Employing a ‘1-0 mentality,’ Arizona Cardinals are blocking out the hate and the love.
According to their remarks and postings on social media,
the Cardinals are constantly guarding against the notion that a 4-0 start means more than just that it was a nice month.
After Sunday’s 37-20 win against the Rams, quarterback Kyler Murray stated, “As far as being 4-0, I’m aiming to go 1-0 each and every week.”
“Every week, it’s a 1-0 mentality,” said safety Budda Baker.
Brentson Buckner, a defensive line coach/staff actuary,
tweeted, “4-0 means we can’t go 3-14.” “Not a single thing more, not a single thing less.”
It’s a slogan created after the Cardinals began 6-3 last season,
but lost five of their last seven games to miss the playoffs for the sixth straight season.
They concluded that one cause of the failure was too much long-term planning and not enough attention on the work that week.
“After last year, we made a conscious effort to remain in the present,” said coach Kliff Kingsbury,
“to concentrate on one week at a time and strive to progress each week.”
So far, I believe our men have done a good job.”
The pursuit of humility and awareness is admirable,
and it will help the Cardinals improve on their 4-0 start.
Talent, on the other hand, will be more beneficial.
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And the Cardinals have proven they have enough of it to reach the playoffs and maybe compete for something more in the first month.
Some people will want to slam the brakes on that idea with both feet.
It’s just the beginning of October. And it’s not like the Cardinals have a history of long-term success.
It’s the Cardinals’ first 4-0 start since 2012,
a season that serves as a warning against getting ahead of ourselves. Coach Ken Whisenhunt was dismissed after the squad won only one more game.
But they aren’t the Cardinals of 2012.
They are much superior to a squad that was unable to recover from the loss of quarterback Kevin Kolb.
They’re a step forward from the 2020 team,
which needed offensive line assistance and more playmakers to surround Murray and receiver, DeAndre Hopkins.
And then assistance came.
At the center, Rodney Hudson has been a revelation.
Christian Kirk has excelled at the spot, which used to be occupied by Larry Fitzgerald.
Rondale Moore, a rookie, has the ability to create something out of nothing.
Hopkins is just as excellent as he’s always been. A.J.
Green has the most receiving yards on the squad. And because defenders have to pay so much attention to everyone else, tight end Maxx Williams is flourishing.
Murray is playing as though he’s a contender for the MVP award.
He leads the league in completion % (76.1) and yards per attempt (9.5),
which is approximately 2.5 yards more than the previous year. That’s a significant increase in that category.
The offensive line is in good shape. Anyone who touches the football has the ability to do something spectacular with it.
The defense features a good combination of experienced and inexperienced players, and it should develop as the season goes.
The Cardinals are first in the NFL in scoring (35 points per game) and second in point difference (to Buffalo) (13.8 points).
Three of the wins came on the road, and two of them were routs against clubs that had reached the playoffs the year before (Titans, Rams).
The Cardinals were fortunate when the Vikings missed a game-winning field goal on the last play,
but that’s how some seasons go. Sometimes the difference between winning 10 games and winning 13 or so is luck.
Moreover, Kingsbury seems to have matured into his role.
This season, his game planning, play ideas, and play-calling have all been excellent.
Although he still fidgets in front of the camera, he seems at ease on the sideline and in front of the players.
He said he’d probably celebrate after Sunday’s game by going home and watching Ted Lasso on Apple TV+.
“There are some genuine similarities between Ted Lasso and myself, like the amazing YouTube dancing video,” said Kingsbury, who was hired despite having no NFL coaching experience.
You were at my (first) news conference, which was basically the same press conference that Ted Lasso has every time people ask, ‘Is this some sort of joke?’”
The Cardinals are now attempting to behave like goldfish, who, according to Lasso, are the happiest animals on the planet because of their 10-second memory.
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Employing a ‘1-0 mentality,’ Arizona Cardinals are blocking out the hate and the love
