The Arizona Cardinals delivered a statement win against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. The offense was smooth, the defense stifling, and Arizona improved to 4-0, the only undefeated team in the NFL through four weeks. The Cardinals had a tonne of impressive individual performances against the Rams, yet perhaps none more underrated than the tandem of Chase Edmonds and James Conner in Arizona’s backfield. The complementary duo each racked up personal season-highs in carries for Conner and yardage for Edmonds. Kyler Murray and Arizona’s electric passing attack lit the game up, but Edmonds and Conner controlled the game down the stretch. The game against the Rams exemplified the ideal role for Edmonds and Conner in this Cardinals offense. Although Murray shines brightest, Arizona’s running backs play a vital role in Kingsbury’s ‘Air Raid’ offense.
Chase Edmonds and James Conner’s Ideal Role in Arizona
Edmonds and Conner: A Complimentary Duo
Arizona’s running backs have a peculiar place in their organization, a situation perhaps only replicated in Baltimore, wherein neither running back is their team’s most dynamic rushing threat. Murray’s rushing talent is revolutionary for Arizona, a human joystick that creates highlight plays every game. Such is Murray’s dual-threat talent that it serves Arizona well to keep the ball in his hands.
The Cardinals chose not to go after a running back in the draft, as some thought they would. Instead, the team stuck with Edmonds to be their bell cow heading into 2021. A smaller-bodied back, Edmonds’ skillset is ideally suited to Arizona’s dynamic offense. He lacks the archetype of the NFL’s top backs, like Derrick Henry or Nick Chubb, but Edmonds’ versatility matches up well with Kliff Kingbury’s fluid system. He is fast, elusive, and, either out of the backfield or split out wide, is an excellent receiving option in the passing game.
What Arizona did go after this off-season is the Brandon Jacobs to Edmonds’ Derrick Ward. Conner is the big-bodied power back that Arizona has lacked in recent seasons. Although Kingsbury’s offense suits Edmonds’ versatility, the need for a downhill runner has been significant, especially in 2020, with the laterally-inclined Kenyan Drake. Conner gives Arizona an alternative style of runner, a bruiser to attack between the tackles. A relationship with James Saxon, Arizona’s running backs coach, and run game coordinator, saw Conner leave Pittsburgh for Arizona.
Fire and Ice Versus Los Angeles
Edmonds and Conner have clear archetypes that reflect their style of play; it was evident how the two would complement one another. However, this projection manifested itself fully in Week 4 against the Rams. The box score told the story. Edmonds totaled 120 yards on twelve carries, in addition to 19 yards on 4 receptions in the passing game. Meanwhile, Conner carried the ball eighteen times for 50 yards while also contributing two touchdowns.
With those two touchdowns, Conner led the team in scoring in what was a comprehensive offensive display. However, it is illustrative that Conner did so while only averaging 2.8 yards per carry. In the most basic sense, this reflects well the role that Arizona signed Conner to play. His touchdowns, both one-yard carries in goal-line formations, exemplified his role as the short-yardage back in ‘gotta have it’ situations.
Edmonds, meanwhile, was integral in Arizona’s ability to control the pace in the back end of the contest. Arizona’s opening drive of the fourth quarter was a 94-yard possession that swallowed up over eight minutes of clock; Edmonds carried six times for sixty-nine yards, a sequence headlined by a 54-yard run. Edmonds demonstrated his elusiveness and open-field ability on Arizona’s best rushing play of the season. Against the Rams, the Cardinals used Edmonds to exploit space and brought in Conner when there was none.
Conner’s Monopoly On Scoring Likely To Continue
Thanks to the efficiency of Arizona’s passing attack, the Cardinals find themselves in short-yardage situations early and often. This indicates why Conner currently leads the team in carries, despite Edmonds’ title of lead back; Conner’s skillset has been situationally more viable this season. Conner currently leads the team in scoring with four touchdowns to his name, while Edmonds has yet to tally a touchdown in 2021.
However, Edmonds leads the team in rushing yards by a significant margin. His yards-per-carry of 5.9 currently ranks third overall in the NFL. Leading the NFL in touchdown runs over twenty yards since 2019, Edmonds has big-play ability. The fifty-four-yarder against the Rams teased as much. Unfortunately for Edmonds, the Cardinals don’t play at MetLife Stadium this year, where he usually has a field day, but he will have better scoring performances this season.
Conner scoring all the touchdowns is a pleasant problem to have for Arizona. He is playing the role the Cardinals brought him in to do. It means Murray and the passing attack are forcing short-yardage situations. In terms of scoring, Edmonds is a schematic casualty, but he is capable of creating touchdowns and will do so down the stretch. He will continue, health allowing, to lead the Cardinals in rushing yards. Conner will likely score more touchdowns because Arizona’s passing game is looking deadly. Four games in, Edmonds and Conner are playing their roles exactly how the Cardinals drew them up.
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