RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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It’s not uncommon for Mike LaFleur to call an immediate halt during practice or drills in training camp and go on an animated mini-rant about something he didn’t like or see.
When those moments occur, the first-year Arizona Cardinals coach said, he’s lucky to have former NFL quarterback Matt Schaub around to reset the situation.
“When I start talking a million miles an hour, he brings it back to the foundational level, and he’s right by doing that,” LaFleur said of the team’s new quarterbacks coach. “It’s about the cadence and how you operate, where your eyes need to go, the rhythm, timing and accuracy.
“All those things are so awesome for our quarterbacks to hear because it’s just the same every day. He’s steady Eddie. He’s never going to be too high; he’s never going to be too low. He’s done it at this level, so there’s obviously going to be respect right there, and all those quarterbacks know him. They watched him (play).”
Schaub spent 17 seasons in the NFL from 2004-20, the same years as former Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who was just enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Schaub spent the 2023 season as a radio analyst for one of his former teams, the Atlanta Falcons, and the past two years doing the same for his alma mater, Virginia.
But Schaub, 45, said he felt he had been missing something.
“I’m a football guy; there’s something in it that just kept drawing me back,” Schaub said. “When I finished up, I wanted to step away and be a husband and father. My family gave up so much time for the game and for me when I was playing that I wanted to go try something new. I wanted to go try something different.
“This opportunity came open with coach LaFleur. Knowing him from years gone by and his brother (Matt) and just that tree of coaching, it was something I couldn’t pass up. This opportunity was something that kept calling me back. My wife was super supportive of this decision, and my family, so I couldn’t be more thankful to them.”
The question now is, will the Cardinals be thankful for Schaub? Will the two-time Pro Bowl selection and NFL passing yards leader from 2009 be able to get the very best out of veteran starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett, keep veteran backup Gardner Minshew II ready at a moment’s notice and help further develop and prepare rookie Carson Beck?
LaFleur might call the offensive plays and get plenty of input and insight from offensive coordinator Nathanial Hackett, but nobody spends more time with Arizona’s quarterbacks than Schaub. His success with each of them could go a long way in determining how the Cardinals respond to playing the most difficult schedule in the league this year while competing in the NFL’s toughest division, the NFC West.
The fact he is only six seasons removed from his playing career might be an advantage.
“I would like to think it helps,” Schaub said. “I know what they’re going through both mentally with the playbook, with the plan, with adjustments, so I can relate to the position they’re in. And I can relate to how things happen on the field, because it’s easy when you have a clocker in your hand, and you’re sitting in an air-conditioned room to coach guys on what should happen.
“But what’s realistic? Where are your eyes? Where are the fundamentals and subtle nuances that if you hadn’t played the position sometimes you might miss? That’s where I think my experience might be a benefit. Whether it is or not, that’s a question for them.”
Following his productive pro debut on Thursday, Aug. 6 in the Hall of Fame Game against the Carolina Panthers when he completed 15 of 19 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers, Beck singled out Schaub for keeping him focused and calm.
“I was sitting on the sideline with coach Schaub, and we’re going over the different looks and stuff, and he’s giving you little pointers, little tidbits, and it allows you to just process so much faster,” Beck said.
LaFleur said Schaub “doesn’t skip steps” and that’s imperative as the quarterbacks coach continues to bring Brissett back up to full speed after the QB’s contract dispute kept him off the practice field until a few days after camp began.
Brissett’s experience and leadership skills have made the connection easier, according to Schaub.
“I think a lot of it is the guys who have been in the huddle who have been here last year, they know him, they know his style, they relate to him,” Schaub said. “There’s that bond that you went through a lot of stuff together.
“He’s more vocal of a leader than at least I anticipated just knowing him throughout his career from afar and watching him. He takes ownership in his responsibility, but also in putting the guys in the huddle in the right position to make plays, so that’s been fun to watch.”
Minshew offers more of the same, Schaub said, adding of Beck, the third-round pick from Miami, Florida, “The lights aren’t too bright for him; he really stays even keel and just operates how you want.”
That’s what Matt Schaub was known for during his NFL playing career, and it’s a big reason why LaFleur brought him to Arizona.
“You’re talking about a guy that’s done it at a high level for a long time,” LaFleur said. “What a handful of years he had when he was arguably one of the better passers in this league. He’s seen a lot of different things. This system has evolved and has changed a little bit just like the defense and the landscape has changed. But he has the foundational aspects.”
Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic . Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. on Roc and Manuch with Jimmy B on ESPN 620 (KTAR-AM) and every Thursday on the Doug Franz Unplugged podcast via Apple or Spotify.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals entrusting their QBs to Matt Schaub
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