By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: Norm Hall/Getty Images
Arizona Cardinals’ special teams will be something to watch this season. In the 2024 season, the Cardinals had many good moments with Special Teams.
One of those moments came against the Buffalo Bills when the Cardinals were trailing by 11. DeeJay Dallas, in his first game as a Cardinal, ran for a 96-yard touchdown.
Cardinals assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers spoke with the media to discuss decisions for Week 1, special teams, and the importance of depth and durability.
“Decision makers make decisions,” Rodgers said. “I had a guy getting hurt in pregame warmup once late in the week. The guy twisted an ankle on Friday. So, you’re always planning for contingencies regardless of how the roster might shake out. We have some other candidates to do that. It depends on who gets the jersey on game day, and we’ll work through that.”
The Cardinals’ coaching staff will try to feature the players’ skill sets depending on who wears the uniform, and they will see what happens after Week 1’s performance.
“When you look at the roster composition, 5)333: a couple less linebackers,” Rodgers said. “We kept an extra safety. Our team speed should be something that shows up positively. But you still have to have enough bodies to do some of the other things that you need to be able to do.
The coach might use guys to have a bigger role this season compared to previous years. As he repeated many times in the press, it depends on who gets the jersey. He still needs to have those conversations. Therefore, he’s planning his move carefully.
The Cardinals go to the academy to recruit the best players to help their team win. The Cardinals have a talented group, and players are looking for one chance to prove themselves on every team. Sometimes those opportunities come by taking advantage of a player getting injured.
Rodgers has years of experience coaching in the NFL. He previously coached for the Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, and Carolina Panthers. Rodgers has been part of the Cardinals organization since 2019.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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