to run the ball and we’ve done a good job with that, obviously.
“Having Kyler back there with the read-option helps. The receivers blocking down field, staying on their guys. It really is a group effort. The offensive line tries to do their job and we’ve been successful. We have to keep building that and keep building on areas where we’re lacking.”
Vance Joseph’s defense has done its part as well. The Cardinals have allowed opponents to score a touchdown on just 10 of 24 red zone possessions this season. Only the Bears (36.4 percent) have a better opponent red zone percentage than the Cardinals (41.7). In goal-to-go situations, the Arizona defense has been even tougher, allowing TDs on just five of 12 possessions from inside the 10yard line.
If there’s one area where Joseph wants to see an improvement, it’s creating turnovers.
“Last week obviously we got four and we should have had six or seven,” Joseph said, referring to Monday night’s 28-10 win at the Cowboys. “So just more takeaways. Our focus each week hasn’t changed. It’s playing great defense in the red zone, being great in third downs and taking the ball away. That’s our focus every single week and keeping points to a minimum. If we can do those three things each week, it should be a good year as far as playing defense for the Cardinals.”
Roster move
Defensive lineman Trevon Coley has been activated to the active roster from the practice squad. He played against the Cowboys on Monday night and had three tackles.
Tight end rankings
1. Darren Waller, LV vs. TB 2. Travis Kelce, KC vs. DEN 3. Darren Fells, HOU vs. GB 4. Austin Hooper, CLE vs. CIN 5. Hunter Henry, LAC vs. JAX 6. Jonnu Smith, TEN vs. PIT 7. Robert Tonyan, GB vs. HOU 8. Noah Fant, DEN vs. KC
9. T.J. Hockenson, DET vs. ATL 10. Jimmy Graham, CHI vs. LAR 11. Dalton Schultz, DAL vs. WAS 12. Tyler Higbee, LAR vs. CHI 1. DeAndre Hopkins, ARI vs. SEA 2. Terry McLaurin, WAS vs. DAL 3. Davante Adams, GB vs. HOU 4. DK Metcalf, SEA vs. ARI 5. Stefon Diggs, BUF vs. NYJ 6. Kenny Golladay, DET vs. ATL 7. Julio Jones, ATL vs. DET 8. Keenan Allen, LAC vs. JAX 9. Michael Thomas, NO vs. CAR 10. Diontae Johnson, PIT vs. TEN 11. Calvin Ridley, ATL vs. DET 12. Amari Cooper, DAL vs. WAS 13. Tyler Lockett, SEA vs. ARI 14. Jamison Crowder, NYJ vs. BUF 15. Chris Godwin, TB vs. LV
16. Odell Beckham Jr., CLE vs. CIN 17. DJ Chark Jr., JAX vs. LAC 18. Travis Fulgham, PHI vs. NYG
Place kicker rankings
1. Wil Lutz, NO vs. CAR
2. Chris Boswell, PIT vs. TEN 3. Younghoe Koo, ATL vs. DET 4. Nick Folk, NE vs. SF
5. Joey Slye, CAR vs. NO
6. Stephen Gostkowski, TEN vs. PIT 7. Mason Crosby, GB vs. HOU 8. Graham Gano, NYG vs. PHI
Defensive team rankings
1. Eagles vs. NYG
(played Thursday)
2. Bills vs. NYJ
3. Rams vs. CHI 4. Packers vs. HOU 5. Football Team vs. DAL 6. Chargers vs. JAX 7. Chiefs vs. DEN 8. Seahawks vs. ARI 9. Titans vs. PIT
10. Buccaneers vs. LV 11. Giants vs. PHI