Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
Note: For those of you who will accuse me of being a bandwagoner---I was one of the few on the board last year who voiced strong concerns about BA's handling of certain situations in the media. For example, I am still very disturbed about BA making his nickname for D.J. Humphries ("Knee Deep") public. It was wrong. But, some will say, "look at Humphries this year---he got the message!" To that I say, he could be playing even better this year. The reality is the Cardinals lost a whole year of on-the-field production from a talented 1st round draft pick in a rare year where they were contending for a championship. They could have drafted Tyler Lockett instead who might have been the STs threat to get the Cardinals the number one seed and their second berth in the Super Bowl.
When BA called out the Rams publicly with his now infamous 8-8 remark---I immediately expressed my concern for that completely unnecessary indiscretion. But, some will say, "Well, he was right, wasn't he?" To that I say, sure---but how does it feel to have lost 2 of the 3 games the Cardinals have played versus Jeff Fisher's Rams since? Last year's loss to the Rams helped prevent the Cardinals from getting the #1 seed.
BA sure has a way of getting under people's skins. Doesn't he?
How about the refs? Do you think BA's treatment of them has had somewhat of an effect on the games this year?
When you give no respect---you get no respect.
How about with some of his players---you know, the ones he doesn't favor?
Has calling out players in the media helped BA's and team's cause this year?
Well, how many players are having an impressive year production-wise?
1. David Johnson; 2. Larry Fitzgerald; 3. Calais Campbell; 4. Tony Jefferson; 5. Patrick Peterson (in coverage, but not in tackling or punt returns); 6. Markus Golden.
That's it---6 players.
So, what happened from last year to this?
Look at how many players have regressed for one reason or another:
1. Carson Palmer; 2. Andre Ellington; 3. Mike Iupati; 4. Darren Fells; 5. Earl Watford; 6. John Brown; 7. Michael Floyd; 8. Frostee Rucker; 9. Rodney Gunter; 10. Kevin Minter; 11. Deone Bucannon; 12. Chandler Jones; 13. Alex Okafor; 14. Tyrann Mathieu; 15. Drew Butler; 16. Chandler Catanzaro; 17. Justin Bethel;
Sure, you can say, "but what about the injuries?" And in the cases of John Brown and Tyrann Mathieu that's an especially valid point. However, why so many drops in player production and performance?
The answer for that, in my opinion, is that BA and his staff have lost the locker room. And it all goes back to their embarrassing pre-season.
The easiest way to tell this by 1st and 3rd quarter scoring numbers, which often indicate how well the players are responding to the coaches during pre-game and during half-time.
1st Quarter Points: Cardinals 41 Opponents 62
3rd Quarter Points: Cardinals 60 Opponents 81
BA will tell you that it's all on the players---that they control the locker room.
In an ideal world, sure. But it all begins and ends with the culture that the head coach creates.
BA talks about accountability all the time---yet absolves himself and his coaches of any accountability, even when, for example, it has been 4 years of subpar STs play and yet BA insists that his STs coach is doing an "excellent job."
BA talks about the players not spending the extra hours it takes to prepare to excel on Sundays---yet he has made it publicly knows that he never thinks coaches should have put in extra nights at the office.
BA belittles players on the practice field---and says he will hug them later. How well is that now working? BA's rookies are nervous wrecks whom he has said he doesn't plan to play anyway. Again this year, a 1st round draft pick sits on the inactive list week after week.
It is one thing to lose and to fall miserably short of high expectations---but it is another thing to compound the losing by handling it with pure ugliness.
Arians' repeated belittling of the Cardinals players has reached a new level of ugly.
On Monday at his press conference he decided to make Justin Bethel his most recent scapegoat and whipping boy when he described Bethel as "a failure in progress."
Justin Bethel is arguably the most dynamic special teams player in the history of the Arizona Cardinals. Bethel is a 3 time Pro-Bowler (2013, 2014, 2015) and 2 time First Team All-Pro (2013, 2015).
Last December, Steve Keim, who identified Bethel as one of the Cardinals' core players, signed Bethel to a 4 year $15.7M contract with $9M guaranteed.
At that time, the expectation was that Bethel would become the starting CB opposite Patrick Peterson in 2016. Also at that time, Bruce Arians was adamant that Bethel has as much physical talent for the position as Peterson. Bethel struggled down the stretch last year filling in for an injured Jerraud Powers---but it was Arians who even exculpated Bethel for allowing Jeff Janis to blow right past him on the Packers' highly improbably Hail Mary. Arians claimed that Janis was not Bethel's responsibility.
This off-season, Powers was not re-signed and the plan all along was to start Bethel at RCB and to use a 3rd round draft pick on CB Brandon Williams to groom behind Bethel on the depth chart.
However, Bethel missed all of the OTAs in the off-season because he had surgery to repair a fracture in his foot. While preparing for training camp, Bethel re-aggravated the injury and missed most of camp. By the start of the regular season it was clear that Bethel would have to play in pain for the entire season.
Frustrated by Bethel's situation, and seeing the Bethel was not his usual self on STs during the opening game loss to the Patriots, an exasperated Arians told the media, “Justin has to decide if he’s going to play with that foot. He was just an average spectator in special teams, missed two tackles. If he’s going to play, he needs to play better or he shouldn’t play.”
Now---despite his foot issues and having lost the entire off-season and pre-season---he's being branded as a "failure in progress."
Well, then, BA, by his own "All or Nothing" standards, thus far is a "failure in progress" himself. He has said repeatedly, the only success is winning the Super Bowl. But---it's the players who are the failures. He continues to make that clear.
Justin Bethel has been the captain of STs. He has shown tremendous skill and courage in becoming the best gunner in the NFL. To treat him in the way BA did is despicable.
Well, in light of how toxic BA has become---don't be totally surprised if Larry Fitzgerald decides to retire this year. It is no secret that Fitz has not been enamored with his role in BA's offense. And who can blame him? Everyone in the world now knows that when Fitz motions toward the tackle, it is running play with him assigned to block the DE or the ILB---something that a TE or H-Back is supposed to do. Better yet, if you have a fullback, then WRs can block downfield, not in the inner scrum.
To Fitz's credit---he has done everything that has been asked of him and more. But---it has come at a cost. It's tough enough to endure the punishment of being a WR---but add in the weekly pounding his body is taking hitting 240-270 pounders in the box and at his age Fitz may very well be on the verge of walking away. Plus there is always the fear of getting his ankles rolled up on from behind...every blocker's fear.
One can imagine that this is not the way Fitz envisioned his last years in the NFL to look like---otherwise, Fitz might be amped to try to catch Jerry Rice.
BA has ridden Fitz for the last three years like a Triple Crown hopeful. Again, some will say, "but it's worked!" To that I ask, at what cost? Why not use a fullback instead---that's how other coaches protect their QBs, RBs and WRs.
When BA called out the Rams publicly with his now infamous 8-8 remark---I immediately expressed my concern for that completely unnecessary indiscretion. But, some will say, "Well, he was right, wasn't he?" To that I say, sure---but how does it feel to have lost 2 of the 3 games the Cardinals have played versus Jeff Fisher's Rams since? Last year's loss to the Rams helped prevent the Cardinals from getting the #1 seed.
BA sure has a way of getting under people's skins. Doesn't he?
How about the refs? Do you think BA's treatment of them has had somewhat of an effect on the games this year?
When you give no respect---you get no respect.
How about with some of his players---you know, the ones he doesn't favor?
Has calling out players in the media helped BA's and team's cause this year?
Well, how many players are having an impressive year production-wise?
1. David Johnson; 2. Larry Fitzgerald; 3. Calais Campbell; 4. Tony Jefferson; 5. Patrick Peterson (in coverage, but not in tackling or punt returns); 6. Markus Golden.
That's it---6 players.
So, what happened from last year to this?
Look at how many players have regressed for one reason or another:
1. Carson Palmer; 2. Andre Ellington; 3. Mike Iupati; 4. Darren Fells; 5. Earl Watford; 6. John Brown; 7. Michael Floyd; 8. Frostee Rucker; 9. Rodney Gunter; 10. Kevin Minter; 11. Deone Bucannon; 12. Chandler Jones; 13. Alex Okafor; 14. Tyrann Mathieu; 15. Drew Butler; 16. Chandler Catanzaro; 17. Justin Bethel;
Sure, you can say, "but what about the injuries?" And in the cases of John Brown and Tyrann Mathieu that's an especially valid point. However, why so many drops in player production and performance?
The answer for that, in my opinion, is that BA and his staff have lost the locker room. And it all goes back to their embarrassing pre-season.
The easiest way to tell this by 1st and 3rd quarter scoring numbers, which often indicate how well the players are responding to the coaches during pre-game and during half-time.
1st Quarter Points: Cardinals 41 Opponents 62
3rd Quarter Points: Cardinals 60 Opponents 81
BA will tell you that it's all on the players---that they control the locker room.
In an ideal world, sure. But it all begins and ends with the culture that the head coach creates.
BA talks about accountability all the time---yet absolves himself and his coaches of any accountability, even when, for example, it has been 4 years of subpar STs play and yet BA insists that his STs coach is doing an "excellent job."
BA talks about the players not spending the extra hours it takes to prepare to excel on Sundays---yet he has made it publicly knows that he never thinks coaches should have put in extra nights at the office.
BA belittles players on the practice field---and says he will hug them later. How well is that now working? BA's rookies are nervous wrecks whom he has said he doesn't plan to play anyway. Again this year, a 1st round draft pick sits on the inactive list week after week.
It is one thing to lose and to fall miserably short of high expectations---but it is another thing to compound the losing by handling it with pure ugliness.
Arians' repeated belittling of the Cardinals players has reached a new level of ugly.
On Monday at his press conference he decided to make Justin Bethel his most recent scapegoat and whipping boy when he described Bethel as "a failure in progress."
Justin Bethel is arguably the most dynamic special teams player in the history of the Arizona Cardinals. Bethel is a 3 time Pro-Bowler (2013, 2014, 2015) and 2 time First Team All-Pro (2013, 2015).
Last December, Steve Keim, who identified Bethel as one of the Cardinals' core players, signed Bethel to a 4 year $15.7M contract with $9M guaranteed.
At that time, the expectation was that Bethel would become the starting CB opposite Patrick Peterson in 2016. Also at that time, Bruce Arians was adamant that Bethel has as much physical talent for the position as Peterson. Bethel struggled down the stretch last year filling in for an injured Jerraud Powers---but it was Arians who even exculpated Bethel for allowing Jeff Janis to blow right past him on the Packers' highly improbably Hail Mary. Arians claimed that Janis was not Bethel's responsibility.
This off-season, Powers was not re-signed and the plan all along was to start Bethel at RCB and to use a 3rd round draft pick on CB Brandon Williams to groom behind Bethel on the depth chart.
However, Bethel missed all of the OTAs in the off-season because he had surgery to repair a fracture in his foot. While preparing for training camp, Bethel re-aggravated the injury and missed most of camp. By the start of the regular season it was clear that Bethel would have to play in pain for the entire season.
Frustrated by Bethel's situation, and seeing the Bethel was not his usual self on STs during the opening game loss to the Patriots, an exasperated Arians told the media, “Justin has to decide if he’s going to play with that foot. He was just an average spectator in special teams, missed two tackles. If he’s going to play, he needs to play better or he shouldn’t play.”
Now---despite his foot issues and having lost the entire off-season and pre-season---he's being branded as a "failure in progress."
Well, then, BA, by his own "All or Nothing" standards, thus far is a "failure in progress" himself. He has said repeatedly, the only success is winning the Super Bowl. But---it's the players who are the failures. He continues to make that clear.
Justin Bethel has been the captain of STs. He has shown tremendous skill and courage in becoming the best gunner in the NFL. To treat him in the way BA did is despicable.
Well, in light of how toxic BA has become---don't be totally surprised if Larry Fitzgerald decides to retire this year. It is no secret that Fitz has not been enamored with his role in BA's offense. And who can blame him? Everyone in the world now knows that when Fitz motions toward the tackle, it is running play with him assigned to block the DE or the ILB---something that a TE or H-Back is supposed to do. Better yet, if you have a fullback, then WRs can block downfield, not in the inner scrum.
To Fitz's credit---he has done everything that has been asked of him and more. But---it has come at a cost. It's tough enough to endure the punishment of being a WR---but add in the weekly pounding his body is taking hitting 240-270 pounders in the box and at his age Fitz may very well be on the verge of walking away. Plus there is always the fear of getting his ankles rolled up on from behind...every blocker's fear.
One can imagine that this is not the way Fitz envisioned his last years in the NFL to look like---otherwise, Fitz might be amped to try to catch Jerry Rice.
BA has ridden Fitz for the last three years like a Triple Crown hopeful. Again, some will say, "but it's worked!" To that I ask, at what cost? Why not use a fullback instead---that's how other coaches protect their QBs, RBs and WRs.
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