July 23, 2025 • 35 mins
Ep. 901 - Players, coaches; everyone has reported to training camp. As have Craig Grialou and Zach Gershman. The guys discuss all the goings on from Day 1 of #CardsCamp at State Farm Stadium. There’s the good: a bulked-up Marvin Harrison Jr. sounding more confident than he was a year ago at this time, Trey McBride landing on the NFL Top 100 list, and Jonathan Gannon excited about the competition at a number of different spots. But the guys start with the bad, the unfortunate news that three players – Bilal Nichols, BJ Ojulari, and Walter Nolen III – will not be on the field, at least not quite yet. Nichols and Ojulari are still rehabbing injuries from last season. Nolen’s injury, meanwhile, is a new one that hopefully doesn’t cost him a lot of time.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
It's official bird Gang training camp is underway. Zach Gershman
joins me to discuss all the goings on on day one,
the good and unfortunately the bat It's Cardinals Cover two,
Episode nine oh one, and it starts now.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Welcome to Cardinals Cover two.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Budda Baker, What Heart?
Speaker 1 (00:24):
What rent?
Speaker 3 (00:25):
This guy's unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Cardinals Cover two is presented by Hyundai, proud partner of
the Arizona Cardinals and by Arizona Cardinals Podcast. Visit Azycardinals
dot com slash podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
He's at the ten half of five.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
He's it again.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Some more hurry magic.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Whow here's Craigcrioler.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Well we made it. The long off season is behind us,
and here we are at State Farm Stadium Training Camp
twenty twenty five, presented by a Desert five financial and yes,
football being played inside the building air conditioned of course,
which is always nice. Wednesday the first practice closed to
(01:10):
the public. Fans will be allowed on Thursday. All the
details on Asycardinals dot com. But it is good to
be back since we haven't seen everyone, at least coaches
and players since the middle of June.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Well, welcome back to you as well, because you are
not on the last episode, and I want to give
you your flowers because you weren't on for nine hundred,
so nine oh one congratulations. In that case, it was
a deliberate absence on my part to allow yourself, Zach
and Danny Surrek to enjoy the milestone that was episode
(01:43):
nine nine, And we enjoyed it, all right. We had
a great time and then the fun continued once we
got here to State Farm Stadium. So very happy that
football is back, very excited that it's taking place inside
some air condition because that's certainly important, and we could
testify the air conditions working.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Yes, it is almost do I even say almost too cold?
Speaker 3 (02:04):
I mean right now?
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Yeah, so all right, So, as I mentioned, the first
practice basically no different than an OTA or mini camp
practice as far as what we saw and are allowed
to report. The first twenty minutes open to the media,
and right now it's the ramp up period. The paths
don't come on until Monday. But do we want to
(02:27):
how do we want to structure this show, Zach, because
as I mentioned off the top, again, it's good to
have everyone back. There just wasn't a lot of good news,
at least as Jonathan Gannon opened up his opening statement
to us before the first day of practice, or do
we want to talk about what we heard from Marvin
Harrison Junior and trainmc bro I think we.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Start with the bad because it's the most newsworthy, but
it's also it completely justifies and reinforces why this offseason
was so important for this team.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
All right, fair point. So no surprise that Ballall, Nichols
and Bjji landed on the pup list. And that's because,
at least to my knowledge and correct me if I'm wrong,
because it was voluntary OTA. So I missed OTAs you
were out there, but bj and Bolall I do not
(03:19):
believe war seen on the field participating.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
So Ballall was off to the side working out, which
we're able to report during that open portion. So at
least we know he's with the team, he's still around,
he's still recovering. Remember he had two different stingers last season,
and ultimately it was I believe the second stinger came
in the game against the Green Bay Packers, which was
(03:42):
in Week six, and then the following week they put
him on injured reserve, and ultimately, you know that the
defensive line room was completely changed. Bjojali was not out
there during the voluntary portion.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
So Nichols still dealing with is officially termed a next issue.
In Ojli is still rehabbing that knee which he tore
in training camp last August, so again not a surprise.
The surprise was the third name that Jonathan Gannon mentioned,
that is first round draft pick Walter Third has a
calf issue hurt during training and in JG's words, is
(04:19):
going to miss time. There were some follow up questions
as far as how much time, and JG didn't want
to put a timeline on it or set expectations as
far as when Walter might be able to come back.
And I gotta admit, now, big picture, it's not season ending,
so he is going to be back. But I'll admit
sitting in that press conference room and hearing JG mention
(04:43):
Walter Nolan the Third's name, it did seem like the
air got sucked out of the room on what is
supposed to be an exciting day like the first day
of school. Everyone is back, let's go and prepare for
the regular season. All of a sudden, wait a second,
we're not a complete team. We just lost our first
round draft pick, and it's a tough pill to swallow.
(05:05):
That's what I wrote about on Azycardinals dot Com following
the news from John again. And it's a blow to
this team because you want your first round picks to
represent the future of this organization, and unfortunately, with Walt
not being out on the practice field right now for
day one and training camp.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
That stinks. That's very frustrating. While it is encouraging that
it's not season end there at least doesn't appear to
be season ending right now. I think all of us
here in the Bird gang part of the reason why
there's a different level of sadness. Obviously, you feel for
the kid because there was a lot of great reports
coming out of rookie Minni camp and OTAs since Walt's
(05:46):
been drafted, just what he's brought to the team, and
you start to see it even with Will Johnson and
the two of them are going to be doing a
back to school giveaway together next week, with Walt posting
different stuff about Will and just other guys around the team,
you could see how Walt has immersed himself in as
the Cardinals first rounder. But I think part of the
(06:07):
reason why it also stings. Is it opens up a
wound a little bit to last season with Darius Robinson,
the Cardinals first round pick, a defensive lineman coming out
of the SEC who also had a calf injury. So
I think in that case, it's there's reason to be concerned.
It's fair, but I think it's also it's a very
different It might be a different injury than what Darius
(06:28):
had to go through. JG said, how different guys, different injuries.
They're ultimately no matter what's going to happen is they're
just going to try to get him out in the
practice field and feel healthy.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
You mentioned that wound because this is going back two
seasons ago.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
LJ.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Collier, Carlos Watkins. Yeah, season Indian injuries during the season.
Last year, Justin Jones, Bilall Nichols season Indian injuries during
the season. Oh, by the way, Darius Robinson missed the
first eleven games of the regular season with his own
calf injury. And we'll have to wait and see how
(07:04):
much time regular season time, if any, that Walter misses. Now,
there was a report by Ian Rappaport that mentioned that
Nolan was likely knocked out of most or all of
training camp, which, if we're being honest, is only the
next two and a half weeks. But don't want to speculate,
but there is the excitement level when you get to
(07:24):
training camp to see these new faces, especially your first
round draft pick in a loaded defensive line room, and
then it's let down because now you've got to wait.
You don't get to see him on the field. The
good news is is we talked all off season about
the depth along the defensive line and how many can
(07:45):
you afford to keep and who's the odd man out?
Several odd men out. But these things tend to take
care of themselves because of situations just like this, and
why there was an investment financially and draft capital along
that defensive front because you have to have a plan
(08:07):
BC and D.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
Of course, and I think, look, you bring in Kalays Campbell,
you bring in Dalvin Tomlinson. These are two guys that
are gonna be able to help you in the short term.
The long term investments are Darius Robinson. They are Walter
Nolan the third So when you see that from Walt
and Darius, yes, the goal is to win this year
because you want to win anytime training camp begins that's
(08:28):
the season you want to win. But looking at the
long term hope and plan for what you have with
Walt and Darius, you want them to be fully healthy.
I think part of the reason why too, is there
was such a buzz last year about what Darius Robinson
had in that those first two three weeks of training camp,
seeing him go up in those one on one drolls,
and then the ten snaps he played in that first
(08:49):
preseason game against the New Orleans Saints, just how good
he looked, and then the joint practices with Indianapolis Colts.
You don't get to see that right now from Walter
Nolan the third, so we're gonna have to nc for
whenever that does happen. But once again, this is exactly
why teams think, you know, two, three, four steps ahead,
because when Walter Nolan the third was drafted, not to
(09:10):
say that people were not were surprised by it because
he was projected to the Cardinals multiple times, but some
people were saying, you just signed a bunch of defensive linemen.
You just drafted a defensive alignment with your first round pick.
Why Again, it's moments like this as to whyse that's
the case well, let's just.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Go a couple of days ago in the offices and
we get the roster move that Keon Bars has been signed.
And my reaction was, why do you need another defensive lineman?
You have twelve, now you have thirteen. Well, this is
the reason because Walter's not on the practice field, but
Wall's not on the practice field. They can come off
the pupp list at any point between now and the
(09:48):
start of the regular season. But in the meantime, you're
gonna want bodies and you're gonna need guys rotation and
seeing what we saw here on Wednesday and was the
closed portion, but I'm not giving anything away because it
was something different in previous training camps. But we had
simulcast eleven on elevens. Yeah, two different eleven on eleven situations, which, now,
(10:13):
all of a sudden, I think, why didn't we always
see this? Why don't wasn't every team do this? You
have ninety players and eleven on eleven that's twenty two.
Everyone else is standing around and watching. In this case,
you got eleven on eleven times too. Now, all of
a sudden, you have less guys just saying hanging around
on the sideline and doing nothing.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
And I'm sure once the open practices do happen, you know,
in the next coming weeks when the Burg game comes
to State Farm Stadium, they're gonna see that just one
everybody stretching the field. We're going one hundred yards down
the field and we're gonna have that simple, you know,
our offensive best eleven versus your defensive best eleven. In
this case, it was simulcast as you said. You know,
(10:55):
both were happening at the same exact time, which is
exciting that you got to see a lot more football
on the same field, simultaneous simultaneous word No, I wrong.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Let me correct myself here.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
So did I just open up your eyes to it
being wrong? Probably um to be listened to me, and
you're like, he said that wrong, didn't it did?
Speaker 1 (11:15):
It sounded fine coming out of my mouth, But when
you said it as like, cad, that doesn't sound typically
how this happens. By the way, the complete training camp
schedule on azycardinals dot com. The entire list of open practices,
the first one on Thursday, July twenty fourth. Parking admission
are free, but we do ask that you log on
(11:35):
Azycardinals dot com go to Ezycardinals dot Com or the
mobile app and acquire those digital tickets so you can
come out here to State Farm Stadium, enjoy the air
conditioning and then of course watch your twenty twenty five Arizona.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
Cardinals, Azycardinals dot Com, slash camp tics ti X the place.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
To get it all. And when you do head out
here to State Farm Stadium, more you wait until the
preseason games or week one, Yes you will see a
larger Marvin Harrison Junior. He has bulked up, listed at
two oh nine on the roster that we were handed
out on Wednesday, listed at two twenty and even U
(12:15):
Z that can do that Penn State math of two
twenty minus two oh nine and come up with Marvin
added eleven pounds in the win.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
Penn State looks like Penn which is an IVY league.
So I'm you know you you you.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Take you take it away, Craig Okay, eleven pounds is
what Marvin Harrison Junior has added.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
Yes, and I think that those eleven pounds are probably
the most talked about eleven pounds and especially this past offseason. Look,
Marvin definitely did bulk up. He said that he feels
the same which is good, but he also feels stronger, faster, quicker,
And I think that for your wide receiver, especially somebody
(12:55):
that was the the player that was always circled. When
when opposing defenses are watching the Cardinals offensive film, everybody
focused and locked in on Marvin Harrison Junior. Part of
that allowed for Trey McBride to be able to go off,
which we'll talk about in a little bit with Trey,
but they jammed Marvin at the line. Him adding these
eleven pounds and looking stronger and feeling stronger will certainly
(13:18):
help him with his get off. And then those fifty
to fifty contested catches, you're expecting for him to be
able to come down with a lot more of them
now just simply because of his frame.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Can he fight off that dB at the line of scrimmage?
Can he fight off the dB on those contested catches?
A little bit more bulk, a little bit more strength,
And Yeah, you can certainly see it in the arms,
And we'll really see it even out of these open
practices preseason and regular season, because I think that's when
we're will see just how much more physical is MHJ
(13:51):
from year one to year two. But the discussion in
the back and forth between Marvin and the media as
far as how many pounds he added, how he did it,
and it basically at the end of the day was like, well,
I'm maturing. I didn't eat as well in college as
I do now eat and all of a sudden I
gained eleven pounds. It's all good. As far as the amounts,
(14:14):
it doesn't. It doesn't look any bigger as far as
it's bad weights, it's just where is that weight being distributed.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
It in his biceps is where you can really see it.
It's true that then when you look at the photos
of Marvin and just seeing him standing there at the
podium today wearing the trademark sleeveless T shirt that he
seems to always be wearing, that's probably deliberate. Now, I think,
I think at this point he knows any time he
goes up there, it's gonna go viral. I think with Marv,
like it's the natural maturation of just growing up. Yes,
(14:44):
he's a he's an athlete, and these are players, and
these are people that are worth a lot of money,
but they're also still just people that are growing up
and becoming adults. He's only twenty two to twenty three.
So now that he's you know, maturing that comes with
it at times, you know, growing up. And I say
this because you know, you want to bring up my
education and my age and things like that on Cardinals
(15:04):
cover too, which is totally fair. It seemed like a
punishment growing up to eat, you know, and in a
lot of ways if I was, if I didn't finish
my plate, my dad didn't let me leave the table,
I had to bunch the stairs at all, and I
had to bunch the chairs together, and I would sleep
at the table. When you're growing up, though, you realize
that it's actually good for you and it changes how
(15:25):
you feel and everything of that nature. Marvin's no different.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
And that's what he explained, was he started eating breakfast. Yeah,
it was as a college students. Okay, sometimes you don't
have time to eat breakfast, depending on when your first classes,
or you're practicing, or you're lifting weights. But you learn
how to budget your time and realize that, yes, they
say it's cliche, breakfast, the most important meal of the
(15:51):
day sets you up for the rest of the day.
And Marvin's eating three meals a day, probably even more.
But and as he pointed out, it's not like he
didn't have that opportunity at Ohio State, he just chose
not to. Different story when you get to the NFL, realizing, Okay,
this is my profession, this is my job. How do
I stay relevant? How do I stay and have a
(16:11):
career like my father did a Hall of Fame career. Well,
you got to take care. It's not only about the
on field work. It's about what you do off the
field and how you take care of your body. I
think too.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
What's very interesting is that, and this is something I
think a lot of players when they come into the league,
they're kind of surprised by you have a lot more
free time than I think a lot of these players expect.
You have your meetings, you have your week works, you know,
your workout sessions and everything like that. Training camp is
truthfully your busiest time of the season, because when you're
in the regular season, everything is schedule based. You have
(16:44):
certain types of things that you know. You know your
off day is going to be on Tuesday, so you
have a lot more free time, which forces you to
do things otherwise didn't have the time to do. And
that's the case with Marvin, he has time out to,
you know, get a breakfast in. I do think it's
fascinating though. This is the most we probably talked about
breakfast here on Cardinals cover two.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Yeah, and then to hear what you had for breakfast
earlier on Wednesday, just mind blowing. Would you like to
share with the rest of the bird gang on how
you began day one of cards Camp.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
Four eggs and three waffles. And then when I got
to the stadium, which was about an hour and a
half after breakfast, I had an uncrustable and then another
uncrustable later.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
So yeah, okay, And as we have established, there is
no difference in looking at Marvin Harrison Junior as there
is and looking at Zach gerst word the same age,
same build, close enough. Once again, if you squint and
you think I went to Penn, then you also think
Marvin and I look like. The other news item is
what happened before day one truly began, and that is
(17:47):
to see Trey McBride's name on the NFL Top one
hundred list. It was gonna happen. It was just a
matter of where he fell, and he falls in at
sixty five first time, making the list. Second Cardinals player unveiled,
Josh Wet came in at number ninety five. But considering
Trey McBride in year three, really his first full year
(18:10):
as a starting tight end, and what he did as
far as leading the team in receptions and receiving yards
and amongst tight ends being top three in receptions and
receiving yards, and then on top of that getting a
contract extension that made him the highest paid player at
his position for what a week, two weeks or whatever
(18:31):
it was before it went to George Kittle, but again
well deserved, and as Trey mentioned, hopefully he shows up
on this list for many seasons to come.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Before the NFL Top one hundred used to be just
a long, long, long segment where they would break it
all down. Now they're giving each player, two players a day,
their own kind of their own spotlight essentially, and not
just meshing it all into one show together. So Trey
was ranked number sixty five. I think it's a great
ranking for him to righte away get onto this list.
(19:04):
You're likely going to see Travis Kelcey ahead of him,
and Brock Bowers and George Kittle, but I think outside that,
because Samuel Porto's already been named. I'm pretty sure he
was in the eighties or in the nineties, So Drey
has kind of already established himself in that upper chalon
of top tight ends. He said that this is something
he grew up watching and he always dreamed of being on.
(19:25):
I do expect for him to be, you know, in
the future. I think this is going to be his
lowest ranking, because I do expect for him to be
in the forties and thirties range and continuously getting higher there.
What I'm thinking about is where's Buddha Baker going to
land on this list, because he was the only cardinal
last year. I'm pretty sure he was eighty nine last year,
and you know, Josh wetzon ninety five, Trey McBride's at
(19:48):
sixty five. I'm excited to see how high Buddha could go.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Well, considering the numbers that Buddha put up last season
as far as number of tackles, I believe it was
a franchise and the second most in the league last season,
so I would expect him to be in that. It
could be in the next couple of days, a couple
of weeks. As far as maybe I don't remember where
(20:12):
he landed. Oh he said it was eighty nine, So sure,
maybe in the fifties, maybe somewhere in the forties potentially.
I mean, it's hard for that safety position to get
any higher than that, considering where the league values quarterbacks,
edge rushers, cornerbacks, and then obviously pass catchers all.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
Pro Buddha, I mean, and then another Pro Bowl as well.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
So he continues to.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
Racking all the or raking all the accolades along the way,
and I think that you know, this is going to
be another one. I don't know what the ranking is
going to be for Buddho. We're not even fully sure
if he is going to be ranked, but I think
it would be a disservice if he wasn't on the list.
What we do know is that he finished with the
second most amount of tackles in the NFL, the most
among all safeties, and I think he should be very
(20:59):
high on this list. And when you watch all the
different Mike d ups from when the teams are playing
the Cardinals and it's an offensive player that's miked up,
there's a very good chance that they're talking about what
number three is doing out there on the field.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Yeah, there's no question in my mind that Budda Baker
belongs on that list. It's just a matter of when
his name appears on that list. Some other items. At least, again,
there wasn't much on the field, but hearing Jonathan Gannon
talk about the competition here in camp as far as
the number of positions that are open and then guys
(21:36):
competing for those spots, and again it's not just the
starting positions, but roles, reserve roles, and in course if
you have a uniform on game day, that also includes
special teams. So everything is being evaluated at this point.
But again, this is jg'swords, there's a lot of spots
(21:57):
open and there's a lot of competition for those, which
is not a surprise because we've all said that since
the season ended, based off of what was done offensively
and defensively, the offense is running it back some new
faces as far as maybe some backups, key reserves, and
then defensively might have six seven new starters and then
(22:19):
a handful of other fresh faces to see a lot
of snaps during the course of the regular season.
Speaker 3 (22:24):
I think that inside linebacker role with a Keem Davis
Gather and Cody Simon. That's going to be one where
the competition is going to be bright red hot, because
that's going to be who's going to be there to
compliment Mac Wilson there as your inside linebackers, that's going
to be a competition battle the cornerback spots. Who's going
to be earning starting roles? Right guard Isaiah Adams is
(22:45):
at his job to lose. We all believe that it
really is his job to lose at this rate. But
at the end of the day, there are things that
we could be looking at and saying, all right, this person,
we could pencil it in. The coaching staff could be
seeing something totally different. There could be a player on
the rise that we're not even you know, totally looking at.
We talked so much about a Keeam Davis Gate and
(23:05):
Cody Simon, but where does Owen Papo fall into that list.
There's competitions like that that we from the outside might
have a completely different view on, but in that coaches
meeting room, JG could be thinking something totally different. And
that's why competition this time of year. It started all
at practice on Wednesday, and start even before that in
(23:25):
OTAs in mini camp, but on Wednesday when they were
able to put the helmet on and trout onto the
field at State Farm Stadium. That was huge. That's a
big first step to the competition. The next few weeks here,
especially with the open portion of practice, we'll have a
lot more to talk about, but we'll also have a
better idea as to where this coaching staff is leading.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
And then pay attention once the preseason games go on,
who's playing on special teams, who's those first unit players
on special teams, Because if you have a role on
special teams, then you might have a little bit of
a leg up or higher up on the depth chart
as far as the total fifty three is concerned, maybe
your third string corner, but because of your ability on
(24:08):
special teams, you're now ahead of that second string corner
as far as trying to make the total or that
final fifty three. Special teams plays a lot, and sometimes
when we get that final cutdown list, you're surprised by, well,
why the debt guy released and why are you keeping
that player? Well, tell me what they do on special teams.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
The more you could do. And I think there was
one player that we've discussed before with being Michael Wilson.
He was fielding some punts today during the open portion
of practice. You don't necessarily expect to see that come
game days because you're assuming that that's going to be
Greg Dersch's role in DJ Dallas's role. But it's the
more you could do, and he looked good while fielding
(24:50):
the punts out there. And when it comes to all
the other units, especially with field goal coverage and punt coverage,
that's where you're going to see a lot of depth
in the interior with the offensive line. That's where John
Gains was able to suit up and put on some helmet.
You know, Isaiah adams first couple of plays in the
NFL were on special teams. So when the roster is
(25:11):
going to be cut down to fifty three and then
it will change from that fifty three to a handful
of different players afterwards. Subsequently, in that first week, there's
going to be a lot of players worth noting. I mean,
Owen Papo earned his stripes through special teams. There's a
reason why he's still been on the roster and performing
and has received a lot of praise from this coaching staff.
It's because what can you do in that phase of
(25:33):
the game, which doesn't always get a lot of love.
How can you make a name for yourself? I think
players like that Keyan Crawford, he's a seventh round pick,
he very well come make this roster because of his
special teams experience. It's a Jeff Rogers is going to
have his hands full when trying to figure out who
he could have out there. And Keaton is a great example.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
What over one thousand special team snaps in college, so
he's maybe ahead of someone who might be higher on
the depth chart. But again going back to yes, if
you got a spot on game day, you have a jersey,
you're one of those active players, and you're on special teams,
and all of a sudden someone gets hurt, you're the
(26:14):
next man up, even though maybe again depth chart wise,
you might be behind a player.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
Oney ten career special team snaps during his time at
Texas and Nevada with the wolf Pack over there for
Keen and Crawford. And I remember after the press conference
when the Cardinals drafted Key and it was I'm pretty
sure it was Manti Austin for who said multiple coaches
and executives from around the league called him and were
saying ah, we were hoping to get Keen Crawford as
an unsigned guy. Cardinals were able to snag, you know,
(26:41):
one of the best special teams players that the twenty
twenty five draft class had to offer.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
And we we'll start to see guys begin to separate
themselves next week. The first patted practice on Monday. And
that's I believe what JG was referring to when the
question was asked about more friction and what do you
what do you mean by that? How do you define that?
And I do think padded practices are part of that.
I also think that more friction also means maybe some
(27:11):
individual competitions, maybe some team competitions to help bring out
the best in you, And how do you separate yourself
or stand out from the guy next to you. Doesn't
always have to be the physicality of pads, because again
the CBA also limits the number of times you can
be in pads during training camp, much to the disappointment
(27:31):
a lot of former players. But that's the friction. How
do you without being in pads every single day or
two days, How as a head coach can you create
more friction? And that's more reps, Like we saw what
Simon will say simultaneous eleven Yeah, the simultaneous eleven on
elevens on the field. That's a way to get more
(27:54):
friction out there because it's more reps. I think it's
a matter of turning tension and press pressure into execution.
What does that end up looking like? Because when you
feel that pressure, when you feel that tension, that's another
way I look at friction as much as when I
hear friction, I think of the pads and the players
running into each other, and especially in the trenches. I
(28:15):
think about the pressure of a guy like, for example,
just because he's off the top of my head, Trisian Jackson,
knowing that the wide receiver room has a lot of
players that are already there. What are you going to
be able to do when you have your opportunity and
the pressure is on, how are you going to be
able to deliver? I think that's what it comes down to.
So friction from a physicality standpoint, tension and pressure, I
(28:38):
think from an execution standpoint, and then adding fans to
the equation. They're in the building and all of a sudden,
that ramps up the intensity the pads certainly takes it
to another level than that. But the first open practice
on Thursday when fans can really get an idea of
who's back, who's returning, who's healthy. And then let's take
(28:59):
a look at Baron Browning rocket number five, Josh Sweat
newcomer and at number ten ten it's not a single digit,
but it is. I think he wears it well, let's
put it that way.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
Yeah, And I thought Baron Browning in number five two
looks massive. You know, there's some guys where like the
number just really fits you. And I think after seeing
Matt Prater being in number five to then seeing number
five being Baron Browning, Wow, what a difference.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
And then there's guys that it just doesn't matter what
number you wear, you're just massive to begin with, I e.
Kalays Campbell, who takes up a lot of space along
the defensive line rocking ninety three as he did once
upon a time. But yeah, that's that's gonna be fun
to watch these practices, not only how much we see
Kalais on the field, but pay attention to Klayis and
(29:50):
what he's doing when he's not on the field. Saddling
up to a coach position, coach assistant coach or probably
better a younger player, rookie Darius Walter when he's healthy.
As far as all right, this is what you do,
This is what you look for to be able to
make that particular play well.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
Also, just to go back a second, no shade to
Matt Prater. He's had a Hall of Fame career and
I love covering Matt Prad during my first two seasons
with the team. When it comes to koalay As Campbell, Wow,
to just seem out on the practice field and lining
up across from an offensive line, he towers over everybody
and I think, like I've seen it before but from
(30:32):
a distance. This was our opportunity to see it pretty close,
and he towers over everybody, which is pretty remarkable. And
I'll say this too, even though it during the close portion.
No one's gonna fault me for saying this. He looks
like he loves playing the game. And I think when
you see somebody who genuinely is having such a fun
time being out there, you don't get year eighteen in
(30:53):
the league, you know, by mistake without loving the game.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
And he looks like he's a.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Rookie going out for the first day of training camp
sway now you said it has that first day of
school feel. I think you really got to see that,
and you get to see what it means to a
player when Kalays Campbell's out there and he's dancing and
he's having fun and he's trying to jokingly dunk on
Dalvin Tomlinson and just start having fun in the huddle.
And I think that that's something that you know is
(31:18):
really going to go far for this Cardinals team. And
especially when you think about that defensive line room right now, Yeah,
they're upset. One of their guys in that room, Walter
Nolan the Third is unfortunately out for the foreseeable future
with his calf injury. To have a presence like Kalays Campbell,
who has seen it all, it's gonna make a difference.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
No, When we bring it full circle here on Cardinals
Cover two talking about the loss at least practice loss,
Walter Nolan the Third not being on the field, Balal
Nichols not being on the field, those are reps for
someone else, someone else to get extra reps flash on
film and all of a sudden, what are you doing
(31:56):
we talk about it? Are you making the most of
your opportunities. Now there may be more opportunities for a
particular player or players in that d line room because
Walter's on the sideline. Bowl All's not on the sideline.
Now you figure out, right, I have more chances to impress,
to perhaps make the team that maybe I didn't have
(32:19):
if everyone in that room was completely healthy.
Speaker 3 (32:21):
There's a trio of players that are looking at this
as an opportunity.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
LJ.
Speaker 3 (32:27):
Kyllier, Dante Stills, and Justin Jones. Sure, these are guys
that you know, in our eyes, could be you know,
already could have a spot on the fifty three man roster,
or they might be on the brink and they might
be fighting for a spot. This is their opportunity to
show the coaching staff what they have. Dante Still's coming
in as a six round pick and showing what he's
been able to do over his first two seasons, truthfully
(32:49):
overperforming for a six round pick.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
LJ.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
Kyllier coming back off the injury he had during that
first season in twenty twenty three, a really strong twenty
twenty four. There's a reason why they brought him back.
And Justin Jones is in l JA Kyllier's shoes, from
the year prior, coming off an injury, coming back to
training camp and saying, hey, don't forget about me. This
is what I'm able to do. So those three are
going to have a lot on the line and a
(33:12):
lot to show this coaching staff.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
I'd had another name, Elijah Simmons, the undrafted defensive tackle,
a true defensive tackle, six' one three point thirty, four
undrafted out Of. Tennessee, now all of a, sudden you
look at that particular a true defensive. Tackle Dalvin, Tomlinson Walter,
third And Elijah. Simmons those are your top three that
(33:34):
truly play that nose. Position and now all of a,
Sudden elijah has more opportunity to impress and maybe sneak
onto that active. Roster and if nothing, else hey we
see something in. You we want to keep you as
long as we're gonna get you through, waivers and all
of a, sudden you got a spot on the practice.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Squad Darren urban has an incredible article About Elijah simmons
and his journey from being on THE nfl draft stage
as a high schooler to where he is now and
recognize as a high schooler BY Jj watt of all,
people so to read that, article check Out easycardinals dot
com because it's definitely one when you want to learn
about some of these players that might not be the
(34:10):
marquee names on your. Roster Elijah simmons is one of those,
players and this is a really solid story that highlights
his journey and what it would mean to be making
this fifty.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
Three azycardinals dot com also the place to go for
the complete schedule Of Training camp twenty twenty, five presented
By Desert. Financial we will be out here the entire.
Time first open practice On, Thursday july twenty. Fourth parking
admission are. Free you do need to, register get that
digital ticket so you can come, inside enjoy the air,
(34:41):
conditioning watch The Arizona, cardinals and.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
Come say hello to the Young Zach please on, tomorrow On,
thursday during, Practice i'm going to be bringing those meta
aiglasses that record, everything so be a part of my
point of.
Speaker 1 (34:55):
View, wow, okay breaking, news little nugget, THERE i was not. Expecting,
YEAH i.
Speaker 3 (35:00):
Want to do a little blog of the first open
practice and seeing you, know training camp dark point of
view because, look we we live in, it we work in,
it but we do is pretty. Cool so, again the
opportunity to show the halls a little bit definitely be
uh SOMETHING i hope people.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
Appreciate look forward to, that look forward to the first
open practice On, thursday as we close the books on
day one Of Training camp twenty twenty, five presented By Desert.
Financial and on that, note we'll put a lid on
this edition Of Cardinals cover two presented By, yundai probably
partner of The Arizona. Cardinals as, always special thanks to
(35:34):
our executive Producer Jill Mama, andre our associate Producer Cody.
Fincher For Zach, Kershman I'm. Praigriodu we'll talk to you
next time you're On Cardinals cover two
It's official bird Gang training camp is underway. Zach Gershman
joins me to discuss all the goings on on day one,
the good and unfortunately the bat It's Cardinals Cover two,
Episode nine oh one, and it starts now.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Welcome to Cardinals Cover two.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Budda Baker, What Heart?
Speaker 1 (00:24):
What rent?
Speaker 3 (00:25):
This guy's unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Cardinals Cover two is presented by Hyundai, proud partner of
the Arizona Cardinals and by Arizona Cardinals Podcast. Visit Azycardinals
dot com slash podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
He's at the ten half of five.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
He's it again.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Some more hurry magic.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Whow here's Craigcrioler.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Well we made it. The long off season is behind us,
and here we are at State Farm Stadium Training Camp
twenty twenty five, presented by a Desert five financial and yes,
football being played inside the building air conditioned of course,
which is always nice. Wednesday the first practice closed to
(01:10):
the public. Fans will be allowed on Thursday. All the
details on Asycardinals dot com. But it is good to
be back since we haven't seen everyone, at least coaches
and players since the middle of June.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Well, welcome back to you as well, because you are
not on the last episode, and I want to give
you your flowers because you weren't on for nine hundred,
so nine oh one congratulations. In that case, it was
a deliberate absence on my part to allow yourself, Zach
and Danny Surrek to enjoy the milestone that was episode
(01:43):
nine nine, And we enjoyed it, all right. We had
a great time and then the fun continued once we
got here to State Farm Stadium. So very happy that
football is back, very excited that it's taking place inside
some air condition because that's certainly important, and we could
testify the air conditions working.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Yes, it is almost do I even say almost too cold?
Speaker 3 (02:04):
I mean right now?
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Yeah, so all right, So, as I mentioned, the first
practice basically no different than an OTA or mini camp
practice as far as what we saw and are allowed
to report. The first twenty minutes open to the media,
and right now it's the ramp up period. The paths
don't come on until Monday. But do we want to
(02:27):
how do we want to structure this show, Zach, because
as I mentioned off the top, again, it's good to
have everyone back. There just wasn't a lot of good news,
at least as Jonathan Gannon opened up his opening statement
to us before the first day of practice, or do
we want to talk about what we heard from Marvin
Harrison Junior and trainmc bro I think we.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Start with the bad because it's the most newsworthy, but
it's also it completely justifies and reinforces why this offseason
was so important for this team.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
All right, fair point. So no surprise that Ballall, Nichols
and Bjji landed on the pup list. And that's because,
at least to my knowledge and correct me if I'm wrong,
because it was voluntary OTA. So I missed OTAs you
were out there, but bj and Bolall I do not
(03:19):
believe war seen on the field participating.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
So Ballall was off to the side working out, which
we're able to report during that open portion. So at
least we know he's with the team, he's still around,
he's still recovering. Remember he had two different stingers last season,
and ultimately it was I believe the second stinger came
in the game against the Green Bay Packers, which was
(03:42):
in Week six, and then the following week they put
him on injured reserve, and ultimately, you know that the
defensive line room was completely changed. Bjojali was not out
there during the voluntary portion.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
So Nichols still dealing with is officially termed a next issue.
In Ojli is still rehabbing that knee which he tore
in training camp last August, so again not a surprise.
The surprise was the third name that Jonathan Gannon mentioned,
that is first round draft pick Walter Third has a
calf issue hurt during training and in JG's words, is
(04:19):
going to miss time. There were some follow up questions
as far as how much time, and JG didn't want
to put a timeline on it or set expectations as
far as when Walter might be able to come back.
And I gotta admit, now, big picture, it's not season ending,
so he is going to be back. But I'll admit
sitting in that press conference room and hearing JG mention
(04:43):
Walter Nolan the Third's name, it did seem like the
air got sucked out of the room on what is
supposed to be an exciting day like the first day
of school. Everyone is back, let's go and prepare for
the regular season. All of a sudden, wait a second,
we're not a complete team. We just lost our first
round draft pick, and it's a tough pill to swallow.
(05:05):
That's what I wrote about on Azycardinals dot Com following
the news from John again. And it's a blow to
this team because you want your first round picks to
represent the future of this organization, and unfortunately, with Walt
not being out on the practice field right now for
day one and training camp.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
That stinks. That's very frustrating. While it is encouraging that
it's not season end there at least doesn't appear to
be season ending right now. I think all of us
here in the Bird gang part of the reason why
there's a different level of sadness. Obviously, you feel for
the kid because there was a lot of great reports
coming out of rookie Minni camp and OTAs since Walt's
(05:46):
been drafted, just what he's brought to the team, and
you start to see it even with Will Johnson and
the two of them are going to be doing a
back to school giveaway together next week, with Walt posting
different stuff about Will and just other guys around the team,
you could see how Walt has immersed himself in as
the Cardinals first rounder. But I think part of the
(06:07):
reason why it also stings. Is it opens up a
wound a little bit to last season with Darius Robinson,
the Cardinals first round pick, a defensive lineman coming out
of the SEC who also had a calf injury. So
I think in that case, it's there's reason to be concerned.
It's fair, but I think it's also it's a very
different It might be a different injury than what Darius
(06:28):
had to go through. JG said, how different guys, different injuries.
They're ultimately no matter what's going to happen is they're
just going to try to get him out in the
practice field and feel healthy.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
You mentioned that wound because this is going back two
seasons ago.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
LJ.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Collier, Carlos Watkins. Yeah, season Indian injuries during the season.
Last year, Justin Jones, Bilall Nichols season Indian injuries during
the season. Oh, by the way, Darius Robinson missed the
first eleven games of the regular season with his own
calf injury. And we'll have to wait and see how
(07:04):
much time regular season time, if any, that Walter misses. Now,
there was a report by Ian Rappaport that mentioned that
Nolan was likely knocked out of most or all of
training camp, which, if we're being honest, is only the
next two and a half weeks. But don't want to speculate,
but there is the excitement level when you get to
(07:24):
training camp to see these new faces, especially your first
round draft pick in a loaded defensive line room, and
then it's let down because now you've got to wait.
You don't get to see him on the field. The
good news is is we talked all off season about
the depth along the defensive line and how many can
(07:45):
you afford to keep and who's the odd man out?
Several odd men out. But these things tend to take
care of themselves because of situations just like this, and
why there was an investment financially and draft capital along
that defensive front because you have to have a plan
(08:07):
BC and D.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
Of course, and I think, look, you bring in Kalays Campbell,
you bring in Dalvin Tomlinson. These are two guys that
are gonna be able to help you in the short term.
The long term investments are Darius Robinson. They are Walter
Nolan the third So when you see that from Walt
and Darius, yes, the goal is to win this year
because you want to win anytime training camp begins that's
(08:28):
the season you want to win. But looking at the
long term hope and plan for what you have with
Walt and Darius, you want them to be fully healthy.
I think part of the reason why too, is there
was such a buzz last year about what Darius Robinson
had in that those first two three weeks of training camp,
seeing him go up in those one on one drolls,
and then the ten snaps he played in that first
(08:49):
preseason game against the New Orleans Saints, just how good
he looked, and then the joint practices with Indianapolis Colts.
You don't get to see that right now from Walter
Nolan the third, so we're gonna have to nc for
whenever that does happen. But once again, this is exactly
why teams think, you know, two, three, four steps ahead,
because when Walter Nolan the third was drafted, not to
(09:10):
say that people were not were surprised by it because
he was projected to the Cardinals multiple times, but some
people were saying, you just signed a bunch of defensive linemen.
You just drafted a defensive alignment with your first round pick.
Why Again, it's moments like this as to whyse that's
the case well, let's just.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Go a couple of days ago in the offices and
we get the roster move that Keon Bars has been signed.
And my reaction was, why do you need another defensive lineman?
You have twelve, now you have thirteen. Well, this is
the reason because Walter's not on the practice field, but
Wall's not on the practice field. They can come off
the pupp list at any point between now and the
(09:48):
start of the regular season. But in the meantime, you're
gonna want bodies and you're gonna need guys rotation and
seeing what we saw here on Wednesday and was the
closed portion, but I'm not giving anything away because it
was something different in previous training camps. But we had
simulcast eleven on elevens. Yeah, two different eleven on eleven situations, which, now,
(10:13):
all of a sudden, I think, why didn't we always
see this? Why don't wasn't every team do this? You
have ninety players and eleven on eleven that's twenty two.
Everyone else is standing around and watching. In this case,
you got eleven on eleven times too. Now, all of
a sudden, you have less guys just saying hanging around
on the sideline and doing nothing.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
And I'm sure once the open practices do happen, you know,
in the next coming weeks when the Burg game comes
to State Farm Stadium, they're gonna see that just one
everybody stretching the field. We're going one hundred yards down
the field and we're gonna have that simple, you know,
our offensive best eleven versus your defensive best eleven. In
this case, it was simulcast as you said. You know,
(10:55):
both were happening at the same exact time, which is
exciting that you got to see a lot more football
on the same field, simultaneous simultaneous word No, I wrong.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Let me correct myself here.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
So did I just open up your eyes to it
being wrong? Probably um to be listened to me, and
you're like, he said that wrong, didn't it did?
Speaker 1 (11:15):
It sounded fine coming out of my mouth, But when
you said it as like, cad, that doesn't sound typically
how this happens. By the way, the complete training camp
schedule on azycardinals dot com. The entire list of open practices,
the first one on Thursday, July twenty fourth. Parking admission
are free, but we do ask that you log on
(11:35):
Azycardinals dot com go to Ezycardinals dot Com or the
mobile app and acquire those digital tickets so you can
come out here to State Farm Stadium, enjoy the air
conditioning and then of course watch your twenty twenty five Arizona.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
Cardinals, Azycardinals dot Com, slash camp tics ti X the place.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
To get it all. And when you do head out
here to State Farm Stadium, more you wait until the
preseason games or week one, Yes you will see a
larger Marvin Harrison Junior. He has bulked up, listed at
two oh nine on the roster that we were handed
out on Wednesday, listed at two twenty and even U
(12:15):
Z that can do that Penn State math of two
twenty minus two oh nine and come up with Marvin
added eleven pounds in the win.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
Penn State looks like Penn which is an IVY league.
So I'm you know you you you.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Take you take it away, Craig Okay, eleven pounds is
what Marvin Harrison Junior has added.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
Yes, and I think that those eleven pounds are probably
the most talked about eleven pounds and especially this past offseason. Look,
Marvin definitely did bulk up. He said that he feels
the same which is good, but he also feels stronger, faster, quicker,
And I think that for your wide receiver, especially somebody
(12:55):
that was the the player that was always circled. When
when opposing defenses are watching the Cardinals offensive film, everybody
focused and locked in on Marvin Harrison Junior. Part of
that allowed for Trey McBride to be able to go off,
which we'll talk about in a little bit with Trey,
but they jammed Marvin at the line. Him adding these
eleven pounds and looking stronger and feeling stronger will certainly
(13:18):
help him with his get off. And then those fifty
to fifty contested catches, you're expecting for him to be
able to come down with a lot more of them
now just simply because of his frame.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Can he fight off that dB at the line of scrimmage?
Can he fight off the dB on those contested catches?
A little bit more bulk, a little bit more strength,
And Yeah, you can certainly see it in the arms,
And we'll really see it even out of these open
practices preseason and regular season, because I think that's when
we're will see just how much more physical is MHJ
(13:51):
from year one to year two. But the discussion in
the back and forth between Marvin and the media as
far as how many pounds he added, how he did it,
and it basically at the end of the day was like, well,
I'm maturing. I didn't eat as well in college as
I do now eat and all of a sudden I
gained eleven pounds. It's all good. As far as the amounts,
(14:14):
it doesn't. It doesn't look any bigger as far as
it's bad weights, it's just where is that weight being distributed.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
It in his biceps is where you can really see it.
It's true that then when you look at the photos
of Marvin and just seeing him standing there at the
podium today wearing the trademark sleeveless T shirt that he
seems to always be wearing, that's probably deliberate. Now, I think,
I think at this point he knows any time he
goes up there, it's gonna go viral. I think with Marv,
like it's the natural maturation of just growing up. Yes,
(14:44):
he's a he's an athlete, and these are players, and
these are people that are worth a lot of money,
but they're also still just people that are growing up
and becoming adults. He's only twenty two to twenty three.
So now that he's you know, maturing that comes with
it at times, you know, growing up. And I say
this because you know, you want to bring up my
education and my age and things like that on Cardinals
(15:04):
cover too, which is totally fair. It seemed like a
punishment growing up to eat, you know, and in a
lot of ways if I was, if I didn't finish
my plate, my dad didn't let me leave the table,
I had to bunch the stairs at all, and I
had to bunch the chairs together, and I would sleep
at the table. When you're growing up, though, you realize
that it's actually good for you and it changes how
(15:25):
you feel and everything of that nature. Marvin's no different.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
And that's what he explained, was he started eating breakfast. Yeah,
it was as a college students. Okay, sometimes you don't
have time to eat breakfast, depending on when your first classes,
or you're practicing, or you're lifting weights. But you learn
how to budget your time and realize that, yes, they
say it's cliche, breakfast, the most important meal of the
(15:51):
day sets you up for the rest of the day.
And Marvin's eating three meals a day, probably even more.
But and as he pointed out, it's not like he
didn't have that opportunity at Ohio State, he just chose
not to. Different story when you get to the NFL, realizing, Okay,
this is my profession, this is my job. How do
I stay relevant? How do I stay and have a
(16:11):
career like my father did a Hall of Fame career. Well,
you got to take care. It's not only about the
on field work. It's about what you do off the
field and how you take care of your body. I
think too.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
What's very interesting is that, and this is something I
think a lot of players when they come into the league,
they're kind of surprised by you have a lot more
free time than I think a lot of these players expect.
You have your meetings, you have your week works, you know,
your workout sessions and everything like that. Training camp is
truthfully your busiest time of the season, because when you're
in the regular season, everything is schedule based. You have
(16:44):
certain types of things that you know. You know your
off day is going to be on Tuesday, so you
have a lot more free time, which forces you to
do things otherwise didn't have the time to do. And
that's the case with Marvin, he has time out to,
you know, get a breakfast in. I do think it's
fascinating though. This is the most we probably talked about
breakfast here on Cardinals cover two.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Yeah, and then to hear what you had for breakfast
earlier on Wednesday, just mind blowing. Would you like to
share with the rest of the bird gang on how
you began day one of cards Camp.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
Four eggs and three waffles. And then when I got
to the stadium, which was about an hour and a
half after breakfast, I had an uncrustable and then another
uncrustable later.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
So yeah, okay, And as we have established, there is
no difference in looking at Marvin Harrison Junior as there
is and looking at Zach gerst word the same age,
same build, close enough. Once again, if you squint and
you think I went to Penn, then you also think
Marvin and I look like. The other news item is
what happened before day one truly began, and that is
(17:47):
to see Trey McBride's name on the NFL Top one
hundred list. It was gonna happen. It was just a
matter of where he fell, and he falls in at
sixty five first time, making the list. Second Cardinals player unveiled,
Josh Wet came in at number ninety five. But considering
Trey McBride in year three, really his first full year
(18:10):
as a starting tight end, and what he did as
far as leading the team in receptions and receiving yards
and amongst tight ends being top three in receptions and
receiving yards, and then on top of that getting a
contract extension that made him the highest paid player at
his position for what a week, two weeks or whatever
(18:31):
it was before it went to George Kittle, but again
well deserved, and as Trey mentioned, hopefully he shows up
on this list for many seasons to come.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Before the NFL Top one hundred used to be just
a long, long, long segment where they would break it
all down. Now they're giving each player, two players a day,
their own kind of their own spotlight essentially, and not
just meshing it all into one show together. So Trey
was ranked number sixty five. I think it's a great
ranking for him to righte away get onto this list.
(19:04):
You're likely going to see Travis Kelcey ahead of him,
and Brock Bowers and George Kittle, but I think outside that,
because Samuel Porto's already been named. I'm pretty sure he
was in the eighties or in the nineties, So Drey
has kind of already established himself in that upper chalon
of top tight ends. He said that this is something
he grew up watching and he always dreamed of being on.
(19:25):
I do expect for him to be, you know, in
the future. I think this is going to be his
lowest ranking, because I do expect for him to be
in the forties and thirties range and continuously getting higher there.
What I'm thinking about is where's Buddha Baker going to
land on this list, because he was the only cardinal
last year. I'm pretty sure he was eighty nine last year,
and you know, Josh wetzon ninety five, Trey McBride's at
(19:48):
sixty five. I'm excited to see how high Buddha could go.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Well, considering the numbers that Buddha put up last season
as far as number of tackles, I believe it was
a franchise and the second most in the league last season,
so I would expect him to be in that. It
could be in the next couple of days, a couple
of weeks. As far as maybe I don't remember where
(20:12):
he landed. Oh he said it was eighty nine, So sure,
maybe in the fifties, maybe somewhere in the forties potentially.
I mean, it's hard for that safety position to get
any higher than that, considering where the league values quarterbacks,
edge rushers, cornerbacks, and then obviously pass catchers all.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
Pro Buddha, I mean, and then another Pro Bowl as well.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
So he continues to.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
Racking all the or raking all the accolades along the way,
and I think that you know, this is going to
be another one. I don't know what the ranking is
going to be for Buddho. We're not even fully sure
if he is going to be ranked, but I think
it would be a disservice if he wasn't on the list.
What we do know is that he finished with the
second most amount of tackles in the NFL, the most
among all safeties, and I think he should be very
(20:59):
high on this list. And when you watch all the
different Mike d ups from when the teams are playing
the Cardinals and it's an offensive player that's miked up,
there's a very good chance that they're talking about what
number three is doing out there on the field.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Yeah, there's no question in my mind that Budda Baker
belongs on that list. It's just a matter of when
his name appears on that list. Some other items. At least, again,
there wasn't much on the field, but hearing Jonathan Gannon
talk about the competition here in camp as far as
the number of positions that are open and then guys
(21:36):
competing for those spots, and again it's not just the
starting positions, but roles, reserve roles, and in course if
you have a uniform on game day, that also includes
special teams. So everything is being evaluated at this point.
But again, this is jg'swords, there's a lot of spots
(21:57):
open and there's a lot of competition for those, which
is not a surprise because we've all said that since
the season ended, based off of what was done offensively
and defensively, the offense is running it back some new
faces as far as maybe some backups, key reserves, and
then defensively might have six seven new starters and then
(22:19):
a handful of other fresh faces to see a lot
of snaps during the course of the regular season.
Speaker 3 (22:24):
I think that inside linebacker role with a Keem Davis
Gather and Cody Simon. That's going to be one where
the competition is going to be bright red hot, because
that's going to be who's going to be there to
compliment Mac Wilson there as your inside linebackers, that's going
to be a competition battle the cornerback spots. Who's going
to be earning starting roles? Right guard Isaiah Adams is
(22:45):
at his job to lose. We all believe that it
really is his job to lose at this rate. But
at the end of the day, there are things that
we could be looking at and saying, all right, this person,
we could pencil it in. The coaching staff could be
seeing something totally different. There could be a player on
the rise that we're not even you know, totally looking at.
We talked so much about a Keeam Davis Gate and
(23:05):
Cody Simon, but where does Owen Papo fall into that list.
There's competitions like that that we from the outside might
have a completely different view on, but in that coaches
meeting room, JG could be thinking something totally different. And
that's why competition this time of year. It started all
at practice on Wednesday, and start even before that in
(23:25):
OTAs in mini camp, but on Wednesday when they were
able to put the helmet on and trout onto the
field at State Farm Stadium. That was huge. That's a
big first step to the competition. The next few weeks here,
especially with the open portion of practice, we'll have a
lot more to talk about, but we'll also have a
better idea as to where this coaching staff is leading.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
And then pay attention once the preseason games go on,
who's playing on special teams, who's those first unit players
on special teams, Because if you have a role on
special teams, then you might have a little bit of
a leg up or higher up on the depth chart
as far as the total fifty three is concerned, maybe
your third string corner, but because of your ability on
(24:08):
special teams, you're now ahead of that second string corner
as far as trying to make the total or that
final fifty three. Special teams plays a lot, and sometimes
when we get that final cutdown list, you're surprised by, well,
why the debt guy released and why are you keeping
that player? Well, tell me what they do on special teams.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
The more you could do. And I think there was
one player that we've discussed before with being Michael Wilson.
He was fielding some punts today during the open portion
of practice. You don't necessarily expect to see that come
game days because you're assuming that that's going to be
Greg Dersch's role in DJ Dallas's role. But it's the
more you could do, and he looked good while fielding
(24:50):
the punts out there. And when it comes to all
the other units, especially with field goal coverage and punt coverage,
that's where you're going to see a lot of depth
in the interior with the offensive line. That's where John
Gains was able to suit up and put on some helmet.
You know, Isaiah adams first couple of plays in the
NFL were on special teams. So when the roster is
(25:11):
going to be cut down to fifty three and then
it will change from that fifty three to a handful
of different players afterwards. Subsequently, in that first week, there's
going to be a lot of players worth noting. I mean,
Owen Papo earned his stripes through special teams. There's a
reason why he's still been on the roster and performing
and has received a lot of praise from this coaching staff.
It's because what can you do in that phase of
(25:33):
the game, which doesn't always get a lot of love.
How can you make a name for yourself? I think
players like that Keyan Crawford, he's a seventh round pick,
he very well come make this roster because of his
special teams experience. It's a Jeff Rogers is going to
have his hands full when trying to figure out who
he could have out there. And Keaton is a great example.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
What over one thousand special team snaps in college, so
he's maybe ahead of someone who might be higher on
the depth chart. But again going back to yes, if
you got a spot on game day, you have a jersey,
you're one of those active players, and you're on special teams,
and all of a sudden someone gets hurt, you're the
(26:14):
next man up, even though maybe again depth chart wise,
you might be behind a player.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
Oney ten career special team snaps during his time at
Texas and Nevada with the wolf Pack over there for
Keen and Crawford. And I remember after the press conference
when the Cardinals drafted Key and it was I'm pretty
sure it was Manti Austin for who said multiple coaches
and executives from around the league called him and were
saying ah, we were hoping to get Keen Crawford as
an unsigned guy. Cardinals were able to snag, you know,
(26:41):
one of the best special teams players that the twenty
twenty five draft class had to offer.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
And we we'll start to see guys begin to separate
themselves next week. The first patted practice on Monday. And
that's I believe what JG was referring to when the
question was asked about more friction and what do you
what do you mean by that? How do you define that?
And I do think padded practices are part of that.
I also think that more friction also means maybe some
(27:11):
individual competitions, maybe some team competitions to help bring out
the best in you, And how do you separate yourself
or stand out from the guy next to you. Doesn't
always have to be the physicality of pads, because again
the CBA also limits the number of times you can
be in pads during training camp, much to the disappointment
(27:31):
a lot of former players. But that's the friction. How
do you without being in pads every single day or
two days, How as a head coach can you create
more friction? And that's more reps, Like we saw what
Simon will say simultaneous eleven Yeah, the simultaneous eleven on
elevens on the field. That's a way to get more
(27:54):
friction out there because it's more reps. I think it's
a matter of turning tension and press pressure into execution.
What does that end up looking like? Because when you
feel that pressure, when you feel that tension, that's another
way I look at friction as much as when I
hear friction, I think of the pads and the players
running into each other, and especially in the trenches. I
(28:15):
think about the pressure of a guy like, for example,
just because he's off the top of my head, Trisian Jackson,
knowing that the wide receiver room has a lot of
players that are already there. What are you going to
be able to do when you have your opportunity and
the pressure is on, how are you going to be
able to deliver? I think that's what it comes down to.
So friction from a physicality standpoint, tension and pressure, I
(28:38):
think from an execution standpoint, and then adding fans to
the equation. They're in the building and all of a sudden,
that ramps up the intensity the pads certainly takes it
to another level than that. But the first open practice
on Thursday when fans can really get an idea of
who's back, who's returning, who's healthy. And then let's take
(28:59):
a look at Baron Browning rocket number five, Josh Sweat
newcomer and at number ten ten it's not a single digit,
but it is. I think he wears it well, let's
put it that way.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
Yeah, And I thought Baron Browning in number five two
looks massive. You know, there's some guys where like the
number just really fits you. And I think after seeing
Matt Prater being in number five to then seeing number
five being Baron Browning, Wow, what a difference.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
And then there's guys that it just doesn't matter what
number you wear, you're just massive to begin with, I e.
Kalays Campbell, who takes up a lot of space along
the defensive line rocking ninety three as he did once
upon a time. But yeah, that's that's gonna be fun
to watch these practices, not only how much we see
Kalais on the field, but pay attention to Klayis and
(29:50):
what he's doing when he's not on the field. Saddling
up to a coach position, coach assistant coach or probably
better a younger player, rookie Darius Walter when he's healthy.
As far as all right, this is what you do,
This is what you look for to be able to
make that particular play well.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
Also, just to go back a second, no shade to
Matt Prater. He's had a Hall of Fame career and
I love covering Matt Prad during my first two seasons
with the team. When it comes to koalay As Campbell, Wow,
to just seem out on the practice field and lining
up across from an offensive line, he towers over everybody
and I think, like I've seen it before but from
(30:32):
a distance. This was our opportunity to see it pretty close,
and he towers over everybody, which is pretty remarkable. And
I'll say this too, even though it during the close portion.
No one's gonna fault me for saying this. He looks
like he loves playing the game. And I think when
you see somebody who genuinely is having such a fun
time being out there, you don't get year eighteen in
(30:53):
the league, you know, by mistake without loving the game.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
And he looks like he's a.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Rookie going out for the first day of training camp
sway now you said it has that first day of
school feel. I think you really got to see that,
and you get to see what it means to a
player when Kalays Campbell's out there and he's dancing and
he's having fun and he's trying to jokingly dunk on
Dalvin Tomlinson and just start having fun in the huddle.
And I think that that's something that you know is
(31:18):
really going to go far for this Cardinals team. And
especially when you think about that defensive line room right now, Yeah,
they're upset. One of their guys in that room, Walter
Nolan the Third is unfortunately out for the foreseeable future
with his calf injury. To have a presence like Kalays Campbell,
who has seen it all, it's gonna make a difference.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
No, When we bring it full circle here on Cardinals
Cover two talking about the loss at least practice loss,
Walter Nolan the Third not being on the field, Balal
Nichols not being on the field, those are reps for
someone else, someone else to get extra reps flash on
film and all of a sudden, what are you doing
(31:56):
we talk about it? Are you making the most of
your opportunities. Now there may be more opportunities for a
particular player or players in that d line room because
Walter's on the sideline. Bowl All's not on the sideline.
Now you figure out, right, I have more chances to impress,
to perhaps make the team that maybe I didn't have
(32:19):
if everyone in that room was completely healthy.
Speaker 3 (32:21):
There's a trio of players that are looking at this
as an opportunity.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
LJ.
Speaker 3 (32:27):
Kyllier, Dante Stills, and Justin Jones. Sure, these are guys
that you know, in our eyes, could be you know,
already could have a spot on the fifty three man roster,
or they might be on the brink and they might
be fighting for a spot. This is their opportunity to
show the coaching staff what they have. Dante Still's coming
in as a six round pick and showing what he's
been able to do over his first two seasons, truthfully
(32:49):
overperforming for a six round pick.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
LJ.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
Kyllier coming back off the injury he had during that
first season in twenty twenty three, a really strong twenty
twenty four. There's a reason why they brought him back.
And Justin Jones is in l JA Kyllier's shoes, from
the year prior, coming off an injury, coming back to
training camp and saying, hey, don't forget about me. This
is what I'm able to do. So those three are
going to have a lot on the line and a
(33:12):
lot to show this coaching staff.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
I'd had another name, Elijah Simmons, the undrafted defensive tackle,
a true defensive tackle, six' one three point thirty, four
undrafted out Of. Tennessee, now all of a, sudden you
look at that particular a true defensive. Tackle Dalvin, Tomlinson Walter,
third And Elijah. Simmons those are your top three that
(33:34):
truly play that nose. Position and now all of a,
Sudden elijah has more opportunity to impress and maybe sneak
onto that active. Roster and if nothing, else hey we
see something in. You we want to keep you as
long as we're gonna get you through, waivers and all
of a, sudden you got a spot on the practice.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Squad Darren urban has an incredible article About Elijah simmons
and his journey from being on THE nfl draft stage
as a high schooler to where he is now and
recognize as a high schooler BY Jj watt of all,
people so to read that, article check Out easycardinals dot
com because it's definitely one when you want to learn
about some of these players that might not be the
(34:10):
marquee names on your. Roster Elijah simmons is one of those,
players and this is a really solid story that highlights
his journey and what it would mean to be making
this fifty.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
Three azycardinals dot com also the place to go for
the complete schedule Of Training camp twenty twenty, five presented
By Desert. Financial we will be out here the entire.
Time first open practice On, Thursday july twenty. Fourth parking
admission are. Free you do need to, register get that
digital ticket so you can come, inside enjoy the air,
(34:41):
conditioning watch The Arizona, cardinals and.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
Come say hello to the Young Zach please on, tomorrow On,
thursday during, Practice i'm going to be bringing those meta
aiglasses that record, everything so be a part of my
point of.
Speaker 1 (34:55):
View, wow, okay breaking, news little nugget, THERE i was not. Expecting,
YEAH i.
Speaker 3 (35:00):
Want to do a little blog of the first open
practice and seeing you, know training camp dark point of
view because, look we we live in, it we work in,
it but we do is pretty. Cool so, again the
opportunity to show the halls a little bit definitely be
uh SOMETHING i hope people.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
Appreciate look forward to, that look forward to the first
open practice On, thursday as we close the books on
day one Of Training camp twenty twenty, five presented By Desert.
Financial and on that, note we'll put a lid on
this edition Of Cardinals cover two presented By, yundai probably
partner of The Arizona. Cardinals as, always special thanks to
(35:34):
our executive Producer Jill Mama, andre our associate Producer Cody.
Fincher For Zach, Kershman I'm. Praigriodu we'll talk to you
next time you're On Cardinals cover two
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com