Revenge of the Birds
The Arizona Cardinals’ offense has been predicated on a good running game. This is OC Drew Petzing’s entire scheme is to dominate the line of scrimmage, run the ball, and control the clock.
So far this season, none of that has happened.
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To dominate the line, the offense must have a line, an offensive line to be exact. So far, the Cardinals’ front five has not been the force needed to sustain a very good rushing attack. Both tackles are doing fairly well, as is center Hjalte Froholdt. But the guards are having issues. What does this offense do with both LG Evan Brown and RG Isaiah Adams?
To be fair, Adams was thrown into the starting lineup too early, and now he has to learn while he earns. Injured OG Will Hernandez will eventually be back in the lineup, but for now, Arizona’s coaching staff just has to ride with what they have.
TE Trey McBride is a very good blocker and is considered an extension of the offensive line. His backup, Tip Reiman, isn’t as dominant as McBride, but is a good blocker himself. Both players use proper technique with good leverage.
Throughout all four games this season, the rushing attack has been stale. This decline has allowed defenses to play the run less aggressively and focus their scheme around stopping the passing game.
The Cardinals’ offense has been a combination of mostly ineffective runs and short-yardage passing. Petzing has never been an overly aggressive coordinator, but this is something new and is completely stagnant.
Without a good offensive line effort, this means the run game suffers, incompletions go up, so do interceptions and sacks, not to mention pressures.
RB James Conner was the rock at running back. Then, suddenly, he was lost for the season against the San Francisco 49ers in the Week 3 16-15 loss with a horrible ankle injury. Second-year running back Trey Benson took over the starting role this past weekend against the Seattle Seahawks. He suffered a knee injury late in the game.
While Conner is out for the year, Benson underwent arthroscopic surgery on his meniscus and is expected to be out for four to six weeks, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Arizona has a Week 8 bye, so it’s still possible that Benson only misses four games.
So, what now? Who is going to handle running the ball for Arizona? According to the Cardinals’ depth chart, that now falls upon Emari Demercado.
Exactly who is he, and what does he offer the Cardinals?
Demercado grew up in Inglewood, California, just southwest of Los Angeles and a stone’s throw from the Los Angeles International Airport. His heritage is from Jamaica.
He played running back and free safety for the football team at Downey High School. As a senior, he had 128 carries for 976 yards and scored 11 touchdowns with a 7.6 yards per carry average. He added eight receptions for 157 yards...
