TEMPE, Ariz. -- When Bruce Arians arrived in the Arizona desert three years ago to be the Cardinals coach, one of his first on-field changes laid the foundation for three straight 10-win seasons.
And it had nothing to do with installing a scheme or calling a play.
During his first organized team activities and minicamp with the Cardinals in 2013, Arians implemented a dual-field system, running the same practice simultaneously on two fields -- one for the first and second teams, and one for the third team and rookies.
The premise was simple math. Arians, offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin and defensive coordinator James Bettcher estimated that a player low on the depth chart would get about five to 15 reps per practice if a team used only one field, which equals anywhere from 55 to about 165 for all of OTAs and minicamp.
In Arians’ two-field system, Arizona’s players can average twice as many. By November and December, when Arians typically expects rookies to start contributing on a regular basis, they have been building on a foundation since September.
"Our guys are getting all the exposure," Arians said. "They probably would like to have a play or two off.
"You can’t find a diamond in the rough if you stand on the sideline."
The idea to run simultaneous practices isn’t revolutionary. Arians picked it up in 1975 when he was a graduate assistant at Virginia Tech. There were 300 players at practice, Arians said, so the Hokies had to figure out a way to manage them. He saw it again at Alabama with coach Bear Bryant, who ran four practice fields.
In an informal poll of 27 ESPN NFL Nation reporters, less than one third of the teams run practices similar to Arians. At least six use only one practice field, and at least five teams use at least three fields. The New York Jets use nearly an identical two-field system as the Cardinals because their coach, Todd Bowles, saw how effective the idea was as Arizona’s defensive coordinator in 2013 and 2014. Former Miami Dolphins coach Joe Philbin and former Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly ran similar practices with those teams. And the Houston Texans used the two-field system last season when they were evaluating quarterbacks Ryan Mallet and Brian Hoyer.
The Cardinals’ coaching staff has watched the two-field system help develop and build their roster with undrafted free agents who might have slipped away had it not been for the film from the second field. There are examples throughout the locker room of players who either made the team or solidified their spot on the roster because they proved their value on the second field. Arians quickly pointed to wide receiver Jaron Brown -- whose performance on the second field got him promoted to the first field quickly, and later to the 53-man roster -- and safety Tony Jefferson when asked for examples.
Linebacker Alex Okafor was another player who put together a resume on tape that bolstered his chances of making the roster as a rookie in 2013. Goodwin said tight end Ifeanyi Momah and former guard Paul Fanaika also benefited.
Goodwin was explicit when talking about Fanaika: His play on Field 2 earned him a spot on the team. Fanaika started 30 games over the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
"He kept showing on Field 2 because he had all those reps," Goodwin said.
All have played roles in Arizona going 34-14 over the past three seasons while setting franchise records on offense and making it to the NFC Championship Game last season.
"A lot of times you get these guys who had talent and you walk them out the door because they never had enough reps," Goodwin said. "That’s the biggest advantage to it. Everybody gets quality reps, gets a lot of reps."
That’s why the Cardinals are considering using the two-field system in training camp, Arians said.
Stepfan Taylor, a fifth-round pick in 2013, was another example. He learned the offense "pretty quick" as a rookie because he was getting reps on Field 2. In Taylor’s case, it was the sheer volume of plays that helped him learn the playbook, and it led to him having roles in the running game, pass protection and special teams.
Taylor still practices on the second field, three years after getting drafted. But he doesn’t pout or hang his head. It’s given him the opportunity to line up at more positions than running back.
"It just adds more value to myself, and with more reps you obviously have more opportunities and if you make the most of those opportunities, they can trust you," Taylor said. "It can either be a good thing or a bad thing, because they can see who’s actually paying attention in the playbook."
Arians uses one of his favorites quotes frequently this time of year: "You either get exposure or you get exposed." The second field is prime ground for players to get exposed, Taylor said. Unlike one-field set-ups, young players can’t hide.
From Bettcher’s perspective, the second field helps players develop football senses. They get more exposure to the entire play sequence -- from lining up, to hearing a call, to processing that call, to getting in a stance, to getting their eyes in the right place, to being able to execute at the snap. If Arizona operated on one field, the younger players’ alternative would be to get mental reps.
"Two totally different things," Bettcher said.
The extra reps have also become a teaching tool. The more the younger players can watch themselves on tape, Bettcher said, the more they can self-evaluate.
"It’s like when you go back and watch cut-ups at the end of OTAs, as a young player you’re not going to have 12 to 15 snaps a practice, so 150 after 10 OTAs," Bettcher said. "You’re going to have 300 snaps after OTAs to watch yourself and evaluate yourself, technique, fundamentals, calls, working the process.
"How much growth our young guys have been able to get over the last four years has been huge."
The key for the Cardinals making the system work to their benefit is having a large staff, Arians said. The Cardinals have 20 assistants plus coaching interns, enough to have a set of eyes on every player. That’s the result of a financial commitment from team president Michael Bidwill, Arians said.
And it’s paid off.
"There’s nothing better than being able to line up and do it," Bettcher said. "There’s nothing better than that."
