Öffentlicher Bereich » We certainly need it

Q: Does anything else stand out to you about the Cardinals?
Orlovsky: "I think Kliff has grown as a coach. I think he's grown in understanding the NFL isn't college, so to speak. Understanding how sometimes going too fast isn't great. You've seen him pull back his tempo a bit. You've seen him in situational football commit to the run, which I think a lot of people didn't necessarily anticipate would be the case. They thought it would be, 'Let's throw it 65 times a game' type thing. I think his growth in understanding how connected football is has been really impressive."
Schatz: "I'm probably in agreement that ?Chase Edmonds? has been better than ?Kenyan Drake?. Yeah, Edmonds has been really good compared to Drake, as a receiver especially. Edmonds has a lot of value as a receiver. And I was fascinated before the season about how they were going to use Isaiah Simmons, and the answer is they weren't going to use Isaiah Simmons. I can tell you Budda Baker has been pretty awesome, but you know that. We have a stat called defeats. Defeats count up three things: tackle for loss, turnovers and plays that prevent a third- or fourth-down conversion. In other words, big defensive plays. Budda Baker is tied for the league lead with 16, the highest among defensive backs. He's tied with Devin White, Lavonte David and T.J. Watt."
Ruiz: "I think the defensive scheme has been better than a lot of people expected going into the season. There were a lot of question marks about Vance Joseph, and I think he's answered those. Especially on Sunday night. He was dealing with personnel deficiencies, and he was still matching wits with the Seahawks and giving Russell Wilson problems late. And I'd also say DeAndre Hopkins, how he's been able to seamlessly join this offense and be just as productive as he was in Houston. I think a lot of credit has to go to Kliff there, taking a star player and using him in the right way."
The Cardinals, seeking some depth at cornerback, signed De'Vante Bausby Friday as they continue to fill out their bye-week roster.
Bausby was released by the Broncos last week.
Bausby is the fifth cornerback on the roster, behind Patrick Peterson, Byron Murphy, Dre Kirkpatrick and Kevin Peterson. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph also said veteran Prince Amukamara, currently on the practice squad, is "close" to being able to play and contribute.
"We've got guys we have acquired the last couple of weeks that have been working in the package," Joseph said. "Hopefully they'll be ready to play against Miami.
"(Prince) is a very bright guy and who has played in games, so when his time is called, he'll play well for us."
In his 19 career NFL games, Bausby has three pass deflections. A one-time undrafted free agent has spent time with the Chiefs, Bears and Eagles, including winning a Super Bowl in Philadelphia while on the practice squad. He then landed in the Alliance of American Football with San Antonio, even making an interception of current Cardinals coaching assistant Mike Berkovici at one point.
When the AAF suspended operations, Bausby landed in Denver with the Broncos in 2019.
The Cardinals will have fans for their next home game at State Farm Stadium Nov. 8, and it'll be the biggest crowd thus far this season.
The Arizona Department of Health Services is allowing the Cards to host 4,200 spectators when they play the Dolphins. The team is also allowed to have the same amount of fans for the Nov. 15 home game against the Bills.
As with the Seattle game, seats will only be available to season-ticket members, chosen through account seniority. Availability on the seniority list will begin where the team left off after the Seattle game. Accounts that purchased tickets for the Seahawks game will have an opportunity again to buy tickets once all other accounts have had their turn.
Fans will have the option to buy two tickets to either the Dolphins game or the Bills game but not both, in order to accommodate the greatest number of fans. Fans will be contacted by email with details.
Masks for fans is mandatory and failure to comply will result in ejection. Tickets and parking are 100 percent digital and concessions is also a contact-less experience.
Decisions about fans attending home games beyond Nov. 15 will be determined and announced at a later date.
It will be the third game in a row the crowd size has been gradually increased. The Cardinals were allowed about 750 spectators for the Sept. 27 game against the Lions, the spots of which were filled by family and close family friends of players, coaches and staff. That allowed for the testing of State Farm Stadium operations and COVID-19 protocols.
For the recent Seahawks game, that number was increased to 1,200.
Usually during a bye week, D.J. Humphries would - at least for a short while - shift his focus from football to fashion.
"Bye week is usually when I head to L.A. to buy my winter clothes and look snazzy in the cold weather," the Cardinals' left tackle said. "We have to take COVID tests every day so I'll be here. I'll do some online shopping."
The coronavirus certainly has changed the complexion of the bye. Required daily tests of players, coaches and staff mean even if there was a private island to which to escape, logistics would get in the way of any trips.
Then again, it would've been different anyway, after what Kliff Kingsbury went through in his first season as coach. The Cardinals were on a losing streak heading into the bye but had been competitive. The idea was that it would carry over into a home game against the Rams after the rest.
It most certainly did not. The Rams blitzed the Cardinals, 34-7, and Rams quarterback Jared Goff piled up 405 yards passing by the 8:44 mark of the third quarter.
This year, the Cardinals - a better team at 5-2, with the Dolphins visiting State Farm Stadium next week - plan to be more prepared.
"I think just addressing it and understanding last year coming off the bye was the one game since I've been here that I felt we were just non-competitive," Kingsbury said. "I thought we had a bad week of practice. It rolled right into Thanksgiving. It was kind of a combination of things, and we were awful against the Rams. They kind of embarrassed us.
"We have to individually take it upon ourselves to keep the focus and stay dialed in and stay on this energy that we're on right now."
Humphries said getting away from the facility to "reset" is important. But wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said Kingsbury told the team in a meeting that while players should take time to "clear your mind," the Cardinals also don't want to squander what they have built through seven games.
"Understand we have the stretch run of the season ahead of us," Fitzgerald said. "(He was) reminding us about what happened last year when we came off the bye and what the Rams did, embarrassing us at home."
Not that the Cardinals are unhappy to have some time off. They have created some momentum with the three-game winning streak, but enough injuries have cropped up over seven weeks that health is an issue. The injured reserve list has grown, although some (like safety Jalen Thompson) should be coming back. And any extra time between games benefits the rest of the wounded.
Besides, the hindsight of last year's post-bye disappointment gives General Manager Steve Keim confidence the Cardinals won't repeat it.
"I think we are a team and particularly a coach that is humble enough to learn from mistakes we've made in the past," Keim said. "Coming off of a 'Monday Night Football' game on a short week and then playing overtime against your division rival, there's no better time than a bye right now. We certainly need it. We need it both mentally and physically. I think our guys will come out and respond."
With a chance to win the NFC West - the best division in the league - the Cardinals can't afford to throw any games away because they aren't ready to play.
"This is year two for me, so understanding what happened last year, what I did last year," quarterback Kyler Murray said. "For me there is no bye week. Last year we kind of treated it like there was a bye week, this year the head stays down. There is no bye week for me, so I'm going to keep at it and be ready to come back and lead these guys."