**Cardinals’ 2024 Key Strength Areas of Offense**
* 1st Downs Rushing Percentage: 38.2% —- #8 in NFL
* Yards Rushing Per game —- 144.2 —- #7
* Average Yards Per Rush —- 5.3 —- #2
2024 Team Rankings in 1st Down Rushing %, Yards Rushing Per Game, Average Yards Per Rush Stats 2004 —- NFC West:
1. ARI —— #1, #1, #1.
2. SFO —- #2, #2, #2
3. LAR —- #3, #3, #4
4. SEA —- #4, #4, #3
How to sustain it: keep loading up the OL with run maulers and keep the strong, hard-charging RB stable of James Conner, Trey Benson and Emari Demercado rolling.
**Cardinals’ 2025 Key Improvement Areas on Offense:**
2024 Rankings:
* TD% passing percentage —- 3.9% —- #16 in NFL
* Interception percentage —- 2.0% —- #18
* Passing for 1st downs —- 53.7% —- #24
How to fix it: stop throwing so often underneath the chains and end zone —- and stop the quick-winging it out of bounds passes on conversion and red zone plays, always have second options downfield.
**Cardinals’ 2024 Key Strengths on Defense:**
* Plays of 20+ yards allowed —- 45 —- #8 in NFL
* Plays of 40+ yards allowed —- 6 —- #11
* Red Zone TDs allowed % —- 52.63% —- #7
How to sustain it —- start Dadrion Taylor-Demerson at FS as an every-down player. Play linebackers who are faster and more aggressive in pass coverage.
**Cardinals 2025 Key Improvement Areas on Defense:**
2024 Rankings:
* QB-RTG Passing —- 95.1 —- #20
* 1st Down % —- 37.1% —- #29
* Completion % —- 68.6% —- #29
Team Interceptions + Pass Breakups —- 2024 NFC West
1. SF: 11 + 46 = 57
2. LAR: 14 + 40 = 54
3. SEA: 13= 39 = 52
4. ARI: 9 + 26 = 35
How to fix it —- the “bend but don’t break defense” is at best passive/aggressive and is an opposing QB’s dream —- stop playing soft zones, when you call and play zones, cover the WRs, TEs and RBs in each defender’s area — stop standing around like a bunch of cardboard figures —- play a much higher percentage of man-to-man —- on key 1st down conversions, assign Garrett Williams to play the best WR like white on rice —- get faster, stickier coverage from the linebackers —- be aggressive in coverages all game long, like Vic Fangio and his defenders were in Super Bowl LIX.
Those are my observations and suggestions. What are yours?