‘All or Nothing’ director says Cardinals have something ‘special’

A documentary series about the 2015 Cardinals is scheduled for release this Friday, and the head of the project foreshadowed a unique look at a unique team.

In an interview with Doug & Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM on Monday, All or Nothing director and producer Steve Trout said the Cardinals were picked for the show not just because of their cooperation, but because of the team’s enticing narrative.

“The idea you want to try and do is get a team that’s got some interesting storylines, and the easy answer is you want a team that’s going to be good,” Trout said. “And I think we knew – as did Bruce (Arians), as did Steve (Keim), as did Michael (Bidwill) – that there’s something special brewing in the Cardinals locker room.”

The NFL Films production boasts an all-access look to an electrifying Cardinals team over the course of a whole season. Some have likened the project to HBO’s Hard Knocks, but that series only covered teams prior to the start of the regular season.

“What hasn’t been done is, take it from that point where the 53-man roster is set for at least Week 1, and then spend the next five months with these guys,” Trout said. “Seeing it behind what had been closed doors for four decades, and see it through the eyes of the rookie, of the David Johnson, of Carson, of Larry, of all the different guys who played different roles, and we’re with them every single day. So the story arc is five times as long as training camp is.”

When asked who in the All or Nothing story would be the most likely to become a star after the debut, Trout named a player, but he also named someone who doesn’t work for the team at all.

“I think the easy answer is David Johnson, and not just because of what he did on the field. Wait until you see the man he is,” Trout said. “The other one is coach’s wife. She is amazing and she has been alongside Bruce for 40 years as he’s been a coach in the NFL, and now his first head coaching gig, and just wait until you see and what kind of wife and what kind of support she is for him. And wait until you see when she watches the Packers game in the playoffs.”

The unparalleled access to the Cardinals is thanks to what Trout called a relationship of ‘trust’ between the team and NFL Films.

“What we told them is that we’ve got to do this right, we can’t do this halfway,” he said. “We knew we had to get into that executive meeting. That’s something that’s never been captured. … We had a camera in for every single meeting, and the key to what makes this work is they completely forgot it’s there.”

All or Nothing: A Season with the Arizona Cardinals will become available on Amazon Video on July 1.

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