Carson Palmer Q&A: Cardinals QB on Mathieu, Arians and a New Season in Arizona

STATELINE, Nev. — Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer is coming off an ugly performance in the NFC Championship Game in January. It was a rough end to what had been the best season of the 36-year-old Palmer’s career.

As he spent a late July weekend playing in the American Century Championship golf tournament, Palmer took some time to talk about the upcoming season with Bleacher Report. Specifically, he discussed how he maintains focus after 13 years in the NFL and with the end of his career drawing near.

    

Bleacher Report: John Elway, who had to wait until the end of his career to win a title, was able to keep coming back from a lot of frustration early in his career. He talked about being able to keep his focus all the way to the end. Do you talk to people like that about how to stay focused as you—I hate to put it this way—get closer to the end of your career?

Carson Palmer: Hey, that’s the reality of it. I have played golf with Elway and been around Elway, but he hasn’t said anything about that. But I think that’s one thing you learn as a quarterback: focus. The better you are at focusing and the more you can continue to stay focused for a four-hour stage and really be zeroed in on what is happening, the better you play, the longer you play.

You just don’t have a feel for that when you’re young; you don’t really understand how important every play is. The longer you play, the more you realize that you can’t lose focus for one play or two plays or an entire drive. Those things are the difference between wins and losses. You have to figure out how to refocus after a bad play or how to stay focused when you’re up in a game. Those are things you learn from experience in playing this position. I’ve learned a ton of ways and have different triggers for how to regain my focus if I’ve lost it.

    

B/R: Is there one thing you can share about one of those triggers?

CP: My brother had a good point. You remember that “Easy” button commercial? It’s a Staples commercial, and you hit it and all of a sudden whatever you need appears. It’s such a big part of the game that people don’t talk about, and now people are starting to get into mental coaches and stuff. But I just look at the [play] clock, pretend there is an “Easy” button on top of it and push it. If I ever feel like, “Hey, we’re up by 21 points,” and I start looking for my kids in the stands, if all of a sudden we get the ball back and I have to refocus, I look for that play clock and hit that button. I just look at the top of the play clock and just envision the “Easy” button. I mentally hit that, and I’m back in the zone.

    

B/R: So, it sounds a little like the mental focusing device Kevin Costner dramatized in For Love of the Game?

CP: I don’t really remember that. It’s probably similar to that. But to me, it’s more like I’m talking to my receivers about this, I’m talking to my coaches about that, I’m giving [head coach] Bruce [Arians] some things I like. You have all these thoughts in your head, and you can’t be thinking about that when you walk on the field. I have all these things going on, you’re up by a bunch of points, and it’s just a way to like [Palmer breathes as if to relax and focus].

    

B/R: Get focused on the situation.

CP: Yeah, I’ve got 1st-and-10. Let’s get a completion. If this isn’t there, I’ve got my back in the flat. It just re-centers your focus.

    

B/R: When did you and your brother talk about that and get it figured out?

CP: Two years ago, my brother and I talked to a bunch of guys. Again, a lot of people are using these mental coaches, and we got this guy involved. My brother had interviewed a bunch of them, and I had talked to a handful of guys. But he had come up with this concept with another mental coach. Like everything, you dilute it and come up with something that works for you because there are all these things you can do—you find two or three that you like.

I met with a couple of guys who had come up with things like that. Some of it didn’t really work. It didn’t hit my brain the right way; it didn’t work for me. But I really like the “Easy” button mentality to re-center yourself. You’re talking about Kevin Costner being in the zone, and that’s not really it—not that you’re in the zone and you’re untouchable. It’s more about focusing your mind and getting it to what you need it to be on. “I should go on two on this next play. It’s 1st-and-10, we’ve got a run and I’m going to get to this if we get this look.” As opposed to thinking about 20 different things, it’s just this one play.

    

B/R: Was it easy for you to pick up?

CP: No, it was something I had to start working on in training camp. Especially in training camp is a good time to use it. It’s so easy to be like, “Oh, we have a three-hour practice, and I have 40 reps in team, and I have 26 reps in seven-on-seven, and I have 12 in…” As opposed to thinking about it like that, I force myself to think about every play. Here’s the “Easy” button. OK, I know it’s the first play of seven-on-seven. I know the depth of the linebackers; they are going to get a lot of depth, so I should probably take my checkdown. It’s training yourself to focus.

    

B/R: Instead of saying, “This is the 8,000th practice of my career.”

CP: Exactly. Instead of, “Oh, it’s Week 3 of training camp. I want to go home and sleep in my own …

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