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The Cardinals were treated like stars at the premiere of the docu-series featuring the team in the 2015 season.
LOS ANGELES – The carpet rolled out for the Cardinals here on Thursday was green, not red, which was probably appropriate for a football team coming off a season that fell short of a Hollywood ending.
From a football standpoint, the Cardinals say they have moved on from their loss to the Panthers in the NFC title game. That doesn’t mean they want to forget the entire 2015 season, which is good because NFL Films and Amazon won’t let them.
Those two entities combined to produce a “All or Nothing,” a documentary series that chronicles the team’s entire season.
The seventh of eight one-hour episodes was shown at the series premiere on Thursday night. Afterward, a handful of Cardinals players posed for photos and conducted interviews on a carpet meant to resemble a football field.
“Standing, smiling, it’s just odd and uncomfortable,” quarterback Carson Palmer said of the “green” carpet treatment.
The contingent of Cardinals players, management and coaches traveled here in two private planes and were treated like stars, because, well, some of them might be after the series is released in its entirety on July 1. There was even an after-party at a trendy bar/restaurant.
If they were uncomfortable Thursday night, none of the players looked it. Running back David Johnson is a quiet sort, but he worked the carpet like he grew up doing it back home in Clinton, Iowa.
Johnson smiled the entire time and looked sharp in a dark blue tuxedo jacket, but a certain flaw – a T-shirt under a crisp, white dress shirt – did not escape Palmer’s attention.
“He’s got that undershirt on,” Palmer said. “He should not be wearing an undershirt.”
It’s impossible to judge the entire series on only one episode, but the seventh one delivered on producers’ promises to take viewers inside the game.
The episode centered mostly on the playoff game against the Packers last January, which contained enough drama to fill a season.
“I’m sweating right now just re-living those moments,” General Manager Steve Keim said. “I didn’t realize how absurd I look while watching a game, but you really live and die on every snap.”
Defensive tackle Calais Campbell watched as if he hadn’t played in the game.
“My heart was beating so fast,” he said. “I knew everything that was going to happen, but I’m still right there on the edge of my seat.”
The Cardinals gave NFL Films unprecedented access for the entire year. NFL Films covers a team’s training camp every summer, but that’s only for a few weeks.
With “All or Nothing,” crews were with the Cardinals starting in the 2015 offseason through the loss in the NFC title game.
Coach Bruce Arians wore a microphone nearly every day last season, and cameras were placed in almost every meeting room.Some moments are hilarious, like when defensive line coach Brentson Buckner shows players highlights of his career.
How often does that happen? “Every day,” Campbell said.
Arians, of course, is unfiltered, which is how he lives his life. He’s shown blowing kisses to wife Christine before and after the game.
Between those moments, this sweet man unloaded on an official after a penalty negated an interception return for a touchdown by cornerback Patrick Peterson.
“(Twelve-letter expletive) is getting (seven-letter expletive) tackled!” Arians screamed.
It’s impossible to judge the entire series based on one episode, but Cardinals fans will find Episode 7 riveting, and not just because the Packers playoff game was one for the ages.
The game footage is great, but what made the episode unique was watching it through the eyes of the families of players and coaches.
“The season goes so fast. It’s great to look back on,” Keim said.