July 21, 2025 • 27 mins
Ep. 900 - After an eventful offseason, the Arizona Cardinals will report to State Farm Stadium for training camp this week. Dani Sureck and Zach Gershman discuss which position battles they will have their eyes on once practices begin out in Glendale. Plus, the two talk about Garrett Williams taking more of a leadership role in a young cornerback room; is the right guard position Isaiah Adams' job to lose; how many defensive linemen will make the final 53-man roster; and how will the wide receiver room take shape behind Marvin Harrison Jr.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
The Cardinals are board to training camp in the next
twenty four hours. One of the biggest competition question marks
before things kick off. Which position battles are peaking our interests?
Zak Gershman and I break it all down. It's Cardinals
Cover two episode nine hundred, and it starts now.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Welcome to Cardinals Cover two.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Who to Baker? What Heart? What rent? This guy's unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
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 (00:41):
He's at the ten half of five. He's it again,
so more hurry magic.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Whoa, here's Danny Sirek.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Training camp is knocking at the door, just hours away
from players reporting to training camp. Plenty to discuss still
here on Cardinals Cover too, Zach Gershman, I'm Danny Surrek
filling in for Craig Grilu. Who is I guess just
taking a last day of vacation.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
ZAC On episode nine hundred he was willing to not
be here. I mean, look, life is life. I understand that,
but they you know, they brought in the the top
tier talent you know, right before training camp began. They
just want to get into the into the mood here
on Cardinals Cover two.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Yeah, I'm not. I'm not going to argue with that one. Okay,
scale of one to ten, how ready are you feeling
for training camp after the offseason.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
We've had, I would probably say eleven and a half.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
It's fair.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
I just I'm so ready. We've talked so much, and
it's no longer about like speculation about like what could be.
We know what can be with this team. We know
the potential that they do have. It's the position battles
that we're going to be spending this entire segment, this
entire Cardinals Cover two discussing that I'm most looking forward to.
But it's no longer the hypotheticals. It's no longer the
(01:56):
what are the expectations? You know what the expectations are
and there to be playing football in January and hosting
games at State Farm Stadium.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
It's officially football time. Cardinals report to training camp Tuesday,
July twenty second. The first open practice to Cardinals fans Thursday,
July twenty fourth. You do need a ticket and parking passes.
Both those are free, so you can check those out
on Easycardinals dot com. A lot of competition on defense,
that's what we're going to talk about first here on
Cardinals Cover two. The D line has a very different
(02:26):
level of competition than a lot of other positions on defense,
mostly because it's filled with veterans. You've got some young
players sprinkling there, right, Dante Stills, Darius Robinson, rookie walternle
in the third. But when we're talking about the competition
and D line room, it's how is the rotation going
to shake out when you start to look back on
the defense and we're working your way back to some
(02:48):
other positions. Cornerbacks is another position that has a lot
of competition, and it's different than D line. It's a
lot of young players. Garrett Williams is one of your
most experienced and he's going into year three. Didn't even
play the first half of his rookie year because he
was rehabbing a knee injury. So when you're looking at
the opportunities in that cornerback's room, what opportunities are there
(03:12):
for those younger players behind Williams and Max Melton and
Starling Thomas.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
See it's funny when Sean Murphy Bunting was signed the
last offseason and he came in and he was twenty
seven years old, and their entire conversation surrounding SMB was
he's the quote unquote young old veteran in the room
because he was the oldest guy and the most experienced
guy in the room. Now you look at Garrett Williams
and Starling Thomas and they are the young young old
(03:38):
guy in that room just in terms of their veteran experience,
only three years in the league. And Garrett Williams I
asked him about it during his media availability during the
offseason about how he has taken on that leadership role
and he was saying, how just by experience, a lot
of the guys are going to start coming up to
you asking you questions and things of that nature. But
with Gary Williams out there, you know what he brings
(03:59):
to table. He's a top five cornerback in this league.
I know PFAF rated him very high in terms of
their zone coverage, but you hit on it. It all
starts at the defensive line and the reinforcements that Mani
austin Ford has added with Kalays Campbell, Dalvin Tomlinson once
again going into the draft back to back years with
the first rounder. In that defensive front seven. It's important
(04:21):
and that's only going to benefit guys like Garrett Williams,
Starling Thomas Max Melin who are trying to get their
hands on the football because when you're able to generate
that pressure at the line of scrimmage, it allows your
cornerbacks to focus a little bit more and it's going
to force quarterbacks to throw it up.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
When we talk about competition, we're talking about outside corner,
because even though Williams has the experience and the ability
to play outside, why would you mess something that's not broken,
that's actually working quite well having Williams as your slot corner.
When he was talking with the media, he was saying,
going to year three, you know he's used to being
the player who flies under the radar a bit, right,
(04:58):
Unless you are really engrossed in Cardinals football, that might
not be one of the top names you think of,
just because you have other star powers on this defense
who have been around for a long time, like a
Buddha Baker, likea Jalen Thompson. This is going to continue.
I think last year was a breakout year for Williams,
and I think he is only a sending given what
he has been showing on the field night to think
(05:19):
he's going to become a household name this season. What
stood out to you from what Williams had to stay
in his presser?
Speaker 3 (05:26):
I love how he was talking about how since his
entire career he's been one of those guys that has
been under the radar. I mean, he goes to Sarahcuse
plays in the acc obviously was dealing with the injury
slides in the draft, falls to the third round, and
the Cardinals were willing to take a flyer on an
injured cornerback and we're waiting to see what they got
out of him, and what they got out of him
is a diamond in the rough because not a lot
(05:48):
of people, I think we're expecting for Garrett Williams to
be the type of slot cornerback that he has become
one of the best in the game. I know in
a lot of conversations when you're looking at zone coverage cornerbacks,
it's him and it's Patricks certained that are going to
be at the top of the list. But you mentioned
him mostly being in the slot and not being on
the outside at all. He only played ten snaps as
(06:09):
an outside cornerback throughout the twenty twenty four season, four
hundred and eighty six STAPs were in the slot. So
even though he doesn't have as many starts under his
belt because he wasn't out there for the first play
depending on the type of nickel coverage that the Cardinals
were going to use, he still has a lot of
experience and a lot of defensive snaps under his belt.
But he has shown, you know, how dominant he can be.
(06:31):
He's a soft spoken guy, but I think back to
that game against the Washington Commanders when he leaps up
and makes a jaw dropping type of interception against Jayden Daniels,
the first cornerback to pick Jaden Daniels in his very
dominant rookie campaign, and you were able to see just
how he's able to read the defense. Yes, Buddha Baker
is the guy when the Cardinals defense, but down the line,
(06:53):
Garrett Williams has that ability to take over that role.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
A very high football IQ. The cornerbacks the outside corners
competition is going to be intriguing because Melton and Thomas
looked good last season, both of them getting more reps
as the season went on, valuable reps and especially not
having SMB all year, you would think maybe, okay, those
are the veterans right as close to being locked in
as it could. There's a lot of competition in that
(07:17):
room in a very good way, and will Johnson, the rookie,
is a big name to keep an eye on. Johnson
was limited throughout mandatory Mini camp. He was still out
there practicing in some capacity with the team. Head coach
Jonathan Gannon said Johnson was dealing with a little bit
of a tight hamstring. So we'll see as we get
into camp where Johnson is in that recovery process and
how active he's able to be. What's nice, though, is
(07:40):
even if Johnson has the ability and he's mentally ready
to go out there and be a starter week one,
or even not start but see a good amount of reps,
there's no pressure on him to have to be a
starter week one as a Day two draft pick, because
you know what you have in Melton and Thomas.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
And we saw too with Garrett Williams how the Cardinals
were able to bring a cornerback with a knee injury
back into the mix of things and slowly ease his
way into it. I know Will Johnson said he is.
He's fully healthy. One other note, obviously, a lot of
second round rookies are getting their contracts signed because of
all the guaranteed money that happened with the Houston Texans
(08:17):
and the Cleveland Browns with their with their second round picks.
I'm expecting Will Johnson to have his signed at some
point in the coming days, if not already by the
time that people are listening to this audio recording as
they're getting ready for training camp. But yeah, Will Johnson
is definitely a name that a lot of people are
going to have to look at. There's a reason why
he was an All American talent. Three pick sixes during
(08:38):
his time at Michigan during that twenty twenty three season,
did not allow a single touchdown. It's only allowed two
touchdowns in his entire career UH with the Michigan Wolverine.
So he's going to be a player that will make
an impact for the Cardinals. But you look at the
depth as you discussed, obviously it's going to be a
competition all around. Starling Thomas has the most amount of
starts for all the cornerbacks, which twenty two. No other
(09:01):
player that's been an undrafted rookie since twenty twenty three
has had more starts in the NFL than Starling Thomas
at twenty two. Then you also look at Max Mellen.
You mentioned those reps that he earned when SMB was
out dealing with his injury. He also has a handful
of starts. But then you look at fifth round rookie
Denzel Burke, another cornerback that's coming into the mix. He's
going to be somebody that I think this coaching staff
(09:22):
is very high on. What about Kee Troll Clark? How
has he developed from year two to year three? He
didn't play terribly much last year, but there's a reason
why these guys are still in the building. So that
cornerback depth is going to be definitely something to look
at for the competition.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
You also have Jadon Davis. You have Elijah Jones, who
is a big question mark missed his entire rookie season
last year dealing with a foot injury. When you look
at him physically, he's got the attributes. He is tall,
he's lanky, right, so he has the attributes that this
staff likes in the cornerbacks room, what do you have
from him? And you can only see so much throughout
this point in the offseason. It really is you gotta
wait till pads come on, because, as the coaching staff
(09:57):
has said, that's when players either shine they get lost.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
And I think with Elijah Jones, first team All acc
during his time at Boston College, another guy that the
Cardinals drafted ninetieth overall in the third round, And we
discussed about this all the time whenever we bring up
Elijah Jones his off the field tangibles or remind this
coaching staff a lot of Garrett Williams, just his studying habits,
the way he was asking questions during their combine interviews.
(10:22):
Now he was dealing with that lower leg injury. He
was out on the practice field during OTAs and during
rookie and then during Mini camp, which is important. It's
good to see number twenty eight out there on the field,
But as you mentioned, Danny, whenever they put the pads on,
that's when you're gonna be able to really see what
those one on one matchups between him and Michael Wilson.
Him lining up across from Marvin Harrison Junior is a Jones,
(10:43):
whoever it is. You want to be able to see
what you got from some of your outside cornerbacks, because
you know what you have in Starling Thomas, you know
what you have in Maximelan, and you obviously know what
you have with Garrett Williams. I think the two players
that this coaching staff is gonna have locked eyes on
is gonna be Will John and Elijah Jones.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
We're getting to the point where it's also a numbers game.
So not only are these cornerbacks in this specific scenario
having to compete with the players in their room, you're
also happy to compete with everybody else on the field.
Because if this d line is as stacked as we
are expecting it to be and playing as well as
they are at least throughout training, practicing, throughout camp, and
(11:22):
in the preseason games, there's a chance that this coaching
staff decides to go from sixty linemen on the active
roster the final fifty three up to seven. Well, that
number's got to come from somewhere. So we're getting into
the point where it's a numbers game. You're not just
going out there and fighting for a spot in your room.
You're fighting for a spot on this team.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
You think about it in a lot of ways when
maybe in the past two seasons, in JG's first two
seasons with the Cardinals, you could, you know, pencil in
about out of the fifty three, you could probably pencil
in forty eight forty nine of them. Now that's not
the case. You might be able to pencil in thirty
eight forty of them and then that remaining third team
(12:00):
because of the numbers game. And we'd make the comment
all the time about you know, putting on our GM's cap,
and like, thankfully we're not the ones that need to
do it. But what does this mean for guys like
Dante Stills? What does this mean for guys like L. J. Collier?
Because if you want to have a loaded defensive line room,
as you mentioned, where are you taking that away from?
You will get the inside linebacker room. In most cases.
(12:21):
The last year, the Cardinals had four or five guys
on the active roster in that inside linebacker room because
you had Kaizer White, Mac Wilson, Owen, Papo, Chris Barnes.
Then Vai Jones came in in the back end of
the season. So you have a lot of guys that
are in that room that you could possibly move around,
But are you willing to move a guy like Owen
Papo and potentially risk if you think, if you think
(12:42):
he might not make it onto the fifty three making
him on the practice squad because you're risking letting these
guys go and get picked up by other teams. And
Owen is just an example. Obviously, I'm not saying anything
because he is another candidate that could compete for that
green dot role. But that's my point though. Owen Papo
was a guy that kind of flew under the race,
was a guy that was a special team's ace, and
(13:03):
that's typically where he was used last year. But where
does he lie this year? The numbers game is going
to be fascinating.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
Regardless who is out there in the cornerback's room. Interceptions
is an emphasis. That was something Garrett Williams was talking
about when he spoke with the media. In twenty twenty four,
Cardinals defense recorded just nine interceptions, which was tied for
twenty fourth in the league. That's an emphasis, and that's
a number that those dbs want to increase this year.
(13:31):
And when you've got a beefed up defensive line, that's
gonna maybe get their hands on some battered balls, put
some pressure on the QB, force that ball out of
their hands quickly. That is very feasible to raise that number,
And honestly, that is important to this defense when you're
looking from last year and you're trying to find improvements
and if you want to find a number and something
that can change the game and interception turning the ball
(13:53):
over is one of those key opportunities.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Roy Lopez was kind of that one guy that was
able to get his hand up and bat away a
couple footballs. Now you have the king of batted balls
and kalay Is Campbell, it's six foot eight on your
defensive line. And then obviously as your nose guard with
Dalvin Thomlinson right there as your zero technique, your one technique,
the Cardinals are going to get a lot more pressure.
They're going to generate a lot more pressure. Regardless if
(14:17):
there is a step down from some of these guys
because they're getting a little bit older in their careers,
I don't think that it's going to be I think,
no matter what, it's going to be a step up
compared to the previous handful of seasons. Just because of
the crop of talent, Kalaeis Campbell is still playing at
a very high rate, at a very successful rate, even
if he's only playing those thirty thirty five snaps. You
know what you're getting out of out of Big number
(14:39):
ninety three. But because of them being able to generate
that pressure up the middle, it's going to force the
quarterbacks to throw the ball away. And that's when you're
expecting the natural abilities from these guys like Max Melan,
like Gary Williams to go up and make a play
and rip the ball away. I cannot wait for when
Buddha Baker gets that first interception this season, because it
will happen with the way that the Cardinals use him.
(15:00):
That'll be my my one prediction. I know an underground
you guys had your predictions, That'll be my prediction. I'm
gonna say Budda Baker has two interceptions this year because
I do believe that the pressure that's going to be
generated from the defensive front, especially not just with Kalas
campbellor Dalvin Tomlinson, but because you know what, you have
your five technique, a guy like Darius Robinson that's going
to be able to get after the quarterback that's going
(15:22):
to be a sneaky player. I think that that's going
to put a lot of pressure on opposing quarterbacks and
they're going to have to throw it away.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
If Bakers listen, I'm sure he loves hearing that. He's
made it clear he doesn't feel like quarterbacks like to
throw his way. When you're going into year three in
a scheme that also allows your players to play a
little more freely within the confinement of what's being asked
for them to do, which would you know in theory,
allow them to be a little more flexible and read
the expectation right, read what's going on with the offense,
and make a few more picks. Another exciting training can't Battle,
(15:52):
and this is probably the most discussed on the offensive
side of the ball, given the continuity offensively in terms
of the players the play right This coaching staff, this
front office feels very strongly and very confidently about the
players in that room already. But we're talking about right guard.
Isaiah Adams played fifteen games as your right guard. Five
(16:12):
starts last year's rookie got some valuable reps. Four of
the five starters from Week one are returning now. Yes,
Joanah Williams. Your right tackle got hurt Week one in Buffalo.
So the only player who's not on this roster who
was Week one last year is right guard Will Hernandez.
Where things stand right now, the day before players report,
is this Adam's job to lose?
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Yeah, I think it is. Now. That's not to say
that it's not going to be a competition, because the
Cardinals did spend in offseason bringing in some guys. Now
it wasn't the Will Fryes of the world or the
players that I think we're leading the free agency market
because I don't think the Cardinals needed to invest because
they already invested a third round pick in to Isaiah Adams.
(16:55):
They have trust and confidence into him that you don't
need to throw all this money in free agency at
another offensive lineman. Isaiah Adams, he was asked if he's
ready for the moment, and he said without question. And
he talked about to us Danny about how his approach
has changed and the stuff he worked on during the
offseason getting his mind right for this twenty twenty five season.
(17:17):
I remember the beginning when you think back to those
training camp battles, the defensive line versus offensive line kind
of those Oklahoma type drills. Isaiah Adams did not farewell
on those in the very beginning, but as this season
went on, he started to work his way back into
a spot where he was comfortable. He's never played right
guard before. Up until last season, he moved all over
(17:37):
the offensive line at Illinois. He was a right tackle
of the year that he got drafted by the Cardinals,
so then they push him into the inside. He's learning
the position. But as I mentioned, the Cardinals did invest in,
it wasn't the big names. They brought in a guy
like Royce Newman, who played fifty two games in the NFL,
spent time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year, three
(17:58):
season with the Green Bay Packers. He has a lot
of starts. His first season started sixteen of the seventeen
games he played at right guard for the Packers in
twenty twenty one. So he's a player that the Cardinals
are going to be looking on the competition. Also, Hayden Connor,
who the Cardinals drafted in the sixth round out of Texas.
He's a three year starter over there with the Longhorn,
So he's somebody that a lot of people are going
(18:19):
to have their eyes on. He's also just a great character.
We love talking with Hayden. And then John Gains is
going to be another player, and I'm interested to see
what growth he has because of Justin Fry's familiarity with
him during their time at UCLA.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
That's really the only change is your position coach and
bringing in Justin Fry this offseason. There's a lot of
competition in that offensive line room, and you need a
lot of bodies. You need players that are versatile because
when you've got that many players in a position room
going out in the field every game day, you need
to be prepared for anything that's coming your way. The
thing about Isaiah Adams, though, is I liked when he
(18:53):
was talking to the media and what he was really
focused on this offseason was the mental side of things
and slowing the game down. When you mentioned that he
didn't necessarily farewell last offseason and some one on one drills,
that's a normal progression for an offensive lineman. That's why
if you have somebody with the skill level of a
Paris Jaantson junior, that's why they are drafted so high
(19:14):
and they are so coveted in the first round of
the draft, because it takes a little bit of time
for the players to add muscle right, the strength and
work out, get their footwork right in all of those things.
So to see the progression from Adams and the fact
that one point and then the season last year he
was going through a rotation with Tristan Cologne and ended
up winning that competition battle, I am right there with you.
(19:35):
This is Adam's job to lose. Yes, there is a
lot of competition. That does not mean it is set
in stone. He has gotten some really valuable reps though,
And this point through the off season, you can only
see so much and T shirts and shorts. Now that
we're going to start seeing the pads and you can
really see the communication, the movement, the protection right how
you're going up against some nasty defensive lineman on this
(19:58):
Cardinals roster. That's what's going to be telling.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
And it's also the mental component of it. Isaiah Adams
wasn't drafted last year to be the guy. Last year.
It was supposed to be Will Hernandez, and obviously Will
went down with that knee injury in that week pretty
sure Week six game against the Green Bay Packers in
Rainy lambeau Field when will went down, and that's unfortunate,
but the best way you learn is by getting thrown
(20:21):
into the fire. And I think the best thing that
could have happened for Isaiah was getting thrown into the
fire because he had to mix it up a little bit.
And I remember speaking to him at the locker room
clear out and I asked him about just welcome to
the NFL moments. Everybody's got theirs, and that first welcome
to the NFL moment wasn't that game against the Green
Bay Packers when he got thrown into it. But he
said to me that at every moment throughout the season,
(20:43):
it's like a welcome to the NFL moment because you're
lining up across from somebody new every single time. When
you're lining up across from Big Cat Leonard Williams in
two out of three weeks against the Seattle Seahawks, you're
gonna learn a lot and you're gonna learn a lot
about yourself. And I think the Cardinals learned a lot
just in general from those two games against the Seattle
Seahawks that they're gonna be thinking about as the twenty
(21:05):
twenty five season comes about but yeah, Isaiah Adams definitely
has focused a lot on the mental side of it,
and I think too in the way that he speaks,
and we could psychoanalyze and overanalyze this as much as
we want. He looks a lot more confident just sitting
there at the podium. He came in and right away
made the joke and was like, I feel like I
haven't sat here in a year, and I was like,
so you missed us. He's like, yeah, a little bit.
(21:25):
But just seeing that, like that sense of happiness of
just being there and being ready for the moment, I
think is something that's gonna help him farewell this coming
training camp because last year he didn't know what he
was getting into going to training camp.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Adams was confident in his answers because he's now confident himself,
confident in his ability, confident what he has learned from
year one gearing up for year two. You also learned
a lot from Adams on his trip up north. He
went to Canada with some team members from our broadcast
department working up with the Snowbirds. The Cardinals stands up
in Canada, and he, I guess they have some boys
(22:00):
up in Canada, which is news to.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
Me, and it was news to him too because he's
not from that area. But that was in Calgary, So
Isaiah Adams went on a trip. Basically, the NFL obviously
have their global marketing programs that they do, and the
Cardinals have had rights to promote the game in Mexico,
which they've obviously played against the San Francisco forty nine
ers there down south, and then you go up north.
(22:23):
The Cardinals were granted Canada as one of their territories
to promote the game at so he went out there,
and Isaiah Adams is from Canada himself, so to go
out there and return back home, he said, on a
football level, it was a nice reset for him to
go see his family and his friends and just be
back in a place that it was home to him.
But the NFL, Canada and the Cardinals they put together
(22:44):
a kids camp that Isaiah Adams helped run. They also
put together a meet and greet that he took part in,
and then they went to the Calgary Stampede, which is
supposedly one of the best and craziest ROADIO. I guess
up there a huge deal and I will say I
know that the photos haven't been posted, but there are
some photos with Isaiah and a cowboy hat and in
(23:04):
a full jump pursuit.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
Is he given Zavon Collins a run for his money
with the cowboy hat? Now, because kind of a real cab.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Saan is a cowboy, but Isaiah you could tell, wanted
to be a cowboy. It's funny though. I think you
asked him if he took part in any of the
rodeo stunts and he said, like, now, the coaching staff,
you know, wouldn't let me, you know, take part in
that push.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:27):
So the Cardinals now have their you know, their Snowbird
fan club. Just got to go to Azycardinals dot com
to find out all the information because, especially for our
fans up north, the Cardinals are trying to grow the game.
So to be a member of the Snowbirds, you have
to be able to join the fan club.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
And Zach wrote a pretty great story on that, so
you can check that out on our website. Okay, gearing
up for training? Can this is gonna be you know
the last cover two before we are out at State
Farm Stadium. We've talked about right guard, We've talked about cornerbacks.
What is one other position battle you are most eager
to see shakeout.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
Can we go back a second. You asked me zero
to ten, how am I feeling? How are you feeling?
Going on?
Speaker 1 (24:06):
I'm right there with you. Eleven eleven and a half
out of ten. Look, the off season for us on
a personal level is nice to get a break from
the seven months of non stop.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
You get to a point though, where you are just
itching for some to talk about. Right The players haven't
been in the building, the coaches haven't been in the
building for six weeks, So I am ready for some
football news, some football talk to get back into that routine.
So I'm ready.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
Yeah, they're definitely those moments where free agency comes. You know,
you have three weeks of new content to talk about,
and then it's dead, and then you have the draft
and then it's dead, and then Mini camp and then
it's dead. So now we're excited to no longer be
in the dead period and get back to training camp.
And to answer you the question, the competition almost looking
forward to probably at Green Dot. I know that that's
(24:52):
a question we might not get answered right away, but
I do cause we know that the way Nick Rolis
likes to call his defense and the way they like
to practice. Every inside linebacker has access to the green
Dot during practice, so they all practiced and are able
to jump into things. So that's why in the twenty
twenty three season, when Kayzier White went down with the
injury and then Chris Barnes went down with the injury,
(25:14):
everybody was able to slide in and there wasn't really
a drop off at that spot because everybody is practiced
and has experience with it. But I think that spot
is going to be what I'm most interested in. What
is a Keem Davis Gathers role? The Cardinals were very
interested in the team and brought him in very early
on during the free agency process. What did they see
from a guy who has played mostly special teams throughout
(25:36):
his time with the Cincinnati Bengals. What did they see
that potentially gives them confidence and hope that he could
take over the green dot spot. What about a guy
like Cody Simon as an inside linebacker coming from the
Ohio State Buck guys where he has experience with the
green dot communication system over there, And then I mentioned
him earlier, Owen Papo is going to be another guy
his familiarity with Nick Rowlis is going to bode very
(25:59):
well for him, especially with a team and Cody being
new faces.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
That was gonna be my answer as well. For a
position we have to But if if we're looking in general,
I would say I am setting up shop. When pads
come on and we are seeing offensive lineman and defensive
lineman go head to head, I think that is going
to be a site to be seen. When you're looking
at the continuity of this offensive line, you're looking at
the pieces that have been brought in. Truthfully, though, you
can go through every position and you can find something
(26:24):
that you're going to be keeping your eye on. Is
Michael Wilson the for sure number two wide receiver in
that room? We haven't even talked about the backup quarterback
battle you bring in Jacoby Brissett this offseason, going head
to head with Clayton Tune. When you're looking at the
safety's room and we're talking about big picture numbers. Joey
Blunt is a safety and has been a special team's ace.
What about Rabbit and is his role going to increase
(26:47):
going from a rookie to year two? A lot of
question marks again, Cardinals fans you can come out and
see how things shake out for yourself. There's ten open practices,
first one Thursday, July twenty fourth. You can get your
free tip tickets, free parking passes on Azycardinals dot com.
We are going to have tons, when I say tons
of podcasts, articles, interviews, TV shows, everything you could imagine
(27:12):
covering training camp from State Farm Stadium. So you can
stay locked in at Asycardinals dot com. Zach, it's football time.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
It's time.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
Maybe Craig will come back in time for training camp.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
We'll see.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
Time will tell report days tomorrow, so he's got.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
To be here, yeah, so we'll see. Yeah, that includes
you to Craig reporting on Tuesday. Thanks so much guys
for tuning into this edition of Cardinals Cover two
The Cardinals are board to training camp in the next
twenty four hours. One of the biggest competition question marks
before things kick off. Which position battles are peaking our interests?
Zak Gershman and I break it all down. It's Cardinals
Cover two episode nine hundred, and it starts now.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Welcome to Cardinals Cover two.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Who to Baker? What Heart? What rent? This guy's unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
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 (00:41):
He's at the ten half of five. He's it again,
so more hurry magic.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Whoa, here's Danny Sirek.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Training camp is knocking at the door, just hours away
from players reporting to training camp. Plenty to discuss still
here on Cardinals Cover too, Zach Gershman, I'm Danny Surrek
filling in for Craig Grilu. Who is I guess just
taking a last day of vacation.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
ZAC On episode nine hundred he was willing to not
be here. I mean, look, life is life. I understand that,
but they you know, they brought in the the top
tier talent you know, right before training camp began. They
just want to get into the into the mood here
on Cardinals Cover two.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Yeah, I'm not. I'm not going to argue with that one. Okay,
scale of one to ten, how ready are you feeling
for training camp after the offseason.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
We've had, I would probably say eleven and a half.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
It's fair.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
I just I'm so ready. We've talked so much, and
it's no longer about like speculation about like what could be.
We know what can be with this team. We know
the potential that they do have. It's the position battles
that we're going to be spending this entire segment, this
entire Cardinals Cover two discussing that I'm most looking forward to.
But it's no longer the hypotheticals. It's no longer the
(01:56):
what are the expectations? You know what the expectations are
and there to be playing football in January and hosting
games at State Farm Stadium.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
It's officially football time. Cardinals report to training camp Tuesday,
July twenty second. The first open practice to Cardinals fans Thursday,
July twenty fourth. You do need a ticket and parking passes.
Both those are free, so you can check those out
on Easycardinals dot com. A lot of competition on defense,
that's what we're going to talk about first here on
Cardinals Cover two. The D line has a very different
(02:26):
level of competition than a lot of other positions on defense,
mostly because it's filled with veterans. You've got some young
players sprinkling there, right, Dante Stills, Darius Robinson, rookie walternle
in the third. But when we're talking about the competition
and D line room, it's how is the rotation going
to shake out when you start to look back on
the defense and we're working your way back to some
(02:48):
other positions. Cornerbacks is another position that has a lot
of competition, and it's different than D line. It's a
lot of young players. Garrett Williams is one of your
most experienced and he's going into year three. Didn't even
play the first half of his rookie year because he
was rehabbing a knee injury. So when you're looking at
the opportunities in that cornerback's room, what opportunities are there
(03:12):
for those younger players behind Williams and Max Melton and
Starling Thomas.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
See it's funny when Sean Murphy Bunting was signed the
last offseason and he came in and he was twenty
seven years old, and their entire conversation surrounding SMB was
he's the quote unquote young old veteran in the room
because he was the oldest guy and the most experienced
guy in the room. Now you look at Garrett Williams
and Starling Thomas and they are the young young old
(03:38):
guy in that room just in terms of their veteran experience,
only three years in the league. And Garrett Williams I
asked him about it during his media availability during the
offseason about how he has taken on that leadership role
and he was saying, how just by experience, a lot
of the guys are going to start coming up to
you asking you questions and things of that nature. But
with Gary Williams out there, you know what he brings
(03:59):
to table. He's a top five cornerback in this league.
I know PFAF rated him very high in terms of
their zone coverage, but you hit on it. It all
starts at the defensive line and the reinforcements that Mani
austin Ford has added with Kalays Campbell, Dalvin Tomlinson once
again going into the draft back to back years with
the first rounder. In that defensive front seven. It's important
(04:21):
and that's only going to benefit guys like Garrett Williams,
Starling Thomas Max Melin who are trying to get their
hands on the football because when you're able to generate
that pressure at the line of scrimmage, it allows your
cornerbacks to focus a little bit more and it's going
to force quarterbacks to throw it up.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
When we talk about competition, we're talking about outside corner,
because even though Williams has the experience and the ability
to play outside, why would you mess something that's not broken,
that's actually working quite well having Williams as your slot corner.
When he was talking with the media, he was saying,
going to year three, you know he's used to being
the player who flies under the radar a bit, right,
(04:58):
Unless you are really engrossed in Cardinals football, that might
not be one of the top names you think of,
just because you have other star powers on this defense
who have been around for a long time, like a
Buddha Baker, likea Jalen Thompson. This is going to continue.
I think last year was a breakout year for Williams,
and I think he is only a sending given what
he has been showing on the field night to think
(05:19):
he's going to become a household name this season. What
stood out to you from what Williams had to stay
in his presser?
Speaker 3 (05:26):
I love how he was talking about how since his
entire career he's been one of those guys that has
been under the radar. I mean, he goes to Sarahcuse
plays in the acc obviously was dealing with the injury
slides in the draft, falls to the third round, and
the Cardinals were willing to take a flyer on an
injured cornerback and we're waiting to see what they got
out of him, and what they got out of him
is a diamond in the rough because not a lot
(05:48):
of people, I think we're expecting for Garrett Williams to
be the type of slot cornerback that he has become
one of the best in the game. I know in
a lot of conversations when you're looking at zone coverage cornerbacks,
it's him and it's Patricks certained that are going to
be at the top of the list. But you mentioned
him mostly being in the slot and not being on
the outside at all. He only played ten snaps as
(06:09):
an outside cornerback throughout the twenty twenty four season, four
hundred and eighty six STAPs were in the slot. So
even though he doesn't have as many starts under his
belt because he wasn't out there for the first play
depending on the type of nickel coverage that the Cardinals
were going to use, he still has a lot of
experience and a lot of defensive snaps under his belt.
But he has shown, you know, how dominant he can be.
(06:31):
He's a soft spoken guy, but I think back to
that game against the Washington Commanders when he leaps up
and makes a jaw dropping type of interception against Jayden Daniels,
the first cornerback to pick Jaden Daniels in his very
dominant rookie campaign, and you were able to see just
how he's able to read the defense. Yes, Buddha Baker
is the guy when the Cardinals defense, but down the line,
(06:53):
Garrett Williams has that ability to take over that role.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
A very high football IQ. The cornerbacks the outside corners
competition is going to be intriguing because Melton and Thomas
looked good last season, both of them getting more reps
as the season went on, valuable reps and especially not
having SMB all year, you would think maybe, okay, those
are the veterans right as close to being locked in
as it could. There's a lot of competition in that
(07:17):
room in a very good way, and will Johnson, the rookie,
is a big name to keep an eye on. Johnson
was limited throughout mandatory Mini camp. He was still out
there practicing in some capacity with the team. Head coach
Jonathan Gannon said Johnson was dealing with a little bit
of a tight hamstring. So we'll see as we get
into camp where Johnson is in that recovery process and
how active he's able to be. What's nice, though, is
(07:40):
even if Johnson has the ability and he's mentally ready
to go out there and be a starter week one,
or even not start but see a good amount of reps,
there's no pressure on him to have to be a
starter week one as a Day two draft pick, because
you know what you have in Melton and Thomas.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
And we saw too with Garrett Williams how the Cardinals
were able to bring a cornerback with a knee injury
back into the mix of things and slowly ease his
way into it. I know Will Johnson said he is.
He's fully healthy. One other note, obviously, a lot of
second round rookies are getting their contracts signed because of
all the guaranteed money that happened with the Houston Texans
(08:17):
and the Cleveland Browns with their with their second round picks.
I'm expecting Will Johnson to have his signed at some
point in the coming days, if not already by the
time that people are listening to this audio recording as
they're getting ready for training camp. But yeah, Will Johnson
is definitely a name that a lot of people are
going to have to look at. There's a reason why
he was an All American talent. Three pick sixes during
(08:38):
his time at Michigan during that twenty twenty three season,
did not allow a single touchdown. It's only allowed two
touchdowns in his entire career UH with the Michigan Wolverine.
So he's going to be a player that will make
an impact for the Cardinals. But you look at the
depth as you discussed, obviously it's going to be a
competition all around. Starling Thomas has the most amount of
starts for all the cornerbacks, which twenty two. No other
(09:01):
player that's been an undrafted rookie since twenty twenty three
has had more starts in the NFL than Starling Thomas
at twenty two. Then you also look at Max Mellen.
You mentioned those reps that he earned when SMB was
out dealing with his injury. He also has a handful
of starts. But then you look at fifth round rookie
Denzel Burke, another cornerback that's coming into the mix. He's
going to be somebody that I think this coaching staff
(09:22):
is very high on. What about Kee Troll Clark? How
has he developed from year two to year three? He
didn't play terribly much last year, but there's a reason
why these guys are still in the building. So that
cornerback depth is going to be definitely something to look
at for the competition.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
You also have Jadon Davis. You have Elijah Jones, who
is a big question mark missed his entire rookie season
last year dealing with a foot injury. When you look
at him physically, he's got the attributes. He is tall,
he's lanky, right, so he has the attributes that this
staff likes in the cornerbacks room, what do you have
from him? And you can only see so much throughout
this point in the offseason. It really is you gotta
wait till pads come on, because, as the coaching staff
(09:57):
has said, that's when players either shine they get lost.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
And I think with Elijah Jones, first team All acc
during his time at Boston College, another guy that the
Cardinals drafted ninetieth overall in the third round, And we
discussed about this all the time whenever we bring up
Elijah Jones his off the field tangibles or remind this
coaching staff a lot of Garrett Williams, just his studying habits,
the way he was asking questions during their combine interviews.
(10:22):
Now he was dealing with that lower leg injury. He
was out on the practice field during OTAs and during
rookie and then during Mini camp, which is important. It's
good to see number twenty eight out there on the field,
But as you mentioned, Danny, whenever they put the pads on,
that's when you're gonna be able to really see what
those one on one matchups between him and Michael Wilson.
Him lining up across from Marvin Harrison Junior is a Jones,
(10:43):
whoever it is. You want to be able to see
what you got from some of your outside cornerbacks, because
you know what you have in Starling Thomas, you know
what you have in Maximelan, and you obviously know what
you have with Garrett Williams. I think the two players
that this coaching staff is gonna have locked eyes on
is gonna be Will John and Elijah Jones.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
We're getting to the point where it's also a numbers game.
So not only are these cornerbacks in this specific scenario
having to compete with the players in their room, you're
also happy to compete with everybody else on the field.
Because if this d line is as stacked as we
are expecting it to be and playing as well as
they are at least throughout training, practicing, throughout camp, and
(11:22):
in the preseason games, there's a chance that this coaching
staff decides to go from sixty linemen on the active
roster the final fifty three up to seven. Well, that
number's got to come from somewhere. So we're getting into
the point where it's a numbers game. You're not just
going out there and fighting for a spot in your room.
You're fighting for a spot on this team.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
You think about it in a lot of ways when
maybe in the past two seasons, in JG's first two
seasons with the Cardinals, you could, you know, pencil in
about out of the fifty three, you could probably pencil
in forty eight forty nine of them. Now that's not
the case. You might be able to pencil in thirty
eight forty of them and then that remaining third team
(12:00):
because of the numbers game. And we'd make the comment
all the time about you know, putting on our GM's cap,
and like, thankfully we're not the ones that need to
do it. But what does this mean for guys like
Dante Stills? What does this mean for guys like L. J. Collier?
Because if you want to have a loaded defensive line room,
as you mentioned, where are you taking that away from?
You will get the inside linebacker room. In most cases.
(12:21):
The last year, the Cardinals had four or five guys
on the active roster in that inside linebacker room because
you had Kaizer White, Mac Wilson, Owen, Papo, Chris Barnes.
Then Vai Jones came in in the back end of
the season. So you have a lot of guys that
are in that room that you could possibly move around,
But are you willing to move a guy like Owen
Papo and potentially risk if you think, if you think
(12:42):
he might not make it onto the fifty three making
him on the practice squad because you're risking letting these
guys go and get picked up by other teams. And
Owen is just an example. Obviously, I'm not saying anything
because he is another candidate that could compete for that
green dot role. But that's my point though. Owen Papo
was a guy that kind of flew under the race,
was a guy that was a special team's ace, and
(13:03):
that's typically where he was used last year. But where
does he lie this year? The numbers game is going
to be fascinating.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
Regardless who is out there in the cornerback's room. Interceptions
is an emphasis. That was something Garrett Williams was talking
about when he spoke with the media. In twenty twenty four,
Cardinals defense recorded just nine interceptions, which was tied for
twenty fourth in the league. That's an emphasis, and that's
a number that those dbs want to increase this year.
(13:31):
And when you've got a beefed up defensive line, that's
gonna maybe get their hands on some battered balls, put
some pressure on the QB, force that ball out of
their hands quickly. That is very feasible to raise that number,
And honestly, that is important to this defense when you're
looking from last year and you're trying to find improvements
and if you want to find a number and something
that can change the game and interception turning the ball
(13:53):
over is one of those key opportunities.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Roy Lopez was kind of that one guy that was
able to get his hand up and bat away a
couple footballs. Now you have the king of batted balls
and kalay Is Campbell, it's six foot eight on your
defensive line. And then obviously as your nose guard with
Dalvin Thomlinson right there as your zero technique, your one technique,
the Cardinals are going to get a lot more pressure.
They're going to generate a lot more pressure. Regardless if
(14:17):
there is a step down from some of these guys
because they're getting a little bit older in their careers,
I don't think that it's going to be I think,
no matter what, it's going to be a step up
compared to the previous handful of seasons. Just because of
the crop of talent, Kalaeis Campbell is still playing at
a very high rate, at a very successful rate, even
if he's only playing those thirty thirty five snaps. You
know what you're getting out of out of Big number
(14:39):
ninety three. But because of them being able to generate
that pressure up the middle, it's going to force the
quarterbacks to throw the ball away. And that's when you're
expecting the natural abilities from these guys like Max Melan,
like Gary Williams to go up and make a play
and rip the ball away. I cannot wait for when
Buddha Baker gets that first interception this season, because it
will happen with the way that the Cardinals use him.
(15:00):
That'll be my my one prediction. I know an underground
you guys had your predictions, That'll be my prediction. I'm
gonna say Budda Baker has two interceptions this year because
I do believe that the pressure that's going to be
generated from the defensive front, especially not just with Kalas
campbellor Dalvin Tomlinson, but because you know what, you have
your five technique, a guy like Darius Robinson that's going
to be able to get after the quarterback that's going
(15:22):
to be a sneaky player. I think that that's going
to put a lot of pressure on opposing quarterbacks and
they're going to have to throw it away.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
If Bakers listen, I'm sure he loves hearing that. He's
made it clear he doesn't feel like quarterbacks like to
throw his way. When you're going into year three in
a scheme that also allows your players to play a
little more freely within the confinement of what's being asked
for them to do, which would you know in theory,
allow them to be a little more flexible and read
the expectation right, read what's going on with the offense,
and make a few more picks. Another exciting training can't Battle,
(15:52):
and this is probably the most discussed on the offensive
side of the ball, given the continuity offensively in terms
of the players the play right This coaching staff, this
front office feels very strongly and very confidently about the
players in that room already. But we're talking about right guard.
Isaiah Adams played fifteen games as your right guard. Five
(16:12):
starts last year's rookie got some valuable reps. Four of
the five starters from Week one are returning now. Yes,
Joanah Williams. Your right tackle got hurt Week one in Buffalo.
So the only player who's not on this roster who
was Week one last year is right guard Will Hernandez.
Where things stand right now, the day before players report,
is this Adam's job to lose?
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Yeah, I think it is. Now. That's not to say
that it's not going to be a competition, because the
Cardinals did spend in offseason bringing in some guys. Now
it wasn't the Will Fryes of the world or the
players that I think we're leading the free agency market
because I don't think the Cardinals needed to invest because
they already invested a third round pick in to Isaiah Adams.
(16:55):
They have trust and confidence into him that you don't
need to throw all this money in free agency at
another offensive lineman. Isaiah Adams, he was asked if he's
ready for the moment, and he said without question. And
he talked about to us Danny about how his approach
has changed and the stuff he worked on during the
offseason getting his mind right for this twenty twenty five season.
(17:17):
I remember the beginning when you think back to those
training camp battles, the defensive line versus offensive line kind
of those Oklahoma type drills. Isaiah Adams did not farewell
on those in the very beginning, but as this season
went on, he started to work his way back into
a spot where he was comfortable. He's never played right
guard before. Up until last season, he moved all over
(17:37):
the offensive line at Illinois. He was a right tackle
of the year that he got drafted by the Cardinals,
so then they push him into the inside. He's learning
the position. But as I mentioned, the Cardinals did invest in,
it wasn't the big names. They brought in a guy
like Royce Newman, who played fifty two games in the NFL,
spent time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year, three
(17:58):
season with the Green Bay Packers. He has a lot
of starts. His first season started sixteen of the seventeen
games he played at right guard for the Packers in
twenty twenty one. So he's a player that the Cardinals
are going to be looking on the competition. Also, Hayden Connor,
who the Cardinals drafted in the sixth round out of Texas.
He's a three year starter over there with the Longhorn,
So he's somebody that a lot of people are going
(18:19):
to have their eyes on. He's also just a great character.
We love talking with Hayden. And then John Gains is
going to be another player, and I'm interested to see
what growth he has because of Justin Fry's familiarity with
him during their time at UCLA.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
That's really the only change is your position coach and
bringing in Justin Fry this offseason. There's a lot of
competition in that offensive line room, and you need a
lot of bodies. You need players that are versatile because
when you've got that many players in a position room
going out in the field every game day, you need
to be prepared for anything that's coming your way. The
thing about Isaiah Adams, though, is I liked when he
(18:53):
was talking to the media and what he was really
focused on this offseason was the mental side of things
and slowing the game down. When you mentioned that he
didn't necessarily farewell last offseason and some one on one drills,
that's a normal progression for an offensive lineman. That's why
if you have somebody with the skill level of a
Paris Jaantson junior, that's why they are drafted so high
(19:14):
and they are so coveted in the first round of
the draft, because it takes a little bit of time
for the players to add muscle right, the strength and
work out, get their footwork right in all of those things.
So to see the progression from Adams and the fact
that one point and then the season last year he
was going through a rotation with Tristan Cologne and ended
up winning that competition battle, I am right there with you.
(19:35):
This is Adam's job to lose. Yes, there is a
lot of competition. That does not mean it is set
in stone. He has gotten some really valuable reps though,
And this point through the off season, you can only
see so much and T shirts and shorts. Now that
we're going to start seeing the pads and you can
really see the communication, the movement, the protection right how
you're going up against some nasty defensive lineman on this
(19:58):
Cardinals roster. That's what's going to be telling.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
And it's also the mental component of it. Isaiah Adams
wasn't drafted last year to be the guy. Last year.
It was supposed to be Will Hernandez, and obviously Will
went down with that knee injury in that week pretty
sure Week six game against the Green Bay Packers in
Rainy lambeau Field when will went down, and that's unfortunate,
but the best way you learn is by getting thrown
(20:21):
into the fire. And I think the best thing that
could have happened for Isaiah was getting thrown into the
fire because he had to mix it up a little bit.
And I remember speaking to him at the locker room
clear out and I asked him about just welcome to
the NFL moments. Everybody's got theirs, and that first welcome
to the NFL moment wasn't that game against the Green
Bay Packers when he got thrown into it. But he
said to me that at every moment throughout the season,
(20:43):
it's like a welcome to the NFL moment because you're
lining up across from somebody new every single time. When
you're lining up across from Big Cat Leonard Williams in
two out of three weeks against the Seattle Seahawks, you're
gonna learn a lot and you're gonna learn a lot
about yourself. And I think the Cardinals learned a lot
just in general from those two games against the Seattle
Seahawks that they're gonna be thinking about as the twenty
(21:05):
twenty five season comes about but yeah, Isaiah Adams definitely
has focused a lot on the mental side of it,
and I think too in the way that he speaks,
and we could psychoanalyze and overanalyze this as much as
we want. He looks a lot more confident just sitting
there at the podium. He came in and right away
made the joke and was like, I feel like I
haven't sat here in a year, and I was like,
so you missed us. He's like, yeah, a little bit.
(21:25):
But just seeing that, like that sense of happiness of
just being there and being ready for the moment, I
think is something that's gonna help him farewell this coming
training camp because last year he didn't know what he
was getting into going to training camp.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Adams was confident in his answers because he's now confident himself,
confident in his ability, confident what he has learned from
year one gearing up for year two. You also learned
a lot from Adams on his trip up north. He
went to Canada with some team members from our broadcast
department working up with the Snowbirds. The Cardinals stands up
in Canada, and he, I guess they have some boys
(22:00):
up in Canada, which is news to.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
Me, and it was news to him too because he's
not from that area. But that was in Calgary, So
Isaiah Adams went on a trip. Basically, the NFL obviously
have their global marketing programs that they do, and the
Cardinals have had rights to promote the game in Mexico,
which they've obviously played against the San Francisco forty nine
ers there down south, and then you go up north.
(22:23):
The Cardinals were granted Canada as one of their territories
to promote the game at so he went out there,
and Isaiah Adams is from Canada himself, so to go
out there and return back home, he said, on a
football level, it was a nice reset for him to
go see his family and his friends and just be
back in a place that it was home to him.
But the NFL, Canada and the Cardinals they put together
(22:44):
a kids camp that Isaiah Adams helped run. They also
put together a meet and greet that he took part in,
and then they went to the Calgary Stampede, which is
supposedly one of the best and craziest ROADIO. I guess
up there a huge deal and I will say I
know that the photos haven't been posted, but there are
some photos with Isaiah and a cowboy hat and in
(23:04):
a full jump pursuit.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
Is he given Zavon Collins a run for his money
with the cowboy hat? Now, because kind of a real cab.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Saan is a cowboy, but Isaiah you could tell, wanted
to be a cowboy. It's funny though. I think you
asked him if he took part in any of the
rodeo stunts and he said, like, now, the coaching staff,
you know, wouldn't let me, you know, take part in
that push.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:27):
So the Cardinals now have their you know, their Snowbird
fan club. Just got to go to Azycardinals dot com
to find out all the information because, especially for our
fans up north, the Cardinals are trying to grow the game.
So to be a member of the Snowbirds, you have
to be able to join the fan club.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
And Zach wrote a pretty great story on that, so
you can check that out on our website. Okay, gearing
up for training? Can this is gonna be you know
the last cover two before we are out at State
Farm Stadium. We've talked about right guard, We've talked about cornerbacks.
What is one other position battle you are most eager
to see shakeout.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
Can we go back a second. You asked me zero
to ten, how am I feeling? How are you feeling?
Going on?
Speaker 1 (24:06):
I'm right there with you. Eleven eleven and a half
out of ten. Look, the off season for us on
a personal level is nice to get a break from
the seven months of non stop.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
You get to a point though, where you are just
itching for some to talk about. Right The players haven't
been in the building, the coaches haven't been in the
building for six weeks, So I am ready for some
football news, some football talk to get back into that routine.
So I'm ready.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
Yeah, they're definitely those moments where free agency comes. You know,
you have three weeks of new content to talk about,
and then it's dead, and then you have the draft
and then it's dead, and then Mini camp and then
it's dead. So now we're excited to no longer be
in the dead period and get back to training camp.
And to answer you the question, the competition almost looking
forward to probably at Green Dot. I know that that's
(24:52):
a question we might not get answered right away, but
I do cause we know that the way Nick Rolis
likes to call his defense and the way they like
to practice. Every inside linebacker has access to the green
Dot during practice, so they all practiced and are able
to jump into things. So that's why in the twenty
twenty three season, when Kayzier White went down with the
injury and then Chris Barnes went down with the injury,
(25:14):
everybody was able to slide in and there wasn't really
a drop off at that spot because everybody is practiced
and has experience with it. But I think that spot
is going to be what I'm most interested in. What
is a Keem Davis Gathers role? The Cardinals were very
interested in the team and brought him in very early
on during the free agency process. What did they see
from a guy who has played mostly special teams throughout
(25:36):
his time with the Cincinnati Bengals. What did they see
that potentially gives them confidence and hope that he could
take over the green dot spot. What about a guy
like Cody Simon as an inside linebacker coming from the
Ohio State Buck guys where he has experience with the
green dot communication system over there, And then I mentioned
him earlier, Owen Papo is going to be another guy
his familiarity with Nick Rowlis is going to bode very
(25:59):
well for him, especially with a team and Cody being
new faces.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
That was gonna be my answer as well. For a
position we have to But if if we're looking in general,
I would say I am setting up shop. When pads
come on and we are seeing offensive lineman and defensive
lineman go head to head, I think that is going
to be a site to be seen. When you're looking
at the continuity of this offensive line, you're looking at
the pieces that have been brought in. Truthfully, though, you
can go through every position and you can find something
(26:24):
that you're going to be keeping your eye on. Is
Michael Wilson the for sure number two wide receiver in
that room? We haven't even talked about the backup quarterback
battle you bring in Jacoby Brissett this offseason, going head
to head with Clayton Tune. When you're looking at the
safety's room and we're talking about big picture numbers. Joey
Blunt is a safety and has been a special team's ace.
What about Rabbit and is his role going to increase
(26:47):
going from a rookie to year two? A lot of
question marks again, Cardinals fans you can come out and
see how things shake out for yourself. There's ten open practices,
first one Thursday, July twenty fourth. You can get your
free tip tickets, free parking passes on Azycardinals dot com.
We are going to have tons, when I say tons
of podcasts, articles, interviews, TV shows, everything you could imagine
(27:12):
covering training camp from State Farm Stadium. So you can
stay locked in at Asycardinals dot com. Zach, it's football time.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
It's time.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
Maybe Craig will come back in time for training camp.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
We'll see.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
Time will tell report days tomorrow, so he's got.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
To be here, yeah, so we'll see. Yeah, that includes
you to Craig reporting on Tuesday. Thanks so much guys
for tuning into this edition of Cardinals Cover two
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