This week, Chiefs Wire's Ed Easton Jr. spoke with Super Bowl-winning coach and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Senior football consultant Bruce Arians.
In his interview with Easton Jr., Arians discussed his work with Novartis on its "Relax, it's a Blood Test
" prostate cancer screening campaign. He reflected on the origins of the Chop at Arrowhead Stadium and revealed the key quality every top quarterback possesses."Yeah, I think this is one of the things that are very, very personal for coaches and players. So many of them have had friends or family touched by cancer, and early detection is the key to all of them," said Arians. "But especially prostate cancer: one in eight men is going to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, especially African American men.
It's a little bit higher for them, so I urge all of them to go to RelaxItsABloodTest.com, get their scorecard started, and stay focused with that doctor every year."
During Arians's coaching career, he's helped develop and work with several high-profile quarterbacks, including Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck, Carson Palmer, and Tom Brady. He explained the important quality each quarterback possessed.
"Yeah, I always call it grit. It's not arm talent. For me, it's not velocity; it's accuracy. But you have to process information so fast, and I think that's what separates you," said Arians. "A lot of guys with big arms and great athletes can't process information fast enough. You only have two seconds to diagnose: Am I hot? Where's this ball going? What's the coverage? What's the blitz protection? So many things have to go through their mind in those 2.5 seconds to get rid of that ball and know where it's going. That's why it's the hardest position to play."
Arians began his NFL journey with the Chiefs and recalled coaching special players during his tenure while a famous stadium chant took shape.
"Derrick Thomas was a huge addition. Derrick started the 'Chop'. The Braves were the band that came, and they did the Chop, and we didn't have many season ticket sales in the first year or two," said Arians. "We got Derrick, and that Chop started, and then Carl Peterson started bringing that band back every week, and now the job is the real job, but yeah, those were great days. What great players: Todd McNair, Derrick Thomas, Neil Smith, and Steve DeBerg. It was a great bunch of guys."
Find out if a PSA blood test is right for you at RelaxItsABloodTest.com, and follow along on social (@RelaxItsABloodTest). To learn more about Novartis, the NFL partnership, and community health impact, please visit:novartis.com/NFL.
This article originally appeared on Chiefs Wire: Bruce Arians reflects on the origins of the Chop at Arrowhead Stadium
