Athletes in all sports have been known to “tune out” their coaches, particularly as the season grinds along.
Wednesday in Tempe the Arizona Cardinals likely didn’t tune out their guest who spoke to the team at-length before the Red Birds wrapped up their week of workouts heading into the bye.
“Don’t be the guy,” he said. “You know, too many times when a guy gets a day off he gets tazed in Miami, South Beach or something…we don’t need any distractions.”
“We had a great speaker today, Navy SEAL,” head coach Bruce Arians told the assembled media. “Talked about resting and re-loading. Hopefully we re-load, come back Monday for a great practice.”
Clint Bruce, a retired SEAL who played linebacker for the Midshipmen in the 90’s, tied in his experiences preparing for combat to preparing for a football game. He stressed to the players to keep themselves physically and mentally strong, even during this four-day stretch where many will unwind by traveling to see family and friends or simply enjoying life’s simple pleasures. Kicker Jay Feely made it apparent what he’ll be doing over the extended weekend.
Arians message to his team was don’t fall prey to the pitfalls which can happen when you break your normal in-season routine.
“Don’t be the guy,” he said. “You know, too many times when a guy gets a day off he gets tazed in Miami, South Beach or something. We don’t want any of that stuff. We don’t need any distractions. That was the message.”
Arians said the Week 9 bye comes at a perfect time for the 4-4 Cards who, coming off a dominating win over Atlanta last weekend find themselves in the NFC playoff hunt with eight games remaining. The defense intercepted Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan four times and Carson Palmer shook off a first-quarter interception to have arguably his best game as a Cardinal.
Arizona returns to action November 9th hosting the Houston Texans (2-5) in Glendale.
