Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson has not had a good couple of years. In 2018, the team was bad and he requested a trade. Then he was suspended for six games last season for PED use and attempting to cover it up. Then, upon his return, he struggled until the final few games.
He promises a bounceback season in 2020.
He explained what happened in a video conference with reporters recently.
“Being with the same defensive mindset for five years, I was in my comfort zone,” he said, speaking of the years with Bruce Arians as coach. “I knew what to expect. I knew how to play this. I knew what the coaches wanted out of me.”
Then came 2018 and Steve Wilks’ defensive system.
“What people don’t understand is you if you’re not in something that’s fitting for your skillset and kind of gets you out of your comfort zone it’s kind of different,” he said. The 4-3 system in which he played more off coverage “wasn’t (his) forte.” He “really wasn’t comfortable with that.”
2019 was different, “dealing with the suspension, having a lot of distraction, a lot of stuff on my plate and not really understanding the defense.”
“Playing the game of football, you have to have a clear mind to be able to focus on the task at hand and I wasn’t able to do that,” he continued. “But towards the back end of the season, once I understood the defense, I understood what the coaches were looking for out of me.
“My last five games, once I got my legs back, once I got in the groove, I felt unbelievable and that’s what is going to carry over into this year.”
He doesn’t believe in proving people wrong because he knows who he is and what he is able to do.
He enters a contract year as he turns 30 years old. It is a critical point in his career.
“I can promise you this — this is definitely going to be a big year, just wait and see. To whoever doubting me or whoever doesn’t think I can still play at a high level, just wait and see.”
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Ep. 267
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Ep. 266
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