Asst. HC Jeff Rodgers, OC Drew Petzing, DC Nick Rallis Press Conference- 11.11.25 | AZ Cardinals

Asst. HC Jeff Rodgers, OC Drew Petzing, DC Nick Rallis Press Conference- 11.11.25 | AZ Cardinals

big picture. When you guys go through a game like you did on Sunday, like as coaches, is there a lot being said to players in the moment of whatever or is it like you’re trying to do business as usual? Um, I think it depends on the situation. Um, you’re always trying to be one and0 in every every play that you go out there. Just win the situation. whether we’re punting, we’re kicking off, kicking off return, or excuse me, uh kick returning. Um you try to remind guys, hey, we’re in this situation, so they’ll we’re likely see see this out of them, right? Um whether you’re up, you’re down, um we talk about those types of situations regardless of what the scoreboard says. um and trying to live in the moment. But um you know sometimes I would find myself with younger players like just reminding them this is you know these are the things we need to emphasize in this situation. So um most of the vets have been through it one way or the other. They understand the league is a league and um you know there’s been some games in the recent history where um teams have been able to kind of get back in it. So seemed like there was uh early on some some sloppiness on some returns. What do you attribute that to the flag? I think there was one that was dropped. A couple other things. Um I’m trying to answer your question the way that you’re asking because there was like four things right there. There was some sloppiness on No, I I think when the ball is on the ground, that’s not what we’re trying to do. Um, the flag may have gotten your attention because that has not been us in the return game. Um, I have absolutely no idea what the stats say, but I would think that we’re one of the least penalized teams in the league, at least when it comes to the kicking game. Um, yeah, I mean, I I don’t think there’s anything that is a common trait. Um, there was two different players involved in terms of uh Amari had one and Bam had another. Um, but I I don’t know that there was anything that other than the results of those plays that I’d attribute that to. A game like that where you’re, you know, JJ was talking a little bit about obviously when you’re getting close, you’re so far behind, you’re in a situation essentially where you’re you’re needing touchdowns instead of field goals. So, you’re not going to kick stuff often um because you’re trying to make up all those points. It it I guess as a as a special teams unit, as Chad would be, like I guess you just kind of understand the moment that like, okay, this might not be a day where I’m getting a lot of chances just because of the circumstances. I mean, I assume that’s to be the case that they you’re just kind of thinking, I mean, I’ll be ready if I need to, but I I might not be using a whole lot today. Yeah. Um, I learned my lesson over a decade ago on I mean just even in the moment again whether you’re up or down. Um, we were playing a game in Baltimore in 2012 when I was in Denver and the score was in our favor kind of getting away and um, we had said, you know, four down in this situation and I communicated that with Prader was our kicker at the time. Communic communicated that with Matt and uh, after third down they said field goal and uh the kick did not go well as he was late getting on the field and that was our fault as a coaching staff. Um so even if it’s a situation which hey this is probably a go. Um and we’ve been in those situations here. Hey, we’re going for it on fourth down and then a negative play happens on offense and it’s like okay kicking is actually a better uh deal. like you can get into fourth and goal from the from the 40, right? Like you’re probably kicking in that situation, but um you just try to stay ready. I mean, I don’t think the mindset ever changes. It just becomes if we’re called upon uh we’re expected to execute and um if it happens, it happens. There’s been a lot of conversation about uh you know just the time to throw this this past week and and Jacobe getting the ball out of his hands and and where it all stood. Kind of how do you analyze the pressure that Jacobe was under on side? Uh a couple different ways. Nature of the game based on the scoring number of possessions left kind of how we had to play the game to try to get back into it. Uh it’s a great front. I think we knew that going into the game. We knew it was going to be a tough matchup. we knew it was going to be a dirty pocket and to beat that team, you got to make some of those plays. Um whether it be blocking or making the throw or getting open uh takes or calling the right play at the right time. I think it’s it’s all of those things go into evaluating that. Overall, it does seem like the offensive line has regressed from last year. Where have you seen issues pop up and why do you think that’s happening? Yeah, I I wouldn’t say that. I think they’re playing hard. I I think we’ve played some really good fronts. I I think the communication has been good. I think at times, you know, you’re losing one-on- ones in critical situations which is hurting us. Um, and certainly we need to evaluate how and why that’s happening and try to clean that up. Uh, but I do I think those guys play extremely hard. I think they play well together. I think they’re putting doing everything they can to win games. How do you go about maybe filling the role of Zay now moving forward? You know, it’ll be hard as it always is when guys go down, but it’s it’s next man up. So, we got a couple other guys in that room that I know are ready for the opportunity and excited for them to to see them step up. JG was saying how obviously kind of going off of that everybody has a star in their role, but is there a moment where you go up to a guy like Xavier Weaver and you say to him like, “Look, you have an opportunity to truly maximize the fact that you are potentially that next man up.” I I think you make a quick statement on I think most guys know that and you know, being in this league always being ready for your opportunity, you know, not knowing when it’s going to come. You have to take advantage of that. I think that’s a big part of playing this league and you’ve seen time and time again. I mean, Trey McBride did that, you know, the first year we’re here in a lot of ways. So, it’s it’s something that’s happened and needs to continue to happen. There were two uh third and ones early in the game. There were the first drive where you had the two pullers and the linebackers was unblocked and then the two tight ends later on the jet. So were both of those just missed assignments to to leave those guys unblocked? Yeah, little details and you know kind of angles and having your eyes in the right place and making sure our hands are in the right place and and obviously against a good team in a critical situation it cost us. Why do you think that those missed assignments both popped up? You know, I think it goes back to kind of technique and where our eyes are and some of the movement we’re generating in, you know, in a third and one situation and it’s it’s a small margin there and when you get a piece of him, it’s a big one and when you don’t, he makes the play. You guys outscored them 229 after going down 35. What went into pulling Jacobe when the offense was was rolling, right? You guys were scoring points, whatnot, and trying to make was like five and a half minutes left. If you still could happen, why pull him at that point? Uh, not to point, but that’s probably a better question for JG. We, uh, we saw Martin have one of his best days against the Cowboys two weeks ago. Would you see to not be able to connect on as many of his 12 targets this week? I think they, you know, they got some good players. There were some contested catches. He’s made a number of those throughout the course of the season. I, you know, there were a couple of those where they got their hand on the ball. You I think of the one there on fourth and goal is an unbelievable play to get back involved and get a hand on the football. And when you make those, you come out of the game saying you had, you know, seven or eight for a for a big game. And I thought those guys competed really well and made some plays on the back end. That that one was obviously I I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a play like that, but there were some other kind of more typical um contested catches that he did come in. Would you like to see him be, you know, a little bit stronger at the point of the of the attack on some? Always something we’re going to emphasize. What stands out with the Tram McBride’s recent strategy just finding the end zone? I think just how consistent he’s been. You know, I think it’s something you see from him day in and day out and the way he plays the game, the way he practices. I mean, what I think it’s 11 or 12 games now with five straight catches, it’s not a secret that we’re going to try to get him the ball and he’s able to go out there and have an impact on the game regardless of situation. First, second down, third down in the red zone. Uh just plays the game at such a high level, attacks the football, does a great job of separating the top of the routes, and just plays with great energy. So, it’s it’s been fun to watch. What is we’ve talked at length about him in the last three years, but having him be able to have a full route tree basically and run routes like a receiver, what does that do to this offense? What kind of option does that give you when he can do so much more than the average? Yeah, it’s huge. I mean, anytime you have a player of that caliber, you know, that it gives you so many options to feature him in different ways, also use him as a decoy in other ways to get other guys involved in the in the game, what he does in the run game. Uh, it’s a huge part of who we are and will continue to be. on the uh on the second strip sack. What did you see that kind of went wrong up front on that play? Yeah, talking on the third and 12. Yeah, I mean uh you know Amari stepped up obviously they ran a little pick game inside and I think Amari kind of lost his footing and sometimes that little difference is the difference between getting the ball out in third down and and what ended up happening which was unfortunate. What was Yela uh supposed to be blocking on that play? Was he sliding to the left on? Yes. Kobe now being kind of entrenched and definitely at the quarterback position. Does that give you the ability to kind of really kind of dig in on game planning around his skill set going forward? Does that give you a kind of a a leg up on that? I wouldn’t say any more than it did. I mean, you know, I’d say, and I know we’ve talked about this, the offense doesn’t change dramatically. We emphasize certain things every week. Those conversations happen with every quarterback that’s up. So, whoever the backup is going into this week, I’m going to know what they like, what they don’t like, where I need to go if that guy ends up in the game. Um, so I wouldn’t say it changes the process dramatically. You guys have a long history. together and are close. Where do you see that relationship kind of showing itself in the last 3 4 weeks? I I think the communication piece is a big part of it. You know, it’s it’s we’ve even though we’ve been here only so long, there’s conversations that we’ve had in the past or things that we’ve been through or things we’ve rep that we can reference to say, “Hey, you remember that play we put in here? Like, I really like that. I think it fits this week.” Oh, okay. Like, let’s see if we can organize it, you know, when the people we have, the right formation, the right protection, those type of things. I think it’s a lot of those conversations that take place um because of the relationship and the past that we’re able to have a little bit quicker. Can you approach a guy that you’ve known for a long time any differently than a guy that you’ve been with you haven’t known for for that long? Uh yes. And I mean the approach isn’t going to be different. The communication is going to be different. What we can pull from is obviously different because we have less experience together. I think that’s probably the biggest thing. Marv was talking about how much he appreciated Jacob’s willingness to kind of stand in the face of pressure, make throws. Uh you guys obviously want to concede sacks, but are you guys willing to kind of be willing for more pressure in order to kind of drive the ball down field like he’s been doing? Absolutely. I think that’s a and when you’re emphasizing the passing game more and that those go kind of hand in hand, you know, you’re going to that that number will uptick a little bit, but if you can uptick the explosive plays and the points, you feel like it’s worth it. If that’s not the case, then you got to reevaluate how you’re doing it and why you’re doing it. Random question, but there’s a protection scheme that you guys love on play action where you have either a guard or a tight end or something pulling across. I’m actually like curious what are the benefits of of doing that um compared to you know just dropping the five lineman back and you know typical changes the rush lanes for the defense changes the matchups allows us to get four hands on certain guys. There’s there’s a number of different things that we do that for protectionally sells the run. You know we pull a lot of guys in the run game as well. So it marries some of that. It’s a combination of a number of those things. I’m assuming that that first part of the game didn’t go exactly how you had hoped. Was there anything in particular they did differently the second time around that maybe they didn’t do the first time around? Um, you know, I, you know, this is kind of what we looked at as a a unit was the first drive. Um, they made some plays, you know, and and you know, first off, credit to them. Uh, Clint had a great plan and the players went out there and executed it really well. Um but that first drive they they made plays you know um couple times we got them into a little bit second longer and you know they converted a third down and then obviously they hit the big play. Um I thought after that you know those those next two drives you never want to give up scores on your first three drives. Um there are some things that we could have done better just from a level of focus alignment assignment key technique um to you know take advantage when we had them behind the sticks or you know force them to play some third downs um you know and it was and it was kind of things that I felt like you know we could have been cleaner on and we kind of you know quote unquote shot ourselves in the foot. So, you know, I think that that goes into, okay, how can we correct that? Um, you know, in those moments of adversity, um, number one is things always feel worse than they are and things will feel better than they are. So, always stay level. Um, and our guys did a good job of that, but how can we maintain a better focus when we do hit that adversity within a game, within a drive? Because if we still would have just, you know, dug our cleats in and um hit the plan like we wanted to, um we would have been in better shape, you know. Is a play like Garretts on on the first drive where he seemed to do everything right and then stepped on his foot or had his foot whatever happened. Yeah. Is there any kind of teaching moment there or is it just like this is bad luck? you were in the right place. I mean, you you want him to be able to keep his feet, but you know, there’s there’s not too many coach points I’m going to give him. Um he knows that we trust the whole unit trust him that he’s going to make that play. Um but, you know, they they have a really good player over there that um made a great catch. It was a great throw. Um you know, he was a it was a boot and he set up quick and popped his hips and ripped it. It was pretty accurate throw. So, you know, that’s a good NFL offense that made a play. Um, you know, I think the biggest coaching point is how do we rebound from that and and not let one play become multiple bad plays. How would you assess your tackling on Sunday? Um, you know, from a perspective there, you know, there’s two ways that two components of the tackle. Um, number one is the track. Number two is the the tackle itself, the point of attack. Um, you know, there’s situations where our track could be better and, you know, that’s always an emphasis playing that team because they have some really good runners that can make some drastic cuts. Um, so we got to do better there. Um, a couple times that we needed to be better at the point of attack um, in terms of finishing tackles, accelerating our feet through it, whether the tackle was made or missed, but it was made and there was, you know, hidden yardage after the the tackle. um you know just some fundamental things um that we could do better in in really both those areas. Seemed like both the both games against this team you guys struggled to contain the perimeter and the running game if that’s an accurate assessment. Why do you think that that happened against this team both times? Um you know the the first game was you know some different things. Um some runs kind of in in pass down situations. um some calls that weren’t necessarily good for that um to be honest. Um and then some other in the first game as well. I didn’t love some of those calls um when they were hitting on the perimeter this past game. Um it wasn’t necessarily those same type of runs. It just, you know, honestly, it comes down to some fundamental things with one or two guys at a time of either not letting the the run string out front side and, you know, setting firm edges or inside stretching blocks or setting edges inside. Um, but then also on any kind of cut back, you know, again, it goes back into the tracking tracking the the hip and not letting the ball, you know, cross the entire defense. So, a little bit different there each game. Um, again, they got good running backs and we got to do a better job with those type of guys that can make really good cuts. What’s the toll on a defense when a team is running the ball as much as they are consecutively or they did consecutively? Um, you know, I mean, what’s the toll? I I don’t know. We got to be able to to generate some, you know, negative yards or non-efficient runs so that we can get them behind the sticks. Um, so we just got to do a better job executing. I know Brad got hurt early in that game. Um, but his his defensive snap count has kind of dropped as as the weeks have gone on. Is that just is that a personnel thing or is it more of like you kind of adjusted some scheme stuff or he didn’t doesn’t fit in as often as he was before? Um, well, you know, I mean, there’s there’s been changes with guys being available. Um, you know, Garrett being one, so that can that can change things, but it can look week to week. you know, obviously his snap count is going to be a lot higher um had he not got hurt early. So, he’s a huge part of of what we do and you know, he’s going to continue to be a contributor. Go ahead. How did you think Cody Simon operated and is there anything in particular he learned or you want him to take away? Um he operated good. Um not to say it was perfect, but those are big shoes to fill. Um Mack does an unbelievable job for us. Um but he he had a lot of on his plate and I thought he handled it really well. Um some mistakes to clean up, but as expected, you know, it’s it’s not easy there going zero to 100 um being the green dot in in this league and you know, he probably learned there’s a lot more things that I’m talking to him about when he’s out on the field um than than he realizes. you know, the tell the corner this, tell the outside backer this, you know, like um so but it it was a great experience for him to be able to get that um that game, you know, calling it under his belt. Um and it’s going to continue to get better. The uh the broken play, the 67 yard to cup, what what happened there? A lot of bad things to be honest. Um bad things in coverage, you know, from from the beginning. Um there’s actually some really good things. uh we kind of accomplished early in the down what we wanted. Um the rush wasn’t synced up. We didn’t do our job there. Um we didn’t do our job in the back end and then we didn’t we didn’t plaster when it broke down correctly and then we missed tackles and a lot of bad things happened on that play. What’s it like for you as a play like that develops? Like you’re watching from the sideline. I don’t know if you saw Cup himself get loose, but like you said like some things happened early that were good. Are you immediately seeing the things that you’re not doing right? Are you is it happening in slow motion for you? Like oh no, no, no, no. Like like what what is kind of like how are you? Um a little bit of everything. Um definitely clued into every snap could be different, but there’s things I’m looking for on that one. Um, and what I was looking for at the beginning of it was positive. Um, but then when it broke down, you know, I a lot of there’s a lot of communication on the headset, too, where I things that I wasn’t sure what happened. I got answers very quick from the front coaches and then the back end coaches. Um, not that you need to solve that for the next, you know, first first and goal snap. um doesn’t need to get solved right there, but you know, the collection of people, you’re able to figure out what happened really quick. What did you think of Walter Nolan in game two? Yeah, he’s getting continue to get better. Um he does good things for us in in pass rush and and the run game. So, um things to continue to improve on, but you know, he can help us in every facet of the game. with Garrett. I know you talk a lot about how intelligent he is, but no matter how intelligent a guy is, is there a challenge to going from being in the slot one week to then you’re starting on the outside to then rabbit goes down and you’re in the slot more often like to just constantly being moved back and forth? Like, is there a challenge despite how intelligent he is? Yeah. um without a doubt, you know, because in some ways it’s even more challenging with how intelligent he is because of his desire and his work ethic to know everything. Um and being able to filter those out as to, hey, what’s the bread and butter for, you know, where you’re going to be um playing the majority of your snaps, what calls we have, and what they do, right? And so he’s going to want to know the the oneoffs and all of that stuff as well. And so, you know, for him at times, it’s just filtering that information and really honing in on um what’s super important. But I think just in general having that position flex um we have a lot of guys that are able to do it. Um but that doesn’t make it easy, you know. Um and you don’t necessarily get every single look um as you would if you were just a sole position guy, but he does a he does a really good job handling that. Um but it isn’t easy. What can getting a couple hands-on football like Denzel Burke do for his confidence in just overall play? I mean, I think as a unit, you know, when you when you take the ball away, um it it it gives you confidence. I mean, it helps you win games, right? So, um individually though, I mean, it’s like shooting a basketball and seeing going through the hoop, you know? It’s okay. Hey, this, you know, if I do my technique like this or if I’m in this spot and I’m doing the right thing and good things can happen, okay, I’m going to continue to do that. So, um, that goes for anybody that finds success whether that’s taking the ball away or, um, find success performing their job at a high level about Kyle Shanahan and his ability to disguise what he’s doing offensively really well. Do you have any sort of benefit or leg up since you’ve already played him at this point or No. No. So, what what can you take away from the first matchup at that office? I mean, yes and no. Like, um, first first matchup, sixth matchup since I’ve been here, you know. Um, no matter what, it is hard to prepare for. Um, I actually just left the meeting with the coaches kind of going through some things that are difficult and I said, um, keep watching it. Let me know what you guys figure out here. um like make sure it’s it’s simple, you know, cuz it’s it’s difficult like the way he can it’s the run and the pass game um on how he can game plan it number one to get them in advantage positions, but then two to dress it up. Um you know, I think the advantage of playing them before is I don’t even know where we would be looking at that for the first time. it would it would it would be harder but no matter what it’s hard every week um I always joke with the coaches like I like kind of you know staying ahead of schedule soon as San Fran week hits here behind schedule just because it takes you so long um to work through what they do um you know credit to them like it’s it’s really good it’s really good hasn’t had a ton of rushing yards lately do you always consider the run game the identity the DNA of that offense or does it change um I mean yes and no like yes because it’s one of the best run games over the past decade in my opinion. Um but they’re also really good in the pass game. So I think you got to be able to stop both against these guys. Um and the thing that Kyle does really well is he’s not a guy that feels like he always has to lean on one or the other. um he’s going to try to hit you with both and if you know one of them’s working, he’s not afraid to continue to go to it. Um so it’s with this team, if you allow them to run the ball, they will run the ball. If you allow them to pass the ball, they will pass the ball. And if you’re allowing both, they’re going to do both, you know? So, um you got to be able to to stop both. It’s not like, uh, oh, this is a really good run team. Let’s just sell out to stop the run and let the pass game fall. No, like they can they can do both. Um and they’ll beat you with both if you let them. You’re down two linemen this week. What does that do to the rotation? Um I mean that depends as as you work through the week to see what it really is and the numbers of how many you have up and then from there you can figure out what personnels you want to use, how do you want to rotate? Um you know, what’s the rep count going to be like for each guy? Is there any limitations? Um where do you want to use people in situational stuff? So still working through that. Um, but that it it plays a huge role in figuring that out of who’s available. Speaking of rep count, have you been pleased with how many snaps Clay is playing a week? And are you aware of kind Yeah, absolutely. Aware of it every week. Um, yeah, you know, he helps us win games, so it’s a balance. Um, but we want to make sure that he can help us win games throughout the whole year, and we want to make sure he’s fresh. That goes for game day and throughout the week of practice too of being flexible with what he needs to feel good on Sunday and then the next Sunday and the next one. So, um something you work through every single week. Debo’s doing a good job though. He’s doing a good job. Beyond the injury, what have you seen from Darius over these past few weeks? Yeah. Um I thought he did some really good things in the run game. Um knocking knocking it back. um disruptive um playing like I I mentioned the other the other day, playing fast and playing violent right now. So, he is a huge piece right now to our defense. Um when he’s in there, I I feel his presence. Um and he’s and you know, in terms of the pass game, he’s done a really good job of pushing the pocket um to where even if the ball gets out, quarterbacks are feeling him at his feet. Not that you’re going to care what the outside people aren’t talking about, but with Darius, there’s there’s a lot of fans that are like, he’s not popping, he’s not showing up, but internally obviously you feel very good about things he does. Yes. Yes. Um, yeah. I don’t know in regards to if that’s statistically or what, but I know he goes out there and helps us win games and he’s a huge part of this defense. What’ you learn about Matt Jones week three? Yeah, good football player. Um, they got two good quarterbacks. Um, so we’ll prepare for both, but Mack is extremely intelligent, you know, like knows where to go with the ball. Um, so I would say it’s it’s similar to Pury in that regard of both those guys really have a good grip of what they do. um and they’re attacking coverages and if you don’t give them that coverage they’re they can get through their progressions fast. So and then they can put the ball in the right spot that allows those receivers to catch and run. Um so both those quarterbacks can function at a very high level obviously um elite but um Mack is a is a great player as well and they can make that offense go. So they’re both they both are really good players in my opinion. Yeah.

Asst. HC Jeff Rodgers, OC Drew Petzing, DC Nick Rallis address the media after Week 10 vs the Seahawks.

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