It’s still early. Training camp is less than a month away and the regular-season opener is (thanks, Jess) 73 days away. A lot can happen between now and then.
But it’s also true Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing is looking forward to getting the pads on in camp and seeing an improving offense compete with each other.
The offseason has been filled with talk about quarterback Kyler Murray and a supporting cast headlined by running back James Conner, wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch and tight end Trey McBride.
Two receivers not generating a lot of discussion are Zay Jones and Chris Moore, seasoned veterans who signed one-year contracts in the last three months.
Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said Thursday that duo “instantly integrated themselves into the offense and into the team. I think they’re pros. They’ve been around this league a long time. They understand the game, they understand what it takes to be a pro and play at a high level. So I was really pleased with kind of how quickly they jumped in, learning the system and were able to go out there and execute the offense.
“But also just how they interacted with their teammates, how they went out there and had fun and enjoyed playing. I think that’s a really important part of the offseason. You got to come together, you got to enjoy what you do and I think those two guys love football, and it’s one of the reasons they’re here.”
Noting the varied weapons and skill sets on the roster, Petzing was asked how exciting it is to see what can be created in the offense.
He joked, “We’re going to petition the league for two footballs at all times” and then said, “No, as you said, it’s a variety of skill sets. It’s guys that do different things well, so it allows us to be multiple, it allows us to attack a defense in different ways because you never know exactly week to week where the weakness is or what you’re going to need to exploit.
“If you have everybody doing one thing really well and that’s not the matchup that week, it’s hard to adjust. So I think that’s certainly going to be part of who we are, certainly a part of who we always want to be in all facets.”
The “two footballs” comment elicited a question about whether he might need an extra ball to keep everyone happy.
Showing his confidence of who is inside the locker room, Petzing laughed and said, “No. I think as we looked to build the roster, I think this ultimately comes from the top from (general manager) Monti (Ossenfort) and JG (head coach Jonathan Gannon). The focus is always going to be on winning. And that’s never going to change. And if that’s your No. 1 goal, that at the end of the day, if we’re winning, and we’re doing the things to put ourselves in position to win, guys are going to be happy they’re here and happy they’re contributing. Certainly, great players want the ball. You want them to want the ball. I’ve been around some guys that always want the ball; not because they’re selfish necessarily, but they felt like it was the best way to win. You want those players. You want those guys on your roster.
“And I’ve said this to Kyler, because sometimes the quarterback can feel that pressure. ‘Ah, I got to get this guy the ball.’ That’s not your job. That’s my job. As a coach we can dictate some of that. We’ll try to. Your job’s to play the play. Whatever the look is, go where the ball needs to go, make the decision that needs to be made, don’t worry about that stuff. I think based on the character, the guys that we’ve kind of talked about in this room, I don’t really worry about that.”
Petzing came to the Cardinals in 2023 after working under Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski for three seasons, so it was pointed out that Stefanski recently was talking about play-calling and noted that the biggest challenge, but what is loved the most, is collaborating with the staff early in game weeks with the construction of the game plan.
So, Drew, what do you love about the process and do you agree with Kevin?
“Absolutely,” Petzing said. “Kevin probably influenced my understanding of the game and my ability to do this job, maybe more than anybody. I love the guy. But he did hit on it. That’s what makes it fun because we all kind of look at it from a slightly different angle. Realistically going into a game, we have slightly different jobs.
“Somebody’s getting a tight end ready. Somebody’s getting the quarterback already. Somebody’s getting the offensive line ready. I’m trying to get the entire system ready for that week. So we all bring different things to the table that we think is going to allow us to be successful to try to put a plan together and go win a game and you have a very finite amount of time to do that. So I think it’s a really enjoyable part of the job that makes it fun to do.”
Of course, the reality is that the biggest challenge implementing a game plan is when the overall talent isn’t present to do what a coordinator would like to do.
The flip side is that the enjoyment is heightened when so many pieces are in place.
Petzing concluded, “I’m a much better play-caller when the players are really good (laughter). That’s never gonna change. But you do feel that when you have a number of weapons, they can’t take it all away, you know? Unless they’re elite. And then it’s going to be a tough game, and you got to go out there and grind it out.
“But it allows you to be multiple, allows you to be hard to defend and it makes it fun early in the week because you almost have too much that you want to put in and you have to pare it down to say, all right, here’s how we’re going to go into the game.”
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
