Following the Arizona Cardinals’ 29-9 victory over the Chicago Bears last Sunday, head coach Jonathan Gannon made it a point to note the play of the special teams while revealing coordinator Jeff Rodgers received a game ball.
While passing out the accolades and mentioning several game-changing plays, Gannon said the night before it was communicated to the team the importance of be able to “star your role.” He added, “Whatever your role is, everyone’s the same. Everyone is the exact same no matter your role. Everyone has the same importance to the team.”
Later in the week when asked to further explain expound on starring in your role, Gannon said, “It takes everybody on the team to play well to have a chance to win the game. Everyone’s role is equally important to winning the game, so that’s kind of what it is. You have to star your role. Whatever you’re supposed to be doing while you’re in the game, whatever that is, you have to do a good job at it. Our guys take to that, and they know roles change throughout the week and throughout game to game. You guys have seen that happen. Who’s up, who’s down, who’s getting multiple snaps, who’s got not as many snaps, but you guys know how we roll.
“If you’ve got a jersey on game day, you have a role. Whether it be offense, defense, special teams; whatever that is. Some guys are playing two, three spots on offense and defense. Some guys are playing two or three spots in the kicking game. It’s huge. You have to put a lot into that throughout the week to be ready to go and do a good job for us.”
Seven-year veteran receiver Zach Pascal, who turns 30 next month, doesn’t play much on offense, but he’s one of the leaders on special teams.
Asked if he mentors the younger players who probably didn’t play special teams very much in college, Pascal said, “Absolutely. We all know people look down on special teams, but the more we can bring energy, the more we can have fun with it in our own way. Celebrations, whatever it is, big plays. That energy leaks down throughout the team. Some people start wanting to be on special teams because of the energy we have, the swag we have out there and it’s just having fun within your room and dominance.
“You try to teach the young guys that each position on offense, defense, special teams is important and when you’re out there just have fun with it. We make the biggest plays in the game. We can change the game. We’re all in on one…
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