The Cardinals New Identity on Offense
The Arizona Cardinals have already been written off by everyone this year. New, first time head coach. Likely a rookie quarterback starting by midseason. A struggling offensive line. They are projected to win just three or four games in 2026. I’m not here to argue any of that. It’s not really what we do. But last Thursday night in the Hall of Fame Game, the Cardinals’ new offensive identity was clear, and it should remind you a lot of another team in that same division.
That Rams style offense is the clear direction for Head Coach Mike LaFleur, the former Rams offensive coordinator, moving forward. For what it’s worth, I thought they looked pretty decent running it Thursday night with Carson Beck at the helm. Am I making any sweeping declarations? No. But I do think this offense can be far more efficient in this system and set up for future success. Let’s take a look at what carried over from LA on Thursday night. And yes, I know it’s preseason. It’s the only film we’ve got.
Outside Zone
We know outside zone, wide zone, whatever you want to call it, is the core of this offensive philosophy. Run outside zone several different ways, get the defense moving, then come back with boot and play-action off that core run.
Thursday night the Cardinals ran outside zone approximately 17 times.
One thing is for sure, Jeremiyah Love should thrive in a system built off outside zone.
The Boot Game
With any good outside zone run game comes the counter punch. Boot. The Cardinals ran boot around 10 times Thursday night, completing 70 percent, with several variations out of condensed sets as is usual in this offense. And with a rookie quarterback, I won’t call him young, higher percentage throws are paramount to getting confidence going.
Throwing Dagger & Dig Routes
We outlined these routes earlier this year in an article on the Rams, and you can see that influence carrying over to the Cardinals. Between the two quarterbacks who played, the Cardinals threw Dagger three times. All three were completed, though only two went to the actual dig route.
Let’s take a look at this clip to show where the real difference between the Cardinals and the Rams lies. The quarterback executing it. By no means do I expect Carson Beck to play like Matthew Stafford, but this is a real illustration of the difference.
Both of these windows are similar, but the veteran has the foresight to put the ball into a tighter space, where his receiver is breaking to, while the rookie takes the check down instead. Is the rookie wrong? Not necessarily. But for this offense to go, that’s a window where I believe the quarterback needs to rip it for the explosive. With time, this might be a throw that gets made for the Cardinals later in 2026.
Curl/Flat
The last piece is the simplicity the Rams passing offense actually lived in. They don’t run a lot of complex route patterns, but they do make it complex in how they arrive at those patterns. One route the Rams ran quite a bit in 2025 was a simple curl/flat concept. One you’d see on a Friday night at your local high school. But just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. And the Cardinals threw it twice for completions last Thursday night.
Final Thoughts
Listen, the Cardinals might struggle this year. They might not. But the Rams blueprint is clearly there moving forward on offense. They have an identity. Run the ball, boot off that action, and throw play-action for explosives.
That identity is worth something on its own. LaFleur spent three seasons in that Rams building, and the offense was among the best in football the entire time. Top six in yards per game and points per game from 2023 through 2025. In 2025 they led the NFL in scoring at 30.5 points per game, and Stafford won MVP throwing for 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns. That is the standard LaFleur watched get built, rep by rep, install by install. The honest part is that McVay called those plays. LaFleur’s own play-calling reps came in 2021 and 2022 with the Jets, and nobody is putting those seasons in a highlight reel. Arizona is betting on system knowledge, not a proven NFL play-calling résumé.
What that means for the Cardinals is simple. The install is going to be sound. The run game marries to the boot game, the boot game marries to the play-action shots, and every one of those pieces was on tape Thursday night. What’s left is execution and personnel. Beck has to grow into the throws that make this offense hum, and the offensive line has to hold up long enough for outside zone to stress a defense horizontally. Neither of those gets solved in August, and Beck won’t even be the starter come week 1.
Only time will tell if they are able to build the talent around these core concepts. But an offense that knows what it is beats an offense that is still figuring it out, and after Thursday night, the Cardinals know what they are.