Michael Floyd looks to rebound from disappointing 2014 with big 2015

Michael Floyd knows his 2014 season was not as good as his 2013 campaign.

He caught 18 fewer passes, gained 200 fewer yards and, while he scored one more touchdown, his year was generally viewed as a disappointment.

“I think last year wasn’t as good as my first year with [Bruce Arians],” he told Bickley and Marotta on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Tuesday. “A lot of things come into play with that, but I usually look at myself individually and I think some of the stuff that I did was inconsistent, but I heard B.A. say that and I take that as a challenge to myself to be a better player and make plays for this offense and this team.

“Because they want me to be successful and they count on me and they expect me to make plays when they come my way, and I expect myself to make them, too.”

You don’t have to look too hard to find reasons that are beyond Floyd’s control to help explain his down year.

The team’s issues at quarterback, where injuries ravaged the position, were a factor. Carson Palmer, Drew Stanton, Ryan Lindley and Logan Thomas combined to throw 97 passes Floyd’s way, with Palmer and Lindley being the only two to complete more than half of them.

Stanton, who threw a team-high 45 passes to No. 15, connected on just 40 percent of the throws.

Then again, as anyone who watched the Cardinals last year would tell you, there were also certainly times where it seemed as though Floyd could have made a play only to come up short. Now 25 and entering his fourth NFL season after being taken 13th overall in the 2012 NFL Draft, it would seem to be the right time for the former Notre Dame star to put it all together and become the player Arizona thought he would be, possibly supplanting legend and future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald as the team’s top option in the passing game.

At 6-foot-3 and 225-pounds with good speed, Floyd certainly has the look of a go-to receiver.

But the production hasn’t quite been there, and Floyd’s failure to establish himself led to some speculation that the Cardinals might be looking to trade him. The wideout was aware of the rumors, but said the chatter did not effect him.

“Being a player, you can’t let it bother you,” he said. “I think, mentally, if you let it get to you a lot of things can happen, negativity.”

Instead, Floyd said he just works even harder, controlling what he can control. If all goes according to plan, that will lead to him having a big 2015.

For Floyd, who said he has plenty he would like to accomplish during his career, that would be a welcome situation.

“I just always, since I was young, (wanted) to be the best player that I could possibly be, and putting in the work each and every day,” he said. “But also learning at the same time. Larry has a lot under his belt, and you can’t do nothing but learn from someone like that.

“Watching other guys around the league, too, big guys like me, you can learn a lot from them because they experience a lot more and being a vet guy and having that experience, (me) being four years in you can take that into your own game and kind of implement onto the field.”