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Championship!!!!
It's a locker-room cliche, but they are also words to live by
By DARREN URBAN
Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson made a play and changed the game with his end-zone interception against the Steelers last weekend.
ST. LOUIS -- When Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt gathered his team in the locker room following last week’s win against Pittsburgh, he had a simple message.
“It’s amazing what can happen,” Whisenhunt said, “when you do two things:
Cardinals vs. Rams
Believe, and make a play.”
It sounds simple. And the latter has become a locker-room cliché – Make a play.
Someone has to make a play.
But what does that mean?
“When your number is called, say ‘X go’ or something like that, whatever the situation is, if he is holding you, if he is grabbing you, if it is a bad ball, no excuses, make the play,” said receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who hauled in a key 38-yard catch in coverage to start the game-clinching drive against Pittsburgh. “If you have to go block the strong safety on a five-hole run coming to you, go knock him out.
“That is the mentality you have to have. That’s what we mean. No excuses. Just get it done.”
Ultimately, the goal of every snap is for someone to “make a play,” although it isn’t always possible the way the action develops.
Sometimes, the play makes the highlight shows. Think linebacker Gerald Hayes’ forced fumble against Seattle, Fitzgerald’s catch of the Matt Leinart bomb, or safety Adrian Wilson’s crucial end zone interception against Pittsburgh.
“Whenever you make the play that guy is the hero,” Wilson said. “And everyone wants to be the hero.”
Sometimes it’s more subtle, like Edgerrin James avoiding a sure tackle in the backfield to still pick up a few yards on third-and-short. Or Sean Morey splitting a double-team on punt coverage to get to the return man. Or safety Aaron Francisco’s line of scrimmage tackle against Steelers running back Willie Parker, when missing Parker would have certainly meant a long gain.
“Making plays is about going out and doing something that is going to spark you, stuff you aren’t expected to do,” receiver Jerheme Urban said. “Maybe, as a receiver, it’s just coming on the backside and getting that touchdown-producing block.”
So was Urban’s six-yard touchdown catch “making a play,” even though he was open the whole time?
“Yeah it was … That was a pretty routine play,” Urban said. “But you have to make it. I almost didn’t. I almost didn’t hold it long enough, and that would have been classified as not making a play.”
Whisenhunt said there has to be some degree of difficulty to it. Fitzgerald’s catch qualifies. To the coach, tight end Leonard Pope’s touchdown catch-and-run against Seattle doesn’t because Pope was so wide open.
The defense faces a situation where someone has to make a play on every third down, defensive end Antonio Smith said. And there are other times, too, like when the offense has called a play that should work against the defense called, and a player must find a way to shut it down anyway.
“Once you break the huddle (in key moments), I bet everyone out there is thinking in their mind, ‘I’m going to make this play. I’m going to make this play,’ ” Smith said. “It is psychological. You are that much more focused.”
Hayes said he was thinking that very thing when he came out of the huddle before crushing Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and running back Shaun Alexander to force the Seahawks’ fumble.
Then again, Hayes admitted he would have been thinking the same thing the next play had the fumble not happened.
“There are certain points in a game,” receiver Anquan Boldin, “where a play has to be made.”
Like Boldin did in Baltimore, running over defenders when scoring the Cardinals’ final touchdown to give Arizona a chance to win.
"When we say someone has to make a play," Whisenhunt said, "that means it may not be perfect, but you've got to find a way to succeed."
Contact Darren Urban at [email protected]. Posted 10/6/07
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/detail.php?PRKey=1973
By DARREN URBAN
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Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson made a play and changed the game with his end-zone interception against the Steelers last weekend.
ST. LOUIS -- When Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt gathered his team in the locker room following last week’s win against Pittsburgh, he had a simple message.
“It’s amazing what can happen,” Whisenhunt said, “when you do two things:
Cardinals vs. Rams
Believe, and make a play.”
It sounds simple. And the latter has become a locker-room cliché – Make a play.
Someone has to make a play.
But what does that mean?
“When your number is called, say ‘X go’ or something like that, whatever the situation is, if he is holding you, if he is grabbing you, if it is a bad ball, no excuses, make the play,” said receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who hauled in a key 38-yard catch in coverage to start the game-clinching drive against Pittsburgh. “If you have to go block the strong safety on a five-hole run coming to you, go knock him out.
“That is the mentality you have to have. That’s what we mean. No excuses. Just get it done.”
Ultimately, the goal of every snap is for someone to “make a play,” although it isn’t always possible the way the action develops.
Sometimes, the play makes the highlight shows. Think linebacker Gerald Hayes’ forced fumble against Seattle, Fitzgerald’s catch of the Matt Leinart bomb, or safety Adrian Wilson’s crucial end zone interception against Pittsburgh.
“Whenever you make the play that guy is the hero,” Wilson said. “And everyone wants to be the hero.”
Sometimes it’s more subtle, like Edgerrin James avoiding a sure tackle in the backfield to still pick up a few yards on third-and-short. Or Sean Morey splitting a double-team on punt coverage to get to the return man. Or safety Aaron Francisco’s line of scrimmage tackle against Steelers running back Willie Parker, when missing Parker would have certainly meant a long gain.
“Making plays is about going out and doing something that is going to spark you, stuff you aren’t expected to do,” receiver Jerheme Urban said. “Maybe, as a receiver, it’s just coming on the backside and getting that touchdown-producing block.”
So was Urban’s six-yard touchdown catch “making a play,” even though he was open the whole time?
“Yeah it was … That was a pretty routine play,” Urban said. “But you have to make it. I almost didn’t. I almost didn’t hold it long enough, and that would have been classified as not making a play.”
Whisenhunt said there has to be some degree of difficulty to it. Fitzgerald’s catch qualifies. To the coach, tight end Leonard Pope’s touchdown catch-and-run against Seattle doesn’t because Pope was so wide open.
The defense faces a situation where someone has to make a play on every third down, defensive end Antonio Smith said. And there are other times, too, like when the offense has called a play that should work against the defense called, and a player must find a way to shut it down anyway.
“Once you break the huddle (in key moments), I bet everyone out there is thinking in their mind, ‘I’m going to make this play. I’m going to make this play,’ ” Smith said. “It is psychological. You are that much more focused.”
Hayes said he was thinking that very thing when he came out of the huddle before crushing Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and running back Shaun Alexander to force the Seahawks’ fumble.
Then again, Hayes admitted he would have been thinking the same thing the next play had the fumble not happened.
“There are certain points in a game,” receiver Anquan Boldin, “where a play has to be made.”
Like Boldin did in Baltimore, running over defenders when scoring the Cardinals’ final touchdown to give Arizona a chance to win.
"When we say someone has to make a play," Whisenhunt said, "that means it may not be perfect, but you've got to find a way to succeed."
Contact Darren Urban at [email protected]. Posted 10/6/07
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/detail.php?PRKey=1973
