Sports media is all abuzz this week about head coach Bruce Arians and the way he laid into his team after the Arizona Cardinals 40-7 rout of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Questioned was the coach’s methods and the severity of his message to singled out players that he felt underperformed in last Sunday’s win. To most fans of the sport, a win is a win and should be acknowledged with an amount of praise and a congratulatory pat on the back. But there are no trophies in regular season football, there are only standings. For now, the Cards are 1-1. Where the Red Birds stand at the end of the season is only determined by absolute team focus, hard work, and consistency out on the field.
Coach Bruce Arians Stringent Team Expectations
Uncommon is a head coach who analyzes his team in such a harsh manner after such an awe-inspiring victory. Also uncommon is a coach who calls out his players in front of the media. But Coach Arians isn’t common and successfully, he has shown his uncommon system to be very effective.
“Check your ego at the door the first day,” said Arians, on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “It’s all about the team. It isn’t about ‘me’. If you start getting into that, you won’t get the ball. It’s as simple as that.”
Notably, the players Arians called out are rookie defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche, running back David Johnson, and offensive linebacker Chandler Jones and cornerback Tyrann Mathieu.
Robert Nkemdiche
After being drafted in the first round by the Cardinals, Nkemdiche missed most of training camp due to a high ankle sprain injury. His “poor” play against the New England Patriots didn’t help his chances in the least if he plans to be a starter for this team. Nkemdiche sat out during last Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers.
“Even if the ankle is good, he has to practice better” the coach said. “Those guys (the other linemen) are playing way to well to get them out of there.”
David Johnson
Johnson was a stud in his first year last year and expectations for this kid from Northern Iowa are maybe the highest among all NFL running backs. If Johnson had it in his head that he performed well during the Buccaneers game, Coach Arians made sure he was the one to set him straight.
Said Arians, “We probably had two touchdowns and 110 yards of offense in mental errors alone by David Johnson.”
Chandler Jones
Jones was picked up by the Patriots in a blockbuster trade and so far has recorded two sacks in two weeks. Coach Arians said he’d “like to see him get one in the second or third quarter, when it counts.”
Tyrann Mathieu
Little by little, Coach Arians is working cornerback Tyrann Mathieu (major knee injury) back into the system and into games. Mathieu may not be particularly happy with his role, designed to protect a player coming back from knee surgery, but Arians has his ways.
“Ty knows full well why we’re doing what we’re doing,” said the coach. “He’s pissed because he wants to be able to do what he used to do, and he can’t. No sense putting him in there in situations when he’s not ready to do what he normally does.”
Arians also said, “It’s my decision to play him (Mathieu) where he’s at. He’s not upset with me. He’s upset because he’s not getting enough action.”
To be fair, Coach Arians made sure to include himself on the hot seat and takes the blame for the defensive blunder against the Patriots. Arians admitted that he forced defensive coordinator James Bettcher into playing more zone coverage. Coach said it was his fault for the most part that the Cardinals lost that game.
The Cardinals are on the road this weekend as they travel all the way over to the east coast and face off against the Buffalo Bills. The underrated Bills have an 0-2 start so far for this young season, but don’t let the stats fool you. This team is tough, especially at home, and with quarterback Tyrod Taylor being compared to great quarterbacks like Russell Wilson, anything is possible. Also, because of the poor 0-2 start Bills head coach Rex Ryan is on the hot seat. Desperation has been known to help in winning games. Game time for Sunday’s match-up is at 11 AM MST.
