July 24, 2025 • 37 mins
Ep. 902 - One of the bigger questions heading into training camp has been answered. And answered by the man himself. Following Thursday’s practice, the first open practice of #CardsCamp, Mack Wilson Sr. confirmed he’ll be calling the defense this season. Craig Grialou and Dani Sureck discuss Wilson’s new role, new responsibilities and what it may mean for the rest of the defense. First though, Craig and Dani detail a very scary moment when defenders J.J. Russell and Kitan Crawford collided trying to break up a pass. Russell had to be carted off the field and was sent to a local hospital for further testing and continued evaluation according to the team. Practice ended early.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Scary moment, real scary moment. In day two of Cards camp,
early got Danny surrec with me berg Gang. We discussed
as best we can what happened between two defenders, plus
what else we saw during the first open practice, and
then heard post practice from Mac Wilson Senior. We know
who will be the Mike linebacker. It's Cardinals Cover two,
(00:23):
Episode nine oh two, and it starts now.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Welcome to Cardinals Cover two.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Who to Baker? What Heart? What rent? This guy's unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
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 1 (00:47):
He's a the ten half of five. He's it again?
Some more Hurry magic.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Whow Here's Craig Griola.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
So you watch enough football, Danny, you forget, or better said,
maybe take for granted what players put their bodies through.
We got reminded on Thursday first open practice at State
Farm Stadium and during a nine on seven drill there
was a collision, an audible noise I didn't see in
(01:21):
real time. I saw, obviously as everyone else did, the
after effects. But when you see a player, in this case,
linebacker JJ Russell face first on the ground, it is scary,
and then the entire building goes silent. Practice ended about
ten minutes early, and yeah, now everyone is hoping and
(01:44):
praying that Jj is okay. The latest from the team.
He is being evaluated for a head and neck injury.
He was alert on the field, had movement in all
of his extremities. He's been taken to a local hospital
for the testing and continued evaluation.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
You never want to see that happen, of course, and
that's the game of football. And it wasn't even a
contact play because players aren't in pads yet. It was
a situation of Russell and safety Keen Crawford looking at
the ball, didn't see each other, collided and Crawford was
okay he got up and Russell did not. And that's
a hard moment when the music stops, the fans are silent,
(02:23):
and all of the coaches and players are on one
knee on the field as the trainers are checking out
and evaluating Russell, and they put him on the backboard
and then they put him on the cart. He was
carted off and taken to a hospital for further evaluation,
and you just hope that is precautionary and that he
is okay. First and foremost is talking about the safety.
It was not the same, but the air was stucked
(02:45):
out in a similar fashion this time last year when
Bijo Jalai went down with what would be a season
ending knee injury. Linebacker Mac Wilson Senior talked in the
locker room after practice of he was taken back to
when he had his concussion a really nasty hit again
the Patriots last season. So this is something that players
can relate to and you don't want to relate to it.
(03:06):
So he got some cheers as he was leaving, was
seemingly moving his extremities on the cart. So we won't
know more until we hear from the head coach on Friday,
and that's if he has any you know, real updates
to share at that point. So something to keep in mind,
and it makes sense practice was ended early. First of all,
(03:27):
you're not really these practices are important, but you're really
not going to lose much in about ten to twelve
minutes of the end of practice, especially when the players
are going to be checked out mentally, you know you're
just kind of discombobulated of what you've seen. So that
was the right call to end practice when they did.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
And that's what Kalais Campbell said afterwards as well, that
it was probably and it was the right decision because
in that moment, you start thinking about your teammates, and
it probably would have been unfair to ask players even
coaches to kind of all, right, let's pick up where
we left off. How much more practice do we have,
how many more reps do we have? How about we
(04:06):
just pause, think about and pray for Jj and then
move forward, because that's what the NFL is, you move
on to the next. Now. JJ Russell is a new
player of the Arizona Cardinals third sh'd say is his
fourth season, going into his fourth season, but previous three
seasons all with the Buccaneers, but brought in for a
(04:28):
little bit more competition in that inside linebacker room. And
that's when we talk with Mac and you are right there, Danny,
that it not only hit him because of his own
concussion and being knocked on the ground during a game,
but now it's a teammate in his own room, someone
that he's getting to know and probably has gotten to
(04:49):
know over these last several months, and whether they or
not they had a relationship prior to the Arizona Cardinals,
but now all of a sudden, it's it hits a
little bit different when it's the guy that you were
probably sitting next to only hours earlier in a meeting room.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Yeah, it's again not something you ever want to experience
or have a teammate, especially someone in your room that
you are getting close to and learning from and working with.
So we will definitely share updates once we get them.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Want nothing but the best for JJ Russell and as
I mentioned, Thursday, the first open practice here at State
Farm Stadium Training Camp twenty twenty five, presented by Desert Financial.
Again now open practice on Friday next week as well.
Go to Azycardinals dot com for the complete schedule and
again how to acquire those free tickets, parking, admission, the
(05:40):
digital ticketing, all the information right there on Azycardinals dot com.
But the first time now, Danny and which what we
have seen through much of the offseason, specifically Mini camp
and then during Wednesday's first practice which was closed to
the fans, But now the first time the wee can
say what we have seen and further speculate, but now
(06:04):
with maybe a little bit more of background based on
what we have seen, how guys are lining up, how
the rotations look. Again, not in pads yet, it's still
kind of a normal off season practice, but you're seeing
some different things. Anything specific from what we saw, Danny,
that really stood out to you or further validated what
(06:29):
you saw during OAS.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
And mini camp when you and I were standing on
the sideline watching practice and you told me that I
was right, that stood out?
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Is that a good place, perfect, perfect, Where Danny was right,
where Craig was wrong twice? Yes, okay, first time. Okay,
here's the first time. And this was for those long
time listeners. The Cardinals cover two percent to be Hundai,
probably partner of the Arizona Cardinals. Anytime the conversation turned
(06:58):
to right guard, Danny had one opinion, I had another.
In fact that I told you off air, I love
it when we disagree or come at views differently, because one,
it makes for a lot more fun radio conversation. Plus
I prefer not to have someone agree with me all
the time. So I enjoy it because you give it
(07:21):
as well as you take it. Thank you, all right,
So where Danny was right number one right guard, who
was the first team right guard. Let me give you
the other four positions. Paris Johnson junior left tackle, Evan
Brown left guard, Yelda for Holtz center, Jonah Williams right
tackle who was sandwiched in between Yelda.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
And Jonah Isaiah Adams going into his second year. Again,
this is early. Pads are not even on. We have
a lot more practices, a lot more to see. I
still expect to see competition. You and I have been
disagreeing in the sense that I have been saying it
feels like Adam's job to lose after fifteen games five
starts last year as a rookie, talking about the strength
(08:01):
he has added and slowing down the game mentally this
offseason getting ready for year two. And you have thought
it was maybe a newcomer, somebody like a Royce Newman
who's been playing in the in the NFL for about
four years, has about fifty games total under his belt.
From the first practice that was open to the media,
open to the public. Again, no bads, you can only
(08:22):
take so much from what you're seeing. Adams was getting
those first team.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Reps where Danny was right where Craig was wrong. Now
I'll say this cut that off Cody in my own defense.
There were signs again during OTA's and mini campings. This
was during the open portion when you saw the offensive
line just line up for their individual work. I saw
(08:48):
Royce Newman next to Jonah Williams alongside Yell defrole again,
was it something that was every single rep. No, But
whereas you seemed to maybe again maybe hand the job
too is too strong of a phrase to use. I
just thought maybe there was a little bit more influx,
(09:08):
maybe more uncertainty. And you've got Isaiah, You've got Royce,
and then we'll see if there's someone else in the mix.
But certainly from day one of open practice that we
can talk about. Your leader is Isaiah Adams, and now
everyone is trying to play catch up if they want
to be a part of that first week's offensive line.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Things could drastically change after Sunday's padded practice, the first
one for the Cardinals. When you're talking about competition, the
only way to know who is going to be a
better fit with your ones is to have your rotation
of that right guard in between your starting center and
right tackle. So that's good to see somebody like Newman
playing next to Froholt and Williams and see the chemistry
(09:52):
and the communication and how they are working as a group.
Tied together, things could drastically change for every position on
the pads. Come on, It's absolutely a position I'm going
to keep my eye on throughout camp though.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
So that's the first team offensive line, second team offensive line.
Left tackle Calvin Beacham, left guard Nick LeVert, center John
Gaines backing up yell to Frold, right guard Royce Newman,
and right tackle Christian Jones. But we are seeing John Gaines,
who I think can play and has experience across the
(10:24):
entire line of scrimmage. But when you think about the
center position after yell to Frold, it's there's not a
lot as far as game day experience per se behind.
That's why, again knock on wood that nothing helpens to
yell to. But at least John Gaines, who I was
excited about when he was drafted because of his versatility.
(10:46):
Unfortunately that first year was wiped out because of an injury.
Now he comes in and trying to find himself and
might have found himself a spot active on game day
in the event he gets to tap on the.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Shoulder, and despite the versatility games has, it seems this
coaching staff from last year and what we have seen
early on this year that they like him at the
center spot. You need a good backup center tofrohold and
seemingly that is gained right now. If somebody as defensive
corner Nick Raalis likes to say, loses a shoe right
(11:18):
gets hurt during a game, a decision has to be made.
In this case, you know, worst case scenario, we're talking
about the center position. Do you move somebody like Evan
Brown from guard to center who has that experience, then
you have to fill in the guard position, or do
you try and only sub in one position and then
you're only having to put in a different center. So
that's why it's crucial to have a good backup center
(11:41):
so that if you need to, you can just plug
in Gains and you're not having to adjust other pieces
on the offensive line. And when you're looking at big picture,
the versatility of other players, there's a lot of competition
when you're talking about your swing tackle or your guards.
Right you bring in six round pick Hayden Connor this
year fighting for a spot with the other guards, Royce Newman.
(12:05):
You're looking at Calvin Beacham and Christian Jones going into
a second year as your big competition players for swing tackle.
So it seems like the best way for Gaines to
make this roster and really solidify his spot. His area
of expertise with the offensive line seems to be as
the backup center.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
For what it's worth, Hayden Connor was getting work at
center with the third string, and it's a position that
he mentioned that he practiced every single day in college.
Did get a little bit of an experience during the
college football playoffs. So again that versatility, and we look
back a year ago. Nine offensive linemen is how this
team orchestrated its fifty three man roster going into Week one.
(12:46):
We just listed off ten names, not counting for the
rest of the offensive lineman. So all right, you're gonna
need a swing tackle. Do you keep two tackles? Do
you keep two three interior? So there's ten right there,
one more than a year ago. And if you keep
one more than you did last year, you got to
take away from another position. So again that's the juggling
(13:07):
nec that Mani's got to worry about again, way too
early here. You've got a full month of training camp,
preseason games. But this is where you kind of see
guys stand out more than another.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
It's a numbers game. Whether it feels far away or
it is or it isn't. The day of cutting down
from ninety to your final fifty three is approaching. It's
not just a matter of competing against the players in
your position room. You are also competing against players in
other position rooms. We've talked about all offseason. When you're
looking at the depth and the skill level on the
(13:40):
defensive line specifically, what are the odds that the Cardinals
go from carrying six to seven in that room? Same
situation for your cornerbacksroom, which is very young, has some
experience and players that they want to develop. So if
you're going to start increasing the number of players you're
keeping in certain position rooms, you're going to have to
back out from other positions from last year. I do
(14:02):
not foresee offensive line being one of those rooms where
you take a fewer number than you did the previous year,
just because you need to be prepared and you need
to have versatility, because that is a position room that
typically does see a good amount of adversity rather throughout
the season. But it's a numbers game, and there's competition. Sure,
you know short vision tunnel vision of in your competition room,
(14:27):
and then when you brought it out, it's the whole team.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
So if we're keeping track, and I know Danny will,
I will as well Danny two Craig, nothing is that fair?
Speaker 3 (14:38):
It's fair?
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Okay, there wasn't any other that I might have missed
from day one.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
I'm sure there's something that'll I'm sure I would remember
in the case.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
By the way, speaking of Jonah Williams, Zach Gershman has
a story soon to be or perhaps already posted on
Azycardinals dot com. Zach had a chance to speak post
practice with Jonah about last season, which was a struggle
for Jonah. A great first quarter in Buffalo and then
we don't see him for a long period of time.
(15:08):
Comes back for week seventeen and eighteen, or excuse me,
misses week seventeen and eighteen, and Jonah told telling Zach
that same knee, and yeah, it was an off season
in which he had to make sure he was back
to at least one hundred percent or as close to
one hundred percent but missing eleven games last season for
(15:29):
a free agent signing that came in with a lot
of hype, and you move on from DJ Humphries and
you bring in Jonah Williams on a big money deal
and all of a sudden he's lost after fifteen minutes
of Week one. You do see him later on in
the regular season, but that's one position that hopefully he
can be that guy this year and then you figure
(15:50):
out after this season. But you brought him here for
a reason. Jag spoke very highly of Jonah pre practiced
about the amount of work that Jonah put in as
far as being in the building almost or darn near
almost every single day. So that's I think a positive sign.
When those questions that we had going into tran and
camp about specifically the offensive line JOHNA. Williams right there
(16:14):
instead of in pencil, maybe you put that name in ink?
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Oh? Absolutely, are are are you thinking that that's are.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Just the maybe if there was some uncertainty for people
as far as hey, how is he healthy? Is JOHNA.
Williams healthcare? I think you know, we saw enough of
him in OTA's in mini camp, but now in training camp,
it didn't look like he was being limited at all
and moving around just fine. I mean every single time
we saw the first team offense, he was the right tackle,
so there wasn't moving you know, hey, Christian Jones going
(16:47):
there for a rap or anything like that. It's to
use your phrasing, it's John Williams's position to lose, and
I don't see him losing it. Hopefully he doesn't lose it.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Absolutely. The word Gannon used was unbelievable to describe the
type of that Williams is. What was even more unfortunate
when he missed majority of last season is when they
signed him, he was a player known for not being
someone who fought injuries in his career. And you know,
it's similar to a blaon Nichols and Justin Jones on
the defensive line last year. As we talked about throughout
(17:18):
the free agency acquisitions, these were veteran players brought in
who were durable and who were reliable, and it was
really unfortunate that you have these veterans you were intending
on being able to rely on suffer injuries. It's great
because Williams was somewhat limited throughout like OTS and Mini camp.
Whenever we saw him, so the fact that, at least
(17:39):
from what we've seen in practice here at the start
of training camp, does not appear to be so that
is great news. It'll be interesting the decision behind him
as your swing tackle of Christian Jones and Calvin Beacham
as you start to go down the depth chart there,
that would be huge to get Williams back. There's a
reason they brought him in. There's a reason they paid
him all the money they did. And that's what you
(18:00):
want to have, is you want to have that consistency.
You want to have somebody that you trust opposite at
Paris Johnson Jr.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
Looking O. We're at my notes, Johonna Williams had played
every snap in each of the previous three seasons. Going
into that offseason he signed with the Arizona Cardinals. So
again the availability then all of a sudden, he's not available.
Before we touch on the defense. As far as offensive
highlights during this first practice, yes, Marvin Harrison Junior looks very,
(18:27):
very good. During nine on seven there was an over
the shoulder catch. He certainly looks at least initially. First
impression of year two. Yeah, everyone is going to be
excited to see MHJ. In action here during training camp,
and hopefully there are more times that the quarterback and
wide receiver connect than we saw last year.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
Absolutely that that has to be a priority is having
more explosive plays, a more deep, more threatening, deep passing
game for this offense. That's what the Blayers and coaches
said themselves when the season ended, So imagine that's going
to be a big emphasis, especially once the pads come on.
That's what I'm excited to see is some real competition
in the one on one battles and we can have
(19:08):
Marvin Harrison Junior and Will Johnson or against Max Melton
or against Darling Thomas. That's what I'm excited to see.
I mean, Harrison set himself. He's up to two twenty,
which is about eleven pounds heavier than he was his
rookie year, and you just have to take one quick
glance and see it as all muscle. And he's young,
so he's had what he said is kind of force
(19:30):
himself to eat breakfast in the morning when he's not hungry,
and that has helped. And that is a nice reminder
of oh my gosh, he's what twenty three, twenty four
years old. That's a pretty normal thing for most twenty
three and twenty four year old man to learn.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
A newcomer and that wide receiver run a room who flashed,
at least to me, was Simmi Fajoko number eighty on
your program. But again, a wide receiver who's got some speed,
who's got some height, and during nine on seven had
a deep ball or deep catch thrown by Jacoby Brissett,
who certainly looks every bit as a veteran quarterback out
(20:06):
there as far as commanding the huddle, checking at the
line of scrimmage, good zip on the ball. But Simmy
is the name to consider to pay attention to when
you talk about the wide receiver room and how the
bottom half behind Marvin Michael and you figure out the
rotation or whose number three is it? George is it
Zay Jones? Is it Simmy? Is it someone else? Xavier
(20:29):
Weaver who's got the speed. Again another room where you've
got decisions to make.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
Last year, Zach Pasco was a wide receiver who was
a big time player on special teams that I'm sure
is going to play into effect here. And I believe
Simmy Voco has special teams experience which should help him
but it is a question. Xavier Weaver was on the
practice squad as a rookie last year, but man throughout camp,
especially in Indianapolis against the joint practices with the Colts,
(20:57):
he looked fast. He looks like someone who could be
your deep threat with that speed, So that that's an
exciting competition. It goes back to the numbers game, right
is I believe they carried six receivers last year? Is
that the same number? Does that drop to five? Because
when you've also got the amount of threats you have
(21:17):
in the tight ends room with Trey McBride, Elijah Higgins
possibly getting Tip Ryman a little more involved. You've got
James Connor, Trey Benson coming out of the backfield, a
lot of decisions to be made.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
It's gonna be fun and exciting to watch as we
flip it over or there were there any other offensive
highlights for you. Again, it was again everyone's excited about
that first open practice and then it just came to
a crashing halt and the air got sucked out of
the building. So it's again as far as your biggest
(21:51):
takeaways on day one of the open practice, Day two
overall here at State Farm stadium. It's your most recent
impression and that was seeing a teammate a player carded
off the field.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
I think on offense, the only thing is where things
stand right now. And again this was one practice, so
maybe the rotation will change. It doesn't seem like a
heavy competition for backup quarterback at the moment, just because
Brissette was taking all of the reps with the second team.
That could change. That could just be today and then
(22:24):
when we have practiced on Friday, it's Clayton Tune getting
reps with the two. So but where things stood on Thursday,
it was Brissett with the reps with the second team.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
And again, as I mentioned, yes, a veteran quarterback who
knows what he's doing behind center, and that's good to have.
Again I've said it all the time, and he was
the one big addition offensively as far as splashes if
you will, and someone that you hope to never see
during the regular seases.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Veteran quarterback with a lot of starting experience, very good
at protecting the football as well, not a lot of
interceptions thrown in his career on.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
That subject, the football and something again it's recency biased,
but I don't remember seeing this last training camp or
the training camp prior, but unfortunately, the ball did hit
the ground a handful of times during Thursday's practice, as
far as it was batted down or dropped. And just
(23:21):
the once that ball was on the ground, danny to
see the number of a white shirts beaning white. I
mean the defenders wearing their white uniforms rushed to the football.
And how many times we heard players or coaches say, hey,
as a defense, we need to get our hands on
a lot more football's, more takeaways, more interceptions, bat the
ball down. And it certainly seems like it's been heard
(23:44):
in those meeting rooms and position rooms that anytime there's
a ball on the field, whether it's an incomplete pack,
there's a defender right there because you never know, hey,
did the whistleblow? Play might still be live and you
want to make sure you get possession.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
Those are game changing plays. Those are impact plays and
interceptions specifically, the Cardinals had just nine last year, which
was tied for twenty fourth, So you need to be
better at forcing turnovers. When the ball is on the ground,
everyone's yelling ball, so everyone knows what they're looking for.
But the balls weren't just dropped or padded down. They
were punched out. There were a few balls that were
(24:19):
punched out by defenders and again no pads, right, you're
you're just kind of it's not going to be as
intense as a padded practice because that's the closest you
can get to an actual game. But the fact that
the defense is punching out balls and continuing through the play,
that's a good sign as well.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
And that's something that we saw them practice during the
week as far as okay, ball security, but then defenders
get that ball out, punch it out as whatever way
you can to see if you can't scramble for it.
Speaking of the defense, one of the question marks that
we have had all off season, no Kaizier White, what
does this team do as far as the mike linebacker,
(24:58):
who's calling the defense? Who's the quarter back of the defense?
We got our answer watching and then listening post practice.
But watching practice, it was Mac Wilson Senior. He was
sometimes the only inside linebacker on the field, something that
I think we might see more of. If you want
more defensive lineman, more defensive backs, Mac could just be
(25:20):
that guy in the middle and doing whatever Mac does
and he does a lot well. And then speaking with
him post practice, he admitted to everyone, yes, he is
going to have that green dot. He's your quarterback. He's
calling plays and it's something that excites him and is different,
a little bit new for him as well.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
Every linebacker has the speaker in their helmet. They all
practice hearing that, however, they don't all practice actually calling
the defense. So the fact that we got confirmation based
on what we were seeing in practices, yes, it is
Wilson calling the defense and it's something he said he
can handle. And even Gannon talked about that recently. Is
it's not easy, but it's a very doable transition for
(26:00):
somebody who has not called the defense before. And when
asked if there's a player who has given Wilson any
sort of feedback for him, and he laughed, he said, yes,
Glas Campbell, right, he's going into year eighteen. The defensive
lineman told him needs to echo, you know, the checkdowns
a little louder, make sure that he could hear that
part of the play call. And Will said, you know what,
(26:20):
whatever he needs, I got it. I'm learning. And that's
a lot. That's a lot to make sure you're understanding
what is being said to you by rawlas that you
are enuncieing it. You are making clear to everybody around you.
You've got the DB's behind you, you've got the linemen
in front of you, and then you're watching and you're
looking for what the quarterback is showing you. And Wilson
said he's also been having some fun with quarterback Kyler Murray.
(26:42):
We did see Wilson get into the backfield and back
down to pass in practice on eleven and eleven's.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
That was really one of the first players, Yes.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
One of the first players the backfield. Even this is different,
a different role for Wilson. You can tell very clearly
how comfortable he in this scheme from his experience last
year and what was being asked if him and what
he has learned. It really would not surprise me if
we see a significant amount of snaps where there is
(27:12):
only one linebacker out there, especially if two of the
positions we really have our eye on for what we
think could see an uptick and the number of players
on the final roster and d line and cornerbacks or
even safety right any of those dbs. That's very doable
with the personnel that this defense has correct.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
Me if I'm wrong. This is the first time since
college at Alabama that Mac is the mic correct that's right.
So again, he does have some experience, but it's not
recent experience. And I do believe even though if he
is does become that full time green dot quarterback of
(27:51):
the defense. And the number of different ways we saw
Mac deployed last season, whether that's in the box, on
the edge, blitzeing, drop back, I get the sense that
he can still do that and still be that quarterback
of the defense. Just because you have the green dot
doesn't need to mean you stay in the middle of
the field the entire play. And we saw that him
(28:13):
getting into the backfield batting down to Kyler Murray pass.
So you might still see Mac do exactly what he
did a year ago, but the responsibility that he has
is more of that coach on the field relaying the
signals or the play call from Nick Ralis.
Speaker 3 (28:28):
You have some of those more true linebackers, you bring
in a Keen Davis Gaither in free agency, you draft
Cody Simon on Day three, you still have Owen Papo,
So absolutely that that could be very feasible.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
The starting defense Darius Robinson, Dalvin Tomlinson, Kalais Campbell, Mac Wilson, Senior,
Owen Papo. There's your front with Baron Browning and Josh
Sweat and then sometimes when there were just two cornerbacks
on the field, it was Garrett Williams on one side
(29:01):
and Max Melton on the other, with Buddha Baker and
Jalen Thompson manning the safety position. Did see Starling Thomas
rotate in when we saw him rotate in, Owen was
the guy taking off the field, and that's when we
saw a lot of Mac being that single guy in
the middle of the field and will Johnson, Yes he
did get reps with the first team defense as well,
but you are going to see a lot of rotation,
(29:22):
I think, on all three levels of that defense. When
we say starts, it's that first snap of the game
and then after that, it doesn't matter. Tell me at
the end of the day, how many snaps am I getting.
Am I playing sixty percent of the defensive snaps? When
am I playing thirty percent of the defensive snaps? You know,
that's something that I'll pay attention to when you get
(29:42):
those released on Monday morning. But that's the rotation in
the pieces that Nick Rollis's has, and then figuring out
how to fit those pieces together to form a puzzle
for one play, one series, one quarter one game. I mean,
I think it's going to change dramatically each.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
And every week, absolutely because of whoever they're playing. That's
what you need to do is make sure you are
well rounded enough that you can be competitive against whatever
type of offense you are seeing. If it's a team
that has a more mobile quarterback, if it's somebody who
has a really difficult tight end to defend, or is
it they're outside threats that get you do they run
(30:21):
the ball down your throat? I mean, you need to
make sure that you can handle whatever your opponent is
throwing at you any given week. And that's what they've
really been setting themselves up to be able to do
this offseason.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
We talk about three man fronts, four man fronts. We
saw a lot, especially I think in non passing situations
where you did have three down linemen, but you had
Josh Wet and Baron Browning hover as outside linebackers close
to the lot. So it did look like a five
man front with Matt kind of by himself in the
middle again, just another way for Nick to get the
(30:55):
best eleven on the field. And there's constantly shuffling in
and out. But at least on here, this first open practice,
you got a sense of, okay, where where guys are
at the moment. It could change tomorrow, it could change
over the weekend, but at least based off the off
season work, the coaches have this as who they believe
(31:16):
are your best eleven in base package, and then you
figure out, all right, it's no passing situation, we need
an extra dB and the inside linebacker becomes just Mac
by himself.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
I think to a certain extent, there are still questions
of who are your best eleven on base defense. I
don't think that's solidified after two practices where you've got
helmets of training camp. I think there's a lot of
questions of who's your best eleven when you're talking about
your cornerbacks, right, who's your best eleven when you're talking
about your defensive lineman. And you know, do you have
(31:47):
a linebacker that is so good that you need to
make sure you have two or three linebackers out there,
whatever the number is. That stuff doesn't feel remotely close
to being solidified. This early into camp.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
And that's I think that's what you want because you
want that competition or as JG said, friction, And I
don't think that just means more padded practices are more hitting,
but the competition within those rooms to create that sense
of urgency, that friction, if you will, and I think
we're seeing that more and more. It was good to
see even though he's not on the field, but Walter
(32:21):
Nolan the third walking around and signing autographs post practice.
So sometimes you forget about those injured players out of mind,
but Walter is at least healthy enough to where he's
not rehabbing in the back the entire time and then
engaging with fans because we were here on Wednesday, and
(32:41):
just the disappointment that you're not going to see your
first round pick in action here at State Farm Stadium
during training camp. That's a bummer. But he is out
here and smile on his face, greeting fans.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
Yeah, you want someone who's going to be in good
enough spirits to go and engage with fans. Who I mean,
it says a lot that even though he's not practicing,
still want to come out here and cheer them on
and get his autograph. Did see bjo Jalari walking around
practice as well. So when you say just because they're
not out here, easy forget, not easy to forget, Craig,
But yeah, hopefully you see them in blond Nichols. All
(33:15):
three place on the physically unable to perform list, and
you have to wonder what the possible expected timeline is
for those kinds of players. They could be taken off
the list and practice whenever they're ready. Right, so there's
a possibility we see one, if not all of them
at some point throughout camp. That is best case scenario.
(33:36):
You also understand why this front office and coaching staff
is covering themselves a bit because by placing them on pup,
that allows you, when it's time to cut down to
final fifty three, to place that player on the reserve
and not have it go towards your final fifty three.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
Before we cut you loose. Did I happen to see
you making s'mores during Day one of cards?
Speaker 3 (34:00):
Okay, any opportunity I can to have smores, I'm going
to make sure it happens. Absolutely. You did see that, Okay?
Speaker 1 (34:07):
I saw the posts on social media? Care to inform
or tease forward what that was all about, or or
maybe this is just something that you do away from
all of us while we're working. You're out there having fun.
It can still work. Finding a campfire somewhere here in
the building.
Speaker 3 (34:24):
No, there was no fire. Let me make that very clear.
It was one of those flameless electric s'mores kits. So
on Cardinals, Birdwatch, Paul Calvic and I this week had
a little fun and the train of thought was training
camp camp, camp fire s'mores. So any opportunity I can
(34:45):
to make and have smores, I am always going to
take it. The good news is to listeners who are
hopefully also going to be viewers. We did not eat
the s'mores on camera because those are messy, so that
was saved until commercial break. You just got to see it,
and I will say it definitely took us a minute
to get used to the flameless burner and try and
(35:06):
figure out how to actually roast the marshmallows. That to
take us a moment. At one point I had I
was convinced Paul had never made us more in his life.
Even one of his techniques of roasting the marshmallow and
trying to put the chocolate directly underneath rather than going
for a gram cracker. So yes, I would, uh, if
you want a good laugh, tune into Cardinal's bird Watch
this week. And I do think that is something maybe
(35:28):
we're going to continue throughout training camp, so there will
be opportunities to improve our smores making game.
Speaker 1 (35:35):
There has to be a blooper reel.
Speaker 3 (35:37):
That was brought up by one of the producers on set.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
It would be a great way to tease what's to
come on bird Watch.
Speaker 3 (35:45):
By the time we got there and we were finished,
the smores were delicious. I will say that it's hard.
It's hard to mess up a small but they were delicious.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
Paul still has the mustache, so I'm guessing he didn't
want the s'mores to get in the stash or that's
true that cash office probably.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
You know, kay a good call. Yeah, I got to
keep the mustache clean.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
Only, Paul.
Speaker 3 (36:07):
Never you don't do a training can't mustache because.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
It's very difficult for me to grow facial hair.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
Put you on the spot like that.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
Okay, it just wasn't doesn't look good. I have more
of like a five o'clock shadow. After two days or whatever,
we have nothing, nothing quite like Paul, and for those
that might not have seen Cardinals Underground and seeing Paul
calvisy with a mustache turn into bird Watch.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
There you go, another opportunity. Okay, yeah, because I don't
know how long he's going to keep it, so tune
in while you can, all right.
Speaker 1 (36:39):
I'm just disappointed I wasn't invited for Smores.
Speaker 3 (36:42):
You know what, maybe next week?
Speaker 1 (36:44):
Maybe next week filling once on bird Watch.
Speaker 3 (36:46):
You did at You did a great job.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
It was a lot of fun. I appreciate it. Yes,
Zach Chrischman and myself. It takes two to fill the
shoes of one. Paul Calvis. Good stuff. I guess I'll
see you again on Friday.
Speaker 3 (37:01):
I'm already a point. I'm like, is that tomorrow there's
no days in training camp?
Speaker 1 (37:05):
Sure that's true. Every day, no days off, go one
after another after another, no days off.
Speaker 3 (37:11):
Love it.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
On that note, we will put a lit on this
edition of Cardinals Cover two presented by Hyundai, proudly partner
the Arizona Cardinals. As always, special thanks to our executive
producer Jim Mamanre our associate producer Cuddy Fincher. For Danny Sirek,
I'm Greg rial Lou, we'll talk to you next time
you're on Cardinals cover two.
Scary moment, real scary moment. In day two of Cards camp,
early got Danny surrec with me berg Gang. We discussed
as best we can what happened between two defenders, plus
what else we saw during the first open practice, and
then heard post practice from Mac Wilson Senior. We know
who will be the Mike linebacker. It's Cardinals Cover two,
(00:23):
Episode nine oh two, and it starts now.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Welcome to Cardinals Cover two.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Who to Baker? What Heart? What rent? This guy's unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
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 1 (00:47):
He's a the ten half of five. He's it again?
Some more Hurry magic.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Whow Here's Craig Griola.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
So you watch enough football, Danny, you forget, or better said,
maybe take for granted what players put their bodies through.
We got reminded on Thursday first open practice at State
Farm Stadium and during a nine on seven drill there
was a collision, an audible noise I didn't see in
(01:21):
real time. I saw, obviously as everyone else did, the
after effects. But when you see a player, in this case,
linebacker JJ Russell face first on the ground, it is scary,
and then the entire building goes silent. Practice ended about
ten minutes early, and yeah, now everyone is hoping and
(01:44):
praying that Jj is okay. The latest from the team.
He is being evaluated for a head and neck injury.
He was alert on the field, had movement in all
of his extremities. He's been taken to a local hospital
for the testing and continued evaluation.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
You never want to see that happen, of course, and
that's the game of football. And it wasn't even a
contact play because players aren't in pads yet. It was
a situation of Russell and safety Keen Crawford looking at
the ball, didn't see each other, collided and Crawford was
okay he got up and Russell did not. And that's
a hard moment when the music stops, the fans are silent,
(02:23):
and all of the coaches and players are on one
knee on the field as the trainers are checking out
and evaluating Russell, and they put him on the backboard
and then they put him on the cart. He was
carted off and taken to a hospital for further evaluation,
and you just hope that is precautionary and that he
is okay. First and foremost is talking about the safety.
It was not the same, but the air was stucked
(02:45):
out in a similar fashion this time last year when
Bijo Jalai went down with what would be a season
ending knee injury. Linebacker Mac Wilson Senior talked in the
locker room after practice of he was taken back to
when he had his concussion a really nasty hit again
the Patriots last season. So this is something that players
can relate to and you don't want to relate to it.
(03:06):
So he got some cheers as he was leaving, was
seemingly moving his extremities on the cart. So we won't
know more until we hear from the head coach on Friday,
and that's if he has any you know, real updates
to share at that point. So something to keep in mind,
and it makes sense practice was ended early. First of all,
(03:27):
you're not really these practices are important, but you're really
not going to lose much in about ten to twelve
minutes of the end of practice, especially when the players
are going to be checked out mentally, you know you're
just kind of discombobulated of what you've seen. So that
was the right call to end practice when they did.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
And that's what Kalais Campbell said afterwards as well, that
it was probably and it was the right decision because
in that moment, you start thinking about your teammates, and
it probably would have been unfair to ask players even
coaches to kind of all, right, let's pick up where
we left off. How much more practice do we have,
how many more reps do we have? How about we
(04:06):
just pause, think about and pray for Jj and then
move forward, because that's what the NFL is, you move
on to the next. Now. JJ Russell is a new
player of the Arizona Cardinals third sh'd say is his
fourth season, going into his fourth season, but previous three
seasons all with the Buccaneers, but brought in for a
(04:28):
little bit more competition in that inside linebacker room. And
that's when we talk with Mac and you are right there, Danny,
that it not only hit him because of his own
concussion and being knocked on the ground during a game,
but now it's a teammate in his own room, someone
that he's getting to know and probably has gotten to
(04:49):
know over these last several months, and whether they or
not they had a relationship prior to the Arizona Cardinals,
but now all of a sudden, it's it hits a
little bit different when it's the guy that you were
probably sitting next to only hours earlier in a meeting room.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Yeah, it's again not something you ever want to experience
or have a teammate, especially someone in your room that
you are getting close to and learning from and working with.
So we will definitely share updates once we get them.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Want nothing but the best for JJ Russell and as
I mentioned, Thursday, the first open practice here at State
Farm Stadium Training Camp twenty twenty five, presented by Desert Financial.
Again now open practice on Friday next week as well.
Go to Azycardinals dot com for the complete schedule and
again how to acquire those free tickets, parking, admission, the
(05:40):
digital ticketing, all the information right there on Azycardinals dot com.
But the first time now, Danny and which what we
have seen through much of the offseason, specifically Mini camp
and then during Wednesday's first practice which was closed to
the fans, But now the first time the wee can
say what we have seen and further speculate, but now
(06:04):
with maybe a little bit more of background based on
what we have seen, how guys are lining up, how
the rotations look. Again, not in pads yet, it's still
kind of a normal off season practice, but you're seeing
some different things. Anything specific from what we saw, Danny,
that really stood out to you or further validated what
(06:29):
you saw during OAS.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
And mini camp when you and I were standing on
the sideline watching practice and you told me that I
was right, that stood out?
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Is that a good place, perfect, perfect, Where Danny was right,
where Craig was wrong twice? Yes, okay, first time. Okay,
here's the first time. And this was for those long
time listeners. The Cardinals cover two percent to be Hundai,
probably partner of the Arizona Cardinals. Anytime the conversation turned
(06:58):
to right guard, Danny had one opinion, I had another.
In fact that I told you off air, I love
it when we disagree or come at views differently, because one,
it makes for a lot more fun radio conversation. Plus
I prefer not to have someone agree with me all
the time. So I enjoy it because you give it
(07:21):
as well as you take it. Thank you, all right,
So where Danny was right number one right guard, who
was the first team right guard. Let me give you
the other four positions. Paris Johnson junior left tackle, Evan
Brown left guard, Yelda for Holtz center, Jonah Williams right
tackle who was sandwiched in between Yelda.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
And Jonah Isaiah Adams going into his second year. Again,
this is early. Pads are not even on. We have
a lot more practices, a lot more to see. I
still expect to see competition. You and I have been
disagreeing in the sense that I have been saying it
feels like Adam's job to lose after fifteen games five
starts last year as a rookie, talking about the strength
(08:01):
he has added and slowing down the game mentally this
offseason getting ready for year two. And you have thought
it was maybe a newcomer, somebody like a Royce Newman
who's been playing in the in the NFL for about
four years, has about fifty games total under his belt.
From the first practice that was open to the media,
open to the public. Again, no bads, you can only
(08:22):
take so much from what you're seeing. Adams was getting
those first team.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Reps where Danny was right where Craig was wrong. Now
I'll say this cut that off Cody in my own defense.
There were signs again during OTA's and mini campings. This
was during the open portion when you saw the offensive
line just line up for their individual work. I saw
(08:48):
Royce Newman next to Jonah Williams alongside Yell defrole again,
was it something that was every single rep. No, But
whereas you seemed to maybe again maybe hand the job
too is too strong of a phrase to use. I
just thought maybe there was a little bit more influx,
(09:08):
maybe more uncertainty. And you've got Isaiah, You've got Royce,
and then we'll see if there's someone else in the mix.
But certainly from day one of open practice that we
can talk about. Your leader is Isaiah Adams, and now
everyone is trying to play catch up if they want
to be a part of that first week's offensive line.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Things could drastically change after Sunday's padded practice, the first
one for the Cardinals. When you're talking about competition, the
only way to know who is going to be a
better fit with your ones is to have your rotation
of that right guard in between your starting center and
right tackle. So that's good to see somebody like Newman
playing next to Froholt and Williams and see the chemistry
(09:52):
and the communication and how they are working as a group.
Tied together, things could drastically change for every position on
the pads. Come on, It's absolutely a position I'm going
to keep my eye on throughout camp though.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
So that's the first team offensive line, second team offensive line.
Left tackle Calvin Beacham, left guard Nick LeVert, center John
Gaines backing up yell to Frold, right guard Royce Newman,
and right tackle Christian Jones. But we are seeing John Gaines,
who I think can play and has experience across the
(10:24):
entire line of scrimmage. But when you think about the
center position after yell to Frold, it's there's not a
lot as far as game day experience per se behind.
That's why, again knock on wood that nothing helpens to
yell to. But at least John Gaines, who I was
excited about when he was drafted because of his versatility.
(10:46):
Unfortunately that first year was wiped out because of an injury.
Now he comes in and trying to find himself and
might have found himself a spot active on game day
in the event he gets to tap on the.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Shoulder, and despite the versatility games has, it seems this
coaching staff from last year and what we have seen
early on this year that they like him at the
center spot. You need a good backup center tofrohold and
seemingly that is gained right now. If somebody as defensive
corner Nick Raalis likes to say, loses a shoe right
(11:18):
gets hurt during a game, a decision has to be made.
In this case, you know, worst case scenario, we're talking
about the center position. Do you move somebody like Evan
Brown from guard to center who has that experience, then
you have to fill in the guard position, or do
you try and only sub in one position and then
you're only having to put in a different center. So
that's why it's crucial to have a good backup center
(11:41):
so that if you need to, you can just plug
in Gains and you're not having to adjust other pieces
on the offensive line. And when you're looking at big picture,
the versatility of other players, there's a lot of competition
when you're talking about your swing tackle or your guards.
Right you bring in six round pick Hayden Connor this
year fighting for a spot with the other guards, Royce Newman.
(12:05):
You're looking at Calvin Beacham and Christian Jones going into
a second year as your big competition players for swing tackle.
So it seems like the best way for Gaines to
make this roster and really solidify his spot. His area
of expertise with the offensive line seems to be as
the backup center.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
For what it's worth, Hayden Connor was getting work at
center with the third string, and it's a position that
he mentioned that he practiced every single day in college.
Did get a little bit of an experience during the
college football playoffs. So again that versatility, and we look
back a year ago. Nine offensive linemen is how this
team orchestrated its fifty three man roster going into Week one.
(12:46):
We just listed off ten names, not counting for the
rest of the offensive lineman. So all right, you're gonna
need a swing tackle. Do you keep two tackles? Do
you keep two three interior? So there's ten right there,
one more than a year ago. And if you keep
one more than you did last year, you got to
take away from another position. So again that's the juggling
(13:07):
nec that Mani's got to worry about again, way too
early here. You've got a full month of training camp,
preseason games. But this is where you kind of see
guys stand out more than another.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
It's a numbers game. Whether it feels far away or
it is or it isn't. The day of cutting down
from ninety to your final fifty three is approaching. It's
not just a matter of competing against the players in
your position room. You are also competing against players in
other position rooms. We've talked about all offseason. When you're
looking at the depth and the skill level on the
(13:40):
defensive line specifically, what are the odds that the Cardinals
go from carrying six to seven in that room? Same
situation for your cornerbacksroom, which is very young, has some
experience and players that they want to develop. So if
you're going to start increasing the number of players you're
keeping in certain position rooms, you're going to have to
back out from other positions from last year. I do
(14:02):
not foresee offensive line being one of those rooms where
you take a fewer number than you did the previous year,
just because you need to be prepared and you need
to have versatility, because that is a position room that
typically does see a good amount of adversity rather throughout
the season. But it's a numbers game, and there's competition. Sure,
you know short vision tunnel vision of in your competition room,
(14:27):
and then when you brought it out, it's the whole team.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
So if we're keeping track, and I know Danny will,
I will as well Danny two Craig, nothing is that fair?
Speaker 3 (14:38):
It's fair?
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Okay, there wasn't any other that I might have missed
from day one.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
I'm sure there's something that'll I'm sure I would remember
in the case.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
By the way, speaking of Jonah Williams, Zach Gershman has
a story soon to be or perhaps already posted on
Azycardinals dot com. Zach had a chance to speak post
practice with Jonah about last season, which was a struggle
for Jonah. A great first quarter in Buffalo and then
we don't see him for a long period of time.
(15:08):
Comes back for week seventeen and eighteen, or excuse me,
misses week seventeen and eighteen, and Jonah told telling Zach
that same knee, and yeah, it was an off season
in which he had to make sure he was back
to at least one hundred percent or as close to
one hundred percent but missing eleven games last season for
(15:29):
a free agent signing that came in with a lot
of hype, and you move on from DJ Humphries and
you bring in Jonah Williams on a big money deal
and all of a sudden he's lost after fifteen minutes
of Week one. You do see him later on in
the regular season, but that's one position that hopefully he
can be that guy this year and then you figure
(15:50):
out after this season. But you brought him here for
a reason. Jag spoke very highly of Jonah pre practiced
about the amount of work that Jonah put in as
far as being in the building almost or darn near
almost every single day. So that's I think a positive sign.
When those questions that we had going into tran and
camp about specifically the offensive line JOHNA. Williams right there
(16:14):
instead of in pencil, maybe you put that name in ink?
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Oh? Absolutely, are are are you thinking that that's are.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Just the maybe if there was some uncertainty for people
as far as hey, how is he healthy? Is JOHNA.
Williams healthcare? I think you know, we saw enough of
him in OTA's in mini camp, but now in training camp,
it didn't look like he was being limited at all
and moving around just fine. I mean every single time
we saw the first team offense, he was the right tackle,
so there wasn't moving you know, hey, Christian Jones going
(16:47):
there for a rap or anything like that. It's to
use your phrasing, it's John Williams's position to lose, and
I don't see him losing it. Hopefully he doesn't lose it.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Absolutely. The word Gannon used was unbelievable to describe the
type of that Williams is. What was even more unfortunate
when he missed majority of last season is when they
signed him, he was a player known for not being
someone who fought injuries in his career. And you know,
it's similar to a blaon Nichols and Justin Jones on
the defensive line last year. As we talked about throughout
(17:18):
the free agency acquisitions, these were veteran players brought in
who were durable and who were reliable, and it was
really unfortunate that you have these veterans you were intending
on being able to rely on suffer injuries. It's great
because Williams was somewhat limited throughout like OTS and Mini camp.
Whenever we saw him, so the fact that, at least
(17:39):
from what we've seen in practice here at the start
of training camp, does not appear to be so that
is great news. It'll be interesting the decision behind him
as your swing tackle of Christian Jones and Calvin Beacham
as you start to go down the depth chart there,
that would be huge to get Williams back. There's a
reason they brought him in. There's a reason they paid
him all the money they did. And that's what you
(18:00):
want to have, is you want to have that consistency.
You want to have somebody that you trust opposite at
Paris Johnson Jr.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
Looking O. We're at my notes, Johonna Williams had played
every snap in each of the previous three seasons. Going
into that offseason he signed with the Arizona Cardinals. So
again the availability then all of a sudden, he's not available.
Before we touch on the defense. As far as offensive
highlights during this first practice, yes, Marvin Harrison Junior looks very,
(18:27):
very good. During nine on seven there was an over
the shoulder catch. He certainly looks at least initially. First
impression of year two. Yeah, everyone is going to be
excited to see MHJ. In action here during training camp,
and hopefully there are more times that the quarterback and
wide receiver connect than we saw last year.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
Absolutely that that has to be a priority is having
more explosive plays, a more deep, more threatening, deep passing
game for this offense. That's what the Blayers and coaches
said themselves when the season ended, So imagine that's going
to be a big emphasis, especially once the pads come on.
That's what I'm excited to see is some real competition
in the one on one battles and we can have
(19:08):
Marvin Harrison Junior and Will Johnson or against Max Melton
or against Darling Thomas. That's what I'm excited to see.
I mean, Harrison set himself. He's up to two twenty,
which is about eleven pounds heavier than he was his
rookie year, and you just have to take one quick
glance and see it as all muscle. And he's young,
so he's had what he said is kind of force
(19:30):
himself to eat breakfast in the morning when he's not hungry,
and that has helped. And that is a nice reminder
of oh my gosh, he's what twenty three, twenty four
years old. That's a pretty normal thing for most twenty
three and twenty four year old man to learn.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
A newcomer and that wide receiver run a room who flashed,
at least to me, was Simmi Fajoko number eighty on
your program. But again, a wide receiver who's got some speed,
who's got some height, and during nine on seven had
a deep ball or deep catch thrown by Jacoby Brissett,
who certainly looks every bit as a veteran quarterback out
(20:06):
there as far as commanding the huddle, checking at the
line of scrimmage, good zip on the ball. But Simmy
is the name to consider to pay attention to when
you talk about the wide receiver room and how the
bottom half behind Marvin Michael and you figure out the
rotation or whose number three is it? George is it
Zay Jones? Is it Simmy? Is it someone else? Xavier
(20:29):
Weaver who's got the speed. Again another room where you've
got decisions to make.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
Last year, Zach Pasco was a wide receiver who was
a big time player on special teams that I'm sure
is going to play into effect here. And I believe
Simmy Voco has special teams experience which should help him
but it is a question. Xavier Weaver was on the
practice squad as a rookie last year, but man throughout camp,
especially in Indianapolis against the joint practices with the Colts,
(20:57):
he looked fast. He looks like someone who could be
your deep threat with that speed, So that that's an
exciting competition. It goes back to the numbers game, right
is I believe they carried six receivers last year? Is
that the same number? Does that drop to five? Because
when you've also got the amount of threats you have
(21:17):
in the tight ends room with Trey McBride, Elijah Higgins
possibly getting Tip Ryman a little more involved. You've got
James Connor, Trey Benson coming out of the backfield, a
lot of decisions to be made.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
It's gonna be fun and exciting to watch as we
flip it over or there were there any other offensive
highlights for you. Again, it was again everyone's excited about
that first open practice and then it just came to
a crashing halt and the air got sucked out of
the building. So it's again as far as your biggest
(21:51):
takeaways on day one of the open practice, Day two
overall here at State Farm stadium. It's your most recent
impression and that was seeing a teammate a player carded
off the field.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
I think on offense, the only thing is where things
stand right now. And again this was one practice, so
maybe the rotation will change. It doesn't seem like a
heavy competition for backup quarterback at the moment, just because
Brissette was taking all of the reps with the second team.
That could change. That could just be today and then
(22:24):
when we have practiced on Friday, it's Clayton Tune getting
reps with the two. So but where things stood on Thursday,
it was Brissett with the reps with the second team.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
And again, as I mentioned, yes, a veteran quarterback who
knows what he's doing behind center, and that's good to have.
Again I've said it all the time, and he was
the one big addition offensively as far as splashes if
you will, and someone that you hope to never see
during the regular seases.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Veteran quarterback with a lot of starting experience, very good
at protecting the football as well, not a lot of
interceptions thrown in his career on.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
That subject, the football and something again it's recency biased,
but I don't remember seeing this last training camp or
the training camp prior, but unfortunately, the ball did hit
the ground a handful of times during Thursday's practice, as
far as it was batted down or dropped. And just
(23:21):
the once that ball was on the ground, danny to
see the number of a white shirts beaning white. I
mean the defenders wearing their white uniforms rushed to the football.
And how many times we heard players or coaches say, hey,
as a defense, we need to get our hands on
a lot more football's, more takeaways, more interceptions, bat the
ball down. And it certainly seems like it's been heard
(23:44):
in those meeting rooms and position rooms that anytime there's
a ball on the field, whether it's an incomplete pack,
there's a defender right there because you never know, hey,
did the whistleblow? Play might still be live and you
want to make sure you get possession.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
Those are game changing plays. Those are impact plays and
interceptions specifically, the Cardinals had just nine last year, which
was tied for twenty fourth, So you need to be
better at forcing turnovers. When the ball is on the ground,
everyone's yelling ball, so everyone knows what they're looking for.
But the balls weren't just dropped or padded down. They
were punched out. There were a few balls that were
(24:19):
punched out by defenders and again no pads, right, you're
you're just kind of it's not going to be as
intense as a padded practice because that's the closest you
can get to an actual game. But the fact that
the defense is punching out balls and continuing through the play,
that's a good sign as well.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
And that's something that we saw them practice during the
week as far as okay, ball security, but then defenders
get that ball out, punch it out as whatever way
you can to see if you can't scramble for it.
Speaking of the defense, one of the question marks that
we have had all off season, no Kaizier White, what
does this team do as far as the mike linebacker,
(24:58):
who's calling the defense? Who's the quarter back of the defense?
We got our answer watching and then listening post practice.
But watching practice, it was Mac Wilson Senior. He was
sometimes the only inside linebacker on the field, something that
I think we might see more of. If you want
more defensive lineman, more defensive backs, Mac could just be
(25:20):
that guy in the middle and doing whatever Mac does
and he does a lot well. And then speaking with
him post practice, he admitted to everyone, yes, he is
going to have that green dot. He's your quarterback. He's
calling plays and it's something that excites him and is different,
a little bit new for him as well.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
Every linebacker has the speaker in their helmet. They all
practice hearing that, however, they don't all practice actually calling
the defense. So the fact that we got confirmation based
on what we were seeing in practices, yes, it is
Wilson calling the defense and it's something he said he
can handle. And even Gannon talked about that recently. Is
it's not easy, but it's a very doable transition for
(26:00):
somebody who has not called the defense before. And when
asked if there's a player who has given Wilson any
sort of feedback for him, and he laughed, he said, yes,
Glas Campbell, right, he's going into year eighteen. The defensive
lineman told him needs to echo, you know, the checkdowns
a little louder, make sure that he could hear that
part of the play call. And Will said, you know what,
(26:20):
whatever he needs, I got it. I'm learning. And that's
a lot. That's a lot to make sure you're understanding
what is being said to you by rawlas that you
are enuncieing it. You are making clear to everybody around you.
You've got the DB's behind you, you've got the linemen
in front of you, and then you're watching and you're
looking for what the quarterback is showing you. And Wilson
said he's also been having some fun with quarterback Kyler Murray.
(26:42):
We did see Wilson get into the backfield and back
down to pass in practice on eleven and eleven's.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
That was really one of the first players, Yes.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
One of the first players the backfield. Even this is different,
a different role for Wilson. You can tell very clearly
how comfortable he in this scheme from his experience last
year and what was being asked if him and what
he has learned. It really would not surprise me if
we see a significant amount of snaps where there is
(27:12):
only one linebacker out there, especially if two of the
positions we really have our eye on for what we
think could see an uptick and the number of players
on the final roster and d line and cornerbacks or
even safety right any of those dbs. That's very doable
with the personnel that this defense has correct.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
Me if I'm wrong. This is the first time since
college at Alabama that Mac is the mic correct that's right.
So again, he does have some experience, but it's not
recent experience. And I do believe even though if he
is does become that full time green dot quarterback of
(27:51):
the defense. And the number of different ways we saw
Mac deployed last season, whether that's in the box, on
the edge, blitzeing, drop back, I get the sense that
he can still do that and still be that quarterback
of the defense. Just because you have the green dot
doesn't need to mean you stay in the middle of
the field the entire play. And we saw that him
(28:13):
getting into the backfield batting down to Kyler Murray pass.
So you might still see Mac do exactly what he
did a year ago, but the responsibility that he has
is more of that coach on the field relaying the
signals or the play call from Nick Ralis.
Speaker 3 (28:28):
You have some of those more true linebackers, you bring
in a Keen Davis Gaither in free agency, you draft
Cody Simon on Day three, you still have Owen Papo,
So absolutely that that could be very feasible.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
The starting defense Darius Robinson, Dalvin Tomlinson, Kalais Campbell, Mac Wilson, Senior,
Owen Papo. There's your front with Baron Browning and Josh
Sweat and then sometimes when there were just two cornerbacks
on the field, it was Garrett Williams on one side
(29:01):
and Max Melton on the other, with Buddha Baker and
Jalen Thompson manning the safety position. Did see Starling Thomas
rotate in when we saw him rotate in, Owen was
the guy taking off the field, and that's when we
saw a lot of Mac being that single guy in
the middle of the field and will Johnson, Yes he
did get reps with the first team defense as well,
but you are going to see a lot of rotation,
(29:22):
I think, on all three levels of that defense. When
we say starts, it's that first snap of the game
and then after that, it doesn't matter. Tell me at
the end of the day, how many snaps am I getting.
Am I playing sixty percent of the defensive snaps? When
am I playing thirty percent of the defensive snaps? You know,
that's something that I'll pay attention to when you get
(29:42):
those released on Monday morning. But that's the rotation in
the pieces that Nick Rollis's has, and then figuring out
how to fit those pieces together to form a puzzle
for one play, one series, one quarter one game. I mean,
I think it's going to change dramatically each.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
And every week, absolutely because of whoever they're playing. That's
what you need to do is make sure you are
well rounded enough that you can be competitive against whatever
type of offense you are seeing. If it's a team
that has a more mobile quarterback, if it's somebody who
has a really difficult tight end to defend, or is
it they're outside threats that get you do they run
(30:21):
the ball down your throat? I mean, you need to
make sure that you can handle whatever your opponent is
throwing at you any given week. And that's what they've
really been setting themselves up to be able to do
this offseason.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
We talk about three man fronts, four man fronts. We
saw a lot, especially I think in non passing situations
where you did have three down linemen, but you had
Josh Wet and Baron Browning hover as outside linebackers close
to the lot. So it did look like a five
man front with Matt kind of by himself in the
middle again, just another way for Nick to get the
(30:55):
best eleven on the field. And there's constantly shuffling in
and out. But at least on here, this first open practice,
you got a sense of, okay, where where guys are
at the moment. It could change tomorrow, it could change
over the weekend, but at least based off the off
season work, the coaches have this as who they believe
(31:16):
are your best eleven in base package, and then you
figure out, all right, it's no passing situation, we need
an extra dB and the inside linebacker becomes just Mac
by himself.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
I think to a certain extent, there are still questions
of who are your best eleven on base defense. I
don't think that's solidified after two practices where you've got
helmets of training camp. I think there's a lot of
questions of who's your best eleven when you're talking about
your cornerbacks, right, who's your best eleven when you're talking
about your defensive lineman. And you know, do you have
(31:47):
a linebacker that is so good that you need to
make sure you have two or three linebackers out there,
whatever the number is. That stuff doesn't feel remotely close
to being solidified. This early into camp.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
And that's I think that's what you want because you
want that competition or as JG said, friction, And I
don't think that just means more padded practices are more hitting,
but the competition within those rooms to create that sense
of urgency, that friction, if you will, and I think
we're seeing that more and more. It was good to
see even though he's not on the field, but Walter
(32:21):
Nolan the third walking around and signing autographs post practice.
So sometimes you forget about those injured players out of mind,
but Walter is at least healthy enough to where he's
not rehabbing in the back the entire time and then
engaging with fans because we were here on Wednesday, and
(32:41):
just the disappointment that you're not going to see your
first round pick in action here at State Farm Stadium
during training camp. That's a bummer. But he is out
here and smile on his face, greeting fans.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
Yeah, you want someone who's going to be in good
enough spirits to go and engage with fans. Who I mean,
it says a lot that even though he's not practicing,
still want to come out here and cheer them on
and get his autograph. Did see bjo Jalari walking around
practice as well. So when you say just because they're
not out here, easy forget, not easy to forget, Craig,
But yeah, hopefully you see them in blond Nichols. All
(33:15):
three place on the physically unable to perform list, and
you have to wonder what the possible expected timeline is
for those kinds of players. They could be taken off
the list and practice whenever they're ready. Right, so there's
a possibility we see one, if not all of them
at some point throughout camp. That is best case scenario.
(33:36):
You also understand why this front office and coaching staff
is covering themselves a bit because by placing them on pup,
that allows you, when it's time to cut down to
final fifty three, to place that player on the reserve
and not have it go towards your final fifty three.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
Before we cut you loose. Did I happen to see
you making s'mores during Day one of cards?
Speaker 3 (34:00):
Okay, any opportunity I can to have smores, I'm going
to make sure it happens. Absolutely. You did see that, Okay?
Speaker 1 (34:07):
I saw the posts on social media? Care to inform
or tease forward what that was all about, or or
maybe this is just something that you do away from
all of us while we're working. You're out there having fun.
It can still work. Finding a campfire somewhere here in
the building.
Speaker 3 (34:24):
No, there was no fire. Let me make that very clear.
It was one of those flameless electric s'mores kits. So
on Cardinals, Birdwatch, Paul Calvic and I this week had
a little fun and the train of thought was training
camp camp, camp fire s'mores. So any opportunity I can
(34:45):
to make and have smores, I am always going to
take it. The good news is to listeners who are
hopefully also going to be viewers. We did not eat
the s'mores on camera because those are messy, so that
was saved until commercial break. You just got to see it,
and I will say it definitely took us a minute
to get used to the flameless burner and try and
(35:06):
figure out how to actually roast the marshmallows. That to
take us a moment. At one point I had I
was convinced Paul had never made us more in his life.
Even one of his techniques of roasting the marshmallow and
trying to put the chocolate directly underneath rather than going
for a gram cracker. So yes, I would, uh, if
you want a good laugh, tune into Cardinal's bird Watch
this week. And I do think that is something maybe
(35:28):
we're going to continue throughout training camp, so there will
be opportunities to improve our smores making game.
Speaker 1 (35:35):
There has to be a blooper reel.
Speaker 3 (35:37):
That was brought up by one of the producers on set.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
It would be a great way to tease what's to
come on bird Watch.
Speaker 3 (35:45):
By the time we got there and we were finished,
the smores were delicious. I will say that it's hard.
It's hard to mess up a small but they were delicious.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
Paul still has the mustache, so I'm guessing he didn't
want the s'mores to get in the stash or that's
true that cash office probably.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
You know, kay a good call. Yeah, I got to
keep the mustache clean.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
Only, Paul.
Speaker 3 (36:07):
Never you don't do a training can't mustache because.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
It's very difficult for me to grow facial hair.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
Put you on the spot like that.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
Okay, it just wasn't doesn't look good. I have more
of like a five o'clock shadow. After two days or whatever,
we have nothing, nothing quite like Paul, and for those
that might not have seen Cardinals Underground and seeing Paul
calvisy with a mustache turn into bird Watch.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
There you go, another opportunity. Okay, yeah, because I don't
know how long he's going to keep it, so tune
in while you can, all right.
Speaker 1 (36:39):
I'm just disappointed I wasn't invited for Smores.
Speaker 3 (36:42):
You know what, maybe next week?
Speaker 1 (36:44):
Maybe next week filling once on bird Watch.
Speaker 3 (36:46):
You did at You did a great job.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
It was a lot of fun. I appreciate it. Yes,
Zach Chrischman and myself. It takes two to fill the
shoes of one. Paul Calvis. Good stuff. I guess I'll
see you again on Friday.
Speaker 3 (37:01):
I'm already a point. I'm like, is that tomorrow there's
no days in training camp?
Speaker 1 (37:05):
Sure that's true. Every day, no days off, go one
after another after another, no days off.
Speaker 3 (37:11):
Love it.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
On that note, we will put a lit on this
edition of Cardinals Cover two presented by Hyundai, proudly partner
the Arizona Cardinals. As always, special thanks to our executive
producer Jim Mamanre our associate producer Cuddy Fincher. For Danny Sirek,
I'm Greg rial Lou, we'll talk to you next time
you're on Cardinals cover two.
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