Cardinals veterans run the gamut of playoff experience

TEMPE, Ariz. — Bruce Arians always touts the importance of veteran leadership to the Cardinals’ success. When it comes to the playoffs, however, Arizona’s longest-tenured players aren’t all veterans; they run the gamut of postseason experience.

Some have Super Bowl savvy; others are nearly as green as the rookies who tasted the postseason for the first time in last week’s divisional round win over Green Bay.

“I’ve made it this long and I hadn’t even won a playoff game until last week,” defensive tackle Frostee Rucker said. “It absolutely makes me appreciate this moment more than I might have as a rookie because of all the trials and tribulations of my career, but when I speak about the playoffs to the young guys, I’m speaking from inexperience myself.”

The Cardinals have six veterans on their active roster with at least 10 years of NFL experience, along with defensive tackle Cory Redding (13 years), who is on injured reserve.

Long snapper Mike Leach is the senior citizen with 16 years of NFL tenure. Dwight Freeney has 14 years of experience; QB Carson Palmer has 13; receiver Larry Fitzgerald and reserve outside linebacker Jason Babin have 12; and Rucker has 10.

Palmer’s lack of playoff success was a major storyline last week against the Packers, but of the six aforementioned veterans who will take the field in Charlotte on Sunday when the Cardinals face the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Championship Game, only Babin (two games) has less postseason experience than Palmer.

Sunday’s game will mark the fourth playoff game in Palmer’s career, and this will be Rucker’s fifth postseason game. Fitzgerald and Leach sit somewhere in the middle. This will be Fitzgerald’s ninth postseason game and Leach’s 10th.

By contrast, Freeney will compete in his 19^th postseason game on Sunday, giving him a resume that is both invaluable and difficult to impart on his teammates.

“I try to help as much as I can, but it is hard to catch a guy up to speed,” he said. “Experience is the best learning tool that you have.”

Freeney said there are areas where he can assist.

“The young guys or older guys that haven’t been in it, just understanding about how things go in the playoffs,” he said. “Honestly, it is not much different than the regular season. The energy is picked up, yes. You will feel it in the building just because of what is on the line.

“For the most part, it is just doing the same thing that you have always done. It is the team that has the least amount of mistakes in the game. It is more of a mental grind than a physical grind in the playoffs.”

Two things all of Arizona’s veterans agree upon are these: their years of NFL service have given them a deeper appreciation of this moment, and a deeper understanding of how difficult it is to get here.

“I kind of know what to expect,” Fitzgerald said. “The attention, the noise, everything that comes with playing deep into the playoffs: When you’re doing it at 25, I think it’s much different. It’s the first time you’ve ever experienced it and so it’s very new to you. I think that’s given me perspective this time around.”

Rucker said age also adds a sense of urgency.

“When you come into the league your expiration date is already ticking,” he said. “You don’t know exactly how long you’ll get but they say the average life expectancy of an NFL player is three years. I feel fortunate to have made it this far so it’s clear to me that you have to take advantage of these rare opportunities.”

The opportunities haven’t been as rare for Freeney, who has won a Super Bowl, played in two and competed in three conference championship games before Sunday’s. Even so, he couldn’t resist the chance for more — especially considering the state of his golf game while he sat in semi-retirement this fall, waiting for Arians to call.

“I shot over 100 on the golf course one day and I was like, ‘Bruce, please, I need help,’” said Freeney, who signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals on Oct. 13. “He said just said ‘stay ready’ and I said ‘alright.’

“I was one week away from retiring and I was actually doing some interviews and trying to figure out what I was going to do after, and he called me on the plane and the door was closing. The flight attendants were telling everyone to put away all cell phones. I am looking at my phone seeing that it is B.A. I am telling her to hold on; she is telling me to get off the phone.

“It was great when he called me. I said ‘yeah, I am ready to get off the couch. Let’s go, man,’ and it has been a ride ever since.”

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