Budda Baker, the sole all-star of the Arizona Cardinals, will be taking the field on Sunday in Las Vegas for the inaugural Pro Bowl Games.
At the same time, the Kansas City Chiefs are making their way to State Farm Stadium – where Baker and the Cardinals play their home games – to compete in Super Bowl LVII.Baker believes the Cardinals’ lack of preparation in the preseason, due to various injuries and Kyler Murray’s sickness, was the primary cause for their 44-21 thrashing in Week 1 by the Chiefs. “We had a lot of injuries in training camp, and Kyler was unwell – so we just weren’t ready to go for that match,” Baker divulged to NFL.com at the Pro Bowl Games’ practice.
Baker earned a fifth Pro Bowl selection with his standout performance in 15 games, recording 111 tackles, two interceptions and seven passes defended. Showing his toughness, he played through a high ankle sprain that was expected to keep him out of action but not a single game.
Unfortunately, a shoulder fracture in Week 16 caused him to miss the final two contests, but he’s been cleared to participate in the Pro Bowl and plans to do so. “I’m definitely gonna play in the Pro Bowl,” Baker declared. The lingering defeat, a 23-point loss, in the season opener against the Chiefs is still on Baker’s mind.
The defeat kicked off a snowball effect that resulted in a disappointing 4-13 season. Subsequently, Kliff Kingsbury was fired, Steve Keim and the club parted ways, J.J. Watt retired, and Murray had surgery on a torn ACL. Now, Baker awaits the Cardinals’ next steps as the search for a new head coach has gone into February.
Out of the 32 teams, only Arizona and the Indianapolis Colts remain without a head coach. Despite the team’s struggles, Baker is hopeful but realistic that the current defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and his staff will stay under the new regime. He stated that his job was to “just wait” and see what happened, expressing hope that the entire defense would not be taken away as new head coaches often bring in their own people.
Reflecting on the 2021 season, which ended with a disappointing blowout loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Round, Baker believed the Cardinals were heading in the right direction despite the 11-6 record. He contended, however, that it all began in the summer with a lack of training and focus. Baker reflected on the 2021 season, which ended with an “ugly” blowout loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Round.
Despite an 11-6 record, he felt the Cardinals were on the right track. Baker believes the team’s lack of preparation and focus in the summer of 2021 was the downfall. “I think we weren’t as prepared as we could have been,” Baker stated, noting the absence of starters in training camp and the lack of preseason games. “It showed when we got to Week 1.”
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