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For all the hard work the team put in, for all the additions that Steve Keim made, for all the hours and sacrifices every member of the Cardinals put in, it wasn't enough.
The Cardinals season ends in disappointing fashion in the NFCCG, courtesy of a 49-15 meltdown that included sour plays by all three facets of the Cardinals.
"Not in a million years did I see this coming," a dumbstruck Arians tells Palmer as the clock winds down.
Watching the game live, you really felt like Palmer and the offense were the main culprits- whether it was the pressure of the games, the dislocated finger, or something else, in January, i really thought Palmer hurt us. Seeing the game again, with all these angles, and you see it is more a full team breakdown.
Big plays allowed. Punts fumbled. Balls dropped. Tackles missed. It was an embarrassing 60 minutes for nearly every player wearing red. Yet, at the end, Arians asked Palmer, you want to just kneel it?
And a clearly dejected, disgusted Palmer shakes he head and says one simple word- "No."
And the offense goes down, but we go down fighting.
Seeing Larry after the loss was heartbreaking. He hasn't been close often, and he truly deserves a ring.
After landing back in Phoenix in the dead of night, the Cardinals have one last meeting, where Arians makes it clear- we keep moving forward. Then, the positional meetings.
Stump tells CJ2K how, we want him back. More surprising, were his praise to David Johnson: "I thought you were better than Gurley. The Hall of Fame, you should have a bust when your ass is done playing. Hopefully you can stay healthy. I've coached some good backs, there ain't no question you're a Hall of Fame guy. None whatsoever."
And then, its trash bag time. It's tough seeing players clean out their lockers and knowing they won't be back- Rashad, Lyle, Redding, among others. The team will have the same goal next season, but with some different faces. As Gungus has pointed out (Hire Him), the salary cap points to 2016 being the most viable year for one last hurrah at All or Nothing.
And then, one last shot of Arians office, as he salutes Bear Bryant, and turns out the light...
But to avoid leaving you with a sour taste, I end this review with my favorite part of the episode, Tyrann's pregame speech. Censored per bossman. Haha.
"This is the moment, dawg. Don't y'all deserve to be champions, bro? And I try my best not to come around because this sh-- hurts so much. That's why I don't come around. It hurts so f-----' much. But I know you all got me, dawg. But it ain't about T. And that's all I read on the headlines. Do it for him! Ty! It ain't about me! Because I ain't do it for me. I did this sh-- for y'all. So you all do it for each other, man. Cause at the end of the day, it's all we got. That's how people are going to remember us. We ain't no f----- presidents and sh--. This is how people are going to remember us dawg, so why not go hard for this sh--? Ya'll deserve to be in the NFC championship, dawg. Cam Newton? Ya'll deserve to be on the field with Cam Newton, bro. We got to make this sh-- hard for him. Cuz this sh-- has to mean so much to us...cuz we are so close bro."
You were missed Ty.