Bruce Arians not happy with play of wide receivers

After a “lethargic” practice on Monday, coach Bruce Arians issued a warning to his wide receiver corps

It’s no secret, Bruce Arians doesn’t have a problem with honesty. If your “football stinks,” he’s going to let you know. And after a terrible showing in practice by his wideouts, coach was on record by saying, “they’ve been warned.”

“It’s not the effort,” the coach said. “It’s the assignments, catching the ball, the main things receivers have to do. They’re not doing (it).”

Some take offense to Arians’ method in handling his players. But over the years, the bluntness seems to only motivate his team. Just ask Jaron Brown, who said the message after practice was “loud and clear.”

A far cry message from this spring when the coach was singing their praises. “I must have been seeing things back in spring when I saw we had 12 guys that can play in the NFL. I think we might have two. We’ll look around and see who’s available.”

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Motivating speech, or a stark reminder that this is indeed a business? For now, I’ll stick with the former. The Arizona Cardinals have great depth at WR, and I don’t see them bringing anyone in at this point during camp. But with Steve Keim, you never know.

Further frustrated with the unavailability of burner John Brown, Arians had some choice words for him, too. “You’re only good when you’re available.” Nursing a quad injury, Brown has remained limited in camp. With hopes of being the receiver he was in 2015, this offense will need him to be healthy. Take away the “Smoke,” and this offense will have no fire. Carson Palmer will need all his weapons if the Cardinals are looking to first win their respective division.

Like it or not, Bruce Arians will always find ways to keep his players motivated and accountable. Let’s just hope the receivers did indeed get the message.