ARIZONA CARDINALS

Notes from the Nest: July 28, 2014

Jul 29, 2014, 1:48 AM | Updated: 4:25 pm

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The pads are on, the pads are on! Monday’s training camp practice was easily the most spirited yet, as the players put on pads and started hitting each other for the first time.

Of Note

– Center Lyle Sendlein was out with a left calf injury.

– Guard Jonathan Cooper not only practiced in pads for the first time since breaking his leg last preseason, but said he was surprised by how easy it was for him to transition to that part of the game after not being able to do it for so long.

– Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton each fumbled snaps early in practice, but that could have been because of Sendlein’s absence.

– The crowd enjoyed a deep ball touchdown from Drew Stanton to John Brown. Brown, by the way, seemed to be open on nearly every play.

– Jay Feely got a crack at some field goals, and by my count made four out of five (including one from 40 yards out).

– The most fun special teams play of the day had to be a fake field goal that ended up seeing punter Dave Zastudil throw a pass to lineman Kelvin Palmer. The pass was complete, by the way.

– There were a few interceptions today. Jerraud Powers and Eddie Whitley were two of the defenders to come up with a pick.

– Word leaked out late in the day that John Abraham, who has been absent from camp thus far, was arrested for DUI in Atlanta last month. That’s not good. All we’ve been told up to this point was that he is excused and had coach Bruce Arians’ blessing while being away.

Stat of the Day

The Cardinals lost just two fumbles in the passing game last year.

Quotes of the Day

“I don’t feed into all that. I’m just worrying about me and helping the team so you know it’s just when it’s time to show up, I’m just going to show up and see how it goes from there.” – receiver John Brown on the hype surrounding him early in camp

“I love my mom. I talk to her a lot, just check up on her, make sure the family is OK. So I just love talking to my mom.” – Brown on Palmer’s assertion that he talks to his mother 25 times a day. For the record, Brown said it’s all phone calls, not text messages.

“Most guys who have long careers know that. The guys who are real tough and try to run everybody over, they’ve got real short careers, especially as running backs — unless you’re Christian Okoye, Barry Word, the guys I had in Kansas City. So it is a knack, and he can get skinny. When taking a blow, there’s a real knack to getting skinny and taking a smaller hit.” – Arians on Andre Ellington’s ability to avoid the big hit

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Notes from the Nest: July 28, 2014