Posted by Darren Urban on December 31, 2013 – 10:53 am

Bruce Arians called it a beginning, and his players all talked about the optimism they have going forward into 2014 after a 10-6 record in 2013. The tangible proof in the improvement, however, goes beyond the five-victory rise from 2012. Many of the other numbers on both offense and defense also underscore the Cards’ change this season.

Offensively, there was nowhere to go but up after the disaster of 2012. That started with the play of quarterback Carson Palmer, especially after the unit started to grasp Arians’ scheme. Palmer threw too many interceptions — with 22, the Cardinals actually threw one more than the QB group did in 2012 — but all the other numbers were much better, including the overall rank (the Cards were 12th in the NFL, after being dead last in ’12) and points scored (the Cardinals increased their per game average by more than eight points a game.)

Year 1st downs Points Yds Yds rushing Yds Passing Sacks allowed Comp pct TD INT NFL rank 2013 329 379 5542 422-1540 4291 41 63.2 24 22 12 2012 246 250 4209 352-1204 3383 58 55.4 11 21 32





We all know the Cardinals’ defense was pretty good in 2012, finishing 12th in the league. Then Todd Bowles came in as defensive coordinator, there was much hand wringing, and then the Cards ended up a fantastic unit. They ended up sixth in the NFL, best against the run (after finishing 28th last year) and were the main reason the Cardinals became a factor in the NFC West and the NFC overall. Now we see how many interviews Bowles gets to be a head coach and whether the Cardinals can keep their DC for at least another season.

Year Points allowed Rush yds per game Rush D NFL rank Yds per game TDs allowed Sacks INT INT TDs NFL rank 2013 324 84.4 1 317.4 35 47 20 4 6 2012 357 137.0 28 337.8 40 38 22 2 12





Tags: Carson Palmer Posted in Blog