Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt isn’t a yeller or a screamer. Which means when he yells and screams, there’s generally a reason.
At 4-4 (after losing four in a row), the Cards in a precarious spot, with the Packers this week then a bye. They could change the narrative of the second half with a win, or they could drag a five-game losing streak around with them for an extra week.
Defensive leader Darnell Docket said Whisenhunt called some players out by name after the loss to the 49ers Monday.
“He called out some guys in the training room that we need on the field,” Dockett said, via Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic. “Hopefully the message got to some guys. We’ve got one more game before this bye week. We’ve got to do whatever we have to do to win this game, by all means necessary.
“We’re going to need some guys to suck it up to win this game and then they’ve got a whole week off. Hopefully that message rings a bell to a lot of players.”
Whisenhunt, naturally, stepped away from the suggestion he was trying to rush players back from injury, as only a few key players missed the 49ers game who are close to coming back. Instead, he’s leaning on the healthy.
“We’ll get on these guys more,” he said. “One of the things is we’ll have the players get on the other players. Peer pressure plays a part in that. You’ve got to get on your leaders to do that.”
Either way, Whisenhunt knows his season is at a pivotal points, and they’re getting close to convincing everyone a 4-0 start was just a mirage.