Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald has been a one-man show on offense for much of his career in Arizona, but that changed last season with the emergence of Michael Floyd.
Floyd caught 65 passes for a team-high 1,041 yards and five touchdowns, which represented a big step forward from his rookie season and gave Carson Palmer two strong options in the passing game. Palmer said that Floyd has “jumped out at me” during spring work and that he has “high expectations” for Floyd in 2014. The feeling is a popular one in the organization, with wide receivers coach Darryl Drake saying “the only person that can keep him from being good is him.”
If Floyd continues to progress, defenses may find themselves forced to choose between doubling him and doubling Fitzgerald. If that happens, Floyd says that someone else is going to make defenses pay.
“If they double team anyone, we have the guys on the field that can beat one-on-one coverage,” Floyd said, via the team’s website. “We are not a stingy group of guys. We don’t really care who gets the praise and glory. At the end of the day it’s about the winning. Whoever can beat that one-on-one coverage, it’ll help us out a lot.”
The Cardinals won 10 games last season and finished strong by taking six of their final eight games. If their defense picks up where it left off while the offense improves along with Floyd, life is going to be very interesting in the NFC West again this year.
