Cardinals Safety Isaiah Simmons Knows He Needs to Play Better

The biggest gripe Cardinals fans had with Simmons - who had his fifth-year option declined ahead of this season - was his effort when pulling up to the pylon and seemingly making a business decision rather than bringing down Chiefs backup quarterback Shane Buechele. 

After the game, Simmons acknowledged it wasn't his best performance:

“I feel like I obviously need to play better. I feel that each and every game. Explosives definitely are something that we need to tone down because, explosives are what leads to you losing the game. So definitely cutting the explosives down just everywhere around. And I also feel like I can play better," he said. 

Simmons wasn't the lone Cardinals defensive player to not have a stellar outing. Arizona didn't register a quarterback hit and allowed each Chiefs quarterback to score on a night where Kansas City amassed over 500 yards. 

He says the fixes on Arizona's defense will be easy.

“Personally I think it’s just some small things that we need to clean up, as like a holistic viewpoint. So, it’s encouraging because I know with who we’ve got in here, it’s going to be easy fixes for us," Simmons said. 

"Just some small, little things within the game that we need to correct. Obviously small things can lead to bigger things, so really just nipping those things in the bud from here on out. Still in camp, which is a good thing, so still got building to do and tasks we need to accomplish.”

Simmons is one of a handful of players to transition to different positions in 2023, as Zaven Collins has also moved away from inside linebacker to play on the edge while Jalen Thompson is now handling slot duties when the Cardinals aren't in their base 3-4 defense. 

New positions. New systems. New coaching staff. Simmons believes time will eventually help the Cardinals become a formidable squad.

“I think it’s really critical just understanding the whole system is new, new coaches, just a whole new regime. People are playing in different spots defensive-wise, but we’re still learning the ins and outs of different positions and small little techniques and small little things that go within positions," he said. 

"If you think that playing a position is just learning what you’ve got to do in the playbook, you’re wrong. So just a couple of small things that we’ve got to jump on going forward.”

The Cardinals will have one more preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings before regular season prep gets underway. 

Though we're still over two weeks removed from Arizona traveling to take on the Washington Commanders in Week 1, it's clear both the Cardinals and Simmons know more is needed from the Clemson product.