It was a Victory Monday for the Arizona Cardinals at their team facility on Oct. 19, and head coach Mike LaFleur got to have a little fun talking about kicker Chad Ryland, who hit six field goals, including the 43-yard game-winner at Los Angeles as time ran out on Oct. 18.
LaFleur was asked what he saw in the mechanism of the kicking game on field goals that led to Ryland's six makes in the win over the Rams.
"Saw the same thing you saw, six kicks go right up the middle. I don't know how to coach a kicker, I never will," LaFleur said, drawing laughs from reporters. "The operation looked smooth, and there's a lot that has to go into it. It's the dirtiest one-and-a-half seconds, or whatever our (offensive) line calls it. It is a thankless job having
to block for those.
"Obviously the snap's got to be right, the hold's got to be right, the kicker's got to have the right mindset, and he knocked them in (Sunday)."
The head coach's job, LaFleur said, is to trust the people who know what they're doing in field goal situations, along with general manager Monti Ossenfort, whom he brings in to be the kicker.
"Obviously you have to have a baseline understanding of what's going on," LaFleur said. "Can the guy kick, or can't he?"
Critiquing Collier's fumble return
Three-hundred-pound defensive lineman L.J. Collier had a chance to return a fumbled Rams two-point conversion attempt for two points for the Cardinals in the second quarter against the Rams. He scooped up the loose ball at the Cardinals' 10-yard line and raced upfield with a convoy of teammates trying to keep the Rams from tackling him.
Collier got to the Los Angeles 35, 55 yards in all, before being upended. On Monday, LaFleur was asked if there were any coaching points on how Collier's return ended without him pitching the ball to a faster teammate.
LJ Collier wanted to take the two-point conversion return all the way 😅
— NFL (@NFL) October 18, 2026
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"Is that the right thing to do in that two-point conversion?" LaFleur said when asked about Collier pitching the ball. "Absolutely. I don't know if he still believes that.
"If that was a non-two-point conversion, then you've seen people do it, but I've also seen it go haywire when you're trying to, a D-lineman trying to give the ball to a (defensive back) or whatnot. I've seen it work, I've seen it not work. It's basically a no-risk. Give it to the fast guy. L.J. was rolling, though."
Rolling with Rallis
LaFleur was asked about the job status of defensive coordinator Nick Rallis, which had become an issue after the Cardinals defense gave up 31 or more points in a four-game losing streak that ended Sunday, and how he thought Rallis was able to dial up a quality defensive performance for the Cardinals against the Rams.
"I trust the human, I trust the worker," LaFleur said of Rallis. "I know what the players think of him. Obviously we know this is a results-based business. But I just knew our defense had more than what we've been putting out there. We jas had to unlock it somehow, some way. And again, this was just one week, but it was a step in the right direction."
LaFleur said he has a lot of faith in Rallis and the defensive staff.
"I think they're coaching their butt off," he said.
Baker's sack success
Cardinals defensive back Budda Baker added a sack on Sunday to his career-high total of 3 ½ this season. He joked that Rallis should call his number to rush the quarterback more often.
Budda Baker comes up with the sack on Matthew Stafford#RiseUpRedSea #AZvsLAR pic.twitter.com/5LhjiJBXfn
— False Finish (@FalseFinishHQ) October 18, 2026
"Tell Nick to call me on some pressures, you know?" Baker said. "It's definitely nice to get in the backfield a little bit. But also kudos to our defensive players, everybody doing their job, you know, certain things that guys have to sacrifice to make other players get the play. We're just taking it one play at a time and trying to get the ball back to the offense."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cardinals notebook. DL returning fumble, faith in defensive coordinator
