The Arizona Cardinals have been working on a brand new offense from head coach Bruce Arians after he came over from the Colts and while quarterback Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald have been building a nice rapport, the team has been without its primary running backs with Ryan Williams and Rashard Mendenhall.
The team has been without the two backs over the past few practices and they both were out on Monday with injuries, with Mendenhall out for the third straight time with patella tendinitis, while Williams is dealing with a knee issue. Williams has been injury prone during his career and he could be bumped down the depth chart if he can't stay healthy, as the team drafted two backs with Stepfan Taylor and Andre Ellington and they also added Alfonso Smith. The team has been dealing with a number of injuries on both sides of the ball, including to Karlos Dansby, Dani Williams and Daryn Colledge. Arians has been putting his stamp on the team in training camp and with Palmer in the fold, the quarterback play is expected to much improved over Kevin Kolb, Ryan Lindley and John Skelton.
The running game is up for grabs for rookies like Ellington and Taylor with the top two players sidelined and with Williams still unable to shake the injury bug, there is a good chance one of the young guys will get a chance to step up this year. Arians has also started to experiment using Patrick Peterson on offense and adding the dynamic cornerback and kick returner could really open things up for Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd. The team is expecting more improvement from the secondary as well after drafting Tyrann Mathieu and with Peterson already showing All-Pro skills, the former LSU Tigers teammates could be quite the tandem.
Last season the team ranked 28th in the league in rushing yards allowed per game and Arians is focusing on getting the defense in order during training camp as he implements his offensive system. Palmer will help greatly in the passing game after the Cards ranked 28th in the league with under 188 yards per game and if the running game can just contribute a little bit, the offense should be more consistent and effective after ranking last in league with 75 yards per game.
