Cardinals’ Wilks, Rosen discuss biggest takeaways of OTAs, patience

TEMPE, Ariz — “Details” was the word of the day during Thursday’s OTAs for the Arizona Cardinals.

“It was great, a lot of energy out there, you saw guys, in my mind, really focusing on the details, the things we talk about all the time,” Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks told reporters. “Again, a long way away, but we’re always moving in the right direction, we can really continue to emphasize the little things and the details.”

Cardinals rookie quarterback Josh Rosen echoed Wilks comments when asked about his biggest takeaways from OTAs.

“A lot of little things, nothing in particular, just trying to stay exact,” Rosen said when asked what his biggest takeaway was from OTAs. “As the NFL becomes more exact, sort of grow with it and become more situationally prepared, getting bigger, faster, stronger in the weight room.”

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE

If Wilks has one thing underwhelming to say about Rosen’s play, it’s patience.

“Sometimes your greatest strength is your greatest weakness,” Wilks said of Rosen. “He’s trying to really force things in there occasionally when we just really got to take what the defense gives us, just the details of that.”

Rosen, however, could find more time if he utilizes his legs, according to Wilks.

“I think he’s pretty athletic, I think he’s mobile enough to buy time within the pocket and then when he gets outside the pocket, I think he does a great job with still keeping his eyes downfield trying to locate the receiver,” he added of the rookie.

“It’s not about run first, it’s about really trying to execute the pass down the field and then get what you can get.”

NO FIGHTING ALLOWED

When asked about his philosophy of fighting or hazing, Wilks did not shy away.

“Number one we don’t believe in it,” Wilks said. “There’s no hazing, definitely with this organization and from a standpoint of fighting, I don’t tolerate that, I think we’re wasting time, a lot of energy.

If you are going to do that, we don’t need you in there. Most importantly, from a standpoint of injuries, guys can get hurt and all of a sudden we’re set back a little bit so we don’t want that.”

According to Wilks, if any of his players are fighting, they are done for the day.

“We’re not going to slow practice down. I consider it a speed bump, get those guys out so we can keep going, if you want to fight, go ahead and take some laps.”

BOEHM GIVES REPORTING A SHOT

If offensive lineman Evan Boehm’s NFL career is somehow cut short, he may have another gig already waiting in the wings.

During an interview with Cardinals running back D.J. Foster, Boehm stepped into the scrum, asking the tough questions, like who is Foster’s favorite offensive lineman?

.@BIGboehmTHEORY asking @ASTATE_8 the tough questions. O-lineman or reporter? #Cardinals pic.twitter.com/qgKiqftXsQ

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) June 8, 2018

Foster, who had to make sure he was saying Boehm’s name right, went with the O-lineman as his top pick, citing his character.

“The fact that you are doing this with confidence, you have a career,” Foster told Boehm during the exchange.

But Boehm wasn’t done there and dove into the tougher questions, like how are they going to attend each other’s weddings and what teammates are going?

“I think a lot of people will go to D.J.’s because it’s closer,” Boehm said, but added that he does have the better personality of the two.

Being that they are on the same day and an hour off, the two probably will have to video chat or, like Foster mentioned, have a potential joint wedding to make it happen.

HEAT? WHAT HEAT?

There’s no question, it’s hot.

On Tuesday, the high in Tempe was 108 degrees, while Thursday saw temperatures go over 100 degrees for another day.

But how is the weather affecting the players on the field?

According to two players, the heat isn’t as bad as others say.

“It’s not too bad, it definitely is hot, but I hear it definitely gets worse as we approach summer,” Rosen said.

The other player to talk about the heat? None other than Arizona native D.J. Foster.

“I’m enjoying it, it’s definitely better than seven degrees in Boston,” Foster said.

“You can never forget about [the heat], it’s scarring. I’m definitely getting used to it a little bit but it’s tough.”

The Cardinals have a mandatory minicamp next week, followed by practices starting July 28, the earliest the NFL would allow.

EXTRA POINTS

– Cardinals running back David Johnson was absent from Thursday’s OTAs. He also missed Tuesday.

– Wilks would not go into detail about the players not at OTAs and only wanted to focus on the ones who were present.

– Bradford was unavailable to speak with reporters, but was out on the field.

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