Speaker 1: Strap on the boots and scrape up the knuckles ahead.
Speaker 1: He got Jack. This is the Big Red Ray presented
Speaker 1: by Santanford in Gilbert. Harry's gonna score touchdown. He's up
Speaker 1: for bets, goes up and begs the game. When it
Speaker 1: catch Larry Luncheon does it again. The Rage is brought
Speaker 1: to you by satan Ford in Gilbert. Or are you
Speaker 1: Satanford State Farm? Talk to an agent today at eight
Speaker 1: hundred State Farm and buy Arizona Cardinals podcasts. Visit Hacy
Speaker 1: Cardinals dot com, Slash podcasts, The Rods, Rising Guard, Temperaturizing Vision,
Speaker 1: Flurry Rage, take it over. Here's Paul KELVC. Get the
Speaker 1: popcorn ready. It's gonna be a show and Ron will fleep.
Speaker 1: It doesn't get any better than that. Unleash the far
Speaker 1: an so friendly. A reminder Ron Wolfley that this past season,
Speaker 1: the NFL two twenty, you do realize, you do remember
Speaker 1: that there was a game every single day of the week,
Speaker 1: as in the actual day of the week on the calendar,
Speaker 1: not just Sunday Game Day or Monday Night Football or
Speaker 1: Thursday Night Football or Saturday games in December, but there
Speaker 1: were also games played on Tuesday Wednesday and Friday all
Speaker 1: last season, the first time that had happened in NFL
Speaker 1: history in a quarter century. So with that in mind,
Speaker 1: welcome in Ron Wolfley to a Wednesday edition of The
Speaker 1: Big Red Rage, presented by santan Ford and Gilbert We
Speaker 1: are Santana. You know what, Paula. You gotta be flexible,
Speaker 1: do you not? You have to be flexible at all times.
Speaker 1: Position flexibility, of course, is taking over the National Football League.
Speaker 1: You gotta be flexible on a Big Red Rage as well,
Speaker 1: Paul Yeah. And just so you know, this is not
Speaker 1: voluntary for you, Okay, it is in your contract. I
Speaker 1: know for players in the NFL right now, it's that
Speaker 1: mandatory minicamp. Everything else is considered voluntary at least that's
Speaker 1: the way it stands right now, based on the memo
Speaker 1: from rog. But right here, right now, Boom, we're ready
Speaker 1: to go because you're right. Two weeks from tomorrow the
Speaker 1: NFL draft. Let it wash over you. And since Ron Wolfley,
Speaker 1: they've yet to authorized our key cards for entry into
Speaker 1: the war room. Yes, which is never going to happen.
Speaker 1: Just fyi, we get the next best thing and a
Speaker 1: key figure in that war room on this edition how
Speaker 1: about Director of player Personnel Drew Grigson going to be
Speaker 1: our special guest coming up a little bit? Well, I
Speaker 1: love that, Polly. First of all, Director of player personnel, Polly,
Speaker 1: I know, on the sideline as you're walking around there
Speaker 1: as a sideline reporter of course for the Cardinals year.
Speaker 1: Maybe not. I don't know, run into contact with Drew
Speaker 1: Grigson from time to time, ball, But this is that
Speaker 1: would not be good for me? Is I basically run
Speaker 1: into him exactly? Dress three of me? Well, you can
Speaker 1: bench press at least three of me. Yes, of course,
Speaker 1: here's a guy that has influence in personnel not only
Speaker 1: at the college level but also at the pro level.
Speaker 1: Thus the director or player persadel, are you going to
Speaker 1: ask him? Or am I going to ask him for
Speaker 1: an update? I'm Larry Fitzgerald. Let's just hash that out
Speaker 1: right here right now. I honestly don't think we should ball.
Speaker 1: I mean, honestly, put him under the gun run like that.
Speaker 1: I mean, this guy, he's not he's not the general manager,
Speaker 1: not yet. But oh my goodness, the director or player
Speaker 1: personnel that is a stepping stone title to a general
Speaker 1: manager position, is it not? You want to hear my
Speaker 1: latest theory, I'm Larry by Way with ball. Thanks for asking.
Speaker 1: I think that this is a big ploy so he
Speaker 1: can miss the entire offseason, so he can miss the OTAs,
Speaker 1: so he doesn't have to participate in the virtual Zoom sessions.
Speaker 1: Maybe he shows up for the mandatory mini camp in June.
Speaker 1: But you know what, year three in this offensive, Cliff Kingsbury,
Speaker 1: he knows the offense. I mean, you know he's going
Speaker 1: into his eighteen season. Eck, hey, just go play some
Speaker 1: more golf, you know what, PAULI that's not a bad
Speaker 1: suggestion by you. That's not a bad proposition right there.
Speaker 1: The fact that because we know he's got to be
Speaker 1: waiting for something, right at least that's my feeling on this.
Speaker 1: I think he's waiting for something, and what that something
Speaker 1: is I do not know. Now. Maybe he's waiting for
Speaker 1: a team to be able to scrape together the requisite
Speaker 1: amount of money that he would be willing to play for.
Speaker 1: And maybe that conveniently also means he's going to miss
Speaker 1: a lot of the offseason as he's waiting for them
Speaker 1: to scrape it together. Paul, I mean, maybe it's a
Speaker 1: faux contract holdout. Maybe he's just staging this, you know,
Speaker 1: this holdout for more cash perhaps, or is stalling the
Speaker 1: negotiations just so he convenely misses all of April and
Speaker 1: May and most of June. So as Fitz, he's listening
Speaker 1: to you talk right now, how badly do you think
Speaker 1: he's just shaking his head and smirking, Paul? How badly
Speaker 1: you think he's doing that? Hey, I'm not the guy
Speaker 1: who used the two words thus far on a podcast
Speaker 1: this week. Wolf, I'm gonna leave you with this on
Speaker 1: the Larry subject and it won't come up again. But
Speaker 1: he was on a golf subpar podcast on a Whisper Rock. Okay, Wolf,
Speaker 1: another another area, just like the war room where you're
Speaker 1: never gonna gain entry to Whisper Rock Country Club once
Speaker 1: gotten a fight outside of Whisper Rock. Paul, I see, no,
Speaker 1: we don't want we don't have time for the dark
Speaker 1: days right now to talk about that, and so On
Speaker 1: this podcast, he was asked very little football, ninety eight
Speaker 1: percent golf, but he was asked about his longevity and
Speaker 1: now he's only missed a handful of games in his
Speaker 1: NFL career. He said, Yeah, I've been fortunate thus far.
Speaker 1: What is that he didn't talk about his career in
Speaker 1: the past. Tense Ron wolf Lee. I know, Paul, I
Speaker 1: know exactly the cut you're talking about, the sound you're
Speaker 1: talking about, Paul, don't go deep on that. Just let
Speaker 1: the man speak and now don't read into it that Deepaul.
Speaker 1: You're on the grassy knoll. Guess what the Cardinals depth
Speaker 1: chart just got deeper. Running back that's next on the
Speaker 1: big red rage. I'd just gets the shotgun, snap, gives
Speaker 1: it to Connor, sweeps the left side, got a block
Speaker 1: in the ten corner down James Potter sweeping the weft side,
Speaker 1: takes it in from twelve yards out. Hodges will throw
Speaker 1: the Connor out of the back field, makes him an messing.
Speaker 1: It's a the twenty conner down the sideline of the
Speaker 1: ten and he's gonna walk it in and for the touchdown. Now.
Speaker 1: Former Steelers running back James Earl Connor. That's his middle name,
Speaker 1: by the way, Roun wolfley On one of his parents
Speaker 1: are big fans of Darth Vader and James Earl Jones.
Speaker 1: James Earl Connor a one year deal with the Arizona
Speaker 1: Cardinals as all of a sudden, you know what the
Speaker 1: old line likes to call the straight ahead run game
Speaker 1: the pound game. They now have the running back to
Speaker 1: go with that pound game. And it's curious now what
Speaker 1: exactly that means for the Arizona Cardinals and the style
Speaker 1: of run game. Perhaps this year it's the Big Red
Speaker 1: Rage presented by satan Ford in Gilbert. We are satan Ford,
Speaker 1: Paul kelvc Ron Wolfley, soon to be joined by Director
Speaker 1: of Player Personnel Drew Grigson. We'll get his thoughts on
Speaker 1: James Connor. But wolf you're a bad leadoff. Give us
Speaker 1: your thoughts, you know, Polly, I love this. I really
Speaker 1: do six one, two hundred and thirty three pounds. He's
Speaker 1: not the fastest guy in the world. He's not going
Speaker 1: to take the ball and rip off a forty yard run.
Speaker 1: He's not going to rip off a sixty eighty yard
Speaker 1: take it to the house run unless he's breaking tackles
Speaker 1: the whole way. Not going to do that. But he's
Speaker 1: a first downmaker, is what he is. Paul. This is
Speaker 1: a guy that's going to line up and get you four.
Speaker 1: He's going to rip it in there. I call him
Speaker 1: a ground pounder. That's what he is. You might say
Speaker 1: the offensive line likes to pound it. This is a
Speaker 1: ground pounder running back, and this is exactly what I
Speaker 1: was hoping the Cardinals were going to bring in. James
Speaker 1: Connor I thought was the best option that was still
Speaker 1: out there. And I also, Polly, I like what it implies,
Speaker 1: what it might mean for this offense and the mindset
Speaker 1: of this team going forward. You know, in that montage
Speaker 1: coming back on Westwood one, he had the rushing touchdown
Speaker 1: and the receiving touchdown. Did I nat hear your brothers
Speaker 1: say something along the lines of longtime Steelers analysts and
Speaker 1: Steelers legend from that offensive line that that might be
Speaker 1: an underutilized part of his skill set the receiving game. Yeah,
Speaker 1: there's no doubt about it. He texted me and told
Speaker 1: me about this kid a little bit. He said he's
Speaker 1: a three down back, Paully, That's what he said. He
Speaker 1: said he will stone blitzers, which is great when you
Speaker 1: have a run down back, a back that is first
Speaker 1: and ten, second and one to six. If in fact,
Speaker 1: you are going to put Kyler Murray a little bit
Speaker 1: more under center, if you're going to do that, you
Speaker 1: better have a running back that can actually hold up
Speaker 1: and blitz pick up. The reason being Paully is because
Speaker 1: here comes a play action, right, there comes a play action,
Speaker 1: and that running back's gonna fake like he's getting the
Speaker 1: ball and it's gonna freeze everybody for the bost part.
Speaker 1: But then you might blitz in a rundown situation. If
Speaker 1: you're a defensive coordinator, man, that running back better be
Speaker 1: ready to pick up that blitzer, right, he better have
Speaker 1: his eyes open and be capable of doing it. And
Speaker 1: this dude is capable of doing it. He's six one,
Speaker 1: two hundred thirty three pounds. You know what, two thoughts here,
Speaker 1: what Kyler Murray does for James Connor, and then what
Speaker 1: Connor does for the direction of this run game, which
Speaker 1: you hinted at. Let me get to the first one.
Speaker 1: You know. It was that very first training camp we
Speaker 1: hadn't even gotten out of August and Chase Edmonds was
Speaker 1: talking about what Kyler Murray does for the run game.
Speaker 1: He's like, quote an extra blocker. Yes, well, James Connard
Speaker 1: obviously did not have that dynamic in Pittsburgh with Big
Speaker 1: Ben who's a big statue back there. So think about
Speaker 1: that and how because it's not like if he gets
Speaker 1: a little more room, and the defenses are respecting Kyler's
Speaker 1: legs a little bit more. That benefits Connor, doesn't it.
Speaker 1: I love that you brought that up, Polly, because once again,
Speaker 1: I do believe the Arizona Cardinal's offense is going to
Speaker 1: be tweaked a little bit this year. Going forward, I
Speaker 1: think we're going to see Kyler Murray a little bit
Speaker 1: more under center. I think we're going to see more
Speaker 1: traditional running plays at the point of attack. I think
Speaker 1: we're gonna see that, Polly. But it doesn't mean it's
Speaker 1: gonna be exclusive. There's gonna be a blending, right, a
Speaker 1: blending of the old and the new. That's what I
Speaker 1: expect to see. I expect to see James Connor lined
Speaker 1: up in the gun next to Kyler Murray and here
Speaker 1: comes an inside zone play, a play where you're going
Speaker 1: to hand that bafe. Maybe it's going to be his
Speaker 1: own read as well from time to time. But I
Speaker 1: see a blending of the old and the new. And
Speaker 1: Craig also was talking about the fact that James Connor
Speaker 1: has a good feel for hitting angles, good angles in
Speaker 1: a power scheme. He has a really good feel for
Speaker 1: doing that. Not a great cutback runner, Craig said, and
Speaker 1: that to me tells me he's not a great runner
Speaker 1: in zone schemes. He might be a much better punch
Speaker 1: the hole into the defense type runner, a guy that
Speaker 1: uses great angles on power scheme plays. And that could
Speaker 1: signal a little foreshadowing here as to how this run
Speaker 1: game offense might be tweaked a little. I agree. We
Speaker 1: talked about it with Rob Frederickson last month. Kyler under center, yeah,
Speaker 1: a little bit right, and then all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: guess what, do you have? A bit more of a
Speaker 1: downhill running game, And the way you described James Connor,
Speaker 1: he seems to be the perfect fit and that sort
Speaker 1: of scheme. We saw a little different approach in December.
Speaker 1: We saw more bootlegs for Kyler. We did see him
Speaker 1: under center a little bit more. I agree with you.
Speaker 1: I think we're more up to see a little bit
Speaker 1: of everything. And for James Connor, guess what, he's reunited
Speaker 1: with a running back coach he had in twenty eighteen
Speaker 1: and Ptsburg during his Pro Bowl season. In fact, here's
Speaker 1: James Connor talking to the media about the opportunity in Arizona.
Speaker 1: I feel brand new, you know, I'm excited for this opportunity.
Speaker 1: Is definitely a change of scenery for me, you know,
Speaker 1: being in Pittsburgh eight years and this was all that
Speaker 1: time in Pittsburgh was just prepping me for where I'm
Speaker 1: at right now in my life and his journey that
Speaker 1: brought me out here to a zy and I felt
Speaker 1: like I was well equipped, you know, just everything I've
Speaker 1: been through and continue to go through on his journey
Speaker 1: and leads me to hear So, man, I'm excited to
Speaker 1: be in this rid. I'm excited. It's a blessing. He's
Speaker 1: like a local already, you know, calling it asy, you
Speaker 1: know it's well done by him. But twenty eighteen, Wolf,
Speaker 1: we're talking about a guy who had nearly fifteen hundred
Speaker 1: yards from scrimmage, over five yards per touch, thirteen touchdowns
Speaker 1: all with James Saxon is yes, and I would just
Speaker 1: miss that if he was thirty or thirty one. But
Speaker 1: he's gonna be twenty six next month. That was a
Speaker 1: long time ago. Ding, Ding, That's exactly right, PAULI. Once again,
Speaker 1: I don't want to make it sound like suddenly Kyler
Speaker 1: Murray is going to be under center for forty percent
Speaker 1: of the snaps I'm not saying that. I'm just saying
Speaker 1: twenty five twenty five percent. Maybe we'll see how this
Speaker 1: offense evolves. But I can tell you right now you
Speaker 1: got a guy that's gonna stoke it in between those tackles,
Speaker 1: and you know that gets me Jack Paul. And by
Speaker 1: the way, it's a one year deal. He'll be motivated.
Speaker 1: It's cap friendly. Yeah, less than two million dollars total.
Speaker 1: He's also competing with another guy who's in a contract year,
Speaker 1: Chase Edmonds. So these are gonna be two guys pushing
Speaker 1: each other if you're Drew Grigson. Next on the Big
Speaker 1: Red Rage presented by Satan four in Gilbert snap the
Speaker 1: Wilson Cardinals bringing some pressure. It's picked up Wilson the
Speaker 1: time of the pocket now and trouble and sacked about
Speaker 1: four Cardinals in the backfield. But it's Isaiah Simmons of
Speaker 1: the Rookie that gets the Russell Wilson first to force
Speaker 1: a fund. Shotguns snap to Wilson straight drop back, steps
Speaker 1: up in the pocket, takes off running far side at
Speaker 1: the forty and drilled by Simmons at the forty one.
Speaker 1: Isaiah Simmons is balling shotgun stat Wilson quick throw to
Speaker 1: the left flat Metcalf caught it at the thirty eight,
Speaker 1: dropped by Isaiah Simmons for a loss at the thirty
Speaker 1: seventy yard line. Simmons has played terrific football tonight, the
Speaker 1: rookie really starting to get comfortable out there. Two of
Speaker 1: his best games against the Seahawks. You heard the montage
Speaker 1: there day PASH Cardinals Radio Network. Yeah, the overtime win
Speaker 1: at home against the Seahawks on Sunday night where I
Speaker 1: remember Wolf Russell Wilson have been thirty and oh in
Speaker 1: the regular season when leading by ten at the half
Speaker 1: and the Cardinals came back for the win. There. Then
Speaker 1: at Seattle, Isaiah Simmons had that game with the team
Speaker 1: I ten tackles and a sack. He was the first
Speaker 1: round pick a year ago on that big board of
Speaker 1: the Cardinals, the top one twenty in the war room
Speaker 1: where once again we are not allowed, So we do
Speaker 1: the next bes thing here on the big Red Rage,
Speaker 1: presented by santan Ford and Gilbert, and we say good
Speaker 1: evening and welcome to the Director of Player Personnel Drew Grigson,
Speaker 1: who joins us fresh off being promoted a couple of
Speaker 1: months ago, Drew, how are we doing. Is the adrenaline
Speaker 1: flowing yet? With a draft in two weeks away. Oh,
Speaker 1: you can't get burned out this quick yet. It's a marathon.
Speaker 1: You can't. It's gotta pace yourself right now. Yeah, Drew,
Speaker 1: you know I'm going to start off with a big
Speaker 1: fat softball right here. But talk about how roster talk
Speaker 1: about how roster building has changed in the year twenty
Speaker 1: twenty one of our lord, How is it changed, the
Speaker 1: emphasis on the draft, free agency, roster building trades. How
Speaker 1: much has it changed from ten years ago? Oh, it's
Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's different every year now. I mean
Speaker 1: obviously COVID throwing us the curveball that it did, and uh,
Speaker 1: the salary cap changing and and and with you know,
Speaker 1: the inability to to make visits this year, every everything changed,
Speaker 1: UM on our side and and UM and building the
Speaker 1: rosters has become more difficult. But there's nothing you could
Speaker 1: do but adapt. And UM, any anything, any curveball that
Speaker 1: gets thrown to you have to you have to take it.
Speaker 1: Across the league, everyone has the same rules, which is
Speaker 1: which which helps UM. And we're all playing with the
Speaker 1: same hand here. So Uh, there's no excuses. We just
Speaker 1: got to find a way to to to work around
Speaker 1: all these issues and make the best of it with
Speaker 1: no combine this year, how has it been? How has
Speaker 1: it been? I know teams have really gone and had
Speaker 1: to attend these pro days. So how would you say,
Speaker 1: is your accessed information enough that you're going to feel
Speaker 1: confident about making draft picks? We will because I feel
Speaker 1: good about the information. And UM, you know, I I've
Speaker 1: been saying for the last couple of weeks to the guys,
Speaker 1: I the amount of information that we did gather this
Speaker 1: year not making visits is it's astounding. UM. I credit
Speaker 1: our scouting staff for doing that because I mean they
Speaker 1: were they were scouting from their their offices at home,
Speaker 1: from their kitchens, from the basements, and um, and we
Speaker 1: pulled in quite a bit of information. UM. The unfortunate
Speaker 1: thing is that you don't have those uh, you don't
Speaker 1: have those experiences that you do when you go to
Speaker 1: the school when you get a feel for the kid
Speaker 1: and you go room to room and you talk to everyone, UM,
Speaker 1: and you get a you know, a real strong conviction
Speaker 1: one way or another. UM. But uh, we again, we
Speaker 1: we we we We've done a great job um figuring
Speaker 1: out who we who are targets would be UM not
Speaker 1: having the combine we again, what did we We didn't
Speaker 1: have a chance to interview the guys in person. So
Speaker 1: what Quentin Harrison I did is we put together basically
Speaker 1: a combined style interview process that we that we did
Speaker 1: from the draft room. So instead of having players brought
Speaker 1: up brought in in front of us one by one,
Speaker 1: we did it over zoom and it's the only way
Speaker 1: we could do it. And we did it, like I said,
Speaker 1: combine style, twenty minutes on with one kid, next kid
Speaker 1: comes in, he's ready, zoom, next guy comes in, and
Speaker 1: we just did it down the line, just like we
Speaker 1: wouldn't indu so wet we don't. We didn't. We weren't
Speaker 1: there in person, but we still got the information, still
Speaker 1: got to talk to the kids, still got to feel
Speaker 1: comfortable about him, talking to him about talked to him
Speaker 1: about XS and os, and get comfortable with his mental
Speaker 1: capacity all that stuff. So, so, Drew, where are you
Speaker 1: guys right now in the draft process? Have you already
Speaker 1: stood on the table, Drew? Have you stood on the
Speaker 1: table and had it out as to one kid is
Speaker 1: better than one kid. This kid is better than that kid.
Speaker 1: What are you doing? You're out of your mind? Have
Speaker 1: you have you had those meetings yet? The shoeprints around
Speaker 1: the table wolf there, they're there. The board is up
Speaker 1: and we feel good. Right now, there'll be some minor
Speaker 1: massaging and um, you know, we're still going to do
Speaker 1: a few more interviews over the next couple of days
Speaker 1: and um, and uh, we still have to do a
Speaker 1: medical meeting. Obviously that's going to be a big, a
Speaker 1: big piece to it in terms of you know who
Speaker 1: we feel good about long term medically and you know
Speaker 1: short term and that affects your board greatly. But in
Speaker 1: terms of ability, it's up and we feel good about it,
Speaker 1: and we feel confident about it. And um, like I said,
Speaker 1: right now, it's just gonna be. It's just there's gonna
Speaker 1: be little little moves from here on out and and
Speaker 1: we're ready to draft a director of player personnel. Drew
Speaker 1: Griggson joining us on the Big Red Rage presented by
Speaker 1: santan Ford and Gilbert. How true is that as you're
Speaker 1: formulating the big board and everyone's around the big table
Speaker 1: in the war room, are you guys all truly in
Speaker 1: the trust tree. Does it get pretty spirited? You all
Speaker 1: know each other pretty well, so I presume you're not
Speaker 1: taking a personal but it does it get pretty animated
Speaker 1: in there? It does? It does? I mean when when
Speaker 1: a guy does sometimes you know, two three years of
Speaker 1: work on a guy, um, and he feels strong and
Speaker 1: convicted about a guy and he feels that this guy
Speaker 1: could help our team and someone doesn't agree with him. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it hit a little spirited. But I think we do
Speaker 1: a great job of keeping it professional. And you could
Speaker 1: still be convicted and strong with your opinion and and
Speaker 1: you know, and still you know, again be professional and
Speaker 1: doing it. And if I feel that it's going the
Speaker 1: wrong way, I said, you know, gentlemen, let's let's let's
Speaker 1: calm down a little bit. And and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: let's but but yes, and you want that you want
Speaker 1: the conversation to You want your your scouts to be
Speaker 1: excited about a guy, and you you you you want
Speaker 1: him to have conviction of a bottom one way or another,
Speaker 1: because that's how you hit on a player, and that's
Speaker 1: how you miss on a player if you're not listening
Speaker 1: to those guys, because like I said, sometimes those guys
Speaker 1: are doing three years of work on those guys, so um, yeah,
Speaker 1: it get spirited in a good way. Drew Bill Belichick
Speaker 1: is famous for actually interviewing a coach and even though
Speaker 1: he may secretly agree with what the coach is saying,
Speaker 1: he'll actually take the opposite side of the argument just
Speaker 1: to see how he responds. Okay, now that's diabolical to
Speaker 1: me as far as I'm concerned. But do you or
Speaker 1: do that with some of your guys? Do you take
Speaker 1: the opposite side? Do you be a contrarian that somebody
Speaker 1: gets up and says, I love this guy, and do
Speaker 1: you just say I want to hear how convicted you
Speaker 1: love this guy? Sure a little bit. Yeah, you know
Speaker 1: you not necessarily want to be a contrarian, but um,
Speaker 1: you know I'll question them and we just because you
Speaker 1: want to get him in the right place on the board.
Speaker 1: And you know, if I want to make sure that
Speaker 1: the information they got maybe it's is it any different
Speaker 1: than what I got? And I you said this, but
Speaker 1: that you got this from this guy, but I got
Speaker 1: this from this guy. You sure you feel good about that?
Speaker 1: And um, you know, just checks and balances and making
Speaker 1: sure that the information that they're presenting is again, they
Speaker 1: feel strong about it, and we feel good about where
Speaker 1: that guy's going on the board. Director of Player Personnel
Speaker 1: Drew Griggs and joining us. All right, how about a
Speaker 1: quick scunner report on your most recent signing, James Connor,
Speaker 1: who joins the backfield. Yeah, I was. I was a
Speaker 1: big fan of James coming out and you know his
Speaker 1: you know obviously what he went through medically, you know,
Speaker 1: the story starts there and what he came back from
Speaker 1: that tells you about who he is as a person
Speaker 1: um and how he's able to bounce back. I mean,
Speaker 1: I can't even get you out of my car day
Speaker 1: to day. You know, my back hurts so bad. And
Speaker 1: this guy's beating cancer and you know, go into Pro Bowl.
Speaker 1: So he's That's that's where it starts. And again we've
Speaker 1: added a lot of pieces in free agency of men,
Speaker 1: of the leaders of Alpha's and that's what we want
Speaker 1: to keep doing. And that's what he is. And uh
Speaker 1: then you look at the ability, and you look at
Speaker 1: a big back with outstanding feet that could catch the ball,
Speaker 1: that's going to be great on third down, that can
Speaker 1: block um and and he's gonna be good in short
Speaker 1: yard and goal line situations. He's tough, and I just
Speaker 1: think he adds a great you know, one two punch
Speaker 1: with with Chase Edmonds with his skill set, so you know,
Speaker 1: a little thunder and lightning. I think I think it's
Speaker 1: gonna be a good mix. You know what's amazing about it, too,
Speaker 1: Drew is I had a coach, an old coach, who
Speaker 1: was really fond of saying, if you pack a locker
Speaker 1: room with enough dogs, even the cats start barking. Okay,
Speaker 1: So right, good guys. You guys have done an unbelievable job.
Speaker 1: I mean, from the very beginning of this offseason and
Speaker 1: roster building of bringing in guys that have a reputation
Speaker 1: for being physical and guys also that are leaders. That's
Speaker 1: no action and is it not at all? I mean,
Speaker 1: you know, that's the philosophy that Steve kime Um set forth,
Speaker 1: and it's our job, between Clinton and Ida to kind
Speaker 1: of stress that to the staff. And that's the those
Speaker 1: guys are gonna take priority. And you know, I know
Speaker 1: Steve's talk to you guys about it on the radio before.
Speaker 1: But you know, if we're if we're setting the board
Speaker 1: and the guys are that we're looking at two players
Speaker 1: and and they're close inability grade. Those guys that are
Speaker 1: that are the alphas, that are the guys that are tough,
Speaker 1: that we feel are a football character. Guys they're gonna
Speaker 1: they're gonna go above the other guy. And that's how
Speaker 1: that's how we break the tie on a lot of guys.
Speaker 1: And like we're going to keep filling our locker room
Speaker 1: with those guys and and and will if you know
Speaker 1: about playing a long season and in week thirteen, fourteen fifteen,
Speaker 1: when things start to fall apart, you know, those are
Speaker 1: the guys that hold it together and those are the
Speaker 1: you know, and we need those guys in our locker
Speaker 1: And that has been a uh that has been a
Speaker 1: major factor for us in the last couple of years
Speaker 1: um in terms of, you know, what we're what we're addressing,
Speaker 1: and what we're targeting in the draft end free agency.
Speaker 1: See you sign JJ Watt, there's a pass rusher, right,
Speaker 1: you get the corner and Malcolm Butler, you just got
Speaker 1: the running back. You've you've obtained offensive linemen. So there
Speaker 1: doesn't seem to be that glaring need in the draft.
Speaker 1: If you look at the mock drafts, Drew and I
Speaker 1: know you guys at times will laugh and mock the
Speaker 1: mock drafts. But Cardinals have been look anywhere from corner
Speaker 1: to receiver, to all line to running back to tight end,
Speaker 1: everything all over the board. I take it that's a
Speaker 1: good thing right now where the outsiders are really wondering
Speaker 1: what direction you might go in round one, that's that's
Speaker 1: a good point. That there's yeah, that there's no glaring,
Speaker 1: you know, hole um, and that just gives us a
Speaker 1: chance to take the best player. And that's just I know,
Speaker 1: I know it's very cliche to say, but it is.
Speaker 1: It is so true that you just can't pass any
Speaker 1: good players, no matter what, no matter one position. And
Speaker 1: and uh, even if you feel full at that spot,
Speaker 1: like if we have a guy up with a high
Speaker 1: grade and you know we and we need a linebacker
Speaker 1: and and it's in the that high players at a
Speaker 1: position that's not you still got to take him because,
Speaker 1: like you know, you've heard Steve say a thousand times,
Speaker 1: you're your needs in in April aren't the same, aren't
Speaker 1: gonna be the same in October. So you just need
Speaker 1: as many good players and your roster as possible. Have
Speaker 1: you guys actually run mock drafts yet? Have you done
Speaker 1: that yet? I personally I try to stay away from him. Um,
Speaker 1: I think it take you get Uh, I think you
Speaker 1: can mess you a little bit. I think you just
Speaker 1: have to stick to what you and your staff believe. UM,
Speaker 1: because I've looked at mock drafts. When I have looked
Speaker 1: at mock drafts, I just think they're so off sometimes
Speaker 1: that I just sit and time. I just can't. You know,
Speaker 1: I just can't. I can't. I can't do it. So UM,
Speaker 1: I typically typically typically do not mess with summer or attention.
Speaker 1: So what about you guys, Drew? I mean, I know,
Speaker 1: do you guys ever go through the process of running
Speaker 1: a mock draft as well? What? Absolutely ye have done
Speaker 1: that yet? We have not yet? We can do that, uh,
Speaker 1: you know towards the end, right before the draft, and
Speaker 1: you know, uh, what we try to do is just
Speaker 1: try to create as many scenarios as possible before we
Speaker 1: get to our pick, whether it's trades or whether it's
Speaker 1: um you know, uh, you know a guy that no
Speaker 1: one in the room thinks we'd go before. Just so
Speaker 1: when we get to our pick. Okay, and here's the
Speaker 1: guys left, Now, what are we gonna do? Right? You know, okay,
Speaker 1: which can we should we trade back? Here? Um? Uh?
Speaker 1: You know what what's that? What? What other? So we
Speaker 1: have two guys? We take this guy? So, um we
Speaker 1: do that every year. Um. We go around the room
Speaker 1: basically look at basically the teams and needs of everyone
Speaker 1: in front of us, and then each scout picks Okay,
Speaker 1: who who are who are the Jags taken? Who are
Speaker 1: the Jets taking? And we get to our picks that
Speaker 1: we do it. Do you care to divulge? What? Who
Speaker 1: you guys? Like? I know you're not a score. Where
Speaker 1: is the draft? Ships? Where is the draft the deepest?
Speaker 1: You were you know, long time director of college scouting?
Speaker 1: Where do you see the most depth in which positions
Speaker 1: in this draft? Something I never say pass rusher. It's
Speaker 1: it's a very interesting draft for pass rusher, for inside linebacker.
Speaker 1: You know, usually it's receiver. Um, just because there's so
Speaker 1: many bodies and it's never pass rusher. Now it's not
Speaker 1: as I don't think it's as deep up top, but
Speaker 1: it's like the second third round, it's gonna get real interesting.
Speaker 1: There's a lot of counted guys um in the you know,
Speaker 1: second third, fourth round. They are they're gonna fly off
Speaker 1: the board. It's there's gonna be a run from them
Speaker 1: at some point, because there's it's a very very good group. Drew.
Speaker 1: How's your arm rustling coming? I mean, is that I'm
Speaker 1: looking hired. I no longer participating in arm wrestling. But now,
Speaker 1: wait a minute, are they still twenty? Are the guns
Speaker 1: still twenty? They're they're hanging in there. Um haven't. I
Speaker 1: haven't measured in a while. But you know what, the
Speaker 1: white the wife still approved, so I must feel something, right.
Speaker 1: He's one of the few executives the NFL. He has
Speaker 1: a workout bonus in his conte. There's still got a motor.
Speaker 1: That's the good. Love you, buddy, Thank you so much.
Speaker 1: I got to get it in the morning. Guys, absolutely, Drew,
Speaker 1: thank you, appreciate the infus. Okay man than the director
Speaker 1: of player Personnel and uh yeah, well it was by
Speaker 1: design adding the leaders in the alpha. Yes, And we'll
Speaker 1: go through some more what Drew had to say about
Speaker 1: the twenty twenty one draft. Next on the Big Red
Speaker 1: Range breaking news. J J. Watt is going to the desert.
Speaker 1: WHOA that is not photos? I know, he said. Adam
Speaker 1: Schepter just reported it Wow. The first thing I did
Speaker 1: was take a look at the tape and quickly realized
Speaker 1: that m J. J. Watt still look like J. J.
Speaker 1: Watt In my opinion, Jen, he walks on the field.
Speaker 1: He don't think there's anybody in the reading better than him.
Speaker 1: It feels like the Arizona Cardinals are going all in.
Speaker 1: We had the opportunities to make some reason to be aggressive.
Speaker 1: You know, it's business at the end of the day,
Speaker 1: and you know thing's gonna change to get traded to Arizon.
Speaker 1: It's a pleas of anyone to the best days of
Speaker 1: my life, a little different, thing different. There isn't enough
Speaker 1: energy in the valley already. We're gonna try and turn
Speaker 1: it up even a few more notches. The unmistakable theme
Speaker 1: of flight Plan, season four of the Emmy Award winning
Speaker 1: series Cardinals. Flight Plan. It premiers next Thursday, April twenty second,
Speaker 1: at seven o'clock on the Cardinal's YouTube channel, and a
Speaker 1: lot of great insight stuff. You're from a lot of
Speaker 1: the newcomers in there, starting with JJ Watt and all
Speaker 1: the way down to retaining Mark Scolden and Wolf. We
Speaker 1: just served the director of player Personnel, Drew Grigson here
Speaker 1: on the big red rage presented by santan Ford and
Speaker 1: Gilbert saying that quote adding men, adding leaders, adding alpha's
Speaker 1: in response to your question whether it was by design,
Speaker 1: So yes, it was a definitive Yes, that was the plan.
Speaker 1: You know what, Polly, it really is and it's a plan,
Speaker 1: no doubt. Steve Kim has already talked about that he
Speaker 1: needed to get more physically said, and he needed to
Speaker 1: better leadership, he thought in the locker room, and those
Speaker 1: two things they have gone out. And my goodness, Paul, Honestly,
Speaker 1: every signing, every acquisition, every trade, every roster spot that
Speaker 1: they actually brought in, it really checks those two boxes
Speaker 1: right there, even right down to an AJ Green, who
Speaker 1: is a big get off the press, physical type wide receiver.
Speaker 1: If you ask him to block, he's gonna block. I
Speaker 1: mean we talked about it after the signing of AJ Green,
Speaker 1: for example, if you were to name the top three
Speaker 1: receivers at making contested catches over the last decade, DeAndre Hopkins,
Speaker 1: Larry Fitzgerald and A J. Green. Honestly, so you're right,
Speaker 1: a guy who'll fight for the football, whether it's Rodney
Speaker 1: Hudson and Brian Winters. Would you call those two guys maulers? Right,
Speaker 1: Malcolm Butler who had over one hundred tackles as a cornerback. So, Paula,
Speaker 1: I'll tell you right now, Matt Prador will walk bull
Speaker 1: legged grash you on a Saturday night. Gay. Yeah, maybe me,
Speaker 1: but not an NFL player. I got ball. This guy
Speaker 1: is full on kick or right in a grizzled veteran
Speaker 1: at that. So I love it, man, I just love
Speaker 1: the moves that they've made right now. This was not
Speaker 1: an accident. And James Connor is the cherry on top
Speaker 1: of this offseason as far as I'm concerned. And look,
Speaker 1: it gets back for everything that everyone says about Cliff
Speaker 1: Kingsbury and they mistakenly called the air raid offense and
Speaker 1: so forth. Okay, it still gets back to running the ball, yes,
Speaker 1: and stopping the run to such a large degree, Paul,
Speaker 1: isn't that crazy, Paul? I mean, think about it right now,
Speaker 1: the football universe, Paul, what you just said, it's still
Speaker 1: even though the way you do it might be changing.
Speaker 1: The way you do it, the how is different, but
Speaker 1: it's still football, isn't it? Ultimately? And because of what
Speaker 1: you just said right there, man, I think this is
Speaker 1: exactly the direction the Arizona Cardinals are headed in. Now,
Speaker 1: will it result in more wins? I don't know, but
Speaker 1: I guarantee you this much, it's going to resolve a
Speaker 1: lot more and a lot more bloody noses from opposing players.
Speaker 1: And look, I know the analytics guys right now are saying, calvci,
Speaker 1: where are you. It's a passing league. You know, Kyle
Speaker 1: Outguard is somewhere right now taking my name in vain.
Speaker 1: But here's my response to that is that when the
Speaker 1: Cardinals was truly rolling the second half of twenty nineteen,
Speaker 1: in the first half of two twenty, what was a
Speaker 1: common denominator? An effective running game? You got that right?
Speaker 1: And where did the Cardinals fail on defense in the
Speaker 1: most critical moments? And Vance Joseph was pretty darn honest
Speaker 1: about it with us a couple of months ago here
Speaker 1: in the Big Red Rage, they finished into the bottom
Speaker 1: third and run defense. So when I look at jj
Speaker 1: Watt for everything that he brings, and there's a lot,
Speaker 1: we just fill a whole show talking about his resume,
Speaker 1: the fact that he led the NFL and tackles for
Speaker 1: loss against the run last year. Yes, that's huge. And
Speaker 1: that's my intro here to Jim Trotter in the NFL Network,
Speaker 1: just talking about jj Watt here recently in that interior
Speaker 1: presence that he provides. Talking in Advanced Joseph, one of
Speaker 1: the things that jj Watt brings besides leadership is an
Speaker 1: interior presence. In the Nickel package, they haven't got much
Speaker 1: pressure up the middle when it comes to the pass rush,
Speaker 1: you know, when they go to that package, and they
Speaker 1: believe that with jj Watt they're complementing Chandler Jones, they
Speaker 1: should be able to generate that pressure. And Wolf DJ
Speaker 1: talked about it with us, especially when you're thinking about
Speaker 1: putting jj Watt and Chandler Jones on the same side
Speaker 1: of the line. Yeah, you right, Paulie. But you've got
Speaker 1: to get to those third and Nabby pass situations, right,
Speaker 1: You got to get to those situations where you can
Speaker 1: use all that talent, and that means you got to
Speaker 1: stop the run first. It still is. It is an
Speaker 1: amazing thing. Look at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the
Speaker 1: offense that they actually run, right that is, paul there's
Speaker 1: a lot of elements that are right out of nineteen
Speaker 1: ninety five Okay, Paul, I'm just gonna tell you that
Speaker 1: right now. Even further back than that, like a seven
Speaker 1: man slide protection, Okay, I mean this is this is
Speaker 1: still a league where you've got to be physical on
Speaker 1: the lineup scrimmage, and JJ Watt is going to go
Speaker 1: a long, long way and helping the Arizona Cardinals be
Speaker 1: more physical in terms of stopping the run. You've got
Speaker 1: to keep a three dimensional approach to the game of football.
Speaker 1: You've got if you're an offense, you've got to make
Speaker 1: the defense wonder what it is you're gonna do. Are
Speaker 1: you gonna run it, Are you gonna throw it? Or
Speaker 1: are you're gonna act like you're gonna run it and
Speaker 1: then throw it. You gotta keep them guessing, Paul. And
Speaker 1: you know what, speaking at JJ Watt and Chandler Jones,
Speaker 1: how about Drew Grigson moments ago telling us that the
Speaker 1: most depth in this draft is a pass rusher. And
Speaker 1: you never say that, So it makes me wonder. As
Speaker 1: wrong as the mock drafts are typically and annually, everyone
Speaker 1: who thinks the Cardinals are going corner or maybe a
Speaker 1: receiver at sixteen, if that edge guy is there, don't
Speaker 1: forget Chandler Jones in the final year of his contract.
Speaker 1: JJ Watt is above the age of thirty Marcus Golden
Speaker 1: on a two year deal. I would not be surprised
Speaker 1: if they go edge rusher at number sixteen. That's a
Speaker 1: good point, Paul. It's going to be very interesting to
Speaker 1: see who's there at sixteen. I'll tell you this much.
Speaker 1: They can get a great football player at sixteen, Penn. Again,
Speaker 1: if it's that deep, maybe that edge guy, maybe that
Speaker 1: pass rusher comes in round two. We'll see where. Two
Speaker 1: weeks away tomorrow night from the NFL Draft, we continue
Speaker 1: with a big red rage presented by Santan Board in
Speaker 1: Gilbert Rooppolo back to path, throws over the middle behind
Speaker 1: the attendive receiver, and a diving interception at the five
Speaker 1: yard line. It's Jalen Thompson with a pick. I think
Speaker 1: Jayalen Thompson is just scratching the surface of what he
Speaker 1: could possibly become. Quick bro over the middle. It's broken
Speaker 1: up at the forty yard line incomplete by Jalen Thompson.
Speaker 1: Made a good play breaking on the receiver. You watch
Speaker 1: Jaalen Thompson right there lined up there to slop that
Speaker 1: was just what a corner would typically do the way
Speaker 1: he broke on that slam Sarron Wolflat. It was joined
Speaker 1: by day Pash there the collective voice of the airs
Speaker 1: on a Cardinals and the Airs on a Cardinals radio network.
Speaker 1: Here on the Big Red Rage, you might be asking yourself, well,
Speaker 1: why was there a montage of Jalen Thompson there from
Speaker 1: our fine producer Jim Almahandro And the answer is that,
Speaker 1: you know what, it's an astute observation that Jalen Thompson
Speaker 1: has yet to have a traditional offseason. He's actually yet
Speaker 1: to have an offseason of any sort in the NFL,
Speaker 1: and he's entering his third season in the NFL. Because
Speaker 1: if you were a call as a rookie, he was
Speaker 1: taken in the supplemental draft in July and then just
Speaker 1: showed up for training camp. And then, of course last year,
Speaker 1: the entire offseason was wiped out except being held virtually
Speaker 1: because of the pandemics. So here we go again, as
Speaker 1: the NFL released a memo to teams today, it's going
Speaker 1: to be a nine week offseason schedule. Everything will be
Speaker 1: voluntary wolf except for one mandatory mini camp. Yeah, Paul
Speaker 1: him one mandatory mini camp and everything being voluntary in
Speaker 1: the off season, it's really really important, I think that
Speaker 1: you get your work out there, especially for the young guys. Paul.
Speaker 1: It's so difficult to make a roster coming in as
Speaker 1: a rookie unless you're a high round pick, a guy
Speaker 1: that's taken in the first, second, third round, even the
Speaker 1: fourth round. I would say anything after that. It's kind
Speaker 1: of a toss it up in the air proposition right now.
Speaker 1: It's difficult to make a team, and you got to
Speaker 1: know what you're doing before you can actually make a
Speaker 1: roster an Ota, they go a long, long way for
Speaker 1: a young guy to actually get the offense down, get
Speaker 1: the defense down, and then maybe go out and try
Speaker 1: to execute and play. And I should say the NFL
Speaker 1: has allowed for rookie mini camps in the weeks following
Speaker 1: this year's draft, so that has been provided for. But
Speaker 1: starting Monday, they're going to start having virtual zoom meetings
Speaker 1: two hours per day and that's going to be the
Speaker 1: beginning of the NFL offseason work. And look, this has
Speaker 1: been a process obviously between the league and the NFLPA.
Speaker 1: In fact, the president Brown Center JC Tredder, he was
Speaker 1: on the rich eisens Show was asked if he thinks
Speaker 1: there's going to be a boycott of these voluntary workouts.
Speaker 1: I don't think boycott's the word. I think to start
Speaker 1: the off season is voluntary. And I think guys right
Speaker 1: now are making an informed decision about what's in their
Speaker 1: best interest when it comes to their health and safety.
Speaker 1: And that's what being a professional is all about, is
Speaker 1: making it formed decisions for what's best for your your health,
Speaker 1: your career. And guys, you're doing that and we're seeing
Speaker 1: those those people come out and come forward and say
Speaker 1: what they want to do moving forward. That's well said
Speaker 1: right there, Polly, it really is, because everyone's situation is different, Paul.
Speaker 1: Everyone's situation not only when it comes to making a
Speaker 1: football team and making a roster. Everyone's situation is different.
Speaker 1: But everyone's personal health situation even at home, is different
Speaker 1: as well, and every situation state by state is different.
Speaker 1: Where Michigan is right now, you can understand the reason
Speaker 1: the Lions players may have voted the way they did,
Speaker 1: which is very different than a lot of other states.
Speaker 1: So yes, well that ruined your summer plans, then they Polly,
Speaker 1: going back to the Motor City wheren't you going back there,
Speaker 1: Paul wolf Um. You know I'm going to take the fifth.
Speaker 1: I'm not being able to see the in laws this summer,
Speaker 1: so all right, I'm sorry, Paul. Probably shouldn't answer on
Speaker 1: whether that's a plus or a minus. Anyway, what I
Speaker 1: was going to bring up was the fact that look
Speaker 1: at last year in the off season, and I wonder,
Speaker 1: you tell me you spent ten years in the league.
Speaker 1: Do you think the veterans are saying, Hey, maybe everyone
Speaker 1: overestimated the importance of these offseason programs. Oh, there's no
Speaker 1: doubt and the preseason games, of which there were none, right,
Speaker 1: I mean, they just went into the season last year
Speaker 1: and dropped the plow and went straight forward forward. And
Speaker 1: now I wonder what some of these players are thinking, Yeah,
Speaker 1: there's no doubt, Paul. And if you're an established player too,
Speaker 1: maybe you're just thinking to yourself, Man, I don't need
Speaker 1: to be out on that field. I don't need to
Speaker 1: be I do know this right now, the Union is
Speaker 1: going to use OTAs it's going to use this offseason
Speaker 1: and the experience of COVID and this pandemic and the
Speaker 1: way that it's impacted the offseason. I think they're going
Speaker 1: to use that as a bargaining chip going forward, because
Speaker 1: that's what any good union would do, is use it
Speaker 1: as a bargaining chip going forward to get something may
Speaker 1: want down the line. And guess what, the owners just
Speaker 1: got seventeen games, and so you know, this is a
Speaker 1: pollie to a lot of people, say, wow, that's CBA.
Speaker 1: Now that's a decade away, and listen, they can always
Speaker 1: put an addendum to it, and they talk throughout the
Speaker 1: length of ANYCBA to begin with, no doubt, there's no doubt.
Speaker 1: I also wonder if it contributed to the direction the
Speaker 1: Cardinals went was signing a lot of veterans this offseason.
Speaker 1: You know, when you get guys in their thirties around
Speaker 1: the age of thirty. You know, James Connor was kind
Speaker 1: of conspicuous by signing that he's in his mid twenties.
Speaker 1: Most of the other guys that Cardinals said, well, guess what,
Speaker 1: those guys are plugged in play in an uncertain offseason
Speaker 1: where you might not have the ability to practice together
Speaker 1: as a team very much. No, that's right, Paulie. It's
Speaker 1: gonna be really, really interesting. But I just love the
Speaker 1: fact you said James Connor once again. Listen, first down maker,
Speaker 1: hand him the ball off run some power schemes in
Speaker 1: between the tackle. Watch him hit the angles and hit
Speaker 1: the hole and punch a hole into that front seven.
Speaker 1: I want to see that, Paul. Yes, somebody tells me
Speaker 1: he's going to dear himself to you and the style
Speaker 1: of football you love. We know he endeared himself to
Speaker 1: the Steelers fans. He grew a mullet in twenty eighteen
Speaker 1: just to fit in in Pittsburgh. Walk You realize that
Speaker 1: he was a fan favorite just based on his mullet,
Speaker 1: and of course everyone else grew it as well. PAULI,
Speaker 1: I'm mimicking him. Yeah, so it was. It was part
Speaker 1: of the Yinzer culture. We need to brother on to
Speaker 1: explain the yser culture in the burg. Back to wrap
Speaker 1: up this ddition to the Big Red Rage presented by
Speaker 1: Santan four in Gilbert Connor sweeps the left side, got
Speaker 1: a block at the Tim Connor the five the touchdown, Well,
Speaker 1: you just brought him another leader. This guy doesn't take
Speaker 1: a second place to anybody. He's a great young man
Speaker 1: to the Pro Bowl a couple of years ago. I
Speaker 1: just have a lot of respect to the young man
Speaker 1: and what he's done and what he's accomplished in a
Speaker 1: very short period of fact. He's an above average pass
Speaker 1: catcher out of the backfield. I think that's an area
Speaker 1: they can explore more with him because I think he's
Speaker 1: capable of flipping the field a lot like Levian beld
Speaker 1: It back in his a day. That's a good yet,
Speaker 1: And you had an inside angle. I'm your big brother,
Speaker 1: Craig Wolfley this week and on eight SEVENFM Arizona Sports.
Speaker 1: There he was talking about James Conner, a player with
Speaker 1: which he is very familiar from day one as Steelers
Speaker 1: radio analyst. And wolf you tell me what else did
Speaker 1: your brother tell you about James Conner. Well, just the
Speaker 1: fact that he's a great guy. But I think we
Speaker 1: already know that about James Connor. He's not flashy polly
Speaker 1: like we were talking about earlier. He's not a take
Speaker 1: it to the house type running back. He's a guy
Speaker 1: that's going to move the chains. And to think about
Speaker 1: short yardage. We've already talked about it, short yardage and
Speaker 1: goal line situations. He's going to improve the Arizona Cardinals
Speaker 1: odds in those short yardage and goal line situation. He
Speaker 1: runs well between the tackles, he can hold up in
Speaker 1: play action. What I also love about it, Paulie, is
Speaker 1: just the fact that he knows he's running a four
Speaker 1: to six. Okay, he he's not going to try to
Speaker 1: run sideways, He's not going to try to run around you.
Speaker 1: He knows he's running a four to six. And that
Speaker 1: means here comes a little giddy up. Oh at six one,
Speaker 1: two hundred and thirty three pounds, a little wiggle and
Speaker 1: then pick a side and rent And that's what I
Speaker 1: can't wait to see. And you know what, I can't
Speaker 1: wait to see him in those situations. Like you just
Speaker 1: said it, I'll sit a specific one. Remember the loss
Speaker 1: at New England. It was week twelve, just a vexing loss, yes,
Speaker 1: so many different ways as New England at scoring drives
Speaker 1: that covered forty six and thirty five and thirty one
Speaker 1: and thirty three yards and cam Newton had a passer
Speaker 1: rating under thirty and somehow the Patriots found a way
Speaker 1: to win that game. Well, if you remember, right before
Speaker 1: the half the final play four in goal at the
Speaker 1: Patriots won and the Cardinals were stone. They were stopped
Speaker 1: no points. Now you hand that ball off to James
Speaker 1: Conner and how do you like those odds? See, this
Speaker 1: is why you're such a downer ball and we're playing
Speaker 1: the music and suddenly you bring off that play right there.
Speaker 1: That was diabolical to happen to a team right before
Speaker 1: the half. You know. The only thing worse is a
Speaker 1: linebacker picking the ball off and running it back yards.
Speaker 1: Were a touchdown? No no, and Larry Fischild running an
Speaker 1: Antrell role on the sideline as James Harrison's going the
Speaker 1: other bits. Well, if we had such a great show,
Speaker 1: what are you doing? I know you brought us down, palling.
Speaker 1: I mean that's where my brain went when you brought
Speaker 1: us down. I thinking right now, Drew Grigg's the same
Speaker 1: footprints are on the table on the ball room. That's
Speaker 1: me right now. Okay, Special Banks, Jim Almahandro, Cody Fincher,
Speaker 1: the director of player Personnel for Upball. That's the Big
Speaker 1: Red Rage Number one. You've been listening to The Big
Speaker 1: Red Rage presented by Santanford in Guildall are you? Santanford
Speaker 1: State Farm talk to an Agent today at eight hundred
Speaker 1: State Farm and by Arizona Cardinals Podcasts, Visit Acy cardinals
Speaker 1: dot com slash podcasts. This has been an exclusive presentation
Speaker 1: of the Arizona Cardinals football Club