Raising Arizona- The Impact of Ken Whisenhunt
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by user Letstalknfl
Let's talk about the new coach in Arizona:
The Arizona Cardinals have been considered a potential contender each off-season over the last few years. However, for some reason the team just continues to pump out sub-par seasons. While nobody can question the talent that exists on this team, somehow they just can't seem to win football games. Dennis Green is in my opinion a very good coach, but you can't argue that his tenure with the Cards was a bit of a disappointment. So in steps Ken Whisenhunt, former Offensive Coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Whisenhunt took over the Steelers offense in 2004, which was also Ben Roethlisberger's rookie season. So first of all, this bodes well for second year Cardinals QB Matt Leinart. Leinart showed a great deal of promise last season, and will likely continue to improve. With Whisenhunt coaching, Leinart can be sure that he won't be expected to carry the team on his back. Whisenhunt brings an old-school mentality to the game, which is to run the football and to play tough defense. Instead of being asked to constantly air it out, Leinart will likely be asked to simply control the clock, make some clutch first downs, and perform the play-action (which incidentally, Leinart is pretty darn good at). This will alleviate some of the pressure off the second year QB and will help him to grow as a player and as a leader. So the first major impact that the new coach will have is on the development of his players. Bringing his hard-nosed offensive system to the organization will likely be good for the entire offense. It will also help maximize Anquan Boldin. Boldin thrives on making tough catches and then running with it. He's a strong WR who's not afraid to go over the middle. Whisenhunt will also help to perfect Boldin's blocking skills which will help on screens and in the running game. Boldin (barring injury) will basically be the Hines Ward of the Cardinals offense, and he has the skill-sets to thrive in that role. The second thing that Whisenhunt does for the Cardinals, is bring team unity and cohesion. I've heard that when the coach arrived, he sat down with some of the veterans and tried to determine what some of the biggest issues are on the team. Apparently, it was identified that members of the team, in spite of their immense talent, do not know how to work together and lack cohesiveness. This is an important aspect in football, which some refer to as "the ultimate team sport." In no place is this more important than along the offensive line, where five teammates must unite to form a wall in front of the backfield and the pocket. Not coincidentally, the offensive line has been arguably the Cardinals' biggest flaw for a long time. Whisenhunt aims to fix this problem, and I've heard that he's spent a lot of the off-season organizing team-building activities and promoting unity with the entire team... offensive line included. I believe that because of these two things, system and unity, Whisenhunt has a great chance of getting the Cardinals to finally live up to their talent base.
Additionally, Whisenhunt brought with him Steelers offensive line/assistant head coach Russ Grimm, and gave him the same job with the Cardinals. Grimm is a large reason why the Steelers have had such a good offensive line and running game, and he is likely to have a huge impact on improving the Cardinals' offense. Coupled with the first round pick of OT Levi Brown from Penn State (number five overall in the 2007 draft), Edgerrin James should have something to smile about. I figure that Grimm's presence, Leinart's progression, and Whisenhunt's system and coaching style should have James back on the fast track to over 1,300 yards rushing.
Good talking NFL!
Brandon letstalknfl@hotmail.com
To check out my other blog, visit: http://letstalknfl.blogspot.com/
I do think that Cards are headed in the right direction though. I think their line and their running game will be greatly improved. I also think they have some unknown guys on defense who are developing nicely (i.e. Eric Green, Gerald Hayes). We'll see what actually happens, and I'll be posting my actual predictions and full-team analysis' as the regular season gets closer. Thanks for the comment!
Brandon