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    Marvin Harrison Jr. set to play Chargers

    Mars Posted on

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    The Arizona Cardinals received a significant boost Saturday morning, when Marvin Harrison Jr. officially cleared the concussion protocol. In a week that started with him wearing a non-contact yellow jersey, Harrison will play Monday night against the Chargers.

    Harrison left last week’s loss to Green Bay after suffering a concussion during an incomplete second quarter. He begged coaches to return to the game, but was ultimately sent to the locker room and did not return.

    Despite these early positive signs, his early return is unusual. In recent years, players were expected to miss a game after leaving the game due to a concussion.

    For the Cardinals, this is a necessary development. Six games into the season, their passing attack has yet to find a rhythm. They rank 24th with 187.0 passing yards per game and 15th with 6.2 yards per attempt.

    On paper, this is a group that should be better than that. But together, the performance of the Cardinals passing attack limited their offense, despite an effective ground game.

    “It hasn’t been great,” wide receiver Michael Wilson said bluntly.

    Wilson pointed his finger inward, blaming himself for not completing his plays and creating separation. The reality, however, is that this is a multi-faceted problem.

    “It’s a lot of things,” offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said. “There are a number of things that go into (being) good in the passing game, between the plan, the execution and the protection.”

    This is where Harrison’s health comes in. So far this season, he has only lived up to expectations sporadically. There was an explosive 130-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Rams, but there were also games of 4, 45 and 36 yards – not to mention last week, when he failed to catch before exiting in the second quarter. .

    Harrison, however, is the kind of talent that can elevate an entire offense. To that end, the Cardinals implemented some changes this week, focused on their passing game.

    Without going into detail, Kyler Murray and Wilson said communication issues — a common theme thus far between Murray and Harrison — had been resolved.

    “It’s being fixed,” Murray said. “It’s fixed.”

    Wilson added: “We definitely made some little adjustments on offense and made it easier for Kyler, making it easier for our receivers. So it’s going to be fixed and the only way to show that it’s going to be fixed is to go out and play a good game on Monday.

    The Cardinals also introduced a new contested catch period before practice. For 10 minutes, receivers work specifically on their contested receptions, while an assistant coach attempts to remove the ball with pads.

    Often, contested catches are something receivers can only work on during live rehearsals, but the Cardinals wanted to make it more of a priority. According to Fantasy Points Data, the Cardinals actually rank 10th in contested catch percentage, at 51.9 percent. However, they failed to knock down a few balls in key spots, notably on third downs and in the red zone. Harrison was particularly guilty.

    “It’s a goal for us that if we want to get to the levels that we need to get to, the contested catches need to be 90 to 10 percent in our room,” Wilson said, meaning the Cardinals are aiming to bring back 90 percent. catches. their contested catches.

    The other notable change this week is personal, with the return of Zay Jones. Jones was suspended for the first five weeks of the season for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy and missed Week 6 as he prepared for his return.

    The suspension follows an arrest last November. Jones was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery after an argument with the mother of his child allegedly resulted in injuries. The only charge was dropped in March.

    On the field, Jones was a consistent, if unspectacular, contributor during his seven years in the NFL. He never finished with more than 823 yards in a season, but he averaged 40.2 yards per game over his final three years.

    “I think (his return) helps a lot,” Murray said. “I think Zay is an underrated receiver in the league. He’s going to bring a lot of juice to this room.

    This comes at a key time for the Cardinals. Not only does their passing attack aim to go untracked, but they aim to do so against a Chargers team that is allowing fewer than 200 passing yards per game in their first year under coach- leader Jim Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.

    “They play with great communication,” passing game specialist Spencer Whipple said. “They have a lot of guys on the same page, given the way they play at the back. You can tell they are coordinated on each piece.

    (This story has been updated to add new information.)

    Mars
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