Arizona Cardinals No-Huddle Offense has Frightening Potential in 2015

The no-huddle offense has taken on a life of its own in recent years. Peyton Manning won five MVP Awards with the help of well-timed no-huddle drives—among other things the greatest quarterback of this era has perfected—and Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly prefers his offense doesn’t huddle at all.

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When the Arizona Cardinals signed former 2,000-yard running back Chris Johnson late in the offseason, initial speculation suggested he would be little more than motivation for rookie third-round pick, running back David Johnson. David had missed most of Cards camp with a hamstring injury before Chris signed.

The rookie returned to practice the day after the veteran showed up.

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In his first professional action during a preseason Week 2 game against the San Diego Chargers, David Johnson looked every bit like the back the Cardinals need him to be now and in the upcoming years, as he carried 13 times for 66 yards (5.1 yards per carry); he played more than expected because Chris Johnson sat out, nursing his own hammy issue.

The no-huddle creates an advantage for the offense in that the opposing defense cannot make substitutions if the offense does not. And with enough weapons at wide receiver and running back, an offense can pick apart an unfortunate defense by keeping a set group of skill players on the field for an entire drive, which tends to tire out the defensive unit.

From a receiving standpoint, both Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington are above average for running backs. They can make things happen from the backfield or line up out wide as receivers and still make plays. Given that fact, having them both on the field when Coach Bruce Arians’ offense needs points in a hurry is a potentially deadly combination.

Put them on the field with Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and rising star John Brown, and suddenly you begin to grasp the potential of Arians’ offense—especially when they go no-huddle.

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The speed combination of Chris Johnson and Ellington is intriguing. But considering David Johnson is an above average receiver as well, it may not matter which of the three running backs are on the field in 20 personnel—Palmer can run the no-huddle with Ellington and one of the Johnsons, or both Johnsons, on the field at the same time and have plenty of firepower from which to choose.

Out of 20 personnel (two backs, no tight ends and three receivers), the Cardinals have almost limitless possibilities in terms of formations. During one no-huddle drive, Arians could have two backs line up in the backfield, then on the next play have them both split out wide, while on the next play have one of them in the backfield while the other remains out wide as a receiver.

Talk about making a defense’s collective head spin.

To put the offense in overdrive, Arians could choose Brown, the speedy Brittan Golden and rookie J.J. Nelson—who ran an NFL Scouting Combine-best 4.28 40-yard dash—as his receivers while using Chris Johnson and Ellington as his backs in a sort of “supersonic package.” With Fitzgerald and Floyd on the sideline it’s not the most talented nor the best blocking package Arians could field, but it does present perhaps the most speed any NFL team could field this season.

One thing that may come to the minds of skeptics is the following statistic: Since Arians took over the Cardinals before the 2013 season, no team has run fewer no-huddle plays than Arizona’s 34. The Cardinals have not needed to speed the game up to be successful under Arians.

However, the 2014 NFL Coach of the Year Award winner has had the offense work on speeding up the game all offseason, which may foretell of his plans to deploy his plethora of weapons.

“We can play real fast right now,” Arians told AZCardinals.com’s Kyle Odegard in June. “I like the tempo of it. It’s gone really well the whole time we’ve been out here.”

Arians sees the potential in using the no-huddle, but that doesn’t mean Palmer and Co. will suddenly become the Eagles, who have utilized the no-huddle an NFL-high 1,409 times over the past two seasons—remember, Arizona has gone huddle-free just 34 times over that span; the disparity is staggering.

You can change the pace of the game. …You get (the defense) in a substitution pattern and they’re stuck with whatever’s on the field. —Bruce Arians

If Arians allows Palmer to use the no-huddle twice as often this season as the Cardinals have used it over the past two seasons, that equates to roughly five to eight drives over a 16-game regular season.

It’s plausible the actual total will be more than 34 no-huddle snaps this season, but it may not be much more than that. Use it too often and teams may find a way to slow it down. Use it sparingly in the right situations, and it could be the difference in a game or two.

And in the ultra-competitive NFC West, an extra win or two down the stretch could mean hosting a playoff game rather than going on the road as a wild-card team—or worse, missing the playoffs altogether.

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