Best record, great start not enough to impress Arizona Cardinals

TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals are 7-1 for the first time since 1974, and currently hold the best record in the NFL as well as a two-game lead in the NFC West.

Yet, they’re not impressed. Like, McKayla Maroney-level not impressed.

“You know what? It doesn’t really mean much right now. To be the best team in football now is just a place right now,” defensive lineman Calais Campbell said. “You want to be the best team in February, and to get there you have to do well now. We did well in September and October, but now November and December are the biggest.

“Really, November’s the only thing that really matters to me now, this next game. But this is where the games get serious. These are the games, really, that change the season and allow you to get to where you want to go. Right now we’re where we want to be, but we have a long way to go to get to where we want to go.”

Much has been made of head coach Bruce Arians telling the players to not let anyone else dress in their locker, a reference to the fact that Super Bowl XLIX being played at University of Phoenix Stadium, the Cardinals’ home. No team has ever played a Super Bowl in its home stadium, which is something Arizona would like to change.

Halfway through the season, they would appear to have a decent shot. But as Campbell said and his teammates understand, there is still a lot of football left to be played.

“The one thing Coach (Brentson Buckner) would always say, he’d say, ‘7-1, the only thing that gets you guaranteed is being 7-9, that’s the only thing you’re guaranteed to be,'” defensive lineman Dan Williams said. “So we have coaches that remind us that you can go down here real fast.”

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