Arizona Cardinals training camp: All-Access with Bruce Arians

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Head coach Bruce Arians, now in his third year with the Arizona Cardinals, meets the media each day during training camp.

Here, in this space, we’ll highlight many of the key topics and personnel conversations he has with reporters following the morning walk-through.

“Looking forward to seeing how we practice after a day off.  We didn’t do a very good job of that in the spring, so we’ve kind of addressed that.  Start now to have good Wednesday practices during the season after days off and not lose any time.  We’ll see how we come out.  We should have good energy and ready to go.”

What have you seen out of John Brown so far in camp

“John Brown, I think, is playing faster than he ever played last year because he knows what he’s doing.  No hesitation.   He sees coverage.  He’s sees blitzes and all those things.  He’s playing extremely well right now.”

How is the running back situation playing out behind Andre Ellington

“Well, right now Kerwynn Williams is having a heck of a camp, and I trust Kerwynn with everything as far as playing running back.  Now he’s not the receiver that Andre is or David (Johnson).  Now, David is got to get on the field.  He hasn’t put pads on yet, so we’ll find out whenever he gets back out there.  Robert Hughes is having a solid camp, as has Stepfan (Taylor).  Stepfan is as steady as there is, but right now, Kerwynn is leading the pack.”

What is your plan for Saturday’s red-white practice

“We’ll have a normal practice and then have our short-yardage and goal-line scrimmage. I’m still seeing who’s available, whether or not the young guys will actually scrimmage each other.  We would never scrimmage our top guys; only tackling will be short-yardage and goal-line.”

How is LaMarr Woodley coming along

“Now that we have pads—he was one of those guys that needed his pads on.  He’s a bull rusher and he’s been collapsing the pocket pretty good.  Picking up the system pretty solid and it looks like he’s fixing to get in the mix pretty good.”

What about the quarterbacks behind Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton

“They’re like a roller-coaster ride.  They’re good one minute—not one day, one minute, and then bad the next.  They need to get some level of consistency throughout the camp and there’s limited reps so it’s hard to blow them when you get them.”

What kind of locker room influence does a player like Frostee Rucker have

“Huge.  Huge leader; well respected, one of the top guys.”

What have you been able to see out of Justin Bethel at corner

“He’s doing a nice job.  He’s playing with a lot more confidence; gotten his hands on some balls.  He’s been a victim of some flat, perfect throws a couple of times when he’s had them covered like a blanket and Drew or Carson is putting it right on the outside hand.  I really like where he’s at.  He turned into a heck of a blitzer last year.  We’re not using him quite in that role, yet.  His role on defense should expand.”

What is your evaluation of new defensive coordinator James Bettcher

“He’s doing a great job.  I think the best way to evaluate him is to talk to the players, and I think they’re all excited.”

How much is helping Bettcher to be able to call plays during practice

“It’s huge.  It’s the training camp part for a coach.  Myself, trying to break some old tendencies I might have that they think they know against me.  It’s the fun of camp, those last 20 minutes or 30 minutes of actually playing a game without tackling.  It’s invaluable experience.  If you don’t put a guy in that situation then he’s only going to have the preseason games.  Now, he’s getting a good taste.  We’ll  probably have three or four more before we ever play a preseason game and then get another one every week.”

Do some of your players not get the no-tackling allowed in practice

“Yeah, some guys don’t get to practice after they tackle.  They get their ass kicked off the field.”

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