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Cardinals looking to avoid letdown

By WTOP Staff

JOHN MARSHALL
AP Sports Writer

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals won their first three games of the season, earning a week of practice without pads.

It gave the players and coaches time to rest, recover and reflect upon being one of two undefeated teams left in the NFL.

Now that the bye week is over, it’s back to hitting. Starting 3-0 is great, but they don’t want to let it go to waste by losing their edge.

“Just hit each other; that’s why we had pads on today,” Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said of what his team needs to do coming out of the bye. “We didn’t have pads on last week because we didn’t need to, but we’ll have ’em on twice this week to make sure we’re game-ready.”

The Cardinals have reason to be wary of becoming complacent.

Just two years ago, Arizona opened the season 4-0, becoming one of the surprise teams in the NFL.

The Cardinals’ fall was just as surprising: 11 losses in 12 games to close out the season.

This team appears better equipped to handle success.

The Cardinals won seven of their final nine games last season and the confidence has carried over even if they did miss the playoffs.

Though there were some holes to fill, particularly on defense, Arizona has managed to play well so far, entering Week 5 with Cincinnati as the NFL’s only undefeated teams.

The Cardinals have shown a bit of resolve, too, rallying from halftime deficits to win each of their three games, against three pretty good teams, no less.

“We’ve won these three games and we’re excited about it, but we have a much bigger goal, a much more mature and more confident team,” Cardinals safety Rashad Johnson said. “Then, there was a little bit excitement, a little bit of jittery about where we were headed, but this team has a lot of mature guys, a lot of old guys that are playing it just a week at a time.”

The bye week came early in the season, but at a good time for the Cardinals.

They’ve had several key players dealing with injuries, including quarterback Carson Palmer, who has missed the past two games with a nerve issue in his throwing shoulder.

Drew Stanton has played well in Palmer’s place, winning both of his starts — over the New York Giants by playing it safe and over San Francisco by taking control of the offense — but Palmer could be back under center Sunday at Denver.

Arians is hoping Palmer will begin throwing on Wednesday and practice the rest of the week will determine if he’s able to go.

“Wednesday and Thursday will be huge this week,” he said.

Palmer isn’t the only player who benefited from the extra time off.

Starting guard Paul Fanaika is battling a knee injury, but Arians said he will return to practice on Wednesday. Cornerback Antonio Cromartie said he’ll be good to go after injuring his knee against San Francisco and taking it easy in practice last week. Johnson practiced Monday with a cast on his hand after breaking his thumb against the 49ers.

“I don’t know how many guys would have played last Sunday,” Arians said. “I’m sure we would have been without three who wouldn’t have played. It’s going to happen sometime down the road. With 13 weeks in a row, they’re going to get beat up, so it’ll be next man up.”

The Cardinals will likely need everyone against the Broncos in the Mile High City on Sunday.

The defending AFC champions still have quarterback Peyton Manning and seem to have a better, faster defense than a year ago.

Arians knows all about Manning and what he can do after serving as Indianapolis’ quarterbacks coach from 1998-2000 and playing against him in the years since.

The difficulty will be trying not to overthink how to stop him. Manning is one of the NFL’s greatest tacticians, able to recognize defenses and make calls at the line of scrimmage with a series of shouts and hand gestures.

Trying to figure out what he’s doing can leave opposing players and coaches’ heads spinning.

“You can get paralysis of analysis,” Arians said. “Just play the game. Don’t get caught up in all his gyrations and all the things that are going on because he’s really good at it, especially at home.”

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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