The Arizona Cardinals were a popular pick to win the NFC title before the year began, and their play through three weeks has not justified those predictions. According to head coach Bruce Arians, that could have a lot to do with chemistry.
In an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio this week, an irritated Arians said some new players on the Cardinals roster are having a negative impact on the team.
“We have some really, really good leaders,” he said. “But to be a good leader, the others have to follow you. We’ve got a lot of young guys. We have some new faces that are doing their own thing and not following the example set by these guys. And it’s a two-way street. They can only lead you to water, but you’ve got to drink it. And some of these young guys have got to get out of old habits and get in with the Cardinal Way.”
The Cardinals were heavy favorites against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday and even heavier favorites against the Tom Brady-less New England Patriots in Week 1. It almost seemed as if they thought all they had to do to win was show up, and Arians said that attitude has to change going forward.
“Don’t bury your head in the sand and say, ‘Everything’s going to be alright Wednesday when I show up for work,’ if you didn’t do anything about it on Monday and Tuesday,” he added. “So the emphasis on Monday was to look at the film (and say), ‘Why did you play this way? And let’s correct it. Let’s make a very positive experience out of this. There was obviously a negative situation, but let’s make a positive out of this so it doesn’t happen again.’”
I’ve said in the past that Arians is one of the most underrated coaches in football, which is why it has been surprising to see his team look so unprepared. We’ve grown more accustomed to seeing him zing division rivals than rip his own team, so this wasn’t exactly expected. Fortunately, the Cardinals have plenty of time to turn things around.
