Notable comments from the Arizona Cardinals in the lead up to the Week 12 match vs. the Los Angeles Chargers.
On Chargers Overall….
"This is a really good football team coming off a tough loss at home last week. They desperately want to get back on track. (They're) fighting for home field in the AFC, and we know what we have in front of us." – WR Larry Fitzgerald
On Philip Rivers...
"As far as talking trash, talking smack, Philip is definitely at top of the list for sure, hands down….He's a 15 year vet. There are not many defenses that he never saw. Not many looks that he hasn't seen yet. He's also very, very good at manipulating the play clock. Giving those dummy calls. Trying to make you believe that he's checking it or doing something else, when he's just trying to get you out of your original call. He's very good at getting his guys into the right position. Makes all the tight throws. He's another one who has that fiery edge. He demands so much out of his teammates that it flows through the team." – Cornerback Patrick Peterson
"That's my guy, man! That's my guy. I love Phil. We got to know each other really well at those award banquets every other single weekend (during the draft process) and all these other different places. He and Eli (Manning) are some of my closest friends. I still talk to those guys seven or eight times a year, and keep up with the families. Things like that. We're really close." – WR Larry Fitzgerald
"When you look at Philip Rivers just running that offense, I'm very fortunate to (have been) around him for three years, so I know the kind of competitor he is. Most importantly, the high caliber player. Everything runs through him. He's playing at a high level, doing some great things." – Head Coach Steve Wilks
"(Guys like Rivers) have seen a lot of football and seen a lot of different coverage concepts. A lot of pressure packages and pressure looks. So, it's tough to try to trick and fool those guys. So we've got to do a great job of trying to make some things look a little bit different, disguise some looks (and) try to get him to hold the ball a little bit. Try to make him just pause for a second (and) a little bit of indecision. Playing a Hall of Fame type quarterback like that, it's a tough challenge. You've got to make it hard, and it starts with some of the things we're going to do on the back end." – Defensive Coordinator Al Holcomb
On Derwin James….
_"That's my guy. He's a very, very good football player. He's a linebacker and a corner in one player. He'll knock people's heads off, and he's got amazing ball skills. He's a really good dude. He's smart, plays fast and physical, and (I'm) looking forward to playing against him." – QB Josh Rosen
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On Ken Whisenhunt….
"With me being here my first two seasons with Coach Whisenhunt, I kind of understand his offensive philosophy. With me being around Coach Whisenhunt, I kind of understand how he wants to get into certain flows of game. It's going to be big for us." – Cornerback Patrick Peterson
On Chargers' defense….
"I think they're very basic because they're really good at what they do. They've got really good pass rushers that can get to the quarterback, so they don't really need to give them all a bunch of help with blitzes and stuff. I think their linebackers and DBs and safeties are very good at what they do. They know their assignments and they're pretty basic, but sometimes, the best defenses in the history of football have been pretty basic. The Seahawks basically ran one coverage the entire Super Bowl season. I think that's sort of a testament to the guys (the Chargers) have on defense." – QB Josh Rosen
"(Joey) Bosa's back. Melvin (Ingram) is playing well and we've got to do a great job of really trying to neutralize and try to control their pass rush. Their front seven is phenomenal and as I told my media just a few minutes ago, I think Derwin James, he's not even playing like a rookie. You watch him on tape he's phenomenal in things that he's doing." – Head Coach Steve Wilks
On Melvin Gordon….
"You guys have a phenomenal run game when you look at Gordon back there and the things that he's able to do… Very similar (to Todd Gurley). I say similar because they both are what I consider very potent receivers out of the backfield. You can move them around a bit. They're phenomenal out in space, making you miss, and have the distance to take it all the way for the running game, so I think they are similar." – Head Coach Steve Wilks
"We've got to do a great job of tackling. A powerful runner. On first contact, seldom goes down, so we need to swarm in and get a lot of hats to the ball….We've got to do a great job of rallying to the ball, and again, the first guy making contact (needs to stand him up). We need to get all hats to the ball really to contain this guy." – Defensive Coordinator Al Holcomb
