The Arizona Cardinals have wrapped up their first day of practice in training camp. They were not yet in pads, as that can’t happen until Monday, but between media access after the morning walkthrough and what was done on the field in practice, we have our first takeaways of the football year.
Practices run differently, seem to be faster
After five years with Bruce Arians, there was a certain way things were run. Things are different now.
It starts with the schedule. Morning walkthroughs ended about 10:30 a.m. in years past. For at least the first couple of days, the Cardinals now have morning walkthroughs ending at about 8:45 a.m. This gives the players a bit longer to recover before practice in the afternoon, which started at 1:30 p.m. instead of the previously traditional 2 p.m.
The pace is fast and seemed to be faster than under Arians, whose practices had a good tempo.
The Cardinals stretched as a team after special teams drills and also ended practices with cooling-off stretching.
The offense has a lot of different looks
In early drills, it was obvious that the Cardinals offense will be different. To begin with, it has three different base looks. Under Arians, they had one real base offense with two receivers and two tight ends.
Under Mike McCoy now, they showed three different looks. One was with two receivers, two tight ends and a running back. Another had a running back and a fullback, one tight end and two wideouts. Yet another had one running back, one tight end, a tackle eligible and two receivers. Reserve tackle John Wetzel was the tackle eligible in those scenarios.
Some three-wide sets were with all three on one side and others had two and one. The tight end sometimes was flexed out to the slot.
It appears the Cardinals will have many different looks.
Lots of WRs get reps with first team
One of the biggest position battles to watch is for the team’s No. 2 receiver. It was nearly impossible to see what a very early depth chart might look like because all four players vying for the No. 2 spot potentially all got looks on the first-team offense. Sometimes it was just Chad Williams opposite Larry Fitzgerald. On other plays, it was Brice Butler with Fitzgerald. Other times, Fitzgerald was in the slot with J.J. Nelson and Butler on the field. Second-round pick Christian Kirk also got reps on the first-team offense.
However, based on some individual position drills, the depth chart appeared to be this:
1. Larry Fitzgerald
2. Brice Butler
3. J.J. Nelson
4. Chad Williams
5. Christian Kirk
Quarterbacks looked solid
It didn’t matter who was in at quarterback. They all looked sharp. Sam Bradford looked good. Josh Rosen made some very nice throws. Mike Glennon also did. Rosen was the only one to throw an interception, getting picked off by safety Rudy Ford.
Offensive line rotation
The starting offensive line is likely set with D.J. Humrphries at left tackle, Mike Iupati at left guard, A.Q. Shipley at center, Justin Pugh at right guard and Andre Smith at right tackle.
The second unit had Will Holde at left tackle, Evan Boehm at left guard, rookie Mason Cole at center, Josh Allen at right guard and John Wetzel at right tackle.
The third unit went, front left to right, Korey Cunningham, Will House, Daniel Munyer, Greg Pyke and Brant Weiss.
A surprise at DE
With starting defensive end Markus Golden on PUP, it was expected that Benson Mayowa would be on the first-team defense.
He wasn’t.
Neither were recently-signed Arthur Moats or Jacquies Smith.
It was Vontarrius Dora, who spent time on the Cardinals practice squad last year. Mayowa, Moats and Smith, as well as Bryson Albright, saw reps with the second unit.
CB2 position battle
The second cornerback spot is another of the key position battles in camp. Jamar Taylor got most of the first-team reps. Brandon Williams had a few.
On the second team, it was Williams and Lou Young.
Scooby Wright deep on depth chart to start camp
Wright is a fan favorite and can do some nice things on special teams. He is deep down on the depth chart at linebacker.
The starting linebackers are Deone Bucannon, Josh Bynes and Haason Reddick.
On the second team, it was Edmond Robinson, Bynes and Jeremy Cash.
Wright sometimes got reps on the third-team defense.
Early 3-man punt returner competition
Patrick Peterson likes to field punts at the start of practice, but when there are punt drills in the middle of practice, he does not participate. As of now, there are three vying for the main punt returner job. Receiver Rashad Ross, receiver Christian Kirk and running back T.J, Logan were the ones to field punts on Saturday.
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