ARIZONA CARDINALS

Carson Chats: Cardinals QB says ‘It’s a luxury’ playing with Adrian Peterson

Oct 18, 2017, 1:32 PM | Updated: Oct 19, 2017, 10:09 pm

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer looks to throw a ball during an NFL training session at...

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer looks to throw a ball during an NFL training session at the London Irish rugby team training ground in the Sunbury-on-Thames suburb of south west London, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. The Arizona Cardinals are preparing for an NFL regular season game against the Los Angeles Rams in London on Sunday. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

(AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

TEMPE, Ariz. – Quarterback Carson Palmer, now in his fifth year with the Arizona Cardinals, meets the media every Wednesday during the regular season.

Here, in this space, with help from the Cardinals’ media relations staff, we’ll highlight many of the key topics and personnel conversations he has with reporters. This week, it comes from London, where the Cardinals are already preparing to face the Los Angeles Rams.

On the mentality that this is a business trip and leaving sight seeing for another time:

“Yeah, there’s so little free time and so much work time. They did a really good job when we got in, not letting us fall asleep during the day to try and get us acclimated right away, with meetings and workouts and stuff going on all day yesterday. But yeah, like you said, we’re here to work. It’s a huge game for us; it’s a huge game for the Rams, being a division game. So, there’s not a whole lot of time to get out and about.”

On if his body is adjusted to the time change:

“I slept almost the whole flight, and I don’t know if I even moved last night. I woke up, jumped up when the alarm went off, and I feel like I’ve acclimated to this as quickly as I could.”

On getting a feel for the weather and conditions during practice today:

“Today’s mainly a walkthrough, but we’ll have some individual stuff that we’ll get out and test the grass and get a little sweat going I think.”

On past offensive success and if having RB Adrian Peterson in the backfield is comparable to RBs David Johnson and Andre Ellington:

“It’s definitely different. Adrian’s one-of-one. There’s nobody in the league like him right now that runs the ball the way he does or has with all the success he’s had over all the years he’s been playing. I think Dave is kind of a similar type. Dave is one-of-one also, for his size and speed and ability to run routes and catch the ball. There really isn’t another guy that has those same traits. So, it’s definitely different. Anytime you add somebody that special or that unique it changes things.”

On if it feels different in a game not having to throw the ball as much:

“No doubt. Turning around and handing it to someone is so different than dropping and reading and getting through progressions. So, it’s nice, it’s a really nice luxury to have that ability on 3rd-and-3 you can give it to him and get it. So, it takes a lot of pressure and a lot off a quarterback’s plate when it seems like every time you turn around and hand it to him, he could break a big one.”

On Peterson “sounding” different when he runs:

“He’s putting so much force into the ground with every step. With a cut, when he’s going to sprint, he’s just different. Like I was saying, he’s very unique he’s one-of-one. He runs so differently and so angry, I guess would be describing it. He runs with so much violence, every run, inside zone, outside zone. We haven’t had a chance to get him the ball in the passing game yet, but that’s another addition that he brings. And you get him the ball in space with defensive backs that have to tackle him, that’s a good position for us to be in.”

On playing with a back like Peterson in this point of his career:

“It was fun. That’s obviously one game, but his – and coach just alluded to it when he was up here – the swagger, the energy, the confidence that he brings, it’s really, really been amazing to have that in our stadium with our fans. You guys were there, you felt the energy and the excitement before the game to get him the ball, then all of a sudden the first drive happens and there’s a lot of kind of dropped jaws, like ‘Wow, what did we just see?’ And then the second drive it happened, the third drive it happened. So, it’s a luxury being a quarterback and having him back there.”

On if Peterson provides a breath of fresh air after being hit so many times in the first five games:

“Yeah, that’s a good way to say it. I think Ty (Tyrann Mathieu) had said something earlier in the week. There wasn’t a ton of excitement. All of sudden Week 6, you have this great player that’s been so great for so long that comes in and just jump-starts the energy. Not that the focus has slipped at all, but all of a sudden he brings that extra energy that we were needing I think.”

On what Peterson has given the team off the field and in the locker room:

“He’s only been here for what – was it Tuesday last week? So, this is almost a little over a week, but there are a whole bunch of guys in that locker room that were watching him in high school and junior high. So, just that respect that he brings, the attitude he brings to the practice field, it’s really good for young guys to see a professional that’s had a ton of success that comes in and works as hard as he does. So, really a great example for everybody in our locker room.”

On Peterson observing Palmer out of respect for his longevity when he joined the team last week:

“Who said that? (Reporter: “Adrian.”) Did he? Man, that makes me field old. The longer you play, the more respect you earn. You see guys play and do it year after year after year, and like Adrian’s done it for a long time, and there’s just a mutual respect you have for players like that. And you always want to see, ‘Well, let’s see. Are they work horses, or do they only show up on Sundays?’ You kind of want to get a feel for how people go about their week, and he came in, was asking questions, was studying. I was just riding over on the bus with him, and he was studying the whole time. So, it’s great to have that kind of focus and that kind of work ethic in the locker room.”

On the team’s success in being able to sign free agents off the street after training camp and in the season, if that’s unusual in his experience and what goes into making that work:

“It is unusual. In my past, you just haven’t seen that. It says a lot about the organization, they’re willing to do what it takes to win, and I’ve said that a number of times. That’s all you can ask for as a player. If it is signing a guy that has a high salary or a guy that has been banged up but you think that can help, and all of a sudden and you sign that guy and he comes in. You think about John Abraham and some of the older players that we’ve picked up that have come in and had a lot of success. Dwight Freeney did it, so a lot of that goes into the organization studying their habits, studying what kind of guys they are off the field. Are they distractions if they do get brought in the locker room? A lot of that is the research that our organization goes through to make sure they are bringing the right guys in the locker room.”

On Rams QB Jared Goff’s jump from last year to this year and what he learned during the beginning of his career that allowed him to improve between years one and two:

“That was a long time ago. There isn’t one or two things you learn as a young player coming from – I don’t know kind of system he played in college, but I can’t imagine that’s its anything like what he’s in now. There’s so much to learn about the game. I think more than anything, you learn how to start being a pro, because you go from being in school for most of the day and you show up at practice at 3 o’clock and you have football for a couple hours. It’s a whole new world when this is your job and this is everything. You wake up at 5:30 and you don’t get done doing football until 9 o’clock at night. So, I think the biggest thing for a guy going through all that is learning how to balance life and football and taking care of his body and football. So, more than all the Xs and Os and learning a playbook and all that, it’s just how to be a pro, how to manage your time and how to make sure you’re prepared on Sundays.”

On what kind of atmosphere he expects on Sunday:

“I can’t wait. Yeah, I can’t wait. I’ve heard amazing things. Everybody’s said its been such a pleasure to come over here and be in this environment and just watching film, you get glimpses of the crowd when they are showing the scoreboard on the cut ups of what we’re studying. So, you see a ton of different jerseys, you see people standing up and cheering all game long it seems. So, I’ve heard great things, and I’ve heard about the energy in the stadium. It’s just electric, and I’m just excited to experience it.”

On spending entire weeks on the road in past seasons and if it helps with team chemistry:

“Yeah, no doubt. You spend 10 hours on the plane and just kind of getting to know (your teammates). You’re not talking football at all. Outside of practice, outside of meetings, outside of walkthroughs, all the things we do, you’re around your teammates all the time. You’re going out to dinner at night, working out – just there is no escape, you’re together, you’re at the hotel together. So, I think it’s great for chemistry, bonding all those things.”

On if it’s harder to focus on the road or a benefit because it’s all football all the time:

“Yeah, typically on a West Coast-to-East Coast game, you get 48 hours in a city to get yourself prepared. Having a week long, you get your body acclimated, you get use to the weather, you get use to all of your surroundings and then we’ll be comfortable and acclimated and feel probably really good on Thursday and Friday, and then you still have a couple more days before the game, so yeah.”

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