Bruce Arians on Cardinals' NFC West lead: 'We ain't giving that (expletive) back'
Bruce Arians better hope his Arizona Cardinals respond better to this postgame speech than the last.
Following Sunday's 42-17 win against the Detroit Lions that gave his team a two-game cushion over the St. Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West, the Cardinals head coach wasn't satisfied.
"Now, the bigger one is coming next week, because it's the next one. And when you win two on the road back-to-back, that's huge in this league. We've got a nice lead in the division. We aint giving that (expletive) back. This is a serious week of work at a different location."
Of course, Arians offered a similar sentiment two weeks ago, when the Cardinals were coming off a 47-7 win over the division rival San Francisco 49ers and facing a showdown with another NFC West foe.
"We aint [expletive] yet, but we're starting to smell a little better. I ain't gotta tell you about next week. We made a nice move in the division today, but we know what next week's about."
As well placed as that postgame expletive was, Arizona proceeded to lose the following week at home to the Rams. The Steelers sans Ben Roethlisberger may not pose as big a threat as St. Louis, even if the game is in Pittsburgh, but Arians knows as well as anyone his team can't remove its foot from the pedal.
During his first season in Arizona two years ago, the Cardinals started 3-4, and then finished 7-2 down the stretch, barely missing the playoffs after placing third in the division behind the Seahawks and 49ers. Last year, they started 9-1 before losing quarterback Carson Palmer to injury, dropping four of their last six games, getting surpassed by the Seahawks in the division and falling in the wild-card round.
With games against the Steelers (on a short week after Monday night's game in San Diego), Baltimore Ravens (1-4) and Cleveland Browns (2-3) before a Week 9 bye, the Cardinals have a real chance to put some cushion between themselves and their division rivals, particularly since those teams play each other during that stretch and the Seahawks host an unbeaten and rested Carolina Panthers squad on Sunday.
That extra cushion could come in key for the Cardinals, since they're division title hopes likely rest on their success during a month-long stretch coming out of their bye week. Beginning in Week 10, they have road games against all three NFC West foes sandwiched around a home contest against the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals. Let's just say Arians might let an awful lot of postgame expletives fly this season.
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is a contributor for Ball Don't Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
