PHX Reporter

As the Cardinals wrapped up their final practice Friday before heading to Buffalo for Sunday's regular season opener against the Bills, passing game coordinator Drew Terrell reflected on the team's identity.

"We've got to out hit people and out-think people, that's our mantra for the team," Terrell said. "Guys embrace that and there's definitely a chippiness, an eagerness, a grittiness with the way that the guys practice and the way they bounce around."

Year Two under coach Jonathan Gannon is about to begin. The Cardinals added players such as wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting, and strengthened their defensive line. They also extended key players like center Hjalte Froholdt and linebacker Zaven Collins in an effort to build toward the future.

The goal is to contend for the postseason for the first time since 2021, but that's not where the focus is heading into Sunday.

"I don't want to think too product-related and want to think more process-related -- not result," wide receiver Michael Wilson said. "Obviously we want to win the week and obviously win the game. Right now, the expectation is just to win each day, prepare the best we can to put ourselves in the best position possible to win game.

"Coming from JG, coming from Kyler Murray, we expect to win every single time we're on the field. Whether that's a one-on-one with (tackle) Paris (Johnson Jr.), a ball thrown my way, every time I have an opportunity to make a play, I want to win. That exudes to the whole team any time we touch a field, we expect to win."

Murray's eight games of action last year, along with offseason workouts on- and off-campus, provided a glimpse of what the Cardinals' offense can look like with him at the helm.

But Murray dismissed suggestions that 2024 is pivotal for himself or the team.

"I don't really like (it) when people say (expletive) like that because -- excuse my language -- it doesn't make sense," Murray said. "As athletes every season's pivotal. Every season we go out there and have to try to prove ourselves right. It's not, 'Oh, we're going to take this season off.' Nah, I don't look at it that way."

That doesn't mean emotions aren't ramping up. Defensive coordinator Nick Rallis found his adrenaline spiking while planning for QB Josh Allen and the Bills.

"It's apropos that energy has been felt throughout the offseason," Gannon remarked.

"It (feels) just like we started camp yesterday and we're sitting here today, but you've got to maximize every day, and every second counts," he continued. "It's a fun week; you haven't played in a while so you always got some emotion. You get a little bit of nervousness; you might have some anxiety. Anxiety has a negative connotation but I don't think it's negative."

There are still 16 games after Buffalo—a long season awaits.

"It's a little bit of a quiet before-the-storm feeling," Terrell said. "But there's this pit and fire in your stomach to get ready and go compete that you can't replicate."

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