The Arizona Cardinals are back at work after four days off that come mandatory with the NFL bye week. Many players left town to visit family and others just used the time to relax mentally and physically. The coaching staff even got a few days off and were able to use the extra week to get a jump on preparing for next week's opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Pittsburgh comes to town as the most formidable opponent the Cardinals have faced this season when you account for recent NFL success. The Steelers are 4-2 and winners of their last two games while the Cardinals are 1-4 and moving in the wrong direction after getting blown out in Minnesota in their last game.
If you are looking for answers coming out of the bye week to the horrible start to the Cardinals season, there are none to be found.
There was a players only meeting last week that Darnell Dockett described as one of the most emotional meetings he's every been in. He's confident they are going to "turn it around" and take things "10 times more serious".
"We had a good meeting and that's our next step is playing these next 11 games like it's our last," Dockett said of the season's remaining 11 games.
Larry Fitzgerald, however, didn't see the meeting as quite so important, "You always hear about play meetings. The key is going out there and playing well. You can talk all you want and say the things you want to say in the meeting but it comes down to execution. If that's what it takes to do a better job, so be it."
The Cardinals will continue to work on their own execution with preparation turning towards the Steelers later in the week. The team is off Tuesday and back on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.