“But he’s so disruptive in the run game, and he played a bunch inside previous year so he was against guards and centers and held his own so been very, very surprised and happy with him”.
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How did he get over it?
“Like they say, one of the big slogans here is, ‘Don’t let what you can’t do dictate what you can do, ‘ ” he said.
The NFL is back, and Sportsnet is breaking down everything you need to know about each of the 32 teams-including why you should or shouldn’t be rooting for them this season-in the month leading up to kickoff on Thursday, Sept. 8.
– Rookie Brandon Williams will be the Cardinals’ No. 2 cornerback this Sunday, Arizona coach Bruce Arians announced Wednesday. Asked how much the Badger will be able to play in the opener, Arians said, “every down”. Just growing up, watching him play, it’s unbelievable recognition for himself to make the Bills’ roster, and it just makes me super proud as an older brother. Now, Palmer probably won’t reach 34,696 yards before his career is done, but he could break his own single season records for yards (4,671) and touchdowns (35) if things go well.
In a stacked NFC and with Russell Wilson and a once-again well-fancied Seattle Seahawks team in their division, the Cardinals can not afford Palmer to have a hangover from the meltdown he suffered on that rainy night in Charlotte. “We know how good we are”. “We’ll see how it goes”.
It’s been an up-and-down journey since he was drafted No. 1 overall by Cincinnati so long ago. “He’s a coach-pleaser. He’s extremely talented, obviously, but I’ve been very impressed with the way he’s fit in with our group and our culture right away”. He was the worst postseason rated quarterback according to Pro Football Focus, and he helped throw the Cardinals out of the NFC title game before it ever really got started. “I think that’s why I’ve enjoyed the end so much more than every part of the career”.
“I think I’m way better than previous year”, he said. “With two days off, he texted me about 30 times, so that’s a good thing”.
Mathieu, he said, has been looking exceptionally sharp in his comeback from a second ACL surgery in three years despite being limited in the preseason. “We’ve had moments offensively and defensively that show what we’re capable of and I think we’ll be more than ready next Sunday night”. “We don’t have that”.
He also has the support of a ground game led by a running back coming off a 12-touchdown rookie season in David Johnson and speedy receivers John Brown and J.J. Nelson, who provide an excellent complement to likely future Hall of Fame inductee Larry Fitzgerald. Johnson averaged just 39.75 yards per game and 3.18 yards per carry in the last two regular season games and both playoff games.
“He knows exactly what every player has, the route that each player has”, Johnson said.
Palmer took Brown under his wing early, taking him to the quarterback’s San Diego home to work out after Brown was drafted out of a small school, Pittsburg State.
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“I’m definitely ready”, he said, “being smarter, getting in the training room, getting smarter in my nutrition and staying healthy”.
