Through the first six weeks of the 2015 NFL season, the Cardinals rank as the 4th best pass offense by Football Outsiders’ DVOA, while the Steelers rank as the league’s 11th best pass defense. The Cardinals offensive success can be attributed to a combination of Carson Palmer’s return, the continued development of John Brown, and the improvement across the offensive line (along with a host of other factors), and last week’s matchup against the Steelers gives us an opportunity to look at a snapshot of the Cardinals’ pass offense, dissect it schematically, and see how they have found success.
(Cardinals: 0 – Steelers: 0) 1st and 10 – 14:57 in the 1st
- On the first play of the game, the Steelers show man coverage pre snap to counter the Cardinals empty backfield look. Once the ball is snapped the Steelers rotate from their pre snap man coverage look into Cover 3.
- The #1 and #2 receivers to the closed and open side of the formation run mirrored route concepts with the #1 receivers running curls and the two slot receivers—John Brown (open side) and Larry Fitzgerald (closed side)—running seam routes.
- With good position on John Brown, Ross Cockrell is in position to contest the pass, but isn’t able to effectively play the pocket of the receiver (rake between the arms to breakup the pass) and loses the clash against Brown for the ball; it’s an exceptional play by Brown.