D.J. Humphries learned from 2020 that ‘every week has got to be the Super Bowl’
Left tackle D.J. Humphries has been with the Arizona Cardinals since 2015 and technically was part of the team when they last made the playoffs. However, he did not dress for any game that season, so he hasn’t actually been in the playoffs.
The Cardinals were tracking for a postseason berth last season. They were 6-3 and were even in first place in the NFC West briefly. However, they finished 2-5 down the stretch and missed the playoffs by a game.
That was disappointing. Humphries learned a valuable lesson from last season, suggesting that the team as a whole did not maintain the same intensity or focus to finish the year.
“I think I learned that everything matters,” he said recently on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “It doesn’t matter if you’ve been doing it for eight weeks a certain way, you need to continue to do that way for another eight weeks.”
He spoke of complacency and it sounds like the Cardinals got complacent after their 6-3 start, almost as if the “Hail Murray” play and beating the Buffalo Bills changed how they prepared.
They believed in themselves a little too much.
“Complacency is a real thing and it kills,” Humphries said. “When you feel like your (expletive) doesn’t stink, it’s eventually going to start stinking and it’s going to show. And that is something I learned quickly.
“Every week, it has to be the same preparation. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing Monday night football this week or Thursday night football. It doesn’t matter, Every week has to be the same preparation.”
They faced backup quarterbacks in their final two games of the year and didn’t beat them. They should have made it to the playoffs.
Now, they did deal with an injury to Kyler Murray and the offense struggled more after he was running less.
However, it was clear they approached things differently after the Buffalo game.
“When you get unto the mind frame of. ‘We’re good, so we beat this team,’ it’s going to get you every time.
“Every week has got to be the Super Bowl.”
Humphries noted the focus the entire team had in offseason workouts. Quarterback Kyler Murray is tired of not making the playoffs.
They added veteran leaders to the roster.
With the failures of last year and the additions of the offseason, they could be in position to do something special.
But, like Humphries said, every week has to matter.
If they approach the year like that and can stay healthy, this could be a fun season for fans to see.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
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