Cardinals Greats: Marvin Harrison, Jr. Will Be Fine, But Scheme Tweaks Might Help

There are plenty of reasons Cardinals fans and fantasy team owners should not suffer popped arteries or irritated ulcers over rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.’s lack of production in last Sunday’s loss to Buffalo.

It was only one game, the season opener. The Cardinals did score 17 points in the first half on the road against a team that has won four consecutive division titles.

Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing is a talented play caller, and Harrison has too much talent to continue to finish games with one catch on three targets.

Two of the best receivers in Cardinals history, Roy Green and Frank Sanders, agree with all, or most, of the above paragraph. But they also know that paragraph should come with asterisks:

• Every game in the NFL is significant. There are only 17 of them.
• And the Cardinals, and Harrison, have to do a better job of making sure the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft impacts a game.

“I was surprised the targets were limited,” said Sanders, who ranks fifth in team history in receptions and seventh in yardage. “But I did the math the other day, and of all the top receivers drafted, there were only a few targeted more than four or five times. Nobody had great numbers.

“Marvin was targeted three times. Rome Odunze (of the Bears) was targeted four times and he was the ninth pick in the draft. Malik Nabers (Giants, sixth overall) was targeted seven times, and he caught five (passes) for 66 (yards).”

In team history, Green ranks behind only Larry Fitzgerald in receiving yards and is fourth in receptions. He has been part of the team’s radio broadcast for years and rarely misses watching a Cardinals game.

Like Sanders, and nearly everyone else who follows the NFL, Green was surprised only three passes were thrown Harrison’s way.

Harrison and quarterback Kyler Murray missed connections on a back-shoulder attempt. Harrison dropped a pass. His only reception gained 4 yards.

That game, Green thinks, will be an aberration.

“One of the great things he has is a great quarterback,” Green said. “He (Harrison) has all the ability in the world. He’s going to be O.K., without question. He’s going to be O.K.”

Cardinals coaches were a bit surprised at the resources the Bills devoted to stopping Harrison. Rarely was he singled covered. Almost always a safety roamed near Harrison, ready to help a cornerback.

In the first half, the Cardinals had success going elsewhere. Murray was sharp. The line opened holes for running back James Conner. And with touchdown drives of 70 and 71 yards, the Cardinals kept the ball away from Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

But in the second half, Conner’s running space narrowed, and the Bills rush began to get to Murray. The Cardinals needed a big play in the passing game, and that is what Harrison is supposed to help deliver. But he was not targeted at all in the second half.

So, why didn’t the Cardinals force the issue? Because that’s not the way the NFL works, said Sanders. If teams are rolling coverage toward Harrison, or using ‘cloud’ coverage, as Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said the Bills did, then Murray has to look elsewhere.

“If they ‘cloud’ Marvin, then more than likely you’re going to the other side (of the field) and going ‘one, two, three’ with your progression,” Sanders said. “That’s the smart thing a quarterback is supposed to do, instead of fitting it into holes that are not there.”

Yet, elite NFL receivers see special coverages constantly and still get their catches and their touchdowns.

In his prime, Green did, too. He was drafted as cornerback in 1979 and didn’t become a full-time receiver until 1982. He quickly became one of the games most dangerous deep threats. Green was named all-pro in 1983 and 1984, scoring 26 touchdowns and averaging nearly 18 yards per reception.

For his career, Green averaged 16 yards per catch. So, he received plenty of special attention from defenses in his decade or so of full-time work at receiver. Rather than shy away from double teams, Green said he embraced the opportunities.

“When you have safeties on the backside, those are the guys who had to cover me,” Green said. “Once I get 6 to 7 yards down the field, it’s all about the safety now.

“With the right play action, he’s got half the field and he’s not going to cover me. I think Marvin can do that same thing, particularly with the way we (the Cardinals) are running the football with Conner. Play-action is going to give (Harrison) opportunities to make big plays.”

While understanding why Cardinals offensive coaches made the calls they did against Buffalo, both Green and Sanders said there are ways coaches can help Harrison have a big season.

First, Green said, don’t diminish Harrison’s role because of how you think an opponent might play him.

In 1983, the Cardinals were preparing to play the Cowboys, Green said, and offensive coordinator Rod Dowhower devised a game plan that didn’t feature Green. Dowhower, whom Green considers an offensive genius, anticipated the Cowboys doing whatever they could to eliminate Green as an option.

The day before the game, Green approached Dowhower and told him, “Hey, don’t you stop me, make them stop me.”

The next day Green scored a 71-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

Afterward, Dowhower thanked Green for speaking up.

A few days after the Bills game, Petzing said it’s his job, not Murray’s, to make sure the ball gets to Harrison more often. One way to do that, Sanders said, is to move Harrison around, including via pre-snap motion.

Against the Bills, the Cardinals used pre-snap motion on about a third of the pass plays, among the lowest rates in the NFL in week one. Most of the time, it was slot receiver Greg Dortch who went in motion.

Harrison played 55 downs and didn’t go in motion once.

“It’s exactly what Dallas is doing with CeeDee Lamb, what Minnesota is doing with Justin Jefferson, what the Raiders are doing with Mr. Adams (Davante),” Sanders said. “They are putting them in the slot and moving them around consistently. They have them in motion running zip, zang, zoom, zing.

“They are trying to get a mismatch with their No. 1 guy vs. the defense’s nickel coverage or their dime back. But if your offense is not that, then you’re going to be trying to change everything to accommodate one person.”

Perhaps that’s a counter Petzing will employ Sunday when the Cardinals play host to the Rams, who have won 13 of the last 15 games in the series. The Cardinals haven’t beaten the Rams in Arizona in 10 years.

While coaches figure out to use Harrison better, Sanders said Harrison must remember to not worry about things he can’t control. Just be a good teammate, run good routes and catch the ball when it does come your way.

By all accounts, Harrison is the type of person who will do all those things. He is not a diva, and on the field his body language whispers.

Give me the damn ball is not a sentence anyone has heard him utter.

“Everybody knows he’s a hard worker and he’s going to do what he’s supposed to do,” Green said. “He has a chance to be special.”

To be special, however, Harrison needs to be targeted more than three times a game. The Bills game has to be an outlier, not the norm.

“If I’m the offensive coordinator, he’s going to get some opportunities, without question,” Green said.