Paris Johnson Jr. with PHNX Cardinals Wired Up and Fired Up

Playcalling Issues for Mike LaFleur

By Walter Mitchell

This week while assessing the main reasons why the Cardinals' offense was so inept versus the Seahawks, when asked what is the most important area to improve, Jacoby Brissett said "calling the right plays."

Note: the conservative 3rd down playcalling in the Cardinals' 27-14 upset win over the Chargers was a slight concern and it got significantly magnified during the 31-7 loss to the Seahawks. We will show you every 3rd down not converted over the past 2 games. There are 16 of them. 

Nettles11

@Nettles111

·

Sep 23

Why didn’t he (Jacoby) say what’s most important is “calling the right plays” when DP was here??

See press conference here:

https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1NGaroXoozEJj

Walter B J Mitchell

@WBJMItch

·

Sep 23

Great question, Nettles11. MLF's offense has thus far been a whole lot of small ball in the passing game. Jacoby in Drew Petzing's system almost always threw past the sticks on 3rd downs (no matter what the down and distance) and by the end of the season, he led the Cardinals to finish as the #9 best offense at converting 3rd downs (which was even higher than the Rams and Seahawks). The last two weeks have looked like the old "3rd and Give Up" offense that Kyler perpetuated by consistently throwing checkdowns or short of the sticks by 2-3 yards or throwing hot potato sideline fades out of bounds or too far out of reach. You remember MLF saying "my bad" to Jacoby in LA when he called a 7-yard curl pass to a closely covered Trey on a 3rd and 9. Last year Jacoby converted over 43% of his 3rd downs. This year his percentage is 35%. Average pass per attempt last year was 6.9, this year it is 5.7. When all you do is run and throw into a 10-yard box it makes it so much easier for the defense to get 3rd down stops. Last year over his 12 starts Jacoby was 3rd behind Stafford and Goff at passing TDs per game at 1.9 (23 in 12 games). Thus far this year his passing TDs per game are 1.0 (2 in 2 games).

Underdog

@Graham475Steve

·

Sep 24

Replying to @WBJMItch

WTF are you talking about ? Jacoby was scared to death last Sunday. If he felt a breeze from a defensive player within 3 feet of him he panicked time and again. It was down right embarrassing

Walter B J Mitchell

@WBJMItch

Boost

Jacoby was trying to get the ball out under constant pressure. He wasn't scared, he was hurrying. In Week 1 Drake Maye got pressured 22 times, sacked 3 times and threw 3 interceptions. It was amazing that Jacoby only got sacked twice and turned the ball over only once. This is a QB who absorbed 110 QB pressures and 43 sacks in 12 starts last season; an absolute exemplar of courage and resiliency. What's embarrassing is the disrespect he gets from ignorant fans.

Seahawks' Defense Last 3 Games: SB vs. NE - 30 pressures, 6 sacks, 2 int. QBR 82.9 W1 vs. NE - 22 pressures, 3 sacks, 2 int., QBR 59.0 W2 vs. AZ - 15 pressures, 2 sacks, 1 int. QBR 77.3

Travis Smith

@tts42572

·

Sep 24

Results. He's 2-12 as a starter. They have a top 5 drafted WR, top 5 drafted RB, arguably top TE in the game....and are terrible. Is the OL that bad? Maybe. Or maybe Brissett is the problem. Any way you spin it, he's 2-12, losing games and the offense stinks.

Rob Weiner

@RobRobw211

·

Sep 24

Replying to @WBJMItch

Walter, Are you on Jacoby's payroll? You're constantly defending his poor play. His poor record. His poor attitude. I wish he was as good as you make him out to be, but regardless of all the pff #s you post trying to prop him up, he's still a loser.

Walter B J Mitchell

@WBJMItch

Boost

Rob, when the Cardinals signed Jacoby Brissett in 2025, I thought it was a mistake to give him a 2-year deal with $12M in guaranteed money. I thought he may have been washed up. It would have made much better sense back in 2023 while Kyler was out for 9 games, especially given the fair amount of success Jacoby had with Drew Petzing as his QB coach in CLE. What I saw from Jacoby Brissett last season completely altered my view of him and his possible career path. I think the best QBs in the league are the toughest (Allen, Mahomes, Stafford, Jackson, etc.) and the best Cardinals' QBs I have ever seen were the toughest and grittiest from Charlie Johnson to Jim Hart to Neil Lomax to Kurt Warner to Carson Palmer. After watching Jacoby Brissett play with such extraordinary courage and determination through having to pick himself up from 110 QB hits and 43 sacks, I don't think I have ever seen a Cardinals' QB display this kind of toughness for a team with a lame duck head coach that had little to nothing to play for during the second half of the season. But it wasn't just Jacoby's courage and resiliency that captured my imagination ---> it was how well timed, strong and accurate he was driving the football. And he was ripping frozen ropes as well in his 12th start as he was in his 1st. What's unprecedented too is that Jacoby is starting his 15th game this week and the Cardinals still have yet to be favored in any of his 14 starts due to the sheer quality of their opponents and consistent ineptitude of the team's defense. The fact that fans actually attribute the Cardinals' 2-12 record in part to Jacoby is so unjust given what he's been up against and the quality of the defenses he's been facing.

The thing is --- in 10 of Jacoby's starts, he's played commendably, especially given the adverse circumstances and the high quality of the opponents.

IND - 320 yds, 2 TDs, 89.2 RTG, 26 PR, 9 hits, 2 sacks GB - 279 yds, 2 TDs, 110.8 RTG, 28 PR, 8 hits, 6 sacks DAL - 261 yds, 2 TDs, 115.1 RTG, 28 PR, 9 hits, 5 sacks SF - 452 yds, 2 TDs, 96.8 RTG, 13 PR, 4 hits, 0 sacks JAX - 317 yds, 1 TD, 92.0 RTG, 45 PR, 8 hits, 6 sacks TB - 301 yds., 2 TDs, 100.1 RTG, 27 PR, 4 hits, 2 sacks HOU -249 yds., 3 TDs, 98.9 RTG, 17 PR, 2 hits, 2 sacks CIN - 212 yds., 2 TDs, 91.3 RTG, 20 PR, 4 hits, 4 sacks LAR -243 yds., 2 TDs, 101.9 RTG, 34 PR, 6 hits, 6 sacks LAC - 277 yds., 1 TD, 103.1 RTG, 12 PR, 6 hits, 2 sacks Over the course of those 10 games, Jacoby Brissett absorbed 238 QB pressures, 62 QB hits and 34 sacks. And he still hung in there and played his hardest. In the one game where he wasn't sacked, he set an NFL completion record versus a Robert Saleh coached defense. Imagine if... The SEA game this past Sunday was an anomaly due obviously to their suffocating defense (ask Drake Maye), as Jacoby is trying to adapt to a new system that stresses getting the ball out as quickly as possible. But very predictably, his dissenters are cutting him zero slack and are already calling for Carson Beck. Jacoby said it very well, "after a heavy rainstorm, we shouldn't let it destroy the foundation." That foundation is documented above.

Inside the Numbers:

ARI 27 LAC 14

Completions/Yards

McBride --- 27, 17, 10, 6, 14, 7, 5, 3 (TD), 7

Bourne --- 11, 10, 11, 13, 5

Wilson --- 9, 10, 17, 6

Allgeier --- 5, 4

Love --- 5, 4

Harrison Jr. --- 33

Average Yards Per Catch: 10.3

3rd Downs Not Converted

3rd & 4 --- Deep left Wilson INC --- FG

3rd & 3 --- short right McBride INC --- FG

3rd & 11 --- short middle McBride INC --- FG

3rd & 15 --- short right McBride COMP (5 yards) --- PUNT

3rd & 5 --- short middle Bourne COMP (4 yards_ --- PUNT

3rd and 2 --- SACK --- PUNT

3rd & 5 --- Allgeier 3-yard run --- PUNT

Note: 6 of the Cardinals' 7 3rd downs not converted were highly manageable ones of 5 yards or less.

SEA 31 ARI 7

Completions/Yards

McBride --- 9, 6, 9, 3 (TD), 5, 4, 1, 8

Love --- 7, 0, 9

Allgeier --- 5, 4

Wilson --- 9, 9

Bourne --- 8, 3

Average Yards Per Catch: 5.7

3rd Downs Not Converted

3rd & 1 --- Allgeier run for -1 yards --- PUNT

3rd & 5 --- SACK --- PUNT

3rd & Goal from 9 yard line --- Brissett 6-yard run

(4th & Goal from 3-yard line --- McBride 3-yard TD)

3rd &4 --- short left to Bourne INC --- PUNT

3rd & 2 --- short right to McBride INC --- PUNT

3rd & 4 --- short middle to Wilson INC --- PUNT

3rd & 7 --- deep left to Wilson INTERCEPTION (Julian Love)

3rd $ 5 --- short middle to Wilson INC --- PUNT

3rd & 2 --- SACK --- PUNT

Note: look at all of the manageable distances

2026 Jacoby Brissett's 3rd down conversion percentage (2 games): 35%

2025 Jcoby Brissett's 3rd down conversion percentage: (12 games); 44%*

* Note. Jacoby's average distance on 3rd downs in 2025 was the 4th longest and yet his 3rd down conversion percentage was 8th best.

The biggest difference thus far: throwing beyond the sticks very consistently in 2025.

Quick Throw Philosophy

In order for NFL QBs to run a preponderance of quick throws, they need WRs who can separate quickly. Problem is --- they don't have WRs who can separate quickly. But they have WRs who can separate better at the top of their routes. And in Jacoby Brissett, as he proved in 2025, the Cardinals have a QB who can hang tough in the pocket to deliver top of the route dimes.

Conclusion:

The Dink and Dunk offense is not ideal for the Cardinals' personnel.

This is what Jacoby Brissett meant when he said the biggest area to improve is the team's playcalling.

Jacoby Brisett vs. SEA 2025: Average yards per completion: 11.7

Jacoby Brissett vs. SEA 2026: Average yards per completion: 5.7

Jacoby Brisett vs. SEA 2025: 258 yards passing, 2 TDs, 0 ints, 22 points

Jacoby Brisett vs. SEA 2026: 95 yards passing, 1 TD, 1 int., 7 points

Thus far, Jacoby Brissett appears to be a stronger systematic fit in Drew Petzing's offense than Mike LaFleur's.

In both Jacoby's and Mike LaFleur's defense, it's not their fault that the Cardinals' front office prevented the QB1 and new HC from having all of OTAs to mesh.

The question is --- will Jacoby Brissett and Mike LaFleur adapt and evolve the system to fit the team's strengths?

Red Rain Question:

What are you seeing and thinking?