TRANSCRIPT: Cardinals Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt, 11-21-12
Cardinals Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt – Conference Call – November 21, 2012
(On if he’s deciding on the quarterback situation through evaluation and continued talks)
“Yes, a little bit about where we are as a team and what we’re trying to get better at. There’s a lot of things. It’s not one thing that you can say.”
(On if the strong play of his defense showcases how important the play of the quarterback is)
“Yes, there’s no question about it. It’s the most important position on the field, I think. That’s where it’s important that you can get a guy that can handle that.”
(On if it’s been frustrating for him trying different things at quarterback since Kurt Warner retired)
“Well, we’re not alone in that. There are a number of teams that face the same dilemma as us when you lose a quarterback – we think a Hall of Fame quarterback. There’s no proven method of doing it. I think that it’s a hard position to find a guy and we’re trying to do that.”
(On if Cardinals RB Beanie Wells is back and if he will play Sunday)
“Yes.”
(On it is good news that Beanie Wells is returning this week considering how well he rushed against the Rams last time they played)
“Yes, it didn’t really have anything to do with where he is or where we are this year. He had a good game in that game last year, but that doesn’t mean anything about success or doing well this year. We’re glad to get Beanie back. It’s always tough when you have a 1,000-yard rusher that you don’t have on your team and we struggled at that position this year with injuries. So, I don’t know how Beanie will do in this game. He’s been practicing well, but as we all know, it’s tough when you try to get back into the flow of a game.”
(On if it’s natural to think that Beanie Wells and Rams C Scott Wells will be rusty in their first game back)
“Yes, I think so. You need the time to prepare and I’m sure like their player, Beanie’s been practicing, so that helps, but there’s no substitute for actual games and we don’t have a preseason game to kind of get warmed up like you’re normally do. So, you go from zero to 60 pretty quick, you know.”
(On if RB LaRod Stephens-Howling is coming on)
“Yes, LaRod’s done a good job. I think that he’s had a couple of games where he’s had good rushing days. We’ve always liked LaRod. I think that he’s not the main back. You’ve got to have as many guys at that position. We’re very fortunate that we have him and he’s done a good job for us.”
(On how to keep a struggling team from getting down)
“It’s not easy, especially with the way we started. When you win four in a row and you feel good, it’s tough. I think that a lot of it goes back to your players and the guys that believe in what you’re doing. We know that we have won some games this year and we won a string of them. We’ve just got to focus on getting back to that. Our players have been working hard. We’ve been close in a number of games, especially like last week against Atlanta. Just like the Rams did against San Francisco a couple of weeks ago. They’re playing hard and Coach Fisher’s doing a great job with those guys.”
(On if their defense is playing as well as it did earlier in the season)
“Yeah, I think our defense has done a good job. We’ve had some games where we’ve given up a little bit of yardage or some gains in the run game, but overall our team’s doing a very good job of that, which is what we thought coming into this season. We felt like our defense was going to be the strength of our team and they have been.”
(On what they can take out of their first game against the Rams)
“We got down in the game. We were forced to throw it in the second half a little bit and that put us behind the eight ball, especially with their ends and the way they rush and trying to deal with the noise and having some young tackles. They have a good defensive front. Their linebackers are good players and they run a good scheme. It’s going to be another tough game for us. But, you just try to do the best you can in preparation during the week and hopefully we’ll play well Sunday.”
(On the Rams’ offense)
“They’ve made some plays. They’ve got some guys. I know they’re happy to get (WR Danny) Amendola back. He’s a very good player. They’ve run the ball successfully. The quarterback, we’ve always felt like he’s a good player and done well. I know that, just like us, they’ve played against some good defenses and they moved the ball well against San Francisco. Whatever the perception is of their offense, we don’t share that. We feel like they’re a good team and we’ve got to be prepared. They hit some big plays on us last time. We’ve got to do a better job if we want to have a chance to win.”
(On if RB Steven Jackson is running as well as ever)
“Yeah, he’s a big guy. Good vision. They do a nice job of creating seams and he hits it. We’ve always had a lot of respect for Steven and he’s played well against us. So, we know the challenge we face in playing him.”
Cardinals Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt – Conference Call – November 21, 2012
(On if he’s deciding on the quarterback situation through evaluation and continued talks)
“Yes, a little bit about where we are as a team and what we’re trying to get better at. There’s a lot of things. It’s not one thing that you can say.”
(On if the strong play of his defense showcases how important the play of the quarterback is)
“Yes, there’s no question about it. It’s the most important position on the field, I think. That’s where it’s important that you can get a guy that can handle that.”
(On if it’s been frustrating for him trying different things at quarterback since Kurt Warner retired)
“Well, we’re not alone in that. There are a number of teams that face the same dilemma as us when you lose a quarterback – we think a Hall of Fame quarterback. There’s no proven method of doing it. I think that it’s a hard position to find a guy and we’re trying to do that.”
(On if Cardinals RB Beanie Wells is back and if he will play Sunday)
“Yes.”
(On it is good news that Beanie Wells is returning this week considering how well he rushed against the Rams last time they played)
“Yes, it didn’t really have anything to do with where he is or where we are this year. He had a good game in that game last year, but that doesn’t mean anything about success or doing well this year. We’re glad to get Beanie back. It’s always tough when you have a 1,000-yard rusher that you don’t have on your team and we struggled at that position this year with injuries. So, I don’t know how Beanie will do in this game. He’s been practicing well, but as we all know, it’s tough when you try to get back into the flow of a game.”
(On if it’s natural to think that Beanie Wells and Rams C Scott Wells will be rusty in their first game back)
“Yes, I think so. You need the time to prepare and I’m sure like their player, Beanie’s been practicing, so that helps, but there’s no substitute for actual games and we don’t have a preseason game to kind of get warmed up like you’re normally do. So, you go from zero to 60 pretty quick, you know.”
(On if RB LaRod Stephens-Howling is coming on)
“Yes, LaRod’s done a good job. I think that he’s had a couple of games where he’s had good rushing days. We’ve always liked LaRod. I think that he’s not the main back. You’ve got to have as many guys at that position. We’re very fortunate that we have him and he’s done a good job for us.”
(On how to keep a struggling team from getting down)
“It’s not easy, especially with the way we started. When you win four in a row and you feel good, it’s tough. I think that a lot of it goes back to your players and the guys that believe in what you’re doing. We know that we have won some games this year and we won a string of them. We’ve just got to focus on getting back to that. Our players have been working hard. We’ve been close in a number of games, especially like last week against Atlanta. Just like the Rams did against San Francisco a couple of weeks ago. They’re playing hard and Coach Fisher’s doing a great job with those guys.”
(On if their defense is playing as well as it did earlier in the season)
“Yeah, I think our defense has done a good job. We’ve had some games where we’ve given up a little bit of yardage or some gains in the run game, but overall our team’s doing a very good job of that, which is what we thought coming into this season. We felt like our defense was going to be the strength of our team and they have been.”
(On what they can take out of their first game against the Rams)
“We got down in the game. We were forced to throw it in the second half a little bit and that put us behind the eight ball, especially with their ends and the way they rush and trying to deal with the noise and having some young tackles. They have a good defensive front. Their linebackers are good players and they run a good scheme. It’s going to be another tough game for us. But, you just try to do the best you can in preparation during the week and hopefully we’ll play well Sunday.”
(On the Rams’ offense)
“They’ve made some plays. They’ve got some guys. I know they’re happy to get (WR Danny) Amendola back. He’s a very good player. They’ve run the ball successfully. The quarterback, we’ve always felt like he’s a good player and done well. I know that, just like us, they’ve played against some good defenses and they moved the ball well against San Francisco. Whatever the perception is of their offense, we don’t share that. We feel like they’re a good team and we’ve got to be prepared. They hit some big plays on us last time. We’ve got to do a better job if we want to have a chance to win.”
(On if RB Steven Jackson is running as well as ever)
“Yeah, he’s a big guy. Good vision. They do a nice job of creating seams and he hits it. We’ve always had a lot of respect for Steven and he’s played well against us. So, we know the challenge we face in playing him.”
