What the Cardinals are saying about the Patriots this week
Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians said Jimmy Garoppolo reminded him of Tony Romo coming out of college.
As his team prepares to take on the Patriots at home this Sunday night, BArizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians had no shortage of respectful things to say about his opponents this week.
He started by praising the inherent ability of Jimmy Garoppolo, whom he compared to Tony Romo.
“Jimmy’s an excellent athlete, a very accurate passer,” he said. “Having been in the system, in that system especially, for the number of years he’s been there, he’s watched Josh [McDaniels] come up with game plans and understands what they’re trying to do.”
He added that you have to defend the quarterback’s legs as much as his arm, although we have not seen much scrambling from Garoppolo thus far.
Arians also said Garoppolo reminded him of Tony Romo when he was entering the NFL Draft, pointing to his skill set in particular. “I think they both were similar sizes, arm strength, very accurate,” he said. “Both moved around good.”
Of the offense, he pointed to the challenges a two tight end scheme imposes on a defense, saying “Well they’re just like us. We’re a two tight end team. The reason you do it is because you can’t get the best defensive call for a personnel group.” He noted the versatility of the scheme and said he is expecting the Patriots to utilize the formation “about 70 percent” of the time.
He also spoke at length about the defense, a unit that has improved significantly in recent years and upon which the onus will fall in Brady’s absence.
“They’re a very smart group and they’re very multi-faceted,” he said. “The guys can do a bunch of different things.” He also pointed out that defenses coached by Bill Belichick are always well prepared with a gameplan week-to-week, and that this particular group is versatile enough to line up in a variety of ways to disguise blitzes and heavy coverage.
Carson Palmer was not quite as kind, speaking candidly about Tom Brady and the Deflategate saga.
Palmer led off by saying he tried not to pay attention to the overwhelming amount of coverage. “I tried not to follow it just because it was everywhere,” he said. But then he went into his opinions about Brady’s actions and Roger Goodell’s verdict.
“If they tell you not to do it and you get busted, and what happens happens, then you suffer the consequences,” Palmer added. He then seemed to realize he had said something potentially inflammatory and started to defend himself with the implication that many players in the league shared his opinion before veering off and saying, “I don’t know if you can feel too strongly about it one way or another.”
Fans will also have an interesting opportunity to hear exactly what former Patriot Chandler Jones will have to say to, and about his teammates during Sunday’s game.
Chandler Jones said he will be mic’d up for Patriots-Cardinals, but he won’t be too chatty with ex-teammates. “It’s strictly business.”
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) September 8, 2016
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