Bruce Arians intimated on Monday that the Arizona Cardinals tipped off referees about the cadence issue with the Cincinnati Bengals that helped the Cardinals win Sunday night’s game between the teams.
At the end of the game, the Cardinals were lining up for a 45-yard field goal to break a 31-31 tie, but the Bengals were called for unsportsmanlike conduct for mimicking the snap count. The penalty moved the Cardinals up and made it easier for them to nail a 32-yard kick to win the game.
On Monday, Arizona’s head coach hinted his side was responsible for alerting the refs to the Bengals’ practice of interfering with cadences.
Arians said Cardinals "probably" told officials to watch for mimicking cadence from Bengals. "They have a history of it."
— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) November 23, 2015
Arians is not the first coach to do something like that. Teams often give referees a heads-up about important things. For instance, if they’re planning onside kicks, they often give refs notice so they can watch to make sure the ball traveled 10 yards etc.
There is nothing wrong with what Arians did. In fact, this is another example of what makes him such a successful coach. The only question is whether the Cardinals are now going to be known as tipsters the way the Colts were.
