Week one of Arizona Cardinals training camp is underway at University of Phoenix Stadium and within a short two and half hour period per session each day, we were able to observe some exciting things that give great anticipation for what is to come from the team this year.
First things first, a little over 10,000 fans showed up ready to view their team on day one of camp, and ProplayerInsiders was there to capture the fans excitement;”The team appeared to have a calm that was night and day from last year’s camp” said one fan, another fan added; “It was very evident the team knew what they were doing, although like any practice they didn’t execute everything as clean and smooth but they knew what they were doing”.
A very comfortable Carson Palmer was a teacher on the field in particular to the young guys, as he directed them on several plays helping them to pick up the offense. Palmer has taking a noticeable attachment to young rookie John Brown, on several occasions he was seen correcting the young receiver on which route he should run and where to be. The bobbing-up-and-down gesture of Brown’s helmet gesturing yes; and his eyes focused on Palmer’s mentoring happened at least five or more times this week.
This young kid is still the talk of camp as we really got a first look at just how fast this kid moves in everything he does. On the deep ball drill Brown displayed his 4’3 speed and got a five yard separation from the coverage on two occasions this week for scores. What is really remarkable about these plays were the quarterbacks over threw him, but with his speed he was able to catch up to the ball and catch it in stride. It looked particularly good with the pads on in day three, giving the fans a sneak peak at what is to come this year with the deep ball.
Of course since OTA and minicamp Michael Floyd has seemed to be on a mission, and this week has been no different, as he caught every ball within his direction, even beat Patrick Peterson on a deep slant route in day one with no pads. The two fought for the ball and Floyd’s bigger body allowed him to pull it in. Floyd has a focus that is scary right now, another note worthy thing from his week so far, is he has become vocal to the young receivers, as he was seen in a tutor like manner for the young guys thru most of the drills.
We cannot talk about the Cardinals without mentioning the great Larry Fitzgerald as he continues to get his one or two spectacular catch every time he steps on the field. Catching an out route that was out in front of him and he reaches up with both hands and snagged it out of the air, danced his toes in bounds, and rolled down to the ground. Fitz also showed his excellent route running by embarrassingly beating a dB on a in-and-out deep ball to the corner of the end-zone in typical Fitz fashion.
The swag of Antonio Cromartie has been on display all week as he covered receivers very well and looks like he is pain free, although on day one of pads he called for a trainer as he went off the field holding his left shoulder and will miss a few days. But Cromartie is all over the receivers, one notable play in day one, Palmer trying to hit Fitzgerald on an out route and his long wing span arm reached around and knocked the ball down. Then the confident “I told you so” look toward the crowd followed, and the crowed loved it. Lots of chatter between he and the receivers on every play seems to say that his ball-hawking skills are at a high level.
Another note about the DB’s all week so far was on several occasions the quarterbacks had to hold the ball longer and scramble, before either throwing the ball away or finding a receiver, reason for this is good coverage on the back end.
Justin Bethel is looking good playing corner-back all week long getting his hands on a few break ups, watching him cover receivers was awesome, his footwork and recover speed is going to be hard to keep out of the line-up, and he could be one of the teams break-out guys this year.
Mid-way thru day one of camp the crowd lets out a roar all over the stadium, and there was no play that caused this cheering standing ovation. The crowd noticed the blond colored mohawk that is Tyrann Mathieu or A.K.A (Honey Badger) coming out of the locker room waving to the crowd. The fans roaring his name showing their appreciation and how valuable he is to the team and the community. Fan three said “what a great story of a young man that gets it” fan four added “ this kid has become a great role model for young NFL players to follow” referring to the latest arrests happenings around the league.
Defensive end Calais Campbell showed how he is ready to have another good season of being all over the field as he got his hands on the ball today, off the line of scrimmage tipping the ball for an interception, complete with the run back and chest bump with a fellow defensive teammate.
Rookie Logan Thomas had some issues with the play book with his receivers on a few occasions, receivers went one way and balls went the opposite, which may have been due to learning both the offense and his receivers. But one thing that stood out about Thomas, he has one strong cannon for an arm. Thumps were sounding off in the building from his receivers catching laser passes that whipped between the seams.
He has his rookie moments, and at the same time Coach Bruce Arians displayed much patients with the young quarterback on several occasions after a bad read or miscommunication between he and the third team receivers. Coach Arians was particularly fired up on pad day, thru the hitting drill he was very animated after watching his running-backs fight off big strong defenders coming at full speed. The brutal sounds of helmets and pads crashing together just gets the football juices flowing around the entire stadium.
The offensive line looks to be set from who will have the chance to keep or lose the job, at right tackle Bobby Massie is said to have the position so far and its his to lose said Coach Arians earlier this week. Center Lyle Sendlein suffered a calf injury that will hold him out for 3 to 4 weeks and he should return about the third preseason game where the starters play the majority of the game. Last year the coaching staff did a lot of shuffling of the O-line, and so far in the camp the first team offensive line has been stable and that is a good sign.
The crowed got a treat on day four as ex-quarterback Kurt Warner displayed he can still throw the ball, as he drilled a deep slant route to Larry Fitzgerald for old time sake after practice. Warner was in camp on behalf of the NFL Network to interview Fitz and quarterback Carson Palmer, as the league has begun to give this team a little respect as a very good team.
There is a long way to go and week one does not tell much about anything concerning who’s leading in any competitions other than the offensive line, things will really pick up as the team builds to the first pre-season game at home against the Houston Texans.
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