- Slug: Sports-Cardinals Pressure word length in number,464
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EDS: A previous version of this story misspelled the name of a potential Cardinals’ opponent. Jimmy Garoppolo is currently a quarterback for the New England Patriots. The story here has been corrected, but clients who used previous versions of this story are asked to run the correction that can be found here.
By NICOLE VASQUEZ
Cronkite News
TEMPE – The Arizona Cardinals are surrounded by noisy hype and lofty expectations of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in February for the first time.
Addressing the media after practice four days before the season opener against the New England Patriots, coach Bruce Arians said he doesn’t feel the weight.
“There is no pressure,” he said. “It was one game. It’s a matter of one-game seasons and one-day practices. We set a goal a long time ago, then you quit talking about it and you just go to work every day.”
The one game Arians referenced turns back the clock to January when the Cardinals suffered a 49-15 loss in the NFC Championship game against the Carolina Panthers.
But that memory hasn’t stopped the media from picking the Cardinals to make it to Houston for Super Bowl LI. NFL.com and Sports Illustrated have predicted them to win it all, while USA Today forecasts a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Westgate Las Vegas Sportsbook gives the Cardinals 8-1 odds of winning. The only team to have better odds at 6-1 is their first foe of the season: the Patriots.
As early as May, the Cardinals rolled out the Patriots tape along with film of the other three AFC East teams they play. Game plans were formulated and, with that, the Super Bowl-or-bust mentality.
What better way to embark on the path to the Super Bowl than on home turf against the four-time Super Bowl champs?
Even though Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is serving a four-game suspension, Arians knows Patriots coach Bill Belichick isn’t going to change his offensive strategy.
Arians said New England quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is similar in accuracy and athletic ability to Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. The 24-year-old Garoppolo’s main target will be tight end Rob Gronkowski.
“(They’re) very similar to us,” Arians said. “We use three tight ends, two tight ends, we see it in practice a ton all spring. There’s only one Gronkowski though. There’s a bunch of other tight ends but there’s one Gronk. He’s a different animal when it comes to defending him, but that’s something we’re very accustomed to.”
They’re also accustomed to a winning record.
In the last three years under Arians, the Cardinals have amassed 34 regular season wins. Only the past three Super Bowl champions – the Denver Broncos (37), Patriots (36) and Seattle Seahawks (35) – have won more.
A record like that garners popularity, leading the Cardinals to land an enviable primetime slot for the first Sunday Night Football game of the season.
“It’s something you earn,” Arians said. “Obviously we’ve had a decent record a few years, (it) has nothing to do with this year, but we earned a right. I think everybody’s pretty excited about it, you can feel it in the city already.”
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