Kliff Kingsbury's offense is already fast. This training camp he's taken it to Ludicrous Speed.
"Boy, it's crazy fast," Cardinals defensive lineman Jordan Phillips said, via the Arizona Republic. "Kliff has them doing stuff that's going to give anybody problems. It's just fast, man. It's something I've never experienced before in training camp and it's taken some time to get used to it."
To get in more reps during an offseason truncated by a global pandemic, Kingsbury told defensive coordinator Vance Joseph to prepare for fast-paced practices.
"With V.J., I told him, 'Hey, these first couple of weeks we're going to push the tempo. We're going to make guys get lined up quick,'" Kingsbury said. "I want them to think on the run, kind of over-stress and over-train that aspect of it, then we'll settle back in on a mock game week (next week) and start doing different things (to get ready for the season opener)."
The speed at which practice is run not only helps get the offense in sync with how Kingsbury wants to operate this season, but also adds reps for the defense. The key is going fast while also ensuring players don't get lost, particularly rookies and new additions just learning the scheme.
"I love it. I love it because it forces our guys to think fast," Joseph said. "You have to think fast to get aligned and make the next call and play the next down. Even if it's a bad down before, it forces you to focus on the next down, so I love it when coach goes fast. It puts pressure on our guys to think quickly and get aligned and not to have amnesia because they're going fast.
"It also helps our football team get in great shape. We're running 20 plays within a six- or seven-minute period so it's good for our team overall."
The biggest issue that comes with hitting Ludicrous Speed -- aside from potentially going plaid -- is potential injuries, particularly soft-core issues we've seen a lot of this offseason due to the lack of ramp-up time throughout the spring and summer. If tweaks start to happen, expect Kingsbury to dial back the fast-paced practices to ensure his squad is as healthy as possible entering Week 1 in 17 days.
