Arizona Cardinals Head Coach Bruce Arians
(On his comments about how CenturyLink Field is their ‘home field’ and if he thought that was something that wouldn’t get out to the public and if he intended for that)
“Well, when you’re talking to your team in the locker room, you’re talking to your team; you’re not talking to the press. It wasn’t supposed to get out, but it got out. All coaches say things to their teams to get them fired up for the next week, but it got out, and that’s what I said.”
(On how they have played very well in Seattle since he took over as coach and if there is any reason for that)
“Well, it’s always a tough game. They’ve beaten us here and we’ve beaten them up there, so it’s kind of funny how that has worked out. The big play that Russell [Wilson] made last year, J.J. Nelson made a couple of big plays in that game. It seems like that game up there [in Seattle] always comes down to three or four plays; if you make them, you win and if you don’t make them, whether it’s in any phase of the game. You never know when they’re going to happen, but that game especially, just a play or two changes it.”
On how their defense has really picked up the last few weeks and what some of the reasons are for it)
“Getting Deone Bucannon healthy was a big part of it and just overall play by everybody. I think the guys started playing together longer. Every year, you bring in some new guys and this time, it took us a little bit longer to get going.”
(On rookie safety Budda Baker’s play this season and how good he has been for them all season)
“Oh man, night and day. He’s made the Pro Bowl on special teams, and he was just finding his way on special teams and then he got a niche when Tyvon Branch got hurt and now Antoine Bethea is hurt, but he’s playing more and more and playing outstanding. I can’t say enough about him, and I don’t want to brag too much about rookies because it goes to their head, but he is playing really, very well.”
Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll
(Opening)
“This is a big opportunity for us. Last game, lot at stake, lot going on. Fortunate to play at home. Love playing in front of the fans here in this one. Going to see if we can get a terrific week of preparation so we can really play like we need to play. Looking at the Cardinals, they have played really good football for some time, particularly on defense.
They’ve been killing it for the last three or four weeks and doing really good stuff. As always, they have always been aggressive and difficult to handle and they look as good as ever and they are healthy and all that, so we got to put together a really good week and get right and see if we can finish this thing off and give us a chance for what comes next.”
(On what he liked most about the game on Sunday against Dallas)
“The overall focus of the team. The guys were on it. We had great effort. Guys were physical and played good, tough football on the road and against a team that was loaded up. I thought the matchup really went in our favor because of the way we played.”
(On what’s getting in the offense’s way right now)
“We need to be more consistent across the board and it will always come down to third down conversions. Moving the sticks. Last week, in particular, was a week we were unable to get the explosive plays to change the field and fortunately, the turnovers did that for us and we were able to capitalize on that, but the explosive plays, both running and pass didn’t show up like we counted on.”
(On if it was good to see Thomas Rawls involved on some plays)
“Sure. Yeah, he looked good too. He was very aggressive at the line of scrimmage. Yeah, it was good to see him. He hit the line of scrimmage really well and was ready for the opportunities. He did a good job.”
