One day after Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon announced the team’s permanent captains for the season, it was time for the coordinators to expound on the two players from their side of the ball that were voted by the players.
Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing limited his remarks to quarterback Kyler Murray and running back James Conner, while defensive coordinator Nick Rallis took the opportunity to go beyond just safety Budda Baker and linebacker Kyzir White.
For his part, when asked what Murray and Conner mean to the offense, Petzing said, “I think it’s a combination of things. I think certainly the leadership at this point; both of them are vets. They’ve been around. They’ve been in the building a long time. They’ve been in this league a long time.
“They’re probably older than most of the guys on the team, so I think from an experience standpoint, guys look to them for that and then I think you see the way that they work, the way that they practice, the way that they play in terms of the energy, the ability. I think guys feed off of that, so I think it was a very natural selection. So excited for those guys to get that honor and certainly would not expect that to change who they are, how they go about their business.”
Petzing was prescient when he mentioned the age factor. While it’s been noted here several times that the roster includes only five players that are 30 or older, it’s striking to realize how many players are younger than Conner (29) and Murray (27).
There are 36 players on the 53-man roster younger than Murray, while the number jumps another nine that are younger than Conner, including Murray.
On defense, Baker and White are both 28.
“Those guys have a big impact,” Rallis acknowledged. “I’m excited for them to be captain. I know they’re excited about that.”
He then echoed the words of White, who said Monday, “(There’s) a lot of captains in the room. We have just four this year, but there’s more than four captains on this team.”
Rallis reeled off several names when he said, “Honestly, the leadership of the whole locker room, but talking the defense specifically, I think that it goes pretty deep. There are so many other guys to me that are leaders and guys that people are going to follow.
“On the defensive line J.J. (Justin Jones), Bilal (Nichols), outside ‘backers, Zaven (Collins), (Dennis) Gardeck, like phenomenal leaders. You got JT (Jalen Thompson) in the secondary, you got SMB (Sean Murphy-Bunting), (also) Mack Wilson, Krys Barnes. Like there are so many leaders on the defense, that it’s not just the guys with the C on their chest that are going to lead the way and bring people along with them. There’s a lot of people. It takes a lot of people to get you on track of where you want to go as a team and as a defense.”
One thing, of course, is clear: On a defense that doesn’t garner much respect outside the walls of the Dignity Health Training Center, it will take more than just leadership to change that narrative. However, having it can surely help.
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