Isaiah Simmons Continuing Growth, Development in Cardinals Defense
TEMPE -- Arizona Cardinals DC Vance Joseph was tasked with finding the sole owner of the defensive green dot.
There were a number of players who had the radio communication in their helmets throughout training camp, as plenty of players auditioned to be the man responsible in relaying the calls from Joseph to the other ten players on the field.
Isaiah Simmons, Arizona's jack of all trades, was initially tasked with those duties in Week 1's matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Chaos ensued. Patrick Mahomes and company marched down the field at will, and Travis Kelce had quite the outing with Simmons primarily responsible.
The Cardinals responded by severely dropping his time on the field; Simmons went from 61 defensive snaps to just 15 and 16 the following two weeks, respectively.
Talk filled articles and airwaves on Simmons' play and how the Cardinals were mishandling the hybrid defensive player.
Yet he's managed to bounce back in a big way, and Joseph praised him when speaking to reporters this week:
"Isaiah is playing really well, guys. He really is man. I mean, the last six weeks of football has been impressive to watch this guy play. He's playing a lot of slot corner for us and he's doing a good job at it. I mean, he's a tall, obviously rare athlete. His coverage stuff, his football IQ is high. He's not making mistakes. He's tackling hard," Joseph said on Thursday.
"So, I've been impressed with him the last six weeks and hopefully it gets better and better. But you can watch him in practice. I mean, he is feeling good about what he's doing and he wants more ... To watch him after the first week not play as good, but to bounce back and to practice and study and put the time in as a pro, and to watch him play good, it's been impressive."
Joseph admitted the Cardinals perhaps put too much on his plate at the beginning of the year.
"It wasn't about him, it was more about a package you know? I thought Week 1, it was too much for him, and [reducing his snaps] that kind of settled him down and kind of [allowed him to] take some things back and calm him down a little bit and give it back to him slowly," Joseph said.
"It's worked for us and he's playing cleaner. He's playing better and it's good for everyone involved. But it wasn't a punishment. It was more of let's settle him down and give him the lesson and allow him to grow at his own pace."
The turnaround was almost instant, as Simmons forced a game-winning fumble in overtime for the team's win against Las Vegas while also returning an interception for a touchdown last Thursday night.
Simmons, who just turned 24-years-old in July, was thrown into the fire his rookie season before last year saw improved play. There were plenty of expectations placed on his shoulders heading into 2022, and now it appears as if the Clemson product is coming into his own.
"I think for young players, especially first-round picks, that's the pressure. That's part of the gig, right? I mean, they want you to come in and play early, and some kids aren't ready to do that. I thought with Zaven [Collins] last year, he wasn't quite ready to do it and he wasn't playing bad early, he got hurt and missed some time and that hurt his growth a little bit," Joseph said.
"With Isaiah, he played early as a rookie and kind of spot played and he grew into the role of playing some Sam [linebacker] and playing some Nickel [corner] for us. So it wasn't bad for him really as a rookie, and he got better as the year went along. So every player is different, but the pressure of a first-round pick is always there, and that's just part of the deal and the league, the team expects guys to come in and play well early, and that's not always fact for all players."
Simmons has managed to rebound in a major way after a disappointing Week 1, and his continued growth and development will be key in ensuring Arizona maintains their form on the defensive side of the ball.
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