Albert Breer Article on Tyrann Mathieu

[Totally_Red]

After reading this lengthy and excellent piece by Albert Breer on nfl.com, I feel a whole lot better about Tyrann Mathieu's chances of overcoming his demons and being a positive contributor to the Arizona Cardinals.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap10...arns-for-new-beginning-with-arizona-cardinals


excerpt:

Maybe the biggest asset Arizona has when it comes to helping Mathieu is one guy he didn't know before: Bruce Arians.​

As one Cardinals source explained, the coach "is realistic, he's not sugarcoating it; he understands and he's honest with (Mathieu)." Another said that players "all trust this guy with their life; he's up-front and honest, and you can see the (relationship developing) between the two."

Arians is known league-wide for his ability to deal with strings-attached athletes, perhaps evidenced best by his work with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and receiver Santonio Holmes in Pittsburgh. As the AFC coach put it, "Anyone who's dealt with Ben knows he can be aloof, he's different, but Bruce had an unbelievable relationship with him. ... If anyone can handle this, it's Bruce, and he's surrounded himself with coaches who know what he's about."​

 

[BullheadCardFan]

It sure would be huge for this team if this kid can get his act together.

BA seems to be getting a lot of praise for the way he handles the players. Hopefully it shows when it is game time.

 

[WildBB]

Having his old running mates should help him along too.

His biggest challenge might be how WELL he can handle success in the longer term. If he can keep his head on right. He needs to get some grounding and keep it real down the road.

 

[seesred]

I'm hoping this kid can get through the garbage and see the light at the end of the tunnel. If you reads any of this , we are all wishing you the best in your life with football and outside as well!

GBR
40

 

[john h]

After reading this lengthy and excellent piece by Albert Breer on nfl.com, I feel a whole lot better about Tyrann Mathieu's chances of overcoming his demons and being a positive contributor to the Arizona Cardinals.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap10...arns-for-new-beginning-with-arizona-cardinals


excerpt:

Maybe the biggest asset Arizona has when it comes to helping Mathieu is one guy he didn't know before: Bruce Arians.​

As one Cardinals source explained, the coach "is realistic, he's not sugarcoating it; he understands and he's honest with (Mathieu)." Another said that players "all trust this guy with their life; he's up-front and honest, and you can see the (relationship developing) between the two."

Arians is known league-wide for his ability to deal with strings-attached athletes, perhaps evidenced best by his work with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and receiver Santonio Holmes in Pittsburgh. As the AFC coach put it, "Anyone who's dealt with Ben knows he can be aloof, he's different, but Bruce had an unbelievable relationship with him. ... If anyone can handle this, it's Bruce, and he's surrounded himself with coaches who know what he's about."​

I watched Mathieu help destroy my Arkansas team and other SEC teams. The guy can play football in the NFL. If he stays out of jail we will have a winner in our defensive backfield. Actually, I am very surprised we got him knowing the Cards history of not taking guys who had problems. It was not like he shot someone or robbed a bank. I expect to see a high level of play from him.

 

[New Mexico]

I'm actually not worried at all about him getting in trouble. From listening to him numerous times, I think he's got his head on straight and will do just fine. My bigger worry is whether he'll be able to play well and stay healthy given his size.

 

[52brandon]

I watched Mathieu help destroy my Arkansas team and other SEC teams. The guy can play football in the NFL. If he stays out of jail we will have a winner in our defensive backfield. Actually, I am very surprised we got him knowing the Cards history of not taking guys who had problems. It was not like he shot someone or robbed a bank. I expect to see a high level of play from him.

that was Whiz and Graves. And we all saw how well that turned out. They went far with Green's personnel, as soon as they phased out and Graves/Whiz guys phased in, we sucked. Now we seem to be back on track in terms of personnel, and hopefully schemes as well. I've got high hopes for the team, but "high" is relatively low in our division

 

[Cardiac]

that was Whiz and Graves. And we all saw how well that turned out. They went far with Green's personnel, as soon as they phased out and Graves/Whiz guys phased in, we sucked. Now we seem to be back on track in terms of personnel, and hopefully schemes as well. I've got high hopes for the team, but "high" is relatively low in our division

That was a Bill Sr belief and I don't really disagree with it. Cards have always stayed away from problem children and if a player became a problem they let that player leave rather quickly (ie Boston).

There is turnover on every NFL roster and yes Whiz did need to start bringing in some new talent etc. Don't forget Whiz's team started 4-0 last year but when Kolb went down the wheels came completely off. If Warner hadn't retired then Whiz would still be the HC and we wouldn't have lived through 3 craptastic seasons.

 

[Darkside]

I still have concerns, although it was a nice article. I've done my share of drugs, pot and other stuff, when I was younger, and I'm sure he'll put his life together in the beginning, with all the support in place, and the paychecks and playing on an NFL field. I just don't think he can stay clean when everything is awesome. Handling success is the most difficult part. That's when it gets brutally hard. Unfortunately I do expect him to get busted for something after he's had a few good games or wins the starting job or whatever.

I do add a caveat though because of PP. PP is such a professional that he could make a difference. PP impresses me more than Fitz (at this stage in his career), given his youth--Fitz was admittedly selfish until Warner straightened him out. PP has been a pro since his first day here. When I look at PP off the field he has all the tools and all the intangibles. PP always looks sharp and talks sharp and is all about team and community, as well as running his charities, and if you didn't know he was a football player, you would still know he was successful at whatever he was doing. That's a leader, an alpha male-type leader, where everyone pays attention when he walks in a room. If anything, there's probably an under-estimation on PP's influence. When a dude like PP is willing to help you and mentor you, that's a big deal.

 

[Sunburn]

I still have concerns, although it was a nice article. I've done my share of drugs, pot and other stuff, when I was younger, and I'm sure he'll put his life together in the beginning, with all the support in place, and the paychecks and playing on an NFL field. I just don't think he can stay clean when everything is awesome. Handling success is the most difficult part. That's when it gets brutally hard. Unfortunately I do expect him to get busted for something after he's had a few good games or wins the starting job or whatever.

I do add a caveat though because of PP. PP is such a professional that he could make a difference. PP impresses me more than Fitz (at this stage in his career), given his youth--Fitz was admittedly selfish until Warner straightened him out. PP has been a pro since his first day here. When I look at PP off the field he has all the tools and all the intangibles. PP always looks sharp and talks sharp and is all about team and community, as well as running his charities, and if you didn't know he was a football player, you would still know he was successful at whatever he was doing. That's a leader, an alpha male-type leader, where everyone pays attention when he walks in a room. If anything, there's probably an under-estimation on PP's influence. When a dude like PP is willing to help you and mentor you, that's a big deal.

Total shot in the dark here but. . . . .what if Tyrann ended up influencing PP in a negative way?. .

 

[Cardiac]

Total shot in the dark here but. . . . .what if Tyrann ended up influencing PP in a negative way?. .

Never ever going to happen, at least not how I'm taking your post.

Will Tyrann be some extra work for PP, sure he will. Will PP get bummed out if Tyrann falls off the wagon, sure he will. Will PP start smoking Dope etc., Not a chance.

 

[Duckjake]

That was a Bill Sr belief and I don't really disagree with it. Cards have always stayed away from problem children and if a player became a problem they let that player leave rather quickly (ie Boston).

There is turnover on every NFL roster and yes Whiz did need to start bringing in some new talent etc. Don't forget Whiz's team started 4-0 last year but when Kolb went down the wheels came completely off. If Warner hadn't retired then Whiz would still be the HC and we wouldn't have lived through 3 craptastic seasons.

Things had already started to go south before Kolb went out. It's raining footballs and baseballs here today so I was watching the Buffalo game and Kolb just looked awful. St. Louis game is next. Yes, I know I'm a glutton for punishment but I'm looking to see what was going on with the offensive line during those horrible games.

On the other hand it's still a thrill to watch that defense despite all the comments from fans who jumped off the Defenses' bandwagon once Horton left for Cleveland.

 

[Cardiac]

Things had already started to go south before Kolb went out. It's raining footballs and baseballs here today so I was watching the Buffalo game and Kolb just looked awful. St. Louis game is next. Yes, I know I'm a glutton for punishment but I'm looking to see what was going on with the offensive line during those horrible games.

On the other hand it's still a thrill to watch that defense despite all the comments from fans who jumped off the Defenses' bandwagon once Horton left for Cleveland.

Average QB's will have awful games now and again. Factor in the Oline was still starting Batiste and Massie hadn't turned the corner yet.

I get that Kolb's history was one of injury and regressing as a season went on but he never stayed healthy long enough to see if he would have "bounce back" games.

No way the Cards lose to the Falcons with Kolb at QB with the way the D played that game. How many other games could we have won without Bones and Lindsey as the QB's?

 

[Duckjake]

Average QB's will have awful games now and again. Factor in the Oline was still starting Batiste and Massie hadn't turned the corner yet.

I get that Kolb's history was one of injury and regressing as a season went on but he never stayed healthy long enough to see if he would have "bounce back" games.

No way the Cards lose to the Falcons with Kolb at QB with the way the D played that game. How many other games could we have won without Bones and Lindsey as the QB's?

Unfortunately now and again came far too often for Kevin Kolb. That's why he's in Buffalo and Whisenhunt is in San Diego and Carson Palmer and Bruce Arians are in Arizona. Just noticed that the Cards offense scored more than 21 points only twice in the 15 games that Kolb played for Arizona. 27 in a loss to the Giants and 24 in a win over Miami. What a pathetic offense we've had the last 3 years.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

I still have concerns, although it was a nice article. I've done my share of drugs, pot and other stuff, when I was younger, and I'm sure he'll put his life together in the beginning, with all the support in place, and the paychecks and playing on an NFL field. I just don't think he can stay clean when everything is awesome. Handling success is the most difficult part. That's when it gets brutally hard. Unfortunately I do expect him to get busted for something after he's had a few good games or wins the starting job or whatever.

I do add a caveat though because of PP. PP is such a professional that he could make a difference. PP impresses me more than Fitz (at this stage in his career), given his youth--Fitz was admittedly selfish until Warner straightened him out. PP has been a pro since his first day here. When I look at PP off the field he has all the tools and all the intangibles. PP always looks sharp and talks sharp and is all about team and community, as well as running his charities, and if you didn't know he was a football player, you would still know he was successful at whatever he was doing. That's a leader, an alpha male-type leader, where everyone pays attention when he walks in a room. If anything, there's probably an under-estimation on PP's influence. When a dude like PP is willing to help you and mentor you, that's a big deal.

 

[D-Dogg]

I am still so excited that we have him - he's such a freak of nature, a term usually reserved for a physical presence. He's not a physical presence, but he's more like a swarm of pissed off bees, all over the place. You really can't teach what he's best at, which is that "nose for the ball" kind of thing, to instinctively be in the right spot at the right time, doing the right thing. You can get lucky and do that a couple of times, but TMHB did it all the time.

I still remember thinking that when LSU lost Patrick P, Tyrann made it seem like nothing had changed one bit. Its not often that a human highlight reel like that comes from a frame like his.

 

[D-Dogg]

Oh, I also love that my PP avatar does double duty as a TMHB avatar as well.

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

The Honey B needs to lay off the honies, B...at least on the Twitters: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-s...rivate-direct-messages-twitter-170959889.html

 

[BigRedRage]

lol, the women will be everywhere badger, dont worry about the online ones.