Opening statement
“It’s a bit windy today, but good Friday work. Any questions?”
On how OLB Jonathon Cooper looked in practice this week
“Good, good. The good news with the current protocol is that they can stay in shape, and train, and all those things that eight or 10 years ago were different. So that’s what worked for him.”
On whether he wants to see QB Bo Nix run more
“I think you have to be careful about that. There are some on-the-move plays, but I think some of that can happen organically. A lot of that happens in back-to-the-quarterback defense. It’s a little different when the eyes are on the quarterback. So when you get the man combinations or the matchup stuff… It’s not on my Top-10 list of things we do.”
On why he keeps a fullback on the roster
“I think this: it’s real simple. The teams that don’t have it, they have an ‘F’ tight end that would do the same things, maybe a bigger stature, play special teams. So let’s just hypothetically say we don’t have a fullback. [TE] Nate Adkins would fit many of those ‘F’ roles. So when you see more tight ends, there’s one of them usually on every roster doing fullback stuff. So a lot of it is just roster building. I’d rather have that real ‘F’, but the right one, not at the expense of better.”
Why FB Adam Prentice’s snap count is down from last season
“I think it depends on what we’re trying to get each week. We talk about, do we want their base defense or do we want their sub defense? So that can impact his role in the gameplan, but that makes sense though.”
Among the Cardinals who will retire from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, WR Larry Fitzgerald Jr.’s number. on Sunday
“He was amazing. It’s a good thing I got to spend some time with him [Pro Football] Hall of Fame. He represented so many things that were right. So consistent, competitive. This is an amazing statistic, I didn’t know they were tracking it. He had more tackles—maybe that’s not a good stat—but he had more tackles than dropped passes. He is smart, brave, reliable. He knew then that he was going to this game and gave me a hard time about it. Very good player. Really, really good.”
On whether the extra rest helped DL Zach Allen
“That’s always the balance with those guys inside when you’re in the rotation. The game ends, and I’m always first on Monday, I always look at the pitch count and then the special teams. How many plays? Usually the backup quarterback or the backup lineman who might have… But how many plays? It’s purposeful with his strength and the way he plays, and so on.
On whether the extra rest helped DL Zach Allen jump out as a run defender
“His tape is incredible. He’s really, really athletic at the snap, and so I’m glad he’s ours.”
On managing the return of a veteran who missed weeks versus a rookie
“I think the first thing is injury, no injury, experience. I always think about anybody’s first game back if it’s been a month, call it pitch count. That’s going to be the big difference. These players coming back off the reserve/injured or just making sure we’re monitoring, ‘What’s the goal before we play? What are we seeing pitch-count wise?’ Then attention is paid to it.”
On whether CB Pat Surtain II plays this week
“We’ll see, we’ll see, we’ll see. We’re not announcing starting lineups right now.”
The key to stringing wins together
“I think there are some similarities and differences, but I think that 4-2 mark a year ago, we’d come off of a real good defensive effort in London. It just can’t be a yo-yo. Any team that I can think of, there are runs. I think more importantly, the last thing I just said to them was, ‘We have to be ascending, improving.’ I think they understand that.”
In what allowed the team to embrace a next thought
“That’s enough. I think depth at certain positions, like corner for example. It’s one thing to tell the next guy, but having developed guys and having depth in key areas. It’s an attrition league. You hope that your offseason, how you prepare, you minimize your injuries. But with the rosters the way they are, I can definitely do that.
In how he prepares backups to step in for injured players while keeping them healthy
“When we have practice, you can see let’s say a team period. The front line [goes]but then very quickly during the team season, you see other guys who can play get reps. That will be part of the weekly process.”
In that CB Ja’Quan McMillian wasn’t drafted because teams didn’t view him as an outside corner
“Yeah, that’s a good question. It’s a good question. We can think of a long line of players who have all these other things that are important to playing well. He’s playing at a real high level now. So his instincts, all those things that you’re looking for, especially within the framework of our defense. A lot of times you say, ‘Who’s the structure dos running?’ You’ve seen some bigger Buffalo nickel teams as of late, but every defense has something specific they’re looking for. The ball is looking for him. That’s a good trait. He also values himself among his teammates, so he’s a good scorer.”
On what he saw from QB Bo Nix’s mindset this week
“Just get in line at Monday’s presser, get in line at Wednesday’s presser and we’ll go to Friday. I think we all feel like we need to move the needle forward.”
On whether he saw what he wanted in RB Jonah Coleman this week
“Oh yes.”
In practices, third-down backs have to balance ball catching and pass protection
“It’s a good question because you want to make sure it’s not one or the other. A lot of it depends on who they might be blocking. I remember the old 49ers teams, [ILB Patrick] Willis and [ILB Navarro] Bowman. [Former Saints RB] Sproles is our third-down, two-minute back. We didn’t like that matchup. There was a two-minute play where he went to one of them, and he was incredible, but if I asked him to do that twice, it would be difficult. We consider all of that as not just third down, but returns. That’s a real big self-scout thing, if [RB] RJ [Harvey] is in, if [RB] JK [Dobbins] It’s here. Whoever is behind, we need to pay attention to that.”
On how RB RJ Harvey performed
“He made some big plays for us, screens. [Offensive Coordinator] Davis [Webb] Just last week… He’s a natural. I like his progress for the early part of Year 2.”
On whether the Cardinals show more defensive fronts
“Our defense, we see a base-look, kind of an Okie structure. There’s going to be some similarities. Then they have a nickel package, a dime. Their dime—and we have a dime, too—may be a little fuzzy. One of the key notes this week is, ‘Communication, ID.’ Usually someone is looking at the crowd, and [QB] Bo [Nix] is stepping into the crowd. They say, ‘Nickel, nickel,’ or, ‘Base, base.’ Then I’ll say multiple times, ‘Hey Bo, this is base defense here.’ So when we’re game planning, if you want to run a game against their base defense, there are a few things to know that you’re getting on base. Nothing is 100 percent. That’s an important thing this week. To answer your question, yes.”
On whether the team is looking forward to next week against the Chiefs at all
“Not at all… My first thought was, ‘Who are we going to play next week?’ It should be. I try not to be cliché. This should be the focus. You come back after the weekend and you’re like, ‘Okay, we’ve got a three-game stretch. Here it is. Arizona is here. Let’s focus on Arizona.’ These guys are smart enough that they understand our league. These guys (Arizona) are coming off a really impressive win against the Rams. We’re so focused on… When you have a schedule like we do in the NFL with 17 games, I can’t tell you after the bye. I have no clue. I know where we’re going at some point; I just don’t know when.”
With the Cardinals beating the Rams last week by only scoring field goals
“It doesn’t have to be aesthetically pleasing to be effective. That’s a good offense they played. So both defenses played well. That play at the end of the game, they get the big pass completion, personal foul. Then all of the sudden, just from here to there. How many times have we seen this on the new kickoff? Two plays away from field goal range.”
In the key to not see any enemies
“I think it kind of comes back to who you bring into the building. The make up and the smart people. They understand how this league works. So that experience, that definitely helps me when we’re focused on this game.”
In how he manages to motivate the team and find a message that resonates
“Every week is different. It’s a fair question. You learn to understand what’s important and then what’s not important relative to… When you’re a young coach, you talk about everything, and when you talk about everything, soon you don’t really cover anything because you’ve reached everything. What you learn maybe with a little experience is what to ignore, even with your team every week as you prepare. I always think about the race that, what will be the theme of this week… All of that probably contradicts what is required for this win.
In an example of doing too much with motivation and preparation
“I’m trying to give an example. It’s Friday. We’re going to watch tape. Maybe you’ll recognize something and tomorrow something will be said. Last year playing the Giants, we ran a route that we thought we needed to end the game, and holy cow, [WR Courtland] Sutton caught it. We kicked a field goal. When something like that happens to you, you’re like, ‘Okay, what am I missing this week?’ In other words, there are countless times where I don’t think it’s a bad thing, but shutting off is sometimes difficult.