National Football League

Arians: 'The sky has not fallen yet'

Published Dec. 1, 2014 4:37 p.m. ET

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TEMPE, Ariz. -- Cardinals coach Bruce Arians delivered a simple message to his team in the wake of its second straight loss.

"You can't play in the National Football League without passion and energy and we brought none of the above to that game and it's the first time in a long time," Arizona said at his Monday press conference. "I think some guys fell into the trap that the Falcons weren't any good. That's a bad trap to fall into."

"The tape is so bad it speaks for itself."

Sunday's 29-18 loss in Atlanta was the low point of the season for the Cardinals. They played poorly on both sides of the ball; they converted just 1 of 7 third downs while the Falcons converted 7 of 16; and they turned the ball over three times to lose the turnover battle for a third straight week.

But Arians still believes the injury-decimated Cardinals will get their problems corrected because most of the current players are the same guys that built a 9-1 record. 

"The sky has not fallen yet," he said. "We're still No. 1 (in the NFC) and we're playing at home (this week)."

Arians said there was no need to turn up the volume to deliver that point.

"I'm just honest," he said. "When you stink you stink. You point out how you stunk and get it corrected.  

"I don't throw chairs and holler and do all that stuff. That's non-productive. That's not teaching and you have to teach in order to get things corrected."

Arians said safety Tyrann Mathieu was still with doctors on Monday morning, figuring out a course of action for his injured thumb.

"Best-case scenario, he'll have a cast and play," Arians said. "The worst-case scenario is a pin and (missing) three weeks. I think they're still looking at X-rays and making sure they put it back together right."

Arians clarified right guard Paul Fanaika has a low-ankle sprain, not a high-ankle sprain as previously reported.

"He could play this week and he could miss some time," Arians said. "You never know with these things."

If Fanaika can't go, erstwhile left guard Ted Larsen would play in his spot and Jonathan Cooper would play left guard.

Left tackle Jared Veldheer also suffered an ankle sprain on Sunday but did not leave the game. The hope is he will not miss any time, but Bradley Sowell would take his place if needed.

Running back Andre Ellington likely will miss Wednesday's practice with the painful hip pointer he suffered Sunday, but receiver Larry Fitzgerald is expected to practice on a limited basis.

If Ellington can't play Sunday against the Chiefs, Marion Grice would be the No. 1 back with Stepfan Taylor and Robert Hughes backing him up. The Cardinals also will evaluate how much recently signed Michael Bush can help. 

Linebacker Matt Shaughnessy is eligible to play Sunday after missing the past eight weeks on the injured-reserve-eligible-to-return list with a knee injury.

Arians said the Cardinals will work him back in slowly, not starting him immediately. Shaughnessy is an excellent run defender and edge-setter. 

With Shaughnessy back, the Cardinals released linebacker Desmond Bishop.

Cornerback Patrick Peterson boasted to Atlanta media last week that he had won most of the matchups against Falcons receiver Julio Jones in college when Peterson played at LSU and Jones played at Alabama. Peterson didn't win much of anything on Sunday.

Jones caught 10 passes for a career-best 189 yards.

Peterson insists he wasn't calling out Jones, labeling that notion "totally baloney," but many took it that way. Arians doesn't mind when players talk smack, but he has a simple rule when they do. 

"When you say it, you'd better be ready for their best shot," Arians said. "He obviously didn't have the game he expected to have."

Peterson agreed with that assessment.

"He made the players that were in front of him," Peterson said. "As a competitor, now I've got to go back in the lab and make sure that doesn't happen again. Technically, that was not my best game."

Cooper played 40 snaps on Sunday, including a pair of series before Fanaika was injured.

GM Steve Keim called Cooper's play "a bright spot."

"He knocked some rust off," Keim said. "He finally looks like the guy we drafted in terms of quickness and movement. He looked, compared to the other four offensive linemen we had out there, like he was playing at a different speed. He looked very explosive."

Here's how Arians assessed Cooper's play.

"Coop did OK for his first outing. He went caveman a few times, lost all his technique and just tried to fight, but it's understandable.

"He left some guys hanging in the middle of the pocket once or twice but he learned from that. I thought the game slowed down for him the more he played. He showed some twitch and some power. It wasn't his best performance but there were some good things to take out of it."

When asked if Cooper had done enough to earn a start over Fanaika or Larsen, even if they're both healthy, Arians shook his head.

"Not yet," he said. "Not in those 40 plays."

The Cardinals elevated guard/center Anthony Steen from the practice squad to the active roster and released linebacker Desmond Bishop.

Steen, an undrafted rookie free agent out of Alabama, would provide depth and insurance on the offensive line if Fanaika is unable to play. Tackle Kelvin Palmer was re-signed to fill Steen's place on the practice squad.

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