Q: Does anything else stand out to you about the Cardinals?Orlovsky: "I think Kliff has grown as a coach. I think he's grown in
understanding the NFL isn't college, so to speak. Understanding how
sometimes going too fast isn't great. You've seen him pull back his
tempo a bit. You've seen him in situational football commit to the run,
which I think a lot of people didn't necessarily anticipate would be the
case. They thought it would be, 'Let's throw it 65 times a game' type
thing. I think his growth in understanding how connected football is has
been really impressive."
Schatz: "I'm probably in agreement that ?Chase Edmonds? has been better
than ?Kenyan Drake?. Yeah, Edmonds has been really good compared to
Drake, as a receiver especially. Edmonds has a lot of value as a
receiver. And I was fascinated before the season about how they were
going to use Isaiah Simmons, and the answer is they weren't going to use
Isaiah Simmons. I can tell you Budda Baker has been pretty awesome, but
you know that. We have a stat called defeats. Defeats count up three
things: tackle for loss
Kyrie Irving Duke Jersey, turnovers and plays that prevent a third- or fourth-down conversion. In
other words, big defensive plays. Budda Baker is tied for the league
lead with 16, the highest among defensive backs. He's tied with Devin
White, Lavonte David and T.J. Watt."
Ruiz: "I think the defensive scheme has been better than a lot of people
expected going into the season. There were a lot of question marks
about Vance Joseph, and I think he's answered those. Especially on
Sunday night. He was dealing with personnel deficiencies, and he was
still matching wits with the Seahawks and giving Russell Wilson problems
late. And I'd also say DeAndre Hopkins, how he's been able to
seamlessly join this offense and be just as productive as he was in
Houston. I think a lot of credit has to go to Kliff there, taking a star
player and using him in the right way."
The Cardinals, seeking some depth at cornerback
Trae Young Oklahoma Jersey, signed De'Vante Bausby Friday as they continue to fill out their
bye-week roster.
Bausby was released by the Broncos last week.
Bausby is the fifth cornerback on the roster, behind Patrick Peterson,
Byron Murphy, Dre Kirkpatrick and Kevin Peterson. Defensive coordinator
Vance Joseph also said veteran Prince Amukamara, currently on the
practice squad, is "close" to being able to play and contribute.
"We've got guys we have acquired the last couple of weeks that have been
working in the package," Joseph said. "Hopefully they'll be ready to
play against Miami.
"(Prince) is a very bright guy and who has played in games, so when his
time is called, he'll play well for us."
In his 19 career NFL games, Bausby has three pass deflections. A
one-time undrafted free agent has spent time with the Chiefs, Bears and
Eagles, including winning a Super Bowl in Philadelphia while on the
practice squad. He then landed in the Alliance of American Football with
San Antonio, even making an interception of current Cardinals coaching
assistant Mike Berkovici at one point.
When the AAF suspended operations, Bausby landed in Denver with the
Broncos in 2019.
The Cardinals will have fans for their next home game at State Farm
Stadium Nov. 8, and it'll be the biggest crowd thus far this season.
The Arizona Department of Health Services is allowing the Cards to host
4,200 spectators when they play the Dolphins. The team is also allowed
to have the same amount of fans for the Nov. 15 home game against the
Bills.
As with the Seattle game
Tyler Herro Kentucky Jersey, seats will only be available to season-ticket members, chosen through
account seniority. Availability on the seniority list will begin where
the team left off after the Seattle game. Accounts that purchased
tickets for the Seahawks game will have an opportunity again to buy
tickets once all other accounts have had their turn.
Fans will have the option to buy two tickets to either the Dolphins game
or the Bills game but not both, in order to accommodate the greatest
number of fans. Fans will be contacted by email with details.
Masks for fans is mandatory and failure to comply will result in
ejection. Tickets and parking are 100 percent digital and concessions is
also a contact-less experience.
Decisions about fans attending home games beyond Nov. 15 will be
determined and announced at a later date.
It will be the third game in a row the crowd size has been gradually
increased. The Cardinals were allowed about 750 spectators for the Sept.
27 game against the Lions, the spots of which were filled by family and
close family friends of players, coaches and staff. That allowed for
the testing of State Farm Stadium operations and COVID-19 protocols.
For the recent Seahawks game, that number was increased to 1,200.
Usually during a bye week, D.J. Humphries would - at least for a short
while - shift his focus from football to fashion.
"Bye week is usually when I head to L.A. to buy my winter clothes and
look snazzy in the cold weather," the Cardinals' left tackle said. "We
have to take COVID tests every day so I'll be here. I'll do some online
shopping."
The coronavirus certainly has changed the complexion of the bye.
Required daily tests of players, coaches and staff mean even if there
was a private island to which to escape, logistics would get in the way
of any trips.
Then again, it would've been different anyway
Vince Carter Unc Jersey, after what Kliff Kingsbury went through in his first season as coach.
The Cardinals were on a losing streak heading into the bye but had been
competitive. The idea was that it would carry over into a home game
against the Rams after the rest.
It most certainly did not. The Rams blitzed the Cardinals, 34-7, and
Rams quarterback Jared Goff piled up 405 yards passing by the 8:44 mark
of the third quarter.
This year, the Cardinals - a better team at 5-2, with the Dolphins
visiting State Farm Stadium next week - plan to be more prepared.
"I think just addressing it and understanding last year coming off the
bye was the one game since I've been here that I felt we were just
non-competitive," Kingsbury said. "I thought we had a bad week of
practice. It rolled right into Thanksgiving. It was kind of a
combination of things, and we were awful against the Rams. They kind of
embarrassed us.
"We have to individually take it upon ourselves to keep the focus and
stay dialed in and stay on this energy that we're on right now."
Humphries said getting away from the facility to "reset" is important.
But wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said Kingsbury told the team in a
meeting that while players should take time to "clear your mind," the
Cardinals also don't want to squander what they have built through seven
games.
"Understand we have the stretch run of the season ahead of us,"
Fitzgerald said. "(He was) reminding us about what happened last year
when we came off the bye and what the Rams did, embarrassing us at
home."
Not that the Cardinals are unhappy to have some time off. They have
created some momentum with the three-game winning streak, but enough
injuries have cropped up over seven weeks that health is an issue. The
injured reserve list has grown, although some (like safety Jalen
Thompson) should be coming back
Zion Williamson Duke Jersey. And any extra time between games benefits the rest of the wounded.
Besides, the hindsight of last year's post-bye disappointment gives
General Manager Steve Keim confidence the Cardinals won't repeat it.
"I think we are a team and particularly a coach that is humble enough to
learn from mistakes we've made in the past," Keim said. "Coming off of a
'Monday Night Football' game on a short week and then playing overtime
against your division rival, there's no better time than a bye right
now. We certainly need it. We need it both mentally and physically. I
think our guys will come out and respond."
With a chance to win the NFC West - the best division in the league -
the Cardinals can't afford to throw any games away because they aren't
ready to play.
"This is year two for me, so understanding what happened last year, what
I did last year," quarterback Kyler Murray said. "For me there is no
bye week. Last year we kind of treated it like there was a bye week,
this year the head stays down. There is no bye week for me, so I'm going
to keep at it and be ready to come back and lead these guys."
