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The Arizona Cardinals are in the middle of a four-game winning streak in which the team is scoring points, stopping teams and taking the ball away.
It is a winning mix.
In fact, head coach Bruce Arians is proving himself to be quite the head chef, if we are to use some cooking analogies.
So what have been the keys to this winning recipe?
To begin with, Arians as head chef has brought in a very talented sous chef in Todd Bowles as his defensive coordinator.
Arians, who is a career sous chef (coordinator), is getting his first real gig as head chef and did well by binging on a very talented staff.
The decision to bring in Bowles is paying dividends.
Now, the recipe wasn't always working. it took a while to get the right mix.
The defensive foundation was there and done right.
What took work was the offense, finding the right ingredients. In fact, the customers (fans) have not liked some of the ingredients. Believing that there should be more kick and spice with Andre Ellington, Arians has been firm in balancing that with the steadiness of a solid salt in Rashard Mendenhall. That decision paid off for happy fans after a win over the Colts in which both running backs made an impact.
Carson Palmer has also mixed it up. He would force the ball too often to Larry Fitzgerald, but changed it up and now the offense is utilizing almost everything in its cupboard (10 players caught passes).
They got rid of the bad apple in Levi Brown, deciding to go with one that had not completely ripened in Bradley Sowell.
Bottom line? Arians tweaked the recipe a little while maintaining the integrity of his original idea. The result has been four straight wins and a team in the middle of the playoff race.
Well done.
