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The Arizona Cardinals and the importance of the running game

Carson Palmer said they need to do it. Bruce Arians does not think you need it as much.

By Jess Root
USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Cardinals have historically struggled to run the ball well. They haven't even been statistically in the upper half of the league in the last decade.

head coach Bruce Arians refused to have a numb tagged to the offense.

"Just run the ball well when we want to run it," he said. "At the end of the game, in the beginning. We want to be balanced."

He talked about how his offenses have run the ball for over 100 yards in 15 carries and 33 carries for 95 yards. They both were wins. "I've never seen you get points for running it 30 times a game."

"Staitistics and running games, I don't buy it," he said. "Just run when you need to run it and run it well."

Arians is notorious for having unbalanced offenses that lean on the passing game.

Quarterback Carson Palmer did not downplay the important of a running game.

"It's hard to be successful if you don't run the ball successfully," said Palmer.

"When you have a good defensive team," Palmer said, speaking of his own, which he praised intermittently throughout the press conference, "you've got to run the ball.

"You got a game where you got to carry an eight-minute, eight-point lead, it's hard to do it throwing the ball because the clock is going to stop. And there's times where we're going to be in games this year where we'll want to run the ball and we'll have to run the ball."

So which is it going to be? Since it is Arians calling the plays, you have to think that

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