The LabThe fingerprint of every playbook

Arizona CardinalsScheme DNA

Least rpo rate, least play action in the league. Their closest twin is Eagles (65% alike), then Raiders and Giants. 590 offensive snaps read, 590 of them charted.

League map Cardinals verdict JSON

RPO rate1.2%3th percentile · league 5.2%

Play action16.5%10th percentile · league 23.0%

Screen rate6.4%23th percentile · league 9.1%

No-huddle rate9.8%87th percentile · league 6.5%

Bottom lineTheir loudest habits: rpo rate (1.2%, 3th percentile), play action (16.5%, 10th percentile), screen rate (6.4%, 23th percentile).

How to read this chart

The flower:: each petal is one play-calling habit, labeled around the edge. Petal length is the team's rank among the 32 (long = does it more than most; for tempo, long = fast). The dashed ring is the league middle.
The bars:: the same habits as a list: the bar is the rank (the tick in the middle is the league middle), then the real value and the percentile (90 = more than 90% of teams). Jargon: pass rate over expected = how much more or less they throw than the situation predicts; RPO = run-pass option; men in the box = defenders near the line against the run.

Offense

The playbook

Pass rate over expected−2.4%42

Early-down pass rate48.4%32

Shotgun rate60.3%42

No-huddle rate9.8%87

Pre-snap motion59.8%58

Play action16.5%10

Screen rate6.4%23

RPO rate1.2%3

Deep shots11.1%61

Middle of the field20.5%36

Outside runs24.0%61

Tempo37.8s68

Defense

The defense

Blitz rate34.1%65

Five-plus rushers34.1%65

Men in the box6.5542

Stacked boxes6.7%48

Pass rate faced−4.5%19

Deep shots allowed12.1%71

Defensive twins: Patriots (89%), Saints (89%), Broncos (85%).

Twins

Offenses most like theirs

Solid shape: Cardinals · outline: the twin

Bottom lineCardinals and Eagles, 65% alike. Both use less play action and throw fewer screens than most of the league; Cardinals and Eagles differ most in RPO rate (1.2% vs 6.1%) and no-huddle rate (9.8% vs 16.4%).

How to read this chart

Each card is one twin:: an offense that calls games like Cardinals. The colored shape is Cardinals's fingerprint, the white outline the twin's. Where the two match, the habits match.
The %: is how alike the two are across all offensive habits: 100% would be identical, 0% the most different pair in the league.

#1 twinEagles65%Both use less play action and throw fewer screens than most of the league; Cardinals and Eagles differ most in RPO rate (1.2% vs 6.1%) and no-huddle rate (9.8% vs 16.4%).

#2 twinRaiders64%Both run fewer RPOs than most of the league; Cardinals and Raiders differ most in throws over the middle (20.5% vs 28.8%) and play action (16.5% vs 24.5%).

#3 twinGiants63%Both throw fewer screens and run fewer RPOs than most of the league; Cardinals and Giants differ most in deep shots (11.1% vs 15.5%) and pre-snap motion (59.8% vs 48.7%).

Run game

Where they run

Arrow size = share of carries · color = EPA per carry

Bottom lineTheir favorite lane: middle, 40% of runs, -0.16 EPA per carry.

How to read this chart

Seen from behind the offense:: the line at the bottom is the line of scrimmage, with seven running lanes from the left end to the right end.
Arrow size: and the % above it = share of the team's runs that go there.
Arrow color: = how well those runs work, in EPA per carry (expected points added: above zero helps the offense). Green works, grey is average, red hurts.

Pass game

Where they throw

Share of targets · EPA per throw

Bottom lineMost targeted zone: short right, 38% of throws, +0.09 EPA per throw.

How to read this chart

The field from the quarterback's eyes:: left, middle and right; the bottom row is short throws, the top row deep throws.
Each box: shows the share of throws that go there (more solid = more throws) and its color the EPA per throw: green helps the offense, grey is average, red hurts.

Formation Tell

What the formation gives away

How to read this chart

Two dots on one line from 0% to 100%:: how often they throw when the quarterback is under center, and how often from shotgun, on neutral downs.
The gap between them: is what a defense learns from the formation alone: a wide gap means the alignment tips run or pass.

Under center29%pass rate, neutral downs

Shotgun77%pass rate, neutral downs

A 48-point gap: one of the most readable offenses in the league (4 of 32). See all 32 →