LB Zaven Collins Press Conference- 10.28.25 | AZ Cardinals
with uh there’s been so much made about where you guys are mentally and everything. Now that you guys are back, where just generally where do you think this team is mentally with what you’ve been through and the tight losses you’ve had? Yeah, you know, a lot of these tight losses coming down to three points, four points. I mean, I don’t even know what the the biggest spread has been on our whatever the game that we’ve lost, but um yeah, it sucks, but uh we’re we’re a team that goes and analyzes everything, sees where we’ve messed up throughout the game or multiple games, then come back and make adjustments off of that. Uh I think we’ve guys probably had a, you know, good time kind of relaxing over the buy and and analyzing that stuff. I mean, they come back and had packages for us to, you know, go over what we need to work on as a unit, as an individual to help, you know, it’s not like it was a huge overhaul of things that we need to change, just a minor tweak here and there, and then we’re offsetting, you know, so it’s it’s been good. How needed was the buy for you? Uh, I mean, every year I go hunting, so I was like, it was awesome. I got to shoot a deer and bunch of birds, so I mean, I’m happy every year. Uh, but yeah, it’s uh it’s good, you know, kind of get some peace for me. I’m a big nature guy, so I was out in the middle of nowhere just having fun and, you know, by myself with a couple buddies and stuff. It was really nice. Zaman, you said earlier it sucks to be two and five right now. How do you how do you just deal with that issue? Two and five, last in the MC West. How do you deal with that mentally, emotionally? Uh, I mean, you just got to you can’t really let it affect you. You got to just keep going and work every day. It’s a National Football League, you know? I mean, there’s plenty of teams out there that are still good teams. You know, we were talking about today just the margin of, you know, errors and winning and all these games come down to one score games. 75% of NFL games where at one point in time in the fourth quarter is eight points. I mean that’s almost every year in the NFL. So it’s uh it’s something that we just got to learn uh learn from and then like execute plays and make plays where we need to. Um sometimes it’s just a couple plays here and there and that can cost you a game especially when it’s a good team like the you know the last two teams we’ve played. So that’s really what it is. Go ahead Craig. How close do you feel like you are defensively when it comes to like getting pressure more pressure on the quarterback, things like that? Um me myself or as a unit? Yeah. But the thing is in you got to get you got to get in that situation. You know, there’s some games where we were kicking butt on first and second down. It gives us more opportunities to pass rush. You see a big uptick in that. You don’t win a lot on first and second down. You’re not going to get those pass rush opportunities. So that’s something, you know, got to always say on the sidelines, we got to earn the right to pass rush. Got to earn the right to pass rush. you know, and uh that goes into all guys up front and then guys in the back end as well, and they know that. So, it’s uh something that we’ve put our mind towards with uh I I know JJ said earlier today that later this week they’re going to open the practice window for BJ so he can get back on the field. I’m just curious like how do you kind of help a teammate like that? I mean, obviously he’s been gone for a long time staying engaged and I’m sure mentally it’s tough for him so how do you help with that? Yeah, I mean we’ve help I’ve helped a little bit here and there. He sits just to the left of me in the meetings and we pretty much sit in the front. Our meeting room’s small, but um he he still gets asked questions by coach Finey. He’s done a really good job of asking BJ questions and like including including him in every game plan. So BJ actually knows a lot about every game plan week to week um even though he wasn’t really playing. So that’s a good sign. Um he goes and practices or work out, do whatever to try and get back as quick as possible. And when I see him, he seems like he’s doing really well. Um he’s there mentally with the game and all the things that we do. Knows the playbook in and out. So I think when he when he is available, it’s going to hit the ground running. Baby, you talked about getting pressure on the quarterback. How important this week against Dak Prescott who’s in that offense. I mean, they’re the top one of the top offenses in the league. Yeah, they’re playing elite right now. You know, we just got to stick to what we know. Don’t try and play out of out of our frame and just try and do what we can do and control what we can control. and and it’s got to be that same thing like it was in week one all the way to now, you know, and uh limit limit things that they try to do to us and uh figure out what the adjustments are midame and just work off that. The proximity to your hometown, how much is Dallas a special place to come play? Oh yeah, Dallas is always fun. I have a lot of uh friends and family coming from from Tulsa area and uh they’re going to be there. So, it’s really cool. um my mom and all my family will be there and uh so yeah and a lot of people every time I go back I went back for the Tulsa um alumni homecoming game and they’re like we never get to watch the Arizona games we don’t have a sports package. I was like we’ll buy a sports package. So I was like you know we’re going to play Dallas so it it shows in that area. Um they’re like we can only get to watch Kansas City and Dallas. I was like I’m sorry but I don’t have control of that guys. That’s way above my pay grade. Do uh when you were growing up were you a Cowboys guy? No, I I wasn’t I wasn’t um I wasn’t a Cowboys or the first game I ever went to was the one I played in. So, that was pretty cool. I mean, but yeah, growing up in a small town, you were always moving from sport to sport, so you didn’t really pay attention to the postseason, you know. So, that was really it.
LB Zaven Collins addresses the media ahead of week 9 vs the Dallas Cowboys.
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